Study Desk

"‘You keep saying, "We have the Lord 's teachings. So we are wise!" But this is not true, because the scribes have lied with their pens.

They should bandage the wounds my people have suffered, but they treat their wounds like small scratches. They say, "It's all right, everything is all right." But it is not all right!

They should be ashamed of the evil things they do, but they are not ashamed at all. They don't know enough to be embarrassed by their sins. So they will be punished with everyone else. They will be thrown to the ground when I punish the people.'" This is what the Lord said.

We hoped to have peace, but nothing good has come. We hoped that he would forgive us, but only disaster has come.

Listen to my people. Everywhere in this country, people are crying for help. They say, "Is the Lord still at Zion? Is Zion's King still there?" But God says, "The people of Judah worshiped their worthless foreign idols. That made me very angry! Why did they do that?"

The people of Judah have tongues as sharp as arrows. Their mouths speak lies. They all speak kindly to their neighbors, but they are secretly planning ways to attack them.

The Lord answered, "It is because the people of Judah stopped following my teachings. I gave them my teachings, but they refused to listen to me. They did not follow my teachings.

This is what you should say: "The Lord says, ‘Dead bodies will lie in the fields like dung. Their bodies will lie on the ground like grain a farmer has cut. But there will be no one to gather them.'"

But if someone wants to brag, then let them brag about this: Let them brag that they learned to know me. Let them brag that they understand that I am the Lord , that I am kind and fair, and that I do good things on earth. I love this kind of bragging." This message is from the Lord .

I am talking about the people of the nations of Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab, and all those who live in the desert. The circumcision they do is not the kind the Lord wants. But the people of Israel are not really circumcised either. They are not circumcised in their hearts."

This is what the Lord says: "Don't live like people from other nations. Don't be afraid of special signs in the sky. The other nations are afraid of what they see in the sky. But you must not be afraid of them.

The customs of other people are worth nothing. Their idols are nothing but wood from the forest. Their idols are made by workers with their chisels.

Everyone should respect you, King of all the nations. You deserve their respect. There are many wise men among the nations, but not one of them is as wise as you.

But the Lord is the only true God. He is the only God who is alive. He is the King who rules forever. The earth shakes when he is angry. The people of the nations cannot stop his anger.

People are so stupid! Metalworkers are fooled by the idols that they themselves made. These statues are nothing but lies. They are stupid.

But Jacob's God is not like the idols. He made everything, and Israel is the family that God chose to be his own people. His name is Lord All-Powerful.

I am hurt badly. I am injured and I cannot be healed. But I told myself, "This is my sickness; I must suffer through it."

So correct us, Lord ! But please be fair. Don't punish us in anger, or you will destroy us!

But your ancestors did not listen to me. They were stubborn and did what their own evil hearts wanted. The agreement says that bad things will happen to them if they don't obey. So I made all the bad things happen to them. I commanded them to obey the agreement, but they did not.'"

So this is what the Lord says: "I will soon make something terrible happen to the people of Judah. They will not be able to escape. They will be sorry and cry to me for help, but I will not listen to them.