Study Desk

I will gather all the nationsAnd bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat.Then I will enter into judgment with them thereOn behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel,Whom they have scattered among the nations;And they have divided up My land.

They have also cast lots for My people,Traded a boy for a harlot,And sold a girl for wine that they may drink.

Also I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the sons of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, to a distant nation," for Yahweh has spoken.

Egypt will become a desolation,And Edom will become a desolate wilderness,Because of the violence done to the sons of Judah,In whose land they have shed innocent blood.

Thus says Yahweh,"For three transgressions of Damascus and for fourI will not turn back its punishmentBecause they threshed Gilead with implements of sharp iron.

Thus says Yahweh,"For three transgressions of Gaza and for fourI will not turn back its punishmentBecause they took away into exile the whole community of exilesTo deliver it up to Edom.

Thus says Yahweh,"For three transgressions of Tyre and for fourI will not turn back its punishmentBecause they delivered up the whole community of exiles to EdomAnd did not remember the covenant of brotherhood.

Thus says Yahweh,"For three transgressions of the sons of Ammon and for fourI will not turn back its punishmentBecause they ripped open the pregnant women of GileadIn order to enlarge their borders.

Thus says Yahweh,"For three transgressions of Judah and for fourI will not turn back its punishmentBecause they rejected the law of YahwehAnd have not kept His statutes;Their falsehood also has led them astray,That which their fathers walked after.

Thus says Yahweh,"For three transgressions of Israel and for fourI will not turn back its punishmentBecause they sell the righteous for moneyAnd the needy for a pair of sandals.

On garments taken as pledges they stretch out beside every altar,And in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined.

But they do not know how to do what is right," declares Yahweh, "these who hoard up violence and devastation in their citadels."

"For on the day that I punish Israel's transgressions,I will also punish the altars of Bethel;The horns of the altar will be cut in pieces,And they will fall to the ground.

Lord Yahweh has sworn by His holiness that,"Behold, the days are coming upon you,And they will take you away with meat hooks,And the last of you with fish hooks.

They hate him who reproves in the gate,And they abhor him who speaks with integrity.

Therefore thus says Yahweh God of hosts, the Lord,"There is wailing in all the plazas,And in all the streets they say, ‘Alas! Alas!'They also call the farmer to mourningAnd professional weepers to wailing.

Pass on over to Calneh and look,And go from there to Hamath the great,Then go down to Gath of the Philistines.Are they better than these kingdoms,Or are their borders greater than your borders?

Therefore, they will now go into exile among the first of the exiles,And the sprawlers' banqueting will turn aside.

And it will be, if ten men are left in one house, they will die.

"For behold, I am going to raise up a nation against you,O house of Israel," declares Yahweh God of hosts,"And they will press down on you from Lebo‑hamathTo the brook of the Arabah."