Study Desk

You have dug a deep pit to trap them at Acacia Grove. But I will settle with you for what you have done.

"When Israel and Judah saw how sick they were, Israel turned to Assyria— to the great king there— but he could neither help nor cure them.

But like Adam, you broke my covenant and betrayed my trust.

"I want to heal Israel, but its sins are too great. Samaria is filled with liars. Thieves are on the inside and bandits on the outside!

Worshiping foreign gods has sapped their strength, but they don't even know it. Their hair is gray, but they don't realize they're old and weak.

But as they fly about, I will throw my net over them and bring them down like a bird from the sky. I will punish them for all the evil they do.

"What sorrow awaits those who have deserted me! Let them die, for they have rebelled against me. I wanted to redeem them, but they have told lies about me.

But it is too late. The people of Israel have rejected what is good, and now their enemies will chase after them.

But though they have sold themselves to many allies, I will now gather them together for judgment. Then they will writhe under the burden of the great king.

"Israel has built many altars to take away sin, but these very altars became places for sinning!

The people love to offer sacrifices to me, feasting on the meat, but I do not accept their sacrifices. I will hold my people accountable for their sins, and I will punish them. They will return to Egypt.

There you will make no offerings of wine to the Lord . None of your sacrifices there will please him. They will be unclean, like food touched by a person in mourning. All who present such sacrifices will be defiled. They may eat this food themselves, but they may not offer it to the Lord .

The Lord says, "O Israel, when I first found you, it was like finding fresh grapes in the desert. When I saw your ancestors, it was like seeing the first ripe figs of the season. But then they deserted me for Baal-peor, giving themselves to that shameful idol. Soon they became vile, as vile as the god they worshiped.

I have watched Israel become as beautiful as Tyre. But now Israel will bring out her children for slaughter."

How prosperous Israel is— a luxuriant vine loaded with fruit. But the richer the people get, the more pagan altars they build. The more bountiful their harvests, the more beautiful their sacred pillars.

Then they will say, "We have no king because we didn't fear the Lord . But even if we had a king, what could he do for us anyway?"

"Israel is like a trained heifer treading out the grain— an easy job she loves. But I will put a heavy yoke on her tender neck. I will force Judah to pull the plow and Israel to break up the hard ground.

"But you have cultivated wickedness and harvested a thriving crop of sins. You have eaten the fruit of lies— trusting in your military might, believing that great armies could make your nation safe.

But the more I called to him, the farther he moved from me, offering sacrifices to the images of Baal and burning incense to idols.

I myself taught Israel how to walk, leading him along by the hand. But he doesn't know or even care that it was I who took care of him.