Study Desk

or get in each other's way. They swarm through defenses, and nothing can stop them.

They rush against the city; they run over the walls; they climb up the houses and go in through the windows like thieves.

The earth shakes as they advance; the sky trembles. The sun and the moon grow dark, and the stars no longer shine.

I will remove the locust army that came from the north and will drive some of them into the desert. Their front ranks will be driven into the Dead Sea, their rear ranks into the Mediterranean. Their dead bodies will stink. I will destroy them because of all they have done to you.

I will gather all the nations and bring them to the Valley of Judgment. There I will judge them for all they have done to my people. They have scattered the Israelites in foreign countries and divided Israel, my land.

They threw dice to decide who would get the captives. They sold boys and girls into slavery to pay for prostitutes and wine.

I will let your sons and daughters be sold to the people of Judah; they will sell them to the far-off Sabeans. I, the Lord , have spoken.

"Egypt will become a desert, and Edom a ruined waste, because they attacked the land of Judah and killed its innocent people.

Syria The Lord says, "The people of Damascus have sinned again and again, and for this I will certainly punish them. They treated the people of Gilead with savage cruelty.

Philistia The Lord says, "The people of Gaza have sinned again and again, and for this I will certainly punish them. They carried off a whole nation and sold them as slaves to the people of Edom.

Tyre The Lord says, "The people of Tyre have sinned again and again, and for this I will certainly punish them. They carried off a whole nation into exile in the land of Edom, and did not keep the treaty of friendship they had made.

Edom The Lord says, "The people of Edom have sinned again and again, and for this I will certainly punish them. They hunted down their relatives, the Israelites, and showed them no mercy. Their anger had no limits, and they never let it die.

Ammon The Lord says, "The people of Ammon have sinned again and again, and for this I will certainly punish them. In their wars for more territory they even ripped open pregnant women in Gilead.

The Lord says, "The people of Moab have sinned again and again, and for this I will certainly punish them. They dishonored the bones of the king of Edom by burning them to ashes.

Judah The Lord says, "The people of Judah have sinned again and again, and for this I will certainly punish them. They have despised my teachings and have not kept my commands. They have been led astray by the same false gods that their ancestors served.

The Lord says, "The people of Israel have sinned again and again, and for this I will certainly punish them. They sell into slavery honest people who cannot pay their debts, the poor who cannot repay even the price of a pair of sandals.

They trample down the weak and helpless and push the poor out of the way. A man and his father have intercourse with the same slave woman, and so profane my holy name.

The Lord says, "These people fill their mansions with things taken by crime and violence. They don't even know how to be honest.

Go and look at the city of Calneh. Then go on to the great city of Hamath and on down to the Philistine city of Gath. Were they any better than the kingdoms of Judah and Israel? Was their territory larger than yours?

In my vision I saw the locusts eat up every green thing in the land, and then I said, "Sovereign Lord , forgive your people! How can they survive? They are so small and weak!"