Study Desk

The priests are like robbers waiting to attack people; they murder people on the road to Shechem and do wicked things.

When I heal Israel, Israel's sin will go away, and so will Samaria's evil. "They cheat a lot! Thieves break into houses, and robbers are in the streets.

All these people are as hot as an oven; they burn up their rulers. All their kings fall, and no one calls on me.

Israel has become like a pigeon— easy to fool and stupid. First they call to Egypt for help. Then they run to Assyria.

They do not call to me from their hearts. They just lie on their beds and cry. They come together to ask for grain and new wine, but they really turn away from me.

Though I trained them and gave them strength, they have made evil plans against me.

They did not turn to the Most High God. They are like a loose bow that can't shoot. Because their leaders brag about their strength, they will be killed with swords, and the people in Egypt will laugh at them.

They chose their own kings without asking my permission. They chose their own leaders, people I did not know. They made their silver and gold into idols, and for all this they will be destroyed.

Although Israel is mixed among the nations, I will gather them together. They will become weaker and weaker as they suffer under the great king of Assyria.

I have written many teachings for them, but they think the teachings are strange and foreign.

The Israelites offer sacrifices to me as gifts and eat the meat, but the Lord is not pleased with them. He remembers the evil they have done, and he will punish them for their sins. They will be slaves again as they were in Egypt.

The people will not stay in the Lord 's land. Israel will return to being captives as they were in Egypt, and in Assyria they will eat food that they are not allowed to eat.

The Israelites will not give offerings of wine to the Lord ; they will not give him sacrifices. Their sacrifices will be like food that is eaten at a funeral; it is unclean, and everyone who eats it becomes unclean. Their food will only satisfy their hunger; they cannot sacrifice it in the Temple.

The people of Israel have gone deep into sin as the people of Gibeah did. The Lord will remember the evil things they have done, and he will punish their sins.

"When I found Israel, it was like finding grapes in the desert. Your ancestors were like finding the first figs on the fig tree. But when they came to Baal Peor, they began worshiping an idol, and they became as hateful as the thing they worshiped.

Israel is beaten down; its root is dying, and it has no fruit. If they have more children, I will kill the children they love."

Their heart was false, and now they must pay for their guilt. The Lord will break down their altars; he will destroy their holy stone pillars.

They make many false promises and agreements which they don't keep. So people sue each other in court; they are like poisonous weeds growing in a plowed field.

The people from Israel are worried about the calf-shaped idol at Beth Aven. The people will cry about it, and the priests will cry about it. They used to shout for joy about its glory,

The places of false worship will be destroyed, the places where Israel sins. Thorns and weeds will grow up and cover their altars. Then they will say to the mountains, "Cover us!" and to the hills, "Fall on us!"