Study Desk

You stood aside without helping while strangers carried Israel's treasures away. When foreigners entered Israel's city gate and threw lots to decide what part of Jerusalem they would take, you were like one of them.

Because you drank in my Temple, all the nations will drink on and on. They will drink and drink until they disappear.

Then God's people will regain southern Judah from Edom; they will take back the mountains of Edom. They will take back the western hills from the Philistines. They will regain the lands of Ephraim and Samaria, and Benjamin will take over Gilead.

Powerful warriors will go up on Mount Zion, where they will rule the people living on Edom's mountains. And the kingdom will belong to the Lord .

"Get up, go to the great city of Nineveh, and preach against it, because I see the evil things they do."

The sailors were afraid, and each man cried to his own god. They began throwing the cargo from the ship into the sea to make the ship lighter. But Jonah had gone down far inside the ship to lie down, and he fell fast asleep.

The men were very afraid, and they asked Jonah, "What terrible thing did you do?" (They knew he was running away from the Lord because he had told them.)

Since the wind and the waves of the sea were becoming much stronger, they said to him, "What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?"

So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea became calm.

Then they began to fear the Lord very much; they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made promises to him.

The people of Nineveh believed God. They announced that they would fast for a while, and they put on rough cloth to show their sadness. All the people in the city did this, from the most important to the least important.

When God saw what the people did, that they stopped doing evil, he changed his mind and did not do what he had warned. He did not punish them.

Pass on your way, naked and ashamed, you who live in Shaphir. Those who live in Zaanan won't come out. The people in Beth Ezel will cry, but they will not give you any support.

How terrible it will be for people who plan wickedness, who lie on their beds and make evil plans. When the morning light comes, they do what they planned, because they have the power to do so.

Someone will open the way and lead the people out. The people will break through the gate and leave the city where they were held captive. Their king will go out in front of them, and the Lord will lead them."

But I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the Lord , and with justice and strength, to tell the people of Jacob how they have turned against God, and the people of Israel how they have sinned.

Its judges take money to decide who wins in court. Its priests only teach for pay, and its prophets only look into the future when they get paid. But they lean on the Lord and say, "The Lord is here with us, so nothing bad will happen to us."

The Lord will judge many nations; he will make decisions about strong nations that are far away. They will hammer their swords into plow blades and their spears into hooks for trimming trees. Nations will no longer raise swords against other nations; they will not train for war anymore.

So, strong city, gather your soldiers together, because we are surrounded and attacked. They will hit the leader of Israel in the face with a club.

Those of Jacob's people who are left alive will be scattered among many nations and peoples. They will be like a lion among the animals of the forest, like a young lion in a flock of sheep: As it goes, it jumps on them and tears them to pieces, and no one can save them.