Study Desk

This is what the LORD says: "For three offenses of Judah, and for four, I will not revoke its punishment, Because they rejected the Law of the LORD And have not kept His statutes; Their lies also have led them astray, Those which their fathers followed.

This is what the LORD says: "For three offenses of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke its punishment, Because they sell the righteous for money, And the needy for a pair of sandals.

"And on garments seized 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 the LORD, "these who store up violence and devastation in their citadels."

The Lord GOD has sworn by His holiness, "For behold, the days are coming upon you When they will take you away with meat hooks, And the last of you with fish hooks.

They hate him who rebukes in the gate, And they despise him who speaks with integrity.

Therefore this is what the LORD God of armies, the Lord says: "There is mourning in all the public squares, And in all the streets they say, 'Oh no! Oh no!' They also call the farmer to mourning And professional mourners to mourning rites.

Go 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 is their territory greater than yours?

Therefore, they will now go into exile at the head of the exiles, And the revelry of those who lounge around will come to an end.

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, House of Israel," declares the LORD God of armies, "And they will torment you from the entrance of Hamath To the brook of the Arabah."

"People will stagger from sea to sea And from the north even to the east; They will roam about to seek the word of the LORD, But they will not find it.

"As for those who swear by the guilt of Samaria, And say, 'As your god lives, Dan,' And, 'As the way of Beersheba lives,' They will fall and not rise again."

I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and He said, "Strike the pillar capitals so that the thresholds will shake, And break them on the heads of them all! Then I will put to death the rest of them with the sword; They will not have a fugitive who will flee, Nor a survivor who will escape.

"Though they dig into Sheol, From there My hand will take them; And though they ascend to heaven, From there I will bring them down.

"And though they hide on the summit of Carmel, I will track them down and take them from there; And though they hide themselves from My sight on the bottom of the sea, I will command the serpent from there, and it will bite them.

"And though they go into captivity before their enemies, From there I will command the sword and it will kill them, And I will set My eyes against them for harm and not for good."

So that they may possess the remnant of Edom And all the nations who are called by My name," Declares the LORD who does this.

"I will also restore the fortunes of My people Israel, And they will rebuild the desolated cities and live in them; They will also plant vineyards and drink their wine, And make gardens and eat their fruit.

"I will also plant them on their land, And they will not be uprooted again from their land Which I have given them," Says the LORD your God.