Study Desk

I will make my people strong, and they will live as I say," says the Lord .

I don't feel sorry anymore for the people of this country," says the Lord . "I will let everyone be under the power of his neighbor and king. They will bring trouble to the country, and I will not save anyone from them."

The Lord said to me, "Throw the money to the potter." That is how little they thought I was worth. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them to the potter in the Temple of the Lord .

"I will make Jerusalem like a cup of poison to the nations around her. They will come and attack Jerusalem and Judah.

"At that time I will make the leaders of Judah like a fire burning a stack of wood or like a fire burning straw. They will destroy all the people around them left and right. But the people of Jerusalem will remain safe.

"I will pour out on David's family and the people in Jerusalem a spirit of kindness and mercy. They will look at me, the one they have stabbed, and they will cry like someone crying over the death of an only child. They will be as sad as someone who has lost a firstborn son.

"At that time the prophets will be ashamed of their visions and prophecies. They won't wear the prophet's clothes made of hair to trick people.

The Lord says, "Two-thirds of the people through all the land will die. They will be gone, and one-third will be left.

The third that is left I will test with fire, purifying them like silver, testing them like gold. Then they will call on me, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘You are my people,' and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God.'"

I will bring all the nations together to fight Jerusalem. They will capture the city and rob the houses and attack the women. Half the people will be taken away as captives, but the rest of the people won't be taken from the city.

But the Lord will bring a terrible disease on the nations that fought against Jerusalem. Their flesh will rot away while they are still standing up. Their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.

At that time the Lord will cause panic. Everybody will grab his neighbor, and they will attack each other.

The people of Edom might say, "We were destroyed, but we will go back and rebuild the ruins." But the Lord All-Powerful says, "If they rebuild them, I will destroy them. People will say, ‘Edom is a wicked country. The Lord is always angry with the Edomites.'

"From the east to the west I will be honored among the nations. Everywhere they will bring incense and clean offerings to me, because I will be honored among the nations," says the Lord All-Powerful.

"My agreement for priests was with the tribe of Levi. I promised them life and peace so they would honor me. And they did honor me and fear me.

They taught the true teachings and spoke no lies. With peace and honesty they did what I said they should do, and they kept many people from sinning.

The people of Judah have broken their promises. They have done something God hates in Israel and Jerusalem: The people of Judah did not respect the Temple that the Lord loves, and the men of Judah married women who worship foreign gods.

God made husbands and wives to become one body and one spirit for his purpose—so they would have children who are true to God. So be careful, and do not break your promise to the wife you married when you were young.

The Lord God of Israel says, "I hate divorce. And I hate people who do cruel things as easily as they put on clothes," says the Lord All-Powerful. So be careful. And do not break your trust.

Like someone who heats and purifies silver, he will purify the Levites and make them pure like gold and silver. Then they will bring offerings to the Lord in the right way.