Study Desk

And He will judge between many peoples And render decisions for mighty, distant nations. Then they will beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation will not lift a sword against nation, And never again will they train for war.

"But they do not know the thoughts of the LORD, And they do not understand His plan; For He has gathered them like sheaves to the threshing floor.

And He will arise and shepherd His flock In the strength of the LORD, In the majesty of the name of the LORD His God. And they will remain, Because at that time He will be great To the ends of the earth.

They will shepherd the land of Assyria with the sword, The land of Nimrod at its entrances; And He will rescue us from the Assyrian When he invades our land, And when he tramples our territory.

As for evil, both hands do it well. The leader asks for a bribe, also the judge, And the great one speaks the capricious desire of his soul; So they plot it together.

It will be a day when they will come to you From Assyria and the cities of Egypt, From Egypt even to the Euphrates River, Even from sea to sea and mountain to mountain.

Nations will see and be ashamed Of all their might. They will put their hand on their mouth, Their ears will be deaf.

They will lick up dust like a snake, Like reptiles of the earth. They will come trembling out of their fortresses; To the LORD our God they will come in trepidation, And they will be afraid of You.

Like tangled thorns, And like those who are drunken with their drink, They are consumed Like stubble completely dried up.

This is what the LORD says: "Though they are at full strength and so they are many, So also they will be cut off and pass away. Though I have afflicted you, I will afflict you no longer.

The chariots drive wildly in the streets, They rush around in the public squares; Their appearance is like torches, They drive back and forth like lightning flashes.

He remembers his officers; They stumble in their advance, They hurry to her wall, And the mantelet is set up.

Horsemen charging, Swords flashing, spears gleaming, Many killed, a mass of corpses, And there is no end to the dead bodies— They stumble over the dead bodies!

Yet she became an exile, She went into captivity; Also her small children were smashed to pieces At the head of every street; They cast lots for her honorable men, And all her great men were bound with shackles.

Your courtiers are like the migratory locust. Your officials are like a swarm of locusts Settling in the stone shelters on a cold day. The sun rises and they flee, And the place where they are is not known.

"They are terrifying and feared; Their justice and authority originate with themselves.

"Their horses are faster than leopards, And quicker than wolves in the evening. Their horsemen charge along, Their horsemen come from afar; They fly like an eagle swooping down to devour.

"They make fun of kings, And dignitaries are an object of laughter to them. They laugh at every fortress, Then heap up dirt and capture it.

"Then they fly along like the wind and pass on. But they will be held guilty, They whose strength is their god."

Your eyes are too pure to look at evil, And You cannot look at harm favorably. Why do You look favorably At those who deal treacherously? Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up Those more righteous than they?