Study Desk

All those who are your friends will force you out of the land. Those who were at peace with you will trick you, and they will defeat you. The soldiers who fought by your side are planning a trap for you. They say, ‘He doesn't expect a thing!'"

You joined the enemies of Israel. Strangers carried Israel's treasures away. Foreigners entered Israel's city gate. They threw lots to decide what part of Jerusalem they would get. And you were right there with them, waiting to get your share.

The family of Jacob will be like a fire. The nation of Joseph will be like a flame. But the nation of Esau will be like ashes. The people of Judah will burn Edom, and they will destroy it. Then there will be no survivors in the nation of Esau." This will happen because the Lord said it would.

Then people from the Negev will live on the mountain of Esau. And people from the foothills will take the Philistine lands. They will live in the land of Ephraim and Samaria. Gilead will belong to Benjamin.

People from Israel were forced to leave their homes, but they will take back the land of Canaan, all the way to Zarephath. People from Judah were forced to leave Jerusalem and live in Sepharad. But they will take back the cities of the Negev.

The men wanted to make the boat lighter to stop it from sinking, so they began throwing the cargo into the sea. The sailors were very afraid. Each man began praying to his god. Jonah had gone down into the boat to lie down, and he went to sleep.

Instead, the men tried to row the ship back to the shore, but they couldn't do it. The wind and the waves of the sea were too strong—and they were becoming stronger and stronger.

When the men saw this, they began to fear and respect the Lord . They offered a sacrifice and made special promises to the Lord .

But every person and every animal must be covered with a special cloth to show they are sad. People must cry loudly to God. Everyone must change their life and stop doing bad things.

God saw what the people did. He saw that they stopped doing evil. So God changed his mind and did not do what he planned. He did not punish the people.

If you can get upset over a plant, surely I can feel sorry for a big city like Nineveh. There are many people and animals in that city. There are more than 120,000 people there who did not know they were doing wrong."

They want fields, so they take them. They want houses, so they take them. They cheat a man and take his house and his land.

Then people will sing songs about you. They will sing this sad song: ‘We are ruined! The Lord took away our land and gave it to other people. Yes, he took my land away from me. He has divided our fields among our enemies.

These people don't want to listen to me. But if a man comes telling lies, they will accept him. They would accept a false prophet if he comes and says, "There will be good times in the future, with plenty of wine and beer."

The "One Who Breaks Through Walls" will push through and walk to the front of his people. They will break through the gates and leave that city. They will leave with their king marching before them— with the Lord at the front of his people.

"This is why it is like night for you and you don't have visions. You cannot see what will happen in the future, so it is like darkness to you. The sun has gone down on the prophets. They cannot see what will happen in the future, so it is like darkness to them.

Then God will act as judge to end arguments between people in many places. He will decide what is right for great nations far and near. They will stop using their weapons for war. They will hammer their swords into plows and use their spears to make tools for harvesting. All fighting between nations will end. They will never again train for war.

They will sit under their own grapevine and fig tree. No one will make them afraid. That is because the Lord All-Powerful said it would happen like that.

He will begin to rule Israel in the power of the Lord . Like a shepherd, he will lead his people in the wonderful name of the Lord his God. And they will live in safety because then his greatness will be known all over the world.

With swords in hand our leaders will defeat the Assyrians and rule the land of Nimrod. They will save us from the Assyrians when they come into our land and march through our territory.