Study Desk

"I also stopped the rain, and it was three months before harvest time. So no crops grew. Then I let it rain on one city, but not on another city. Rain fell on one part of the country, but on the other part of the country, the land became very dry.

So the people from two or three cities staggered to another city to get water, but there was not enough water for everyone. Still you didn't come to me for help." This is what the Lord said.

"So, Israel, this is what I will do to you. You people of Israel, prepare to meet your God."

You say that God is with you, so you should do good things, not evil. Then you will live, and the Lord God All-Powerful will be with you.

So I will send you as captives, far beyond Damascus." This is what the Lord says. His name is God All-Powerful.

Oh, look at the people enjoying life in Zion, and those on Mount Samaria who feel so safe. They are such important leaders of a most important nation. The "House of Israel" comes to you for advice.

The Lord God used his own name and made an oath. The Lord God All-Powerful said, "I hate what Jacob is proud of. I hate his strong towers. So I will let an enemy take the city and everything in it."

And when someone dies, a relative will come to get the body so that it can be taken out and burned. Relatives will come to take away the bones. They will call to anyone who might be hiding back in the house, "Are there any other dead bodies in there with you?" That person will answer, "No, …." But the relative will interrupt and say, "Hush! We must not mention the name of the Lord ."

You are so excited about defeating Lo Debar. And you boast, "We have taken Karnaim by our own strength."

Amaziah, a priest at Bethel, sent this message to Jeroboam, the king of Israel: "Amos is making plans against you. He is trying to make the people of Israel fight against you. He has been speaking so much that this country cannot hold all his words.

So listen to the Lord 's message. You tell me, ‘Don't prophesy against Israel. Don't speak against Isaac's family.'

You merchants say, "When will the New Moon be over so that we can sell grain? When will the Sabbath be over so that we can bring out more wheat to sell? We can raise the price and make the measure smaller. We can fix the scales and cheat the people.

The poor cannot pay their loans, so we will buy them as slaves. We will buy those helpless people for the price of a pair of sandals. Oh, and we can sell the wheat that was spilled on the floor."

Your pride has fooled you. You live in those caves high on the cliff. Your home is high in the hills. So you say to yourself, ‘No one can bring me to the ground.'"

You will be covered with shame because you were very cruel to your brother Jacob. So you will be destroyed completely.

You spilled blood on my holy mountain, so other nations will spill your blood. You will be finished. It will be as if you never existed.

"Nineveh is a big city. I have heard about the many evil things the people are doing there. So go there and tell them to stop doing such evil things."

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.

Then the men said to each other, "We should throw lots to find out why this is happening to us." So the men threw lots. The lots showed that the troubles came to them because of Jonah.

The wind and the waves of the sea were becoming stronger and stronger. So the men said to Jonah, "What should we do to save ourselves? What should we do to you to make the sea calm?"