Study Desk

Then something bad happens and they lose everything. So they have nothing to give to their children.

A man might live a long time and have 100 children. But if he is not satisfied with those good things, and if no one remembers him after his death, I say that a baby who dies at birth is better off than that man.

Heaven and earth, listen! This is what the Lord says: "I raised my children and helped them grow up, but they have turned against me.

Oh, what a sinful nation! Their guilt is like a heavy weight that they must carry. They are evil, destructive children. They left the Lord and insulted the Holy One of Israel. They turned away and treated him like a stranger.

Even children will defeat my people, and women will rule over them. My people, your guides lead you the wrong way, and they destroy the path you should follow.

Here I am with the children the Lord has given me. We are here as signs from the Lord All-Powerful, who lives on Mount Zion. He is using us to show his plans for the people of Israel.

People looked to the right and grabbed whatever they could, but they were still hungry. They grabbed whatever was on their left, but still they were not satisfied. So they turned on themselves and began to eat the bodies of their own children.

Everything in their houses will be stolen. Their wives will be raped, and their little children will be beaten to death while they watch.

They will walk on the bows of the young soldiers of Babylon. The enemy soldiers will not show any kindness or mercy even to the babies and young children.

Prepare to kill his children, because their father is guilty. His children will never take control of the land. They will never fill the world with their cities.

The Lord All-Powerful said, "I will stand and fight against those people. I will destroy the famous city, Babylon. I will destroy all the people there. I will destroy their children, their grandchildren, and their great-grandchildren." The Lord himself said this.

But even the poorest of my people will be able to eat safely. And their children will be able to lie down and feel safe. But I will make your family die from hunger, and your enemy will kill anyone who survives.

All the honored and important things of his father's house will hang on him. All the adults and little children will depend on him. They will be like little dishes and big water bottles hanging on him."

Sidon, you should be very sad, because now the Sea and the Fort of the Sea say, "I have no children. I have never felt the pain of birth; I have never given birth to children. I have never raised young men and women."

Yes, when they see all their children, the children I myself have made for them, they will honor my name as holy. They will respect the God of Israel.

The Lord said, "Look at these children. They don't obey me. They make plans, but they don't ask me to help them. They make agreements with other nations, but my Spirit does not want those agreements. These people are adding more and more sins to the ones they have already done.

These people are like children who refuse to obey. They lie and refuse to listen to the Lord 's teachings.

People who are alive, people like me, are the ones who will praise you. Fathers should tell their children about how faithful you are.

Hezekiah asked Isaiah, "What is the sign that proves I will get well and go to the Lord 's Temple?" This is the sign from the Lord to show you that he will do what he says: "Look, I am causing the shadow that is on the steps of Ahaz to move back ten steps. The sun's shadow will go back up the ten steps that it has already been on." This is the letter from Hezekiah when he became well: I thought I would live a full life. But now, in the middle of my life, the time has come for me to die. So I said, "I will not see the Lord Yah in the land of the living again. I will not see the people living on earth. My home, my shepherd's tent, is being pulled down and taken from me. I am finished like the cloth someone rolls up and cuts from the loom. You ended my life in such a short time. All night I cried as loud as a lion, but my hopes were crushed like a lion eating bones. You finished my life in such a short time. I cried like a bird and moaned like a dove. My eyes became tired, but I continued looking to the heavens. Lord, I am so depressed. Promise to help me." What can I say? He told me what would happen, and he will make it happen. I have had these troubles in my soul, so now I will be humble all my life. Lord, use this hard time to make my spirit live again. Help my spirit become strong and healthy. Help me become well! Help me live again! Look, my troubles are gone! I now have peace. You love me very much. You did not let me rot in the grave. You took my sins and threw them away. The dead cannot praise you. People in Sheol cannot sing praises to you. Those who have died and gone below are not trusting in your faithfulness. People who are alive, people like me, are the ones who will praise you. Fathers should tell their children about how faithful you are. So I say, "The Lord saved me. So we will sing and play songs in the Lord 's Temple all our lives."

"So don't be afraid, because I am with you. I will gather your children and bring them to you. I will gather them from the east and from the west.