Study Desk

Then I asked the angel, "What do these things stand for, sir?"

"What is it?" I asked. He replied, "It is a basket, and it stands for the sin of the whole land."

He answered, "To Babylonia, where they will build a temple for it. When the temple is finished, the basket will be placed there to be worshiped."

The people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regemmelech and their men to the Temple of the Lord Almighty to pray for the Lord 's blessing

and to ask the priests and the prophets this question: "Should we continue to mourn because of the destruction of the Temple, by fasting in the fifth month as we have done for so many years now?"

And when they ate and drank, it was for their own satisfaction."

"I have longed to help Jerusalem because of my deep love for her people, a love which has made me angry with her enemies.

"This may seem impossible to those of the nation who are now left, but it's not impossible for me.

"Have courage! You are now hearing the same words the prophets spoke at the time the foundation was being laid for rebuilding my Temple.

The Lord Almighty says, "When your ancestors made me angry, I planned disaster for them and did not change my mind, but carried out my plans.

"The fasts held in the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth months will become festivals of joy and gladness for the people of Judah. You must love truth and peace."

Those from one city will say to those from another, ‘We are going to worship the Lord Almighty and pray for his blessing. Come with us!'

Many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to worship the Lord Almighty and to pray for his blessing.

This is the Lord 's message: He has decreed punishment for the land of Hadrach and for the city of Damascus. Not only the tribes of Israel but also the capital of Syria belong to the Lord .

Tyre has built fortifications for herself and has piled up so much silver and gold that it is as common as dirt!

Rejoice, rejoice, people of Zion! Shout for joy, you people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you! He comes triumphant and victorious, but humble and riding on a donkey— on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Return, you exiles who now have hope; return to your place of safety. Now I tell you that I will repay you twice over with blessing for all you have suffered.

Ask the Lord for rain in the spring of the year. It is the Lord who sends rain clouds and showers, making the fields green for everyone.

I have put a shepherd in charge of my flock, but he does not help the sheep that are threatened by destruction; nor does he look for the lost, or heal those that are hurt, or feed the healthy. Instead, he eats the meat of the fattest sheep and tears off their hoofs.

"I will fill the descendants of David and the other people of Jerusalem with the spirit of mercy and the spirit of prayer. They will look at the one whom they stabbed to death, and they will mourn for him like those who mourn for an only child. They will mourn bitterly, like those who have lost their first-born son.