Study Desk

The crown has fallen from our head. Things have gone bad for us because we sinned.

For this reason, our hearts have become sick, and our eyes cannot see clearly.

You seem to have forgotten us forever. You seem to have left us alone for such a long time.

I went to the people of Israel who were forced to live in Tel Aviv by the Kebar Canal. I sat there among them for seven days, shocked and silent.

"Son of man, I am making you a watchman for Israel. I will tell you about bad things that will happen to them, and you must warn Israel.

If I say, ‘These evil people will die!' Then you must warn them. You must tell them to change their lives and stop doing evil. If you don't warn them, they will die because they sinned. But I will also make you responsible for their death, because you did not go to them and save their lives.

"If good people stop being good and begin to do evil, and I send something that makes them stumble and sin, they will die because they sinned. But since you did not warn them and remind them of the good things they had done, I will make you responsible for their death.

And then take an iron pan and put it between you and the city. It will be like an iron wall separating you and the city. In this way you will show that you are against it. You will surround the city and attack it. This is an example for the family of Israel to show that I will destroy Jerusalem.

"Then you must lie down on your left side. You must do this thing that shows that you are taking the sins of the people of Israel on yourself. You will carry the guilt for as many days as you lie on your left side.

You must bear the guilt of Israel for 390 days. In this way I am telling you how long Israel will be punished; one day equals one year.

"After that time, you will lie on your right side for 40 days. This time you will bear the guilt of Judah for 40 days. One day equals one year. I am telling you how long Judah must be punished.

That is because there will not be enough food and water for everyone. They will be terrified as they watch each other wasting away because of their sins.

The Lord God says, "Jerusalem, I promise by my life that I will punish you! I promise that I will punish you, because you did terrible things to my Holy Place. You did horrible things that made it dirty. I will punish you. I will not show any mercy or feel sorry for you.

Only then will I stop being angry with your people. I will know that they have been punished for the bad things they did to me. They will know that I am the Lord and that I spoke to them because of my strong love for them!"

People around you will make fun of you, but you will also be a lesson for them. They will see that I was angry and punished you. I was very angry and I warned you. I, the Lord , told you what I would do.

He said, "Son of man, turn toward the mountains of Israel and speak against them for me.

God said, "But I will let a few of your people escape. They will live in other countries for a short time. I will scatter them and force them to live in other countries.

Then the survivors will be taken as prisoners. They will be forced to live in other countries, but they will remember me. I broke their spirit. They will hate themselves for the evil things they did. In the past, they turned away from me and left me. They chased after their filthy idols. They were like a woman leaving her husband and running off with another man. They did many terrible things,

Only then will you know that I am the Lord . You will know this when you see your dead bodies in front of your filthy idols and around their altars. Those bodies will be near every one of your places for worship, on every high hill and mountain, under every green tree and every oak tree with leaves. You offered your sacrifices everywhere. They were a sweet smell for your filthy idols.

He said, "Now, son of man, here is a message from the Lord God . This message is for the land of Israel: "The end! The end is coming. The whole country will be destroyed.