Study Desk

The cities of Aroer are abandoned;they will be places for flocks.They will lie down without fear.

For you have forgotten the God of your salvation,and you have failed to rememberthe rock of your strength;therefore you will plant beautiful plantsand set out cuttings from exotic vines.

For the Lord said to me:

For before the harvest, when the blossoming is overand the blossom becomes a ripening grape,he will cut off the shoots with a pruning knife,and tear away and remove the branches.

They will all be left for the birds of prey on the hillsand for the wild animals of the land.The birds of prey will spend the summer feeding on them,and all the wild animals the winter.

No head or tail, palm or reed,will be able to do anything for Egypt.

And the inhabitants of this coastland will say on that day, ‘Look, this is what has happened to those we relied on and fled to for help to rescue us from the king of Assyria! Now, how will we escape?’”

For the Lord has said to me,“Go, post a lookout;let him report what he sees.

Bring water for the thirsty.The inhabitants of the land of Temameet the refugees with food.

For they have fled from swords,from the drawn sword,from the bow that is strung,and from the stress of battle.

For the Lord said this to me: “Within one year, as a hired worker counts years, all the glory of Kedar will be gone.

The remaining Kedarite archers will be few in number.” For the Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.

For the Lord God of Armieshad a day of tumult, trampling, and confusionin the Valley of Vision—people shouting and crying to the mountains;

You made a reservoir between the walls for the water of the ancient pool, but you did not look to the one who made it, or consider the one who created it long ago.

On that day the Lord God of Armiescalled for weeping, for wailing, for shaven heads,and for the wearing of sackcloth.

But look: joy and gladness,butchering of cattle, slaughtering of sheep and goats,eating of meat, and drinking of wine—“Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”

The Lord of Armies has directly revealed to me:“This iniquity will not be wiped out for you people as long as you live.”The Lord God of Armies has spoken.

What are you doing here? Who authorized you to carve out a tomb for yourself here, carving your tomb on the height and cutting a resting place for yourself out of rock?

“On that day I will call for my servant, Eliakim son of Hilkiah.

I will drive him, like a peg, into a firm place. He will be a throne of honor for his father’s family.