Study Desk

I said, ‘Plant goodness, harvest the fruit of loyalty, plow the new ground of knowledge. Look for the Lord until he comes and pours goodness on you like water.'

"Israel, how can I give you up? How can I give you away, Israel? I don't want to make you like Admah or treat you like Zeboiim. My heart beats for you, and my love for you stirs up my pity.

The Lord also has some things against Judah. He will punish Israel for what they have done; he will give them what they deserve.

When Jacob wrestled with the angel and won, he cried and asked for his blessing. Later, God met with him at Bethel and spoke with him there.

Your ancestor Jacob fled to Northwest Mesopotamia where he worked to get a wife; he tended sheep to pay for her.

But the Israelites made the Lord angry when they killed other people, and they deserve to die for their crimes. The Lord will make them pay for the disgraceful things they have done.

I cared for them in the desert where it was hot and dry.

The sins of Israel are on record, stored away, waiting for punishment.

The pain of birth will come for him, but he is like a foolish baby who won't come out of its mother's womb.

The Lord says, "I will forgive them for leaving me and will love them freely, because I am not angry with them anymore.

Be sad, farmers. Cry loudly, you who grow grapes. Cry for the wheat and the barley. Cry because the harvest of the field is lost.

Call for a day when everyone fasts! Tell everyone to stop work! Bring the elders and everyone who lives in the land to the Temple of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord .

Though we planted fig seeds, they lie dry and dead in the dirt. The barns are empty and falling down. The storerooms for grain have been broken down, because the grain has dried up.

Lord , I am calling to you for help, because fire has burned up the open pastures, and flames have burned all the trees in the field.

It is like the noise of chariots rumbling over the tops of the mountains, like the noise of a roaring fire burning dry stalks. They are like a powerful army lined up for battle.

Who knows? Maybe he will turn back to you and leave behind a blessing for you. Grain and drink offerings belong to the Lord your God.

Blow the trumpet in Jerusalem; call for a day when everyone fasts. Tell everyone to stop work.

Bring the people together and make the meeting holy for the Lord . Bring together the elders, as well as the children, and even babies that still feed at their mothers' breasts. The bridegroom should come from his room, the bride from her bedroom.

Then the Lord became concerned about his land and felt sorry for his people.

So be happy, people of Jerusalem; be joyful in the Lord your God. Because he does what is right, he has brought you rain; he has sent the fall rain and the spring rain for you, as before.