Study Desk

You will see how they live and all the bad things they do. Then you will know that I had a good reason for punishing them." This is what the Lord God said.

No one felt sorry for you or took care of you. On the day you were born, your parents threw you out into the field, because no one wanted you.

I looked you over. I saw you were ready for love, so I spread my clothes over you and covered your nakedness. I promised to marry you. I made the agreement with you, and you became mine.'" This is what the Lord God said.

You became famous for your beauty, all because I made you so lovely!'" This is what the Lord God said.

You took your beautiful clothes and used them to decorate your places for worship. And you acted like a prostitute there. You gave yourself to every man who came by!

Then you took the beautiful cloth and made clothes for those statues. You took the perfume and incense I gave you and put it in front of those idols.

"After all these evil things, … it will be very bad for you!" The Lord God said all these things.

"After all those things, you made a mound for worshiping that false god. You built those places for worshiping false gods on every street corner.

Then you went to Egypt, your neighbor that is always ready for sex. With more and more sexual sin, you made me angry.

God said, "But you were not exactly like a prostitute. You built your mounds at the head of every road, and you built your places for worship at every street corner. You had sex with all those men, but you did not ask them to pay you the way a prostitute does.

Most prostitutes force men to pay them for sex, but you gave money to your many lovers. You paid all the men around to come in to have sex with you.

I will let those lovers have you. They will destroy your mounds. They will burn your places for worship. They will tear off your clothes and take your beautiful jewelry. They will leave you bare and naked as you were when I found you .

Why will all these things happen? Because you did not remember what happened when you were young. You did all those bad things and made me angry. So I had to punish you for doing them, but you planned even more terrible things." This is what the Lord God said.

Now you must suffer for the terrible things you did." This is what the Lord said.

I will bring your sisters to you, and I will make them your daughters. That was not in our agreement, but I will do that for you. Then you will remember the terrible things you did, and you will be ashamed.

"Son of man, I have a story with a hidden meaning for you to tell the family of Israel.

Then another eagle with big wings saw the grapevine. The eagle had many feathers. The grapevine wanted this new eagle to care for it. So it stretched its roots and branches toward the eagle. Its branches stretched toward this eagle. The branches grew away from the field where it was planted. The grapevine wanted the new eagle to water it.

But this new king tried to rebel against Nebuchadnezzar anyway! He sent messengers to Egypt to ask for help. The new king asked for many horses and soldiers. Now, do you think the new king of Judah will succeed? Do you think the new king will have enough power to break the agreement and escape punishment?"

He lends money to people who need it, but he forces them to pay interest on the loan. The evil son will not be allowed to live. He will be put to death because he did such terrible things, and he will be responsible for his own death.

He helps the poor. If people want to borrow money, the good son lends them the money, and he does not charge interest on the loan. He obeys my laws and follows them. He will not be put to death for his father's sins. The good son will live.