Study Desk

For the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, has said: "By repentance and rest you would be saved; your strength would lie in quiet confidence-but you were not willing."

Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore He rises to show you compassion, for the LORD is a just God. Blessed are all who wait for Him.

Then He will send rain for the seed that you have sown in the ground, and the food that comes from your land will be rich and plentiful. On that day your cattle will graze in open pastures.

For Assyria will be shattered at the voice of the LORD. He will strike with a rod.

For Topheth has long been prepared; it has been made ready for the king. Its funeral pyre is deep and wide, with plenty of fire and wood. The breath of the LORD, like a torrent of brimstone, sets it ablaze.

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel; they do not seek the LORD.

For this is what the LORD has said to me: "Like a lion roaring or a young lion over its prey-and though a band of shepherds is called out against it, it is not terrified by their shouting or subdued by their clamor-so the LORD of Hosts will come down to do battle on Mount Zion and its heights.

For on that day, every one of you will reject the idols of silver and gold that your own hands have sinfully made.

Their rock will pass away for fear, and their princes will panic at the sight of the battle standard," declares the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, whose furnace is in Jerusalem.

For a fool speaks foolishness; his mind plots iniquity. He practices ungodliness and speaks falsely about the LORD; he leaves the hungry empty and deprives the thirsty of drink.

But a noble man makes honorable plans; he stands up for worthy causes.

In a little more than a year you will tremble, O secure ones. For the grape harvest will fail and the fruit harvest will not arrive.

Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vines,

and for the land of my people, overgrown with thorns and briers-even for every house of merriment in this city of revelry.

For the palace will be forsaken, the busy city abandoned. The hill and the watchtower will become caves forever-the delight of wild donkeys and a pasture for flocks-

O LORD, be gracious to us! We wait for You. Be our strength every morning and our salvation in time of trouble.

The LORD is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.

There will be times of security for you-a storehouse of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the LORD is Zion's treasure.

But there the Majestic One, our LORD, will be for us a place of rivers and wide canals, where no galley with oars will go, and majestic vessels will not pass.

For the LORD is our Judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our King. He will save us.