Study Desk

And the fading flower of its glorious beauty, Which is at the head of the fertile valley, Will be like the first-ripe fig prior to the summer, Which one sees, And as soon as it is in his hand, He swallows it.

On that day the LORD of armies will become a beautiful crown And a glorious wreath to the remnant of His people;

For the LORD will rise up as at Mount Perazim, He will be stirred up as in the Valley of Gibeon, To do His task, His unusual task, And to work His work, His extraordinary work.

Does the farmer plow continually to plant seed? Does he continually turn and break up his ground?

For his God instructs and teaches him properly.

Grain for bread is crushed, Indeed, he does not continue to thresh it forever. Because the wheel of his cart and his horses eventually damage it, He does not thresh it longer.

This also comes from the LORD of armies, Who has made His counsel wonderful and His wisdom great.

It will be as when a hungry person dreams— And behold, he is eating; But when he awakens, his hunger is not satisfied, Or as when a thirsty person dreams— And behold, he is drinking, But when he awakens, behold, he is faint And his thirst is not quenched. So will the multitude of all the nations be Who wage war against Mount Zion.

Therefore this is what the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, says concerning the house of Jacob: "Jacob will not be ashamed now, nor will his face turn pale now;

But when he sees his children, the work of My hands, in his midst, They will sanctify My name; Indeed, they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, And will stand in awe of the God of Israel.

And the light of the full moon will be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven days, on the day the LORD binds up the fracture of His people and heals the wound He has inflicted.

Behold, the name of the LORD comes from a remote place; His anger is burning and dense with smoke; His lips are filled with indignation, And His tongue is like a consuming fire;

His breath is like an overflowing river, Which reaches to the neck, To shake the nations back and forth in a sieve, And to put in the jaws of the peoples the bridle which leads astray.

And the LORD will cause His voice of authority to be heard, And the descending of His arm to be seen in fierce anger, And in the flame of a consuming fire In cloudburst, downpour, and hailstones.

Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster, And does not retract His words, But will arise against the house of evildoers, And against the help of the workers of injustice.

Now the Egyptians are human and not God, And their horses are flesh and not spirit; So the LORD will stretch out His hand, And any helper will stumble, And one who is helped will fall. And all of them will come to an end together.

For this is what the LORD says to me: "As the lion or the young lion growls over his prey, Against which a band of shepherds is called out, And he will not be terrified at their voice nor disturbed at their noise, So will the LORD of armies come down to wage war on Mount Zion and on its hill."

For on that day every person will reject his silver idols and his gold idols, which your hands have made for you as a sin.

And the Assyrian will fall by a sword not wielded by a man, And a sword not of man will devour him. So he will not escape the sword, And his young men will become forced laborers.

"His rock will pass away because of panic, And his officers will be terrified by the flag," Declares the LORD, whose fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.