Study Desk

Behold, the land of the Chaldeans—this is the people that did not exist; Assyria allocated it for desert creatures—they erected their siege towers, they stripped its palaces, they made it a ruin.

Therefore, a curse devours the earth, and those who live on it suffer for their guilt. Therefore, the inhabitants of the earth decrease in number, and few people are left.

The earth trembles like a heavy drinker And sways like a hut, For its wrongdoing is heavy upon it, And it will fall, never to rise again.

For You have turned a city into a heap, A fortified city into a ruin; A palace of strangers is no longer a city, It will never be rebuilt.

Therefore a strong people will glorify You; Cities of ruthless nations will revere You.

For You have been a stronghold for the helpless, A stronghold for the poor in his distress, A refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat; For the breath of the ruthless Is like a rain storm against a wall.

Like heat in a dry land, You subdue the uproar of foreigners; Like heat by the shadow of a cloud, the song of the ruthless is silenced.

Now the LORD of armies will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain; A banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow, And refined, aged wine.

For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain, And Moab will be trampled down in his place As straw is trampled down in the water of a manure pile.

And he will spread out his hands in the middle of it As a swimmer spreads out his hands to swim, But the Lord will lay low his pride together with the trickery of his hands.

On that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: "We have a strong city; He sets up walls and ramparts for security.

LORD, they sought You in distress; They could only whisper a prayer, Your discipline was upon them.

Come, my people, enter your rooms And close your doors behind you; Hide for a little while Until indignation runs its course.

On that day, "A vineyard of beauty, sing of it!

For the fortified city is isolated, A homestead deserted and abandoned like the desert; There the calf will graze, And there it will lie down and feed on its branches.

When its limbs are dry, they are broken off; Women come and make a fire with them, For they are not a people of discernment, Therefore their Maker will not have compassion on them. And their Creator will not be gracious to them.

It will come about also on that day that a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were perishing in the land of Assyria and who were scattered in the land of Egypt will come and worship the LORD on the holy mountain in Jerusalem.

Behold, the Lord has a strong and mighty agent; As a storm of hail, a tempest of destruction, Like a storm of mighty overflowing waters, He has thrown it down to the earth with His hand.

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

A spirit of justice for him who sits in judgment, A strength to those who repel the onslaught at the gate.