Study Desk

For this is what the LORD says: "Behold, an eagle swoops down and spreads his wings against Moab.

Concerning the Ammonites, this is what the LORD says: "Has Israel no sons? Is he without heir? Why then has Molech taken possession of Gad and his people settled in their cities?

Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai has been destroyed; cry out, O daughters of Rabbah! Put on sackcloth and mourn; run back and forth within your walls, for Molech will go into exile together with his priests and officials.

But I will strip Esau bare; I will uncover his hiding places, and he will be unable to conceal himself. His descendants will be destroyed along with his relatives and neighbors, and he will be no more.

Cut off the sower from Babylon, and the one who wields the sickle at harvest time. In the face of the oppressor's sword, each will turn to his own people, each will flee to his own land.

Israel is a scattered flock, chased away by lions. The first to devour him was the king of Assyria; the last to crush his bones was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon."

Therefore, this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: "I will punish the king of Babylon and his land as I punished the king of Assyria.

I will return Israel to his pasture, and he will graze on Carmel and Bashan; his soul will be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and Gilead.

The LORD has opened His armory and brought out His weapons of wrath, for it is the work of the Lord GOD of Hosts in the land of the Chaldeans.

Listen to the fugitives and refugees from the land of Babylon, declaring in Zion the vengeance of the LORD our God, the vengeance for His temple.

The arrogant one will stumble and fall with no one to pick him up. And I will kindle a fire in his cities to consume all those around him."

Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD of Hosts is His name. He will fervently plead their case so that He may bring rest to the earth, but turmoil to those who live in Babylon.

The king of Babylon has heard the report, and his hands hang limp. Distress has seized him, pain like that of a woman in labor.

Do not let the archer bend his bow or put on his armor. Do not spare her young men; devote all her army to destruction!

"We tried to heal Babylon, but she could not be healed. Abandon her! Let each of us go to his own land, for her judgment extends to the sky and reaches to the clouds."

Sharpen the arrows! Take up the shields! The LORD has aroused the spirit of the kings of the Medes, because His plan is aimed at Babylon to destroy her, for it is the vengeance of the LORD-vengeance for His temple.

He made the earth by His power; He established the world by His wisdom and stretched out the heavens by His understanding.

When He thunders, the waters in the heavens roar, and He causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain and brings forth the wind from His storehouses.

Every man is senseless and devoid of knowledge. Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, for his molten images are a lie, and there is no breath in them.

Jacob's Portion is not like these, for He is the Maker of all things, and of the tribe of His inheritance-the LORD of Hosts is His name.