Study Desk

Israel will not return to the land of Egyptand Assyria will be his king,because they refused to repent.

A sword will whirl through his cities;it will destroy and devour the bars of his gates,because of their schemes.

They will follow the Lord;he will roar like a lion.When he roars,his children will come trembling from the west.

The Lord also has a dispute with Judah.He is about to punish Jacob according to his conduct;he will repay him based on his actions.

In the womb he grasped his brother’s heel,and as an adult he wrestled with God.

Jacob struggled with the angel and prevailed;he wept and sought his favor.He found him at Bethel,and there he spoke with him.

The Lord is the God of Armies;the Lord is his name.

A merchant loves to extortwith dishonest scales in his hands.

Ephraim has provoked bitter anger,so his Lord will leave his bloodguilt on himand repay him for his contempt.

Ephraim’s guilt is preserved;his sin is stored up.

Although he flourishes among his brothers,an east wind will come,a wind from the Lord rising up from the desert.His water source will fail,and his spring will run dry.The wind will plunder the treasuryof every precious item.

His new branches will spread,and his splendor will be like the olive tree,his fragrance, like the forest of Lebanon.

The people will return and live beneath his shade.They will grow grainand blossom like the vine.His renown will be like the wine of Lebanon.

They attack as warriors attack;they scale walls as men of war do.Each goes on his own path,and they do not change their course.

They do not push each other;each proceeds on his own path.They dodge the arrows, never stopping.

The Lord makes his voice heardin the presence of his army.His camp is very large;those who carry out his command are powerful.Indeed, the day of the Lord is terrible and dreadful—who can endure it?

Gather the people;sanctify the congregation;assemble the aged;gather the infants,even babies nursing at the breast.Let the groom leave his bedroom,and the bride her honeymoon chamber.

Then the Lord became jealous for his land and spared his people.

The Lord answered his people:

I will drive the northerner far from youand banish him to a dry and desolate land,his front ranks into the Dead Sea,and his rear guard into the Mediterranean Sea.His stench will rise;yes, his rotten smell will rise,for he has done astonishing things.