Study Desk

"Can the Ethiopian change his skin, Or the leopard his spots? Then you as well can do good Who are accustomed to doing evil.

"Hope of Israel, Its Savior in time of distress, Why are You like a stranger in the land, Or like a traveler who has pitched his tent for the night?

"Both great people and small will die in this land; they will not be buried, people will not mourn for them, nor will anyone make cuts on himself or have his head shaved for them.

'You too have done evil, even more than your forefathers; for behold, each one of you is following the stubbornness of his own evil heart, without listening to Me.

This is what the LORD says: "Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind And makes flesh his strength, And whose heart turns away from the LORD.

"I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, To give to each person according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds.

"As a partridge that hatches eggs which it has not laid, So is a person who makes a fortune, but unjustly; In the middle of his days it will abandon him, And in the end he will be a fool."

"So now, speak to the men of Judah and against the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, 'This is what the LORD says: "Behold, I am forming a disaster against you and devising a plan against you. Now turn back, each of you from his evil way, and correct your ways and your deeds!"'

"But they will say, 'It's hopeless! For we are going to follow our own plans, and each of us will persist in the stubbornness of his evil heart.'

To make their land a desolation, An object of perpetual hissing; Everyone who passes by it will be astonished And shake his head.

Then they said, "Come and let's devise plans against Jeremiah. Certainly the Law is not going to be lost by the priest, nor advice by the wise, nor the divine word by the prophet! Come, and let's strike at him with our tongue, and let's pay no attention to any of his words."

But if I say, "I will not remember Him Nor speak anymore in His name," Then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire Shut up in my bones; And I am tired of holding it in, And I cannot endure it.

"Please inquire of the LORD in our behalf, because Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is making war against us; perhaps the LORD will deal with us in accordance with all His wonderful acts, so that the enemy will withdraw from us."

"Then afterward," declares the LORD, "I will hand Zedekiah king of Judah, his servants, and the people, that is, those who survive in this city from the plague, the sword, and the famine, over to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, to their enemies, and to those who seek their lives; and he will strike and kill them with the edge of the sword. He will not spare them nor have pity nor compassion."'

"Anyone who stays in this city will die by the sword, by famine, or by plague; but anyone who leaves and goes over to the Chaldeans who are besieging you will live, and he will have his own life as plunder.

house of David, this is what the LORD says: "Administer justice every morning; And save the person who has been robbed from the power of his oppressor, So that My wrath will not spread like fire And burn, with no one to extinguish it, Because of the evil of their deeds.

'This is what the LORD says: "Do justice and righteousness, and save one who has been robbed from the power of his oppressor. And do not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow; and do not shed innocent blood in this place.

"For if you will indeed perform this instruction, then kings will enter the gates of this house, sitting in David's place on his throne, riding in chariots and on horses, the king himself, his servants, and his people.

"For I will set apart destroyers against you, Each with his weapons; And they will cut down your choicest cedars And throw them on the fire.

Do not weep for the dead or mourn for him, But weep deeply for the one who goes away; For he will never return Or see his native land.