Study Desk

'And I will bring Israel back to his pasture and he will graze on Carmel and Bashan, and his desire will be satisfied in the hill country of Ephraim and Gilead.

The LORD has opened His armory And has brought out the weapons of His indignation, For it is a work of the Lord GOD of armies In the land of the Chaldeans.

There is a sound of fugitives and refugees from the land of Babylon, To declare in Zion the vengeance of the LORD our God, Vengeance for His temple.

"The arrogant one will stumble and fall With no one to raise him up; And I will set fire to his cities, And it will devour all his surroundings."

"Their Redeemer is strong, the LORD of armies is His name; He will vigorously plead their case So that He may bring rest to their land, But turmoil to the inhabitants of Babylon.

"The king of Babylon has heard the report about them, And his hands hang limp; Distress has gripped him, Agony like a woman in childbirth.

Therefore hear the plan of the LORD which He has planned against Babylon, and His purposes which He has in mind against the land of the Chaldeans: they will certainly drag them off, even the little ones of the flock; He will certainly make their pasture desolate because of them.

"Let not him who bends his bow bend it, Nor let him rise up in his coat of armor. Do not spare her young men; Devote all her army to destruction.

For neither Israel nor Judah has been forsaken By his God, the LORD of armies, Although their land is full of guilt Before the Holy One of Israel.

Flee from the midst of Babylon, And each of you save his life! Do not perish in her punishment, For this is the LORD'S time of vengeance; He is going to repay to her what she deserves.

We applied healing to Babylon, but she was not healed; Abandon her and let's each go to his own country, For her judgment has reached to heaven And it rises to the clouds.

Sharpen the arrows, fill the quivers! The LORD has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes, Because His plan is against Babylon to destroy it; For it is the vengeance of the LORD, vengeance for His temple.

It is He who made the earth by His power, Who established the world by His wisdom, And by His understanding He stretched out the heavens.

When He utters His voice, there is a roar of waters in the heavens, And He makes the clouds ascend from the end of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain And brings out wind from His storehouses.

Every person is stupid, devoid of knowledge; Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, For his cast metal images are deceitful, And there is no breath in them.

The portion of Jacob is not like these; For He is the Maker of everything, And of the tribe of His inheritance; The LORD of armies is His name.

"With you I shatter the horse and his rider, And with you I shatter the chariot and its rider,

And with you I shatter the shepherd and his flock, And with you I shatter the farmer and his team, And with you I shatter governors and officials.

One courier runs to meet another, And one messenger to meet another, To tell the king of Babylon That his city has been captured from end to end;

"Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon has devoured me, he has crushed me, He has set me down like an empty vessel; He has swallowed me like a monster, He has filled his stomach with my delicacies; He has washed me away.