Study Desk

"Since he understood and turned away from all his offenses which he had committed, he shall certainly live; he shall not die.

"Therefore I will judge you, house of Israel, each according to his conduct," declares the Lord GOD. "Repent and turn away from all your offenses, so that wrongdoing does not become a stumbling block to you.

'When she brought up one of her cubs, He became a young lion, And he learned to tear his prey; He devoured people.

'And he walked about among the lions, He became a young lion; He learned to tear his prey; He devoured people.

'He destroyed their palaces And laid waste their cities; And the land and its fullness were appalled Because of the sound of his roaring.

'They put him in a wooden collar with hooks And brought him to the king of Babylon; They brought him in hunting nets So that his voice would no longer be heard On the mountains of Israel.

"And I said to them, 'Throw away, each of you, the detestable things of his eyes, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the LORD your God.'

"As for you, house of Israel," this is what the Lord GOD says: "Go, serve, everyone of you his idols; but later you will certainly listen to Me, and My holy name you will no longer defile with your gifts and your idols.

"Into his right hand came the divination, 'Jerusalem,' to set up battering rams, to open the mouth for slaughter, to raise the voice with a battle cry, to set up battering rams against the gates, to pile up assault ramps, to build a siege wall.

"Behold, the rulers of Israel, each according to his power, have been among you for the purpose of shedding blood.

"And one has committed abomination with his neighbor's wife, another has outrageously defiled his daughter-in-law, and another among you has sexually abused his sister, his father's daughter.

"And he will direct the blow of his battering rams against your walls, and he will tear down your towers with his axes.

"Because of the multitude of his horses, the dust raised by them will cover you; your walls will shake from the noise of cavalry, wagons, and chariots when he enters your gates as warriors enter a city that is breached.

"With the hoofs of his horses he will trample all your streets. He will kill your people with the sword, and your strong pillars will go down to the ground.

"Speak and say, 'This is what the Lord GOD says: "Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, The great monster that lies in the midst of his canals, That has said, 'My Nile is mine, and I myself have made it.'

"Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre; every head had a bald spot and every shoulder was rubbed raw. But he and his army acquired no wages from Tyre for the labor that he had performed against it."

Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: "Behold, I am going to give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. And he will carry off her wealth and capture her spoils and seize her plunder; and it will be wages for his army.

"I have given him the land of Egypt for his labor which he performed, because they acted for Me," declares the Lord GOD.

"He and his people with him, The most ruthless of the nations, Will be brought in to destroy the land; And they will draw their swords against Egypt And fill the land with the slain.

"Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: 'Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and I will break his arms, both the strong and the broken; and I will make the sword fall from his hand.