Study Desk

In the womb he took his brother by the heel, and in his manhood he strove with God.

He strove with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought his favor. He met God at Bethel, and there God spoke with us—

the Lord , the God of hosts, the Lord is his memorial name:

Ephraim has given bitter provocation; so his Lord will leave his bloodguilt on him and will repay him for his disgraceful deeds.

The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his sin is kept in store.

Though he may flourish among his brothers, the east wind, the wind of the Lord , shall come, rising from the wilderness, and his fountain shall dry up; his spring shall be parched; it shall strip his treasury of every precious thing.

his shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive, and his fragrance like Lebanon.

Like warriors they charge; like soldiers they scale the wall. They march each on his way; they do not swerve from their paths.

They do not jostle one another; each marches in his path; they burst through the weapons and are not halted.

The Lord utters his voice before his army, for his camp is exceedingly great; he who executes his word is powerful. For the day of the Lord is great and very awesome; who can endure it?

gather the people. Consecrate the congregation; assemble the elders; gather the children, even nursing infants. Let the bridegroom leave his room, and the bride her chamber.

Then the Lord became jealous for his land and had pity on his people.

The Lord answered and said to his people, "Behold, I am sending to you grain, wine, and oil, and you will be satisfied; and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations.

"I will remove the northerner far from you, and drive him into a parched and desolate land, his vanguard into the eastern sea, and his rear guard into the western sea; the stench and foul smell of him will rise, for he has done great things.

The Lord roars from Zion, and utters his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth quake. But the Lord is a refuge to his people, a stronghold to the people of Israel.

And he said: "The Lord roars from Zion and utters his voice from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds mourn, and the top of Carmel withers."

Thus says the Lord : "For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because he pursued his brother with the sword and cast off all pity, and his anger tore perpetually, and he kept his wrath forever.

and their king shall go into exile, he and his princes together," says the Lord .

Thus says the Lord : "For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have rejected the law of the Lord , and have not kept his statutes, but their lies have led them astray, those after which their fathers walked.

those who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth and turn aside the way of the afflicted; a man and his father go in to the same girl, so that my holy name is profaned;