Study Desk

"In the shadow of Heshbon The fugitives stand without strength; For a fire has spread out from Heshbon And a flame from the midst of Sihon, And it has devoured the forehead of Moab And the scalps of the loud revelers.

"Therefore behold, the days are coming," declares the LORD, "When I will cause an alarm of war to be heard Against Rabbah of the sons of Ammon; And it will become a desolate heap, And her towns will be set on fire. Then Israel will take possession of his possessors," Says the LORD.

"For I have sworn by Myself," declares the LORD, "that Bozrah will become an object of horror, a disgrace, a wasteland, and a curse; and all its cities will become permanent ruins."

I have heard a message from the LORD, And a messenger is being sent among the nations, saying, "Gather yourselves together and come against her, And rise up for battle!"

"Behold, one will come up like a lion from the thicket of the Jordan to a perennially watered pasture; for in an instant I will chase him away from it, and I will appoint over it whoever is chosen. For who is like Me, and who will summon Me into court? And who then is the shepherd who can stand against Me?"

Behold, He will mount up and swoop like an eagle, and spread out His wings against Bozrah; and the hearts of the warriors of Edom on that day will be like the heart of a woman in labor.

"Damascus has become helpless; She has turned away to flee, And panic has gripped her; Distress and labor pains have seized her Like a woman in childbirth.

"Run away, flee! Dwell in the depths, You inhabitants of Hazor," declares the LORD; "For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has formed a plan against you And devised a scheme against you.

"Arise, go up against a nation which is at ease, Which lives securely," declares the LORD. "It has no gates or bars; They dwell alone.

"Hazor will become a haunt of jackals, A desolation forever; No one will live there, Nor will anyone of mankind reside in it."

"Declare and proclaim among the nations. Proclaim it and lift up a flag, Do not conceal it. Say, 'Babylon has been captured, Bel has been put to shame, Marduk has been shattered; Her idols have been put to shame, her images have been shattered.'

"For a nation has come up against her from the north; it will make her land an object of horror, and there will be no inhabitant in it. Whether people or animals, they have wandered off, they have gone!

"For behold, I am going to rouse and bring up against Babylon A contingent of great nations from the land of the north, And they will draw up their battle lines against her; From there she will be taken captive. Their arrows will be like an expert warrior Who does not return empty-handed.

"Because you are glad, because you are jubilant, You who pillage My heritage, Because you skip about like a threshing heifer And neigh like stallions,

Your mother will be greatly ashamed, She who gave you birth will be humiliated. Behold, she will be the least of the nations, A wilderness, a dry land and a desert.

"Israel is a scattered flock, the lions have driven them away. The first one who devoured him was the king of Assyria, and this last one who has gnawed his bones is Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.

'In those days and at that time,' declares the LORD, 'search will be made for the wrongdoing of Israel, but there will be none; and for the sins of Judah, but they will not be found; for I will forgive those whom I leave as a remnant.'

"I set a trap for you and you were also caught, Babylon, While you yourself were not aware; You have been found and also seized Because you have engaged in conflict with the LORD."

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.