Study Desk

For the Lord says about Shallum the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who ruled in the place of Josiah his father, and who left this place: "He will never return.

"It is bad for him who builds his house by wrong-doing, and his upper rooms by not being fair, who has his neighbor serve him for nothing and does not pay him,

"But your eyes and heart are set only on what you can get by wrong-doing, and on killing those who are not guilty, and on making it hard for people and on hurting others."

So the Lord says about Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, "They will not cry in sorrow for him, saying, ‘It is bad, my brother!' or, ‘It is bad, my sister!' They will not cry in sorrow for him, saying, ‘O lord!' or, ‘O, how great he was!'

"Go up to Lebanon and cry out. And let your voice be heard in Bashan. Cry out from Abarim also. For all your lovers have been destroyed.

I spoke to you when things were going well for you, but you said, ‘I will not listen!' This has been your way since you were young. You have not obeyed My voice.

Is this man Coniah a hated, broken jar? Is he a pot that no one cares for? Why have he and his children been thrown out into a land that they had not known?

The Lord says, "Write this man down as one who has no children, a man who will not do well in his days. For none of his children or children's children will do well sitting on the throne of David or ruling again in Judah."

"It is bad for the shepherds who are destroying and dividing the sheep of My field!" says the Lord.

The Lord God of Israel says this about the shepherds who are caring for My people, "You have made My flock go everywhere and have driven them away, and have not cared for them. See, I am about to punish you for your sinful things you have done," says the Lord.

I will have shepherds over them who will care for them. And they will not be afraid any longer, or filled with fear, and none of them will be missing," says the Lord.

"See, the days are coming," says the Lord, "when I will raise up for David a right and good Branch. He will rule as king and be wise and do what is right and fair and good in the land.

As for the men who speak for God, my heart is broken within me. All my bones shake. I have become like a drunk man, like a man who has had too much wine, because of the Lord and because of His holy words.

For the land is full of people who are not faithful. Because of the bad things that have come upon it, the land is filled with sorrow, and the fields of the desert have dried up. Their way is sinful, and they use their power in a wrong way.

"For both the men of God and the religious leaders are sinful. I have found their sin even in My house," says the Lord.

"So their way will be a danger to them. They will be driven away into the darkness and fall down in it. For I will bring much trouble upon them in the year of their punishment," says the Lord.

"In Samaria I have seen a very bad thing among the men of Samaria who tell what is going to happen in the future. They speak for the false god Baal, and have led My people into sin.

So the Lord of All says about the men who tell what is going to happen in the future, "See, I will make them eat bitter food and drink water with poison. For from these men of Jerusalem sin has gone out into all the land."

I did not send these men who say they speak for God, yet they ran to tell their news. I did not speak to them, yet they spoke in My name.

As for the man who speaks in My name, or the religious leader, or anyone of the people, who say, ‘The heavy load of the Lord,' I will punish that man and those of his house.