Study Desk

"So I will send fire upon Moab And it will consume the citadels of Kerioth; And Moab will die amid the panic of battle, Amid war cries and the sound of a trumpet.

This is what the LORD says: "For three offenses of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke its punishment, Because they sell the righteous for money, And the needy for a pair of sandals.

"These who trample the head of the helpless to the dust of the earth Also divert the way of the humble; And a man and his father resort to the same girl So as to profane My holy name.

"Behold, I am making a rut in the ground beneath you, Just as a wagon makes a rut when filled with sheaves.

Does a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey? Does a young lion growl from his den unless he has captured something?

Does a bird fall into a trap on the ground when there is no device in it? Does a trap spring up from the earth when it captures nothing at all?

If a trumpet is blown in a city, will the people not tremble? If a disaster occurs in a city, has the LORD not brought it about?

A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken! Who can do anything but prophesy?

This is what the LORD says: "Just as the shepherd snatches from the lion's mouth a couple of legs or a piece of an ear, So will the sons of Israel living in Samaria be snatched away— With the corner of a bed and the cover of a couch!

"Offer a thanksgiving offering also from that which is leavened, And proclaim voluntary offerings, make them known. For so you love to do, you sons of Israel," Declares the Lord GOD.

"I sent a plague among you as in Egypt; I killed your young men with the sword, along with your captured horses, And I made the stench of your camp rise up in your nostrils; Yet you have not returned to Me," declares the LORD.

"I overthrew you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, And you were like a log snatched from a fire; Yet you have not returned to Me," declares the LORD.

For behold, He who forms mountains and creates the wind, And declares to a person what are His thoughts, He who makes dawn into darkness And treads on the high places of the earth, The LORD God of armies is His name.

Hear this word which I am taking up for you as a song of mourning, house of Israel:

For this is what the Lord GOD says: "The city which goes forth a thousand strong Will have a hundred left, And the one which goes forth a hundred strong Will have ten left to the house of Israel."

"Seek the LORD so that you may live, Or He will break through like a fire, house of Joseph, And it will consume with no one to extinguish it for Bethel,

Therefore because you impose heavy rent on the poor And take a tribute of grain from them, Though you have built houses of cut stone, Yet you will not live in them; You have planted beautiful vineyards, yet you will not drink their wine.

Therefore at such a time the prudent person keeps quiet, because it is an evil time.

As when a man flees from a lion And a bear confronts him, Or he goes home, leans with his hand against the wall, And a snake bites him.

"For behold, I am going to raise up a nation against you, House of Israel," declares the LORD God of armies, "And they will torment you from the entrance of Hamath To the brook of the Arabah."