Study Desk

"Therefore, this is what the Lord of Heaven's Armies, the God of Israel, says: I am determined to destroy every one of you!

You have said, ‘I am overwhelmed with trouble! Haven't I had enough pain already? And now the Lord has added more! I am worn out from sighing and can find no rest.'

Do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant, for I am with you," says the Lord . "I will completely destroy the nations to which I have exiled you, but I will not completely destroy you. I will discipline you, but with justice; I cannot let you go unpunished."

For I am raising up an army of great nations from the north. They will join forces to attack Babylon, and she will be captured. The enemies' arrows will go straight to the mark; they will not miss!

"See, I am your enemy, you arrogant people," says the Lord, the Lord of Heaven's Armies. "Your day of reckoning has arrived— the day when I will punish you.

"Look, O mighty mountain, destroyer of the earth! I am your enemy," says the Lord . "I will raise my fist against you, to knock you down from the heights. When I am finished, you will be nothing but a heap of burnt rubble.

Her people groan as they search for bread. They have sold their treasures for food to stay alive. "O Lord , look," she mourns, "and see how I am despised.

"He wove my sins into ropes to hitch me to a yoke of captivity. The Lord sapped my strength and turned me over to my enemies; I am helpless in their hands.

"Look at all their evil deeds, Lord . Punish them, as you have punished me for all my sins. My groans are many, and I am sick at heart."

I am the one who has seen the afflictions that come from the rod of the Lord 's anger.

Look at them! Whether they sit or stand, I am the object of their mocking songs.

"Son of man," he said, "I am sending you to the nation of Israel, a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me. They and their ancestors have been rebelling against me to this very day.

They are a stubborn and hard-hearted people. But I am sending you to say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says!'

The voice said to me, "Son of man, eat what I am giving you—eat this scroll! Then go and give its message to the people of Israel."

I am not sending you to a foreign people whose language you cannot understand.

No, I am not sending you to people with strange and difficult speech. If I did, they would listen!

I am requiring you to bear Israel's sins for 390 days—one day for each year of their sin.

Therefore, I myself, the Sovereign Lord , am now your enemy. I will punish you publicly while all the nations watch.

Proclaim this message from the Sovereign Lord against the mountains of Israel. This is what the Sovereign Lord says to the mountains and hills and to the ravines and valleys: I am about to bring war upon you, and I will smash your pagan shrines.

The place will be littered with corpses, and you will know that I alone am the Lord .