Study Desk

For you have abandoned your people,the house of Jacob,because they are full of divination from the Eastand of fortune-tellers like the Philistines.They are in league with foreigners.

Say to him: Calm down and be quiet. Don’t be afraid or cowardly because of these two smoldering sticks, the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram, and the son of Remaliah.

Because these people rejectedthe slowly flowing water of Shiloahand rejoiced with Rezinand the son of Remaliah,

On that dayhis burden will fall from your shoulders,and his yoke from your neck.The yoke will be broken because your neck will be too large.

You will not join them in burial,because you destroyed your landand slaughtered your own people.The offspring of evildoerswill never be mentioned again.

Prepare a place of slaughter for his sons,because of the iniquity of their fathers.They will never rise up to possess a landor fill the surface of the earth with cities.

Don’t rejoice, all of you in Philistia,because the rod of the one who struck you is broken.For a viper will come from the root of a snake,and from its egg comes a flying serpent.

On that day their strong cities will belike the abandoned woods and mountaintopsthat were abandoned because of the Israelites;there will be desolation.

On that day Egypt will be like women and will tremble with fear because of the threatening hand of the Lord of Armies when he raises it against them.

The land of Judah will terrify Egypt; whenever Judah is mentioned, Egypt will tremble because of what the Lord of Armies has planned against it.

It will be a sign and witness to the Lord of Armies in the land of Egypt. When they cry out to the Lord because of their oppressors, he will send them a savior and leader, and he will rescue them.

Wail, ships of Tarshish,because your fortress is destroyed!

The moon will be put to shameand the sun disgraced,because the Lord of Armies will reign as kingon Mount Zion in Jerusalem,and he will display his gloryin the presence of his elders.

Trust in the Lord forever,because in the Lord, the Lord himself, is an everlasting rock!

Even these stagger because of wineand stumble under the influence of beer:priest and prophet stagger because of beer,they are confused by wine.They stumble because of beer,they are muddled in their visions,they stumble in their judgments.

For you said, “We have made a covenant with Death,and we have an agreement with Sheol;when the overwhelming catastrophe passes through,it will not touch us,because we have made falsehood our refugeand have hidden behind treachery.”

For you the entire vision will be like the words of a sealed document. If it is given to one who can read and he is asked to read it, he will say, “I can’t read it, because it is sealed.”

Therefore the Holy One of Israel says:“Because you have rejected this messageand have trusted in oppression and deceit,and have depended on them,

His rock will pass away because of fear,and his officers will be afraid because of the signal flag.

Search and read the scroll of the Lord:Not one of them will be missing,none will be lacking its mate,because he has ordered it by my mouth,and he will gather them by his Spirit.