Study Desk

I will not take pity on her children, because they are the children of a prostitute.

She will run after her lovers, but she won't catch them. She will look for them, but she won't find them. Then she will say, ‘I will go back to my first husband, because life was better then for me than it is now.'

The earth will produce grain, new wine, and oil; much will grow because my people are called Jezreel.

Because of this the land dries up, and all its people are dying. Even the wild animals and the birds of the air and the fish of the sea are dying.

My people will be destroyed, because they have no knowledge. You have refused to learn, so I will refuse to let you be priests to me. You have forgotten the teachings of your God, so I will forget your children.

"They will eat but not have enough; they will have sexual relations with the prostitutes, but they will not have children, because they have left the Lord to give themselves to

They make sacrifices on the tops of the mountains. They burn offerings on the hills, under oaks, poplars, and other trees, because their shade is nice. So your daughters become prostitutes, and your daughters-in-law are guilty of adultery.

"But I will not punish your daughters for becoming prostitutes, nor your daughters-in-law for their sins of adultery. I will not punish them, because the men have sexual relations with prostitutes and offer sacrifices with the temple prostitutes. A foolish people will be ruined.

"Listen, you priests. Pay attention, people of Israel. Listen, royal family, because you will all be judged. You have been like a trap at Mizpah and like a net spread out at Mount Tabor.

Israel's pride testifies against them. The people of Israel will stumble because of their sin, and the people of Judah will stumble with them.

They will come to worship the Lord , bringing their flocks and herds, but they will not be able to find him, because he has left them.

Israel is crushed by the punishment, because it decided to follow idols.

How terrible for them because they left me! They will be destroyed, because they turned against me. I want to save them, but they have spoken lies against me.

They did not turn to the Most High God. They are like a loose bow that can't shoot. Because their leaders brag about their strength, they will be killed with swords, and the people in Egypt will laugh at them.

"The Israelites were very wicked in Gilgal, so I have hated them there. Because of the sinful things they have done, I will force them to leave my land. I will no longer love them; their leaders have turned against me.

God will reject them, because they have not obeyed him; they will wander among the nations.

Then they will say, "We have no king, because we didn't honor the Lord . As for the king, he couldn't do anything for us."

"Israel, you have sinned since the time of Gibeah, and the people there have continued sinning. But war will surely overwhelm them in Gibeah, because of the evil they have done there.

But you have plowed evil and harvested trouble; you have eaten the fruit of your lies. Because you have trusted in your own power and your many soldiers,

The same will happen to you, people of Bethel, because you did so much evil. When the sun comes up, the king of Israel will die.