Study Desk

So now my friend says, "You people who live in Jerusalem and Judah, judge between my vineyard and me.

and so you will be carried away as prisoners. Your leaders will starve to death, and the common people will die of thirst.

You say, "Let the Lord hurry up and do what he says he will, so that we can see it. Let Israel's holy God carry out his plans; let's see what he has in mind."

You are doomed! You think you are wise, so very clever.

So now, just as straw and dry grass shrivel and burn in the fire, your roots will rot and your blossoms will dry up and blow away, because you have rejected what the Lord Almighty, Israel's holy God, has taught us.

So he told me to go and give the people this message: "No matter how much you listen, you will not understand. No matter how much you look, you will not know what is happening."

Then he said to me, "Make the minds of these people dull, their ears deaf, and their eyes blind, so that they cannot see or hear or understand. If they did, they might turn to me and be healed."

When word reached the king of Judah that the armies of Syria were already in the territory of Israel, he and all his people were so terrified that they trembled like trees shaking in the wind.

they will give so much milk that he will have all he needs. Yes, the few survivors left in the land will have milk and honey to eat.

All the hills where crops were once planted will be so overgrown with thorns that no one will go there. It will be a place where cattle and sheep graze."

Syria on the east and Philistia on the west have opened their mouths to devour Israel. Yet even so the Lord 's anger is not ended; his hand is still stretched out to punish.

And so the Lord will not let any of the young men escape, and he will not show pity on any of the widows and orphans, because all the people are godless and wicked and everything they say is evil. Yet even so the Lord 's anger will not be ended, but his hand will still be stretched out to punish.

The people of Manasseh and the people of Ephraim attack each other, and together they attack Judah. Yet even so the Lord 's anger is not ended; his hand is still stretched out to punish.

You will be killed in battle or dragged off as prisoners. Yet even so the Lord 's anger will not be ended; his hand will still be stretched out to punish.

There will be so few trees left that even a child will be able to count them.

The royal line of David is like a tree that has been cut down; but just as new branches sprout from a stump, so a new king will arise from among David's descendants.

The Lord will dry up the Gulf of Suez, and he will bring a hot wind to dry up the Euphrates, leaving only seven tiny streams, so that anyone can walk across.

As fresh water brings joy to the thirsty, so God's people rejoice when he saves them."

He will pick you up like a ball and throw you into a much larger country. You will die there beside the chariots you were so proud of. You are a disgrace to your master's household.

Can this be the joyful city of Tyre, founded so long ago? Is this the city that sent settlers across the sea to establish colonies?