Study Desk

I saw the Lord standing beside the ^(C1)altar, and He said, "Strike the pillar capitals so that the ^(C2)thresholds will shake, And ^(C3)break them on the heads of them all! Then I will ^(C4)put to death the rest of them with the sword; They will ^(C5)not have a fugitive who will flee, Nor a survivor who will escape.

-"Though they dig into ^(C1)Sheol, From there My hand will take them; And though they ^(C2)ascend to heaven, From there I will bring them down.

-"And though they hide on the summit of Carmel, I will ^(C1)track them down and take them from there; And though they ^(C2)hide themselves from My sight on the bottom of the sea, I will command the ^(C3)serpent from there, and it will bite them.

-"And though they go into ^(C1)captivity before their enemies, From there I will command the sword and it will kill them, And I will ^(C2)set My eyes against them for harm and not for good."

The Lord ^(F1)GOD of armies, The One who ^(C1)touches the land so that it quakes, And ^(C2)all those who live in it mourn, And all of it rises up like the Nile And subsides like the Nile of Egypt;

The One who builds His ^(C1)upper chambers in the heavens And has founded His vaulted dome over the earth, He who ^(C2)calls for the waters of the sea And ^(C3)pours them out on the face of the earth, ^(C4)The LORD is His name.

"Are you not as the sons of ^(C1)Ethiopia to Me, You sons of Israel?" declares the LORD. "Have I not brought up Israel from the land of Egypt, And the ^(C2)Philistines from Caphtor and the ^(C3)Arameans from ^(C4)Kir?

-"Behold, the ^(C1)eyes of the Lord GOD are on the sinful kingdom, And I will ^(C2)eliminate it from the face of the earth; Nevertheless, I will ^(C3)not totally eliminate the house of Jacob," Declares the LORD.

"For behold, I am commanding, And I will ^(C1)shake the house of Israel among all nations As grain is shaken in a sieve, But not a pebble will fall to the ground.

-"All the ^(C1)sinners of My people will die by the sword, Those who say, '^(C2)The catastrophe will not overtake or confront us.'