Study Desk

Give ear and hear my voice, Listen and hear my words.

Does the ^[y]farmer plow ^[z]continually to plant seed? Does he continually ^[aa]turn and harrow the ground?

Does he not level its surface And sow dill and scatter ^(av)cummin And ^[ab]plant ^(aw)wheat in rows, Barley in its place and rye within its ^[ac]area?

For his God instructs and teaches him properly.

For dill is not threshed with a ^(ax)threshing sledge, Nor is the cartwheel ^[ad]driven over cummin; But dill is beaten out with a rod, and cummin with a club.

Grain for bread is crushed, Indeed, he does not continue to thresh it forever. Because the wheel of his cart and his horses eventually ^[ae]damage it, He does not thresh it longer.

This also comes from the Lord of hosts, Who has made His counsel ^(ay)wonderful and His wisdom ^(az)great.

Woe, O ^[a]Ariel, ^[b]Ariel the city where David once ^(a)camped! Add year to year, ^[c](b)observe your feasts on schedule.

I will bring distress to Ariel, And she will be a city of lamenting and ^(c)mourning; And she will be like an Ariel to me.

I will ^(d)camp against you ^[d]encircling you, And I will set siegeworks against you, And I will raise up battle towers against you.

Then you will ^(e)be brought low; From the earth you will speak, And from the dust where you are prostrate Your words will come. Your voice will also be like that of a ^[e]spirit from the ground, And your speech will whisper from the dust.

But the multitude of your ^[f]enemies will become like fine ^(f)dust, And the multitude of the ^(g)ruthless ones like the chaff which ^[g]blows away; And it will happen ^(h)instantly, suddenly.

From the Lord of hosts you will be ⁽ⁱ⁾punished with ^(j)thunder and earthquake and loud noise, With whirlwind and tempest and the flame of a consuming fire.

And the ^(k)multitude of all the nations who wage war against ^[h]Ariel, Even all who wage war against her and her stronghold, and who distress her, Will be like a dream, a ^(l)vision of the night.

It will be as when a hungry man dreams— And behold, he is eating; But when he awakens, his ^[i]hunger is not satisfied, Or as when a thirsty man dreams— And behold, he is drinking, But when he awakens, behold, he is faint And his ^[j]thirst is not quenched. ^(m)Thus the multitude of all the nations will be Who wage war against Mount Zion.

⁽ⁿ⁾Be delayed and wait, Blind yourselves and be blind; They ^(o)become drunk, but not with wine, They stagger, but not with strong drink.

For the Lord has poured over you a spirit of deep ^(p)sleep, He has ^(q)shut your eyes, the prophets; And He has covered your heads, the seers.

The entire vision will be to you like the words of a sealed ^[k](r)book, which when they give it to the one who ^[l]is literate, saying, "Please read this," he will say, "I cannot, for it is sealed."

Then the ^[m]book will be given to the one who ^[n]is illiterate, saying, "Please read this." And he will say, "I ^[o]cannot read."

Then the Lord said, "Because ^(s)this people draw near with their ^[p]words And honor Me with their ^[q]lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their ^[r]reverence for Me ^[s]consists of ^[t]tradition learned by rote,

Therefore behold, I will once again deal ^(t)marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous; And ^(u)the wisdom of their wise men will perish, And the discernment of their discerning men will be concealed."

Woe to those who deeply ^(v)hide their ^[u]plans from the Lord , And whose ^(w)deeds are done in a dark place, And they say, "^(x)Who sees us?" or "Who knows us?"

You turn things around! Shall the potter be considered ^[v]as equal with the clay, That ^(y)what is made would say to its maker, "He did not make me"; Or what is formed say to him who formed it, "He has no understanding"?

Is it not yet just a little while ^[w]Before Lebanon will be turned into a ^(z)fertile field, And the fertile field will be considered as a forest?

On that day the ^(aa)deaf will hear ^(ab)words of a book, And out of their gloom and darkness the ^(ac)eyes of the blind will see.

The ^(ad)afflicted also will increase their gladness in the Lord , And the ^(ae)needy of mankind will rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

For the ^(af)ruthless will come to an end and the ^(ag)scorner will be finished, Indeed ^(ah)all who ^[x]are intent on doing evil will be cut off;

Who ^[y]cause a person to be indicted by a word, And ^(ai)ensnare him who adjudicates at the gate, And ^[z](aj)defraud the one in the right with ^[aa]meaningless arguments.

Therefore thus says the Lord , who redeemed ^(ak)Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob: "Jacob ^(al)shall not now be ashamed, nor shall his face now turn pale;

But when ^[ab]he sees his ^(am)children, the ^(an)work of My hands, in his midst, They will sanctify My name; Indeed, they will ^(ao)sanctify the Holy One of Jacob And will stand in awe of the God of Israel.

"Those who ^(ap)err in ^[ac]mind will ^(aq)know ^[ad]the truth, And those who ^[ae]criticize will ^[af](ar)accept instruction.

"Woe to the ^(a)rebellious children," declares the Lord , "Who ^(b)execute a plan, but not Mine, And ^[a](c)make an alliance, but not of My Spirit, In order to add sin to sin;

Who ^(d)proceed down to Egypt Without ^(e)consulting ^[b]Me, ^(f)To take refuge in the safety of Pharaoh And to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt!

"Therefore the safety of Pharaoh will be ^(g)your shame And the shelter in the shadow of Egypt, your humiliation.

"For ^(h)their princes are at Zoan And their ambassadors arrive at Hanes.

"Everyone will be ⁽ⁱ⁾ashamed because of a people who cannot profit them, Who are ^(j)not for help or profit, but for shame and also for reproach."

The ^[c]oracle concerning the ^(k)beasts of the ^(l)Negev. Through a land of ^(m)distress and anguish, From ^[d]where come lioness and lion, viper and ⁽ⁿ⁾flying serpent, They ^(o)carry their riches on the ^[e]backs of young donkeys And their treasures on ^(p)camels' humps, To a people who cannot profit them;

Even Egypt, whose ^(q)help is vain and empty. Therefore, I have called ^[f]her "^[g](r)Rahab who has been exterminated."

Now go, ^(s)write it on a tablet before them And inscribe it on a scroll, That it may ^[h]serve in the time to come ^[i]As a witness forever.

For this is a ^(t)rebellious people, ^(u)false sons, Sons who ^[j]refuse to ^(v)listen To the ^[k]instruction of the Lord ;

Who say to the ^(w)seers, "You must not see visions"; And to the prophets, "You must not ^(x)prophesy to us what is right, ^(y)Speak to us ^[l]pleasant words, Prophesy illusions.

"Get out of the way, ^(z)turn aside from the path, ^[m](aa)Let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel."

Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel, "^(ab)Since you have rejected this word And have put your trust in ^(ac)oppression and guile, and have relied on them,

Therefore this ^(ad)iniquity will be to you Like a ^(ae)breach about to fall, A bulge in a high wall, Whose collapse comes ^(af)suddenly in an instant,

Whose collapse is like the smashing of a ^(ag)potter's jar, ^[n]So ruthlessly shattered That a sherd will not be found among its pieces To ^[o]take fire from a hearth Or to scoop water from a cistern."

For thus the Lord ^[p] God , the Holy One of Israel, has said, "In ^[q]repentance and ^(ah)rest you will be saved, In ^(ai)quietness and trust is your strength." But you were not willing,

And you said, "No, for we will flee on ^(aj)horses," Therefore you shall flee! "And we will ride on swift horses," Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift.

^(ak)One thousand will flee at the threat of one man; You will flee at the threat of five, Until you are left as a ^[r]flag on a mountain top And as a signal on a hill.

Therefore the Lord ^[s](al)longs to be gracious to you, And therefore He ^[t]waits on ^(am)high to have compassion on you. For the Lord is a ^(an)God of justice; How blessed are all those who ^[u](ao)long for Him.

^[v]O people in Zion, ^(ap)inhabitant in Jerusalem, you will ^(aq)weep no longer. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will ^(ar)answer you.

Although the Lord has given you ^(as)bread of privation and water of oppression, He, your Teacher will no longer ^(at)hide Himself, but your eyes will behold your Teacher.

Your ears will hear a word behind you, "^[w]This is the ^(au)way, walk in it," whenever you ^(av)turn to the right or to the left.

And you will defile your graven ^(aw)images overlaid with silver, and your molten ^(ax)images plated with gold. You will scatter them as an impure thing, and say to ^[x]them, "^(ay)Be gone!"

Then He will ^(az)give you rain for ^[y]the seed which you will sow in the ground, and bread from the yield of the ground, and it will be ^[z]rich and ^[aa]plenteous; on that day ^(ba)your livestock will graze in a roomy pasture.

Also the oxen and the donkeys which work the ground will eat salted fodder, which ^[ab]has been ^(bb)winnowed with shovel and fork.

On every lofty mountain and on ^(bc)every high hill there will be ^[ac]streams running with water on the day of the great ^(bd)slaughter, when the towers fall.

^(be)The light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven days, on the day ^(bf)the Lord binds up the ^(bg)fracture of His people and ^(bh)heals the bruise ^[ad]He has inflicted.

Behold, ^(bi)the name of the Lord comes from a ^[ae]remote place; ^(bj)Burning is His anger and ^[af]dense is His ^[ag]smoke; His lips are filled with ^(bk)indignation And His tongue is like a ^(bl)consuming fire;

His ^(bm)breath is like an overflowing torrent, Which ^(bn)reaches to the neck, To ^(bo)shake the nations back and forth in a ^[ah]sieve, And to put in the jaws of the peoples ^(bp)the bridle which ^[ai]leads to ruin.

You will have ^[aj]songs as in the night when you keep the festival, And gladness of heart as when one marches to the sound of the flute, To go to the mountain of the Lord , to the Rock of Israel.

And the Lord will cause ^[ak]His voice of authority to be heard, And the ^[al]descending of His arm to be seen in fierce anger, And in the flame of a consuming fire In cloudburst, downpour and hailstones.

For ^(bq)at the voice of the Lord ^(br)Assyria will be terrified, When He strikes with the ^(bs)rod.

And every ^[am]blow of the ^[an](bt)rod of punishment, Which the Lord will lay on him, Will be with the music of ^(bu)tambourines and lyres; And in battles, ^(bv)brandishing weapons, He will fight them.

For ^[ao](bw)Topheth has long been ready, Indeed, it has been prepared for the king. He has made it deep and large, ^[ap]A pyre of fire with plenty of wood; The ^(bx)breath of the Lord , like a torrent of ^(by)brimstone, sets it afire.

Woe to those who go down to ^(a)Egypt for help And ^(b)rely on horses, And trust in chariots because they are many And in horsemen because they are very strong, But they do not ^(c)look to the ^(d)Holy One of Israel, nor seek the Lord !

Yet He also is ^(e)wise and will ^(f)bring disaster And does ^(g)not retract His words, But will arise against the house of ^(h)evildoers And against the help of the ⁽ⁱ⁾workers of iniquity.

Now the Egyptians are ^(j)men and not God, And their ^(k)horses are flesh and not spirit; So the Lord will ^(l)stretch out His hand, And ^(m)he who helps will stumble And he who is helped will fall, And all of them will come to an end together.

For thus says the Lord to me, "As the ⁽ⁿ⁾lion or the young lion growls over his prey, Against which a band of shepherds is called out, And he will not be terrified at their voice nor disturbed at their noise, So will the Lord of hosts come down to wage ^(o)war on Mount Zion and on its hill."

Like ^[a]flying ^(p)birds so the Lord of hosts will protect Jerusalem. He will ^(q)protect and deliver it; He will pass over and rescue it.

^(r)Return to Him from whom ^[b]you have ^(s)deeply defected, O sons of Israel.

For in that day every man will ^(t)cast away his silver idols and his gold idols, which your ^(u)sinful hands have made for you as ^(v)a sin.

And the ^(w)Assyrian will fall by a sword not of man, And a ^(x)sword not of man will devour him. So he will ^[c](y)not escape the sword, And his young men will become ^(z)forced laborers.

"His ^(aa)rock will pass away because of panic, And his princes will be terrified at the ^(ab)standard," Declares the Lord , whose ^(ac)fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.

Behold, a ^(a)king will reign righteously And princes will rule justly.

Each will be like a ^(b)refuge from the wind And a shelter from the storm, Like ^[a](c)streams of water in a dry country, Like the ^(d)shade of a ^[b]huge rock in ^[c]a parched land.

Then ^(e)the eyes of those who see will not be ^[d]blinded, And the ears of those who hear will listen.

The ^[e]mind of the ^(f)hasty will discern the ^[f]truth, And the tongue of the stammerers will hasten to speak clearly.

No longer will the ^(g)fool be called noble, Or the rogue be spoken of as generous.

For a fool speaks nonsense, And his heart ^[g](h)inclines toward wickedness: To practice ⁽ⁱ⁾ungodliness and to speak error against the Lord , To ^[h](j)keep the hungry person unsatisfied And ^[i]to withhold drink from the thirsty.

As for a rogue, his weapons are evil; He ^(k)devises wicked schemes To ^(l)destroy the afflicted with ^[j]slander, ^(m)Even though the needy one speaks ^[k]what is right.

But ⁽ⁿ⁾the noble man devises noble plans; And by noble plans he stands.

Rise up, you ^(o)women who are at ease, And hear my voice; ^(p)Give ear to my word, You complacent daughters.

Within a year and a few days You will be troubled, O complacent daughters; ^(q)For the vintage is ended, And the fruit gathering will not come.

Tremble, you women who are at ease; ^(r)Be troubled, you complacent daughters; ^(s)Strip, undress and put sackcloth on your waist,

^(t)Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine,

^(u)For the land of my people in which thorns and briars shall come up; Yea, for all the joyful houses and for the ^(v)jubilant city.

Because ^(w)the palace has been abandoned, the ^[l]populated ^(x)city forsaken. ^[m]Hill and watch-tower have become ^(y)caves forever, A delight for ^(z)wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks;

Until the ^(aa)Spirit is poured out upon us from on high, And the wilderness becomes a ^(ab)fertile field, And the fertile field is considered as a forest.

Then ^(ac)justice will dwell in the wilderness And righteousness will abide in the fertile field.

And the ^(ad)work of righteousness will be peace, And the service of righteousness, ^(ae)quietness and ^[n]confidence forever.

Then my people will live in a ^(af)peaceful habitation, And in secure dwellings and in undisturbed ^(ag)resting places;

And it will ^(ah)hail when the ^(ai)forest comes down, And ^(aj)the city will be utterly laid low.

How ^(ak)blessed will you be, you who sow beside all waters, Who ^[o]let out freely the ox and the donkey.