Study Desk

Woe to those who go down to ^(C1)Egypt for help And ^(C2)rely on horses, And trust in chariots because they are many And in horsemen because they are very strong, But they do not ^(C3)look to the ^(C4)Holy One of Israel, nor seek the LORD!

Yet He also is ^(C1)wise and will ^(C2)bring disaster, And does ^(C3)not retract His words, But will arise against the house of ^(C4)evildoers, And against the help of the ^(C5)workers of injustice.

Now the Egyptians are ^(C1)human and not God, And their ^(C2)horses are flesh and not spirit; So the LORD will ^(C3)stretch out His hand, And any ^(C4)helper will stumble, And one who is helped will fall. And all of them will come to an end together.

For this is what the LORD says to me: "As the ^(C1)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 armies come down to wage ^(C2)war on Mount Zion and on its hill."

Like ^(F1)flying ^(C1)birds so the LORD of armies will protect Jerusalem. He will ^(C2)protect and save it; He will pass over and rescue it.

^(C1)Return to Him against whom ^(F1)you have been ^(C2)profoundly obstinate, you sons of Israel.

For on that day every person will ^(C1)reject his silver idols and his gold idols, which your hands have made for you as ^(C2)a sin.

And the ^(C1)Assyrian will fall by a sword not wielded by a man, And a ^(C2)sword not of man will devour him. So he will ^(F1)(C3)not escape the sword, And his young men will become ^(C4)forced laborers.

"His ^(C1)rock will pass away because of panic, And his officers will be terrified by the ^(C2)flag," Declares the LORD, whose ^(C3)fire is in Zion and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.

Behold, a ^(C1)king will reign righteously, And officials will rule justly.

Each will be like a ^(C1)refuge from the wind And a shelter from the storm, Like ^(F1)(C2)streams of water in a dry country, Like the ^(C1)shade of a ^(F2)huge rock in an exhausted land.

Then ^(C1)the eyes of those who see will not be ^(F1)blinded, And the ears of those who hear will listen.

The ^(F1)mind of the ^(C1)rash will discern the ^(F2)truth, And the tongue of the stammerers will hurry to speak clearly.

No longer will the ^(C1)fool be called noble, Or the rogue be spoken of as generous.

For a fool speaks nonsense, And his heart ^(F1)(C1)inclines toward wickedness: To practice ^(C2)ungodliness and to speak error against the LORD, To ^(F2)(C3)keep the hungry person unsatisfied And ^(F3)to withhold drink from the thirsty.

As for a rogue, his weapons are evil; He ^(C1)devises wicked schemes To ^(C2)destroy the poor with ^(F1)slander, ^(C3)Even though the needy one speaks ^(F2)what is right.

But ^(C1)the noble person devises noble plans; And by noble plans he stands.

Rise up, you ^(C1)women who are at ease, And hear my voice; ^(C2)Listen to my word, You complacent daughters.

Within a year and a few days You will be troubled, you complacent daughters; ^(C1)For the vintage is ended, And the fruit gathering will not come.

Tremble, you women who are at ease; ^(C1)Be troubled, you complacent daughters; ^(C2)Strip, undress, and put sackcloth on your waist,

^(C1)Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields, for the fruitful vine,

^(C1)For the land of my people in which thorns and briars will come up; Indeed, for all the joyful houses and for the ^(C2)jubilant city.

For ^(C1)the palace has been neglected, the ^(F1)populated ^(C2)city abandoned. ^(F2)Hill and watch-tower have become ^(C3)caves forever, A delight for ^(C4)wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks,

Until the ^(C1)Spirit is poured out upon us from on high, And the wilderness becomes a ^(C2)fertile field, And the fertile field is considered as a forest.

Then ^(C1)justice will dwell in the wilderness, And righteousness will remain in the fertile field.

And the ^(C1)work of righteousness will be peace, And the service of righteousness, ^(C2)quietness and ^(F1)confidence forever.

Then my people will live in a ^(C1)peaceful settlement, In secure dwellings, and in undisturbed ^(C2)resting places;

And it will ^(C1)hail when the ^(C2)forest comes down, And ^(C3)the city will be utterly laid low.

How ^(C1)blessed will you be, you who sow beside all waters, Who ^(F1)let the ox and the donkey out freely.

Woe ^(C1)to you, destroyer, While you were not destroyed; And he ^(C2)who is treacherous, while others did not deal treacherously with him. As soon as you finish destroying, ^(C3)you will be destroyed; As soon as you cease to deal treacherously, others will ^(C4)deal treacherously with you.

LORD, ^(C1)be gracious to us; we have ^(C2)waited for You. Be ^(F1)their ^(F2)(C3)strength every morning, Our salvation also in the ^(C4)time of distress.

At the sound of a roar, ^(C1)peoples flee; At the ^(C2)lifting up of Yourself, nations disperse.

Your plunder is gathered as the caterpillar gathers; Like an infestation of locusts, people storm it.

The LORD is ^(C1)exalted, for He dwells on high; He has ^(C2)filled Zion with justice and righteousness.

And He will be the ^(F1)(C1)stability of your times, A ^(C2)wealth of salvation, wisdom, and ^(C3)knowledge; The ^(C4)fear of the LORD is his treasure.

Behold, their brave men cry out ^(F1)in the streets, The ^(F2)(C1)ambassadors of peace weep bitterly.

The highways are desolate, ^(F1)the ^(C1)traveler has ceased, He has ^(C2)broken the covenant, he has despised the cities, He has no regard for mankind.

^(C1)The land mourns and wastes away, ^(C2)Lebanon is shamed and withers; ^(C3)Sharon is like a desert plain, And Bashan and Carmel ^(F1)lose their foliage.

"Now ^(C1)I will arise," says the LORD, "Now I will be exalted, now I will be lifted up.

-"You have ^(C1)conceived ^(F1)chaff, you will give birth to stubble; ^(F2)My ^(C2)breath will consume you like a fire.

-"The peoples will be burned to lime, ^(C1)Like cut thorns which are burned in the fire.

"You who are far away, ^(C1)hear what I have done; And you who are near, ^(F1)acknowledge My might."

^(C1)Sinners in Zion are terrified; ^(C2)Trembling has seized the godless. "Who among us can live with ^(C3)the consuming fire? Who among us can live with everlasting ^(C4)burning?"

One who ^(C1)walks righteously and speaks with integrity, One who rejects ^(F1)unjust gain And shakes his hands so that they hold no bribe; One who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed And ^(C2)shuts his eyes from looking at evil;

He will dwell on the heights, ^(C1)His refuge will be the ^(F1)impregnable rock; ^(C2)His bread will be given him, His water will be sure.

Your eyes will see ^(C1)the King in His beauty; They will see ^(C2)a distant land.

Your heart will meditate on ^(C1)terror: "Where is ^(C2)one who counts? Where is one who weighs? Where is one who counts the towers?"

You will no longer see a fierce people, A people of ^(F1)(C1)unintelligible speech ^(F2)which no one comprehends, Of a stammering tongue ^(F3)which no one understands.

^(C1)Look at Zion, the city of our appointed feasts; Your eyes will see Jerusalem, an ^(C2)undisturbed settlement, ^(C3)A tent which will not be folded; Its stakes will never be pulled up, Nor any of its ropes be torn apart.

But there the majestic One, the LORD, will be for us A place of ^(C1)rivers and wide canals On which no boat with oars will go, And on which no mighty ship will pass—

For the LORD is our ^(C1)judge, The LORD is ^(C2)our lawgiver, The LORD is ^(C3)our king; ^(C4)He will save us—

Your ship's tackle hangs slack; It cannot hold the base of its mast firmly, Nor spread out the sail. Then the ^(C1)prey of an abundant spoil will be divided; ^(C2)Those who limp will take the plunder.

And no resident will say, "I am ^(C1)sick"; The people who live ^(F1)there will be ^(C2)forgiven their wrongdoing.

Come near, ^(C1)you nations, to hear; and listen, you peoples! ^(C2)Let the earth and ^(F1)all it contains hear, and the world and all that springs from it.

For the LORD'S ^(C1)anger is against all the nations, And His wrath against all their armies. He has ^(F1)(C2)utterly destroyed them, He has turned them over to ^(C3)slaughter.

So their slain will be ^(C1)thrown out, And their corpses ^(F1)will give off their ^(C2)stench, And the mountains will ^(F2)be drenched with their ^(C3)blood.

And ^(C1)all the heavenly ^(F1)lights will ^(F2)wear away, And the ^(C2)sky will be rolled up like a scroll; All its ^(F1)lights will also wither away As a leaf withers from the vine, Or as one withers from the fig tree.

For ^(C1)My sword has drunk its fill in heaven; Behold it shall descend for judgment upon ^(C2)Edom, And upon the people whom I have ^(C3)designated for destruction.

The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, It drips with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats, With the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the LORD has a sacrifice in ^(C1)Bozrah, And a great slaughter in the land of ^(C2)Edom.

^(C1)Wild oxen will also ^(F1)fall with them And ^(C2)young bulls with strong ones; So their land will be ^(C3)soaked with blood, And their dust ^(F2)become greasy with fat.

For the LORD has a day of ^(C1)vengeance, A year of retribution for the ^(F1)cause of Zion.

^(F1)Its streams will be turned into pitch, And its loose earth into ^(C1)brimstone, And its land will become burning pitch.

It will ^(C1)not be extinguished night or day; Its ^(C2)smoke will go up forever. From ^(C3)generation to generation it will be desolate; ^(C4)None will pass through it forever and ever.

But ^(F1)(C1)pelican and hedgehog will possess it, And ^(F2)owl and raven will dwell in it; And He will stretch over it the ^(C2)line of ^(F3)desolation And the ^(F4)plumb line of emptiness.

Its nobles—there is ^(C1)no one there Whom they may proclaim king— And all its officials will be ^(C2)nothing.

Thorns will come up in its ^(C1)fortified towers, Weeds and thistles in its fortified cities; It will also be a haunt of ^(C2)jackals And a habitat of ostriches.

The desert ^(C1)creatures will meet with the ^(F1)wolves, The ^(F2)(C1)goat also will cry to its kind. Yes, the ^(F3)night-bird will settle there And will find herself a resting place.

The tree snake will make its nest and lay eggs there, And it will hatch and gather them under its ^(F1)protection. Yes, ^(C1)the ^(F2)hawks will be gathered there, Every one with its kind.

Seek from the ^(C1)book of the LORD, and read: Not one of these will be missing; None will lack its mate. For ^(F1)(C2)His mouth has commanded, And His Spirit has gathered them.

He has cast the ^(C1)lot for them, And His hand has divided it to them by the ^(C2)measuring line. They shall possess it forever; From ^(C3)generation to generation they will dwell in it.

The ^(C1)wilderness and the desert will rejoice, And the ^(F1)(C2)desert will shout for joy and blossom; Like the crocus

It will ^(C1)blossom profusely And ^(C2)rejoice with joy and jubilation. The ^(C3)glory of Lebanon will be given to it, The majesty of ^(C4)Carmel and Sharon. They will see the ^(C5)glory of the LORD, The majesty of our God.

^(C1)Strengthen the ^(F1)exhausted, and make the ^(F2)feeble strong.

Say to those with ^(C1)anxious heart, "Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with ^(C2)vengeance; The ^(C3)retribution of God will come, But He will ^(C4)save you."

Then the ^(C1)eyes of those who are blind will be opened, And the ears of those who are deaf will be unstopped.

Then those who ^(C1)limp will leap like a deer, And the ^(C2)tongue of those who cannot speak will shout for joy. For waters will burst forth in the ^(C3)wilderness, And streams in the ^(F1)desert.

The ^(F1)scorched land will become a pool And the thirsty ground ^(C1)springs of water; In the ^(C2)haunt of jackals, its resting place, Grass becomes reeds and rushes.

^(C1)A highway will be there, ^(C2)a roadway, And it will be called the Highway of ^(C3)Holiness. The unclean will not travel on it, But it will be for the one who walks that way, And ^(C4)fools will not wander on it.

No ^(C1)lion will be there, Nor will any vicious animal go up on it; ^(F1)They will not be found there. But ^(C2)the redeemed will walk there,

And ^(C1)the redeemed of the LORD will return And come to Zion with joyful shouting, And everlasting joy will be on their heads. They will obtain gladness and joy, And ^(C2)sorrow and sighing will flee away.