Thematic Bible
Thematic Bible
Condescension of God » Expostulates with backsliding israel
Present your case, says Jehovah. Set forth your arguments, says Jacob's King. Bring in your idols to tell us what is going to happen. Tell us what the former things were, so that we may consider them and know their final outcome. Or declare to us the things to come. Tell us what the future holds, so we may know that you are gods. Do something, whether good or bad, so that we will be shocked and filled with fear. read more.
You are less than nothing and your works are utterly worthless! He who chooses you is detestable.
You are less than nothing and your works are utterly worthless! He who chooses you is detestable.
Jehovah created Jacob and formed Israel. Jehovah says: Do not be afraid for I have reclaimed you. I have called you by my name. You are mine. When you go through the sea, I am with you. When you go through rivers, they will not sweep you away. When you walk through fire, you will not be burned, and the flames will not harm you. I AM JEHOVAH YOUR GOD, THE HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL, YOUR SAVIOR. Egypt is the ransom I exchanged for you. Sudan and Seba are the price I paid for you. read more.
I honor you because you are precious to me and I love you. I will exchange others for you. Nations will be the price I pay for your life. Do not be afraid for I am with you. I will bring your descendants from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, 'Give them up,' and to the south, 'do not keep them. Bring my sons from far away and my daughters from the ends of the earth. Bring everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.' Bring the people who are blind but still have eyes, the people who are deaf but still have ears. All nations have gathered together, and people have assembled. Who among them could have revealed this? Who among them could have foretold this to us? They should bring their witnesses to prove that they were right. Let the people hear them. Then they will say: 'It is the truth.' YOU ARE MY WITNESSES, DECLARES JEHOVAH! I have chosen you as my servant so that you can know and believe in me and understand that I am the one who did this. No god was formed before me, and there will be none after me. I ALONE AM JEHOVAH, AND THERE IS NO SAVIOR BESIDES ME. I have revealed it to you. I have saved you, and I have announced it to you. There was no foreign god among you. You are my witnesses that I am God, declares Jehovah. From the beginning I was the one who did this. No one can rescue people from my power. When I do something, who can undo it? This is what Jehovah, your redeemer, and the Holy One of Israel, says: For your sake I will send an army to Babylon. I will bring back all the Babylonian refugees in the ships that they take pride in. I am Jehovah, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King. Jehovah makes a path through the sea and a road through the strong currents. He leads chariots and horses, an army and reinforcements. They lie down together and do not get up again. They are extinguished and snuffed out like a wick. This is what Jehovah says: Forget what happened in the past, and do not dwell on events from long ago. I am going to do something new. It is already happening. Do you recognize it? I will clear a way in the desert. I will make rivers on dry land.
I honor you because you are precious to me and I love you. I will exchange others for you. Nations will be the price I pay for your life. Do not be afraid for I am with you. I will bring your descendants from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, 'Give them up,' and to the south, 'do not keep them. Bring my sons from far away and my daughters from the ends of the earth. Bring everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.' Bring the people who are blind but still have eyes, the people who are deaf but still have ears. All nations have gathered together, and people have assembled. Who among them could have revealed this? Who among them could have foretold this to us? They should bring their witnesses to prove that they were right. Let the people hear them. Then they will say: 'It is the truth.' YOU ARE MY WITNESSES, DECLARES JEHOVAH! I have chosen you as my servant so that you can know and believe in me and understand that I am the one who did this. No god was formed before me, and there will be none after me. I ALONE AM JEHOVAH, AND THERE IS NO SAVIOR BESIDES ME. I have revealed it to you. I have saved you, and I have announced it to you. There was no foreign god among you. You are my witnesses that I am God, declares Jehovah. From the beginning I was the one who did this. No one can rescue people from my power. When I do something, who can undo it? This is what Jehovah, your redeemer, and the Holy One of Israel, says: For your sake I will send an army to Babylon. I will bring back all the Babylonian refugees in the ships that they take pride in. I am Jehovah, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King. Jehovah makes a path through the sea and a road through the strong currents. He leads chariots and horses, an army and reinforcements. They lie down together and do not get up again. They are extinguished and snuffed out like a wick. This is what Jehovah says: Forget what happened in the past, and do not dwell on events from long ago. I am going to do something new. It is already happening. Do you recognize it? I will clear a way in the desert. I will make rivers on dry land.
I permitted myself to be sought by those who did not ask for me. Those who did not seek me found me. To a nation that did not call on my name, I said: 'Here I am, here I am.' All day long I held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations (thoughts), a people who continually provoke me to my very face, offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on altars of brick. read more.
They sit among the graves and spend their nights keeping secret vigil. They eat the flesh of pigs. Their pots are full of unclean meat. They say: 'Keep away! Do not come near me, for I am too sacred for you! Such people are smoke in my nostrils, a fire that keeps burning all day.' See, it stands written before me. I will not keep silent but will pay back in full; I will pay it back into their laps both your sins and the sins of your fathers, says Jehovah. This is because they burned sacrifices on the mountains and defied me on the hills. I will measure into their laps the full payment for their former deeds. Jehovah says: As when juice is still found in a cluster of grapes and men say, 'Do not destroy it, there is yet some good in it,' so will I do in behalf of my servants; I will not destroy them all. I will bring forth offspring from Jacob, and from Judah those who will possess my mountains. My chosen people will inherit them and my servants will live there. Sharon will be pasture for flocks, and the Valley of Achor a resting place for herds, for my people who seek me. But as for you who forsake Jehovah and forget my holy mountain, which spread a table for the God of Fortune (Babylonian diety) and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny, I will destine you for the sword, and you will all bend down for the slaughter! I called but you did not answer. I spoke but you did not listen. You did evil in my sight and chose what displeases me. Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: My servants will eat, but you will go hungry. My servants will drink, but you will go thirsty. My servants will rejoice, but you will be put to shame! My servants will sing out of the joy of their hearts, but you will cry out from anguish of heart and wail in brokenness of spirit. You will leave your name to my chosen ones as a curse. The Sovereign Lord Jehovah will put you to death, but to his servants he will give another name. Whoever invokes a blessing in the land will do so by the God of (amen, so be it) truth; he who takes an oath in the land will swear by the God of truth. For the past troubles will be forgotten and hidden from my eyes.
They sit among the graves and spend their nights keeping secret vigil. They eat the flesh of pigs. Their pots are full of unclean meat. They say: 'Keep away! Do not come near me, for I am too sacred for you! Such people are smoke in my nostrils, a fire that keeps burning all day.' See, it stands written before me. I will not keep silent but will pay back in full; I will pay it back into their laps both your sins and the sins of your fathers, says Jehovah. This is because they burned sacrifices on the mountains and defied me on the hills. I will measure into their laps the full payment for their former deeds. Jehovah says: As when juice is still found in a cluster of grapes and men say, 'Do not destroy it, there is yet some good in it,' so will I do in behalf of my servants; I will not destroy them all. I will bring forth offspring from Jacob, and from Judah those who will possess my mountains. My chosen people will inherit them and my servants will live there. Sharon will be pasture for flocks, and the Valley of Achor a resting place for herds, for my people who seek me. But as for you who forsake Jehovah and forget my holy mountain, which spread a table for the God of Fortune (Babylonian diety) and fill bowls of mixed wine for Destiny, I will destine you for the sword, and you will all bend down for the slaughter! I called but you did not answer. I spoke but you did not listen. You did evil in my sight and chose what displeases me. Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: My servants will eat, but you will go hungry. My servants will drink, but you will go thirsty. My servants will rejoice, but you will be put to shame! My servants will sing out of the joy of their hearts, but you will cry out from anguish of heart and wail in brokenness of spirit. You will leave your name to my chosen ones as a curse. The Sovereign Lord Jehovah will put you to death, but to his servants he will give another name. Whoever invokes a blessing in the land will do so by the God of (amen, so be it) truth; he who takes an oath in the land will swear by the God of truth. For the past troubles will be forgotten and hidden from my eyes.
It is said: If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him and marries another man, her first husband should not go back to her again. The land would become completely polluted. You have behaved like a prostitute who has many lovers. Now you want to come back to me! Says Jehovah. Lift up your eyes to the bare hills and see. You have had sex with men in every place. You sat by the roadside waiting for them like a nomad in the desert. You have defiled (corrupted) (profaned) the land with your prostitution and wickedness. Accordingly the rain has been withheld, and there have been no spring showers. Yet, you have the unashamed (conspicuous) (impudent) look of a prostitute, and you refuse to be ashamed. read more.
Now you call to me. You say, 'Father!' You have been my friend ever since I was young. Will you hold a grudge forever? Will you always be angry? You have said and done all the evil things that you could. During the reign of King Josiah, Jehovah asked me: Did you see what unfaithful Israel did? She went up every high mountain and under every large tree, and she acted like a prostitute there. I thought that after she had done all this she would come back to me. But she did not come back, and her treacherous (unstable) (unreliable) (false) sister Judah saw her. Judah saw that I sent unfaithful Israel away because of her adultery and that I gave Israel her divorce papers. But treacherous Judah, her sister, was not afraid. She also acted like a prostitute. Because she was not concerned about her prostitution. She polluted the land and committed adultery with stone and wood. Even after all this, Israel's treacherous sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart. She was deceitful, says Jehovah. Jehovah said to me: Treacherous Judah was more reprehensible than unfaithful Israel. Go and proclaim this message to the north: 'Come back, unfaithful Israel. It is Jehovah speaking. I will no longer frown on you because I am merciful,' declares Jehovah. 'I will no longer be angry with you. Admit that you have done wrong! You have rebelled against Jehovah your God. You have given yourself to foreign gods under every large tree. You have not obeyed me,' says Jehovah. Return, you disobedient people, proclaims Jehovah. I am your husband. I will take you, one from every city and two from every family, and bring you to Zion.' I will give you shepherds after my own heart. They will be shepherds who feed (shepherd) (lead) (tend) you with knowledge and understanding (learning) (reasoning) (insight).
Now you call to me. You say, 'Father!' You have been my friend ever since I was young. Will you hold a grudge forever? Will you always be angry? You have said and done all the evil things that you could. During the reign of King Josiah, Jehovah asked me: Did you see what unfaithful Israel did? She went up every high mountain and under every large tree, and she acted like a prostitute there. I thought that after she had done all this she would come back to me. But she did not come back, and her treacherous (unstable) (unreliable) (false) sister Judah saw her. Judah saw that I sent unfaithful Israel away because of her adultery and that I gave Israel her divorce papers. But treacherous Judah, her sister, was not afraid. She also acted like a prostitute. Because she was not concerned about her prostitution. She polluted the land and committed adultery with stone and wood. Even after all this, Israel's treacherous sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart. She was deceitful, says Jehovah. Jehovah said to me: Treacherous Judah was more reprehensible than unfaithful Israel. Go and proclaim this message to the north: 'Come back, unfaithful Israel. It is Jehovah speaking. I will no longer frown on you because I am merciful,' declares Jehovah. 'I will no longer be angry with you. Admit that you have done wrong! You have rebelled against Jehovah your God. You have given yourself to foreign gods under every large tree. You have not obeyed me,' says Jehovah. Return, you disobedient people, proclaims Jehovah. I am your husband. I will take you, one from every city and two from every family, and bring you to Zion.' I will give you shepherds after my own heart. They will be shepherds who feed (shepherd) (lead) (tend) you with knowledge and understanding (learning) (reasoning) (insight).
But you say: Jehovah's way is unfair. Listen, nation of Israel, is my way fair? Is it your ways that are unfair? When a righteous person turns away from doing right and does evil things, he will die. He will die because of the evil things he has done. When a wicked person turns away from the wicked things that he has done and does what is fair and right, he will live. read more.
He realized what he was doing and turned away from all the rebellious things that he had done. He will certainly live. He will not die. But the nation of Israel says: Jehovah's way is unfair. Is my way not fair, nation of Israel? Is it not your ways that are unfair? That is why I will judge each of you by what you have done, people of Israel, declares the Lord Jehovah. Change the way you think and act. (Repent!) Turn away from all the rebellious things that you have done so that you will not fall into sin. Give up all the evil you have been doing. Get yourselves new minds and hearts. Why do you Israelites want to die? I do not want anyone to die,' says the Lord Jehovah. 'Turn away from (repent of) your sins and live.'
He realized what he was doing and turned away from all the rebellious things that he had done. He will certainly live. He will not die. But the nation of Israel says: Jehovah's way is unfair. Is my way not fair, nation of Israel? Is it not your ways that are unfair? That is why I will judge each of you by what you have done, people of Israel, declares the Lord Jehovah. Change the way you think and act. (Repent!) Turn away from all the rebellious things that you have done so that you will not fall into sin. Give up all the evil you have been doing. Get yourselves new minds and hearts. Why do you Israelites want to die? I do not want anyone to die,' says the Lord Jehovah. 'Turn away from (repent of) your sins and live.'
Son of man, say to the house of Israel: 'You people have said: Our transgressions and our sins are upon us. We are rotting away in them. How can we survive?' Say to them: 'As I am alive! Declares the Lord Jehovah. I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Only that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back! Turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?' Son of man, tell the Israelites that when someone good sins, the good he has done will not save him. If an evil person stops doing evil he will not be punished, and if a good man starts sinning, his life will not be spared. read more.
I may promise life to someone good, but if he starts thinking that his past goodness is enough and begins to sin, I will not remember any of the good he did. He will die because of his sins. I may warn someone evil that he is going to die, but if he stops sinning and does what is right and good, and if he returns the security he took for a loan or gives back what he stole, if he stops sinning and follows the laws that give life, he will not die, but he will live. None of the sins that he has done will be remembered. He has done what is fair and right. He will certainly live.' But your people say: 'Jehovah's way is not right.' Yet, their ways are not right. If the righteous person turns from the right things that he has done and does evil, he will die because of it. If the wicked person turns from his wickedness and does what is fair and right, he will live because of it. The people of Israel say: 'Jehovah's way is not right.' I will judge each of you by your own ways, people of Israel.
I may promise life to someone good, but if he starts thinking that his past goodness is enough and begins to sin, I will not remember any of the good he did. He will die because of his sins. I may warn someone evil that he is going to die, but if he stops sinning and does what is right and good, and if he returns the security he took for a loan or gives back what he stole, if he stops sinning and follows the laws that give life, he will not die, but he will live. None of the sins that he has done will be remembered. He has done what is fair and right. He will certainly live.' But your people say: 'Jehovah's way is not right.' Yet, their ways are not right. If the righteous person turns from the right things that he has done and does evil, he will die because of it. If the wicked person turns from his wickedness and does what is fair and right, he will live because of it. The people of Israel say: 'Jehovah's way is not right.' I will judge each of you by your own ways, people of Israel.
Listen to what Jehovah said: Arise, plead your case before the mountains. Let the hills hear your voice. Hear Jehovah's indictment you mountains and you enduring foundations of the earth! Jehovah argues a case against his people. He will contend with Israel: O my people, what have I done to you? How have I grieved you? Respond to me. read more.
I brought you out of the land of Egypt. I redeemed you out of the house of bondage. I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab devised, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him. Remember from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of Jehovah. With what shall I come before Jehovah? Shall I bow down before the high God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with year old calves? Will Jehovah be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for my sin? He told you, O lowly man, what is good and what Jehovah requires of you. You should display justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God! The voice of Jehovah calls to the city. The man of wisdom will see (respect) your name! Hear the rod and who appointed it.
I brought you out of the land of Egypt. I redeemed you out of the house of bondage. I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. O my people, remember now what Balak king of Moab devised, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him. Remember from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of Jehovah. With what shall I come before Jehovah? Shall I bow down before the high God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with year old calves? Will Jehovah be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for my sin? He told you, O lowly man, what is good and what Jehovah requires of you. You should display justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God! The voice of Jehovah calls to the city. The man of wisdom will see (respect) your name! Hear the rod and who appointed it.
Like your fathers before you, you have turned away from my laws and have not obeyed them. Return to me and I will return to you, said Jehovah of Hosts. But you ask, 'how will we return to you?' I ask you: 'will you rob and defraud God? Of course not, yet you are robbing and defrauding me!' 'How have we robbed and defrauded?' You ask. 'In the matter of tithes and offerings.' A curse is on all of you because the whole nation is cheating me. read more.
Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse. Test me, said Jehovah of Hosts, and see if I will open the windows of heaven and pour out showers of blessing upon you until there is no more want. I will not let insects destroy your crops. Your grapevines will produce abundantly. All the nations will pronounce you happy because your land will be a good place to live. You have said terrible things about me, said Jehovah of Hosts. Yet you ask: 'What have we said about you?' You have said: 'There is no value to serve God. What is the use of doing what he says or of trying to show Jehovah of Hosts that we are sorry for what we have done?' We call arrogant people happy. Evil people test God's patience with their wicked deeds. They not only get away with it, they also prosper.
Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse. Test me, said Jehovah of Hosts, and see if I will open the windows of heaven and pour out showers of blessing upon you until there is no more want. I will not let insects destroy your crops. Your grapevines will produce abundantly. All the nations will pronounce you happy because your land will be a good place to live. You have said terrible things about me, said Jehovah of Hosts. Yet you ask: 'What have we said about you?' You have said: 'There is no value to serve God. What is the use of doing what he says or of trying to show Jehovah of Hosts that we are sorry for what we have done?' We call arrogant people happy. Evil people test God's patience with their wicked deeds. They not only get away with it, they also prosper.
Malachi » Reproves God's people for their impiety
Like your fathers before you, you have turned away from my laws and have not obeyed them. Return to me and I will return to you, said Jehovah of Hosts. But you ask, 'how will we return to you?' I ask you: 'will you rob and defraud God? Of course not, yet you are robbing and defrauding me!' 'How have we robbed and defrauded?' You ask. 'In the matter of tithes and offerings.' A curse is on all of you because the whole nation is cheating me. read more.
Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse. Test me, said Jehovah of Hosts, and see if I will open the windows of heaven and pour out showers of blessing upon you until there is no more want. I will not let insects destroy your crops. Your grapevines will produce abundantly. All the nations will pronounce you happy because your land will be a good place to live. You have said terrible things about me, said Jehovah of Hosts. Yet you ask: 'What have we said about you?' You have said: 'There is no value to serve God. What is the use of doing what he says or of trying to show Jehovah of Hosts that we are sorry for what we have done?' We call arrogant people happy. Evil people test God's patience with their wicked deeds. They not only get away with it, they also prosper.
Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse. Test me, said Jehovah of Hosts, and see if I will open the windows of heaven and pour out showers of blessing upon you until there is no more want. I will not let insects destroy your crops. Your grapevines will produce abundantly. All the nations will pronounce you happy because your land will be a good place to live. You have said terrible things about me, said Jehovah of Hosts. Yet you ask: 'What have we said about you?' You have said: 'There is no value to serve God. What is the use of doing what he says or of trying to show Jehovah of Hosts that we are sorry for what we have done?' We call arrogant people happy. Evil people test God's patience with their wicked deeds. They not only get away with it, they also prosper.
The Proud » General references to
Jehovah of Hosts proclaims: The day is coming when all arrogant and evil people will burn like stubble. On that day they will burn up and there will be nothing left of them, either root or bough.
Blessed is the man who has made Jehovah his security. He has not turned to the proud, or to those who turn aside into falsehood.
Even though Jehovah is high above, he sees humble people close up, and he recognizes arrogant people from a distance.
We are filled with the scoffing of those who are at ease, and with the contempt of the proud.
he is proud, knows nothing, has a morbid interest in questions and disputes about words, which leads to envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions,
But he gives more grace. The scripture said, God resists the proud, but gives grace (loving-kindness) to the humble.
The arrogant have dug pits for me. They are not in agreement with your law.
Let the arrogant be ashamed, for they subvert me with a lie. I shall meditate on your precepts.
We call arrogant people happy. Evil people test God's patience with their wicked deeds. They not only get away with it, they also prosper.
Wicked people » Prosperity of
([Psalm of David]) Do not be bothered by evildoers. Do not envy those who do wicked things.
The tents of marauders prosper and those who provoke God are secure in what God's hand brings them.
Though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and he lives a long life, yet I know that it will be well with those who respect (reverence) God and worship him. Things will not go well with the wicked. He will not prolong his days. His days are like a shadow. He does not respect God.
I have seen a wicked, violent man spreading himself like a luxuriant tree in its native soil. Then he passed away, and lo, he was no more. I searched for him, but he could not be found.
We call arrogant people happy. Evil people test God's patience with their wicked deeds. They not only get away with it, they also prosper.
Why do you make me see wickedness and immorality? Destruction and violence are before me. Strife exists and contention arises. The law is paralyzed and justice is never delivered. The wicked surround the righteous and deliver perverted justice.
I have seen a stubborn fool take root and I quickly cursed his house. His children are far from help. They are crushed at the court of justice at the city gate. No one is there to rescue them. Hungry people eat what a stubborn fool gathers. They take it even from among the thorns. Thirsty people pant after his wealth.
He wanders about as food for vultures and he knows the day of darkness is at hand.
He will no longer be rich and his wealth will not endure, nor will his possessions spread over the land.
Distress will overtake him in the midst of his plenty. The full force of misery will come upon him.
Why do the wicked live on, reach old age, and become mighty in power? Their children are established in their presence, and their offspring before their eyes. Their houses are safe and without fear, and no rod of God is upon them. read more.
Their bull breeds without fail and their cow calves and never miscarries. They send out their little ones like a flock, and their children dance around. They sing to the tambourine and the lyre, and rejoice to the sound of the pipe. They spend their days in prosperity, and in peace they go down to the grave.
Their bull breeds without fail and their cow calves and never miscarries. They send out their little ones like a flock, and their children dance around. They sing to the tambourine and the lyre, and rejoice to the sound of the pipe. They spend their days in prosperity, and in peace they go down to the grave.
One can see that wise people die, that foolish and stupid people meet the same end. They leave their wealth to others. Inwardly they think their houses are forever, their dwelling place to all generations. So they named their lands after themselves. But mortals will not continue here with what they treasure. They are like animals that die. read more.
This is the final outcome for fools and their followers who are delighted by what they say: Like sheep, they are laid in the grave. Death will shepherd them. The upright will rule them in the morning. Their forms will decay in the grave, far away from their comfortable homes. But God will redeem me (buy me back) from the power of the grave because he will receive me.
This is the final outcome for fools and their followers who are delighted by what they say: Like sheep, they are laid in the grave. Death will shepherd them. The upright will rule them in the morning. Their forms will decay in the grave, far away from their comfortable homes. But God will redeem me (buy me back) from the power of the grave because he will receive me.
I was envious of arrogant people when I saw the peace and prosperity that wicked people enjoy. They suffer no pain. Their bodies are healthy. They have no drudgery in their lives like ordinary people. They are not plagued with problems like mankind. read more.
That is why arrogance is their necklace and violence covers them like clothing. Their eyes stand out with fatness, and their heart's imagination run wild. They ridicule. They speak maliciously. They speak arrogantly about oppression. They set their mouth in the heavens and their tongue parades through the earth. Therefore his people return here and here they drink waters of abundance. They ask: How does God know? And is there knowledge with the most High? Behold, these are the ungodly. They prosper in the world; they increase in wealth. I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocence. I have been plagued all day long, and chastened every morning. If I say, I will speak thus; then, I would offend the generation of your children. When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me. I understood their end when I went into the sanctuary of God. Surely you set them in slippery places. You threw them down into destruction. How are they destroyed, suddenly! They are utterly consumed with terrors. It is like waking up from a dream, O Jehovah. When you awake you will despise everything they represent. My heart was grieved and I was pierced within. I was so foolish and ignorant: I was like a beast before you.
That is why arrogance is their necklace and violence covers them like clothing. Their eyes stand out with fatness, and their heart's imagination run wild. They ridicule. They speak maliciously. They speak arrogantly about oppression. They set their mouth in the heavens and their tongue parades through the earth. Therefore his people return here and here they drink waters of abundance. They ask: How does God know? And is there knowledge with the most High? Behold, these are the ungodly. They prosper in the world; they increase in wealth. I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocence. I have been plagued all day long, and chastened every morning. If I say, I will speak thus; then, I would offend the generation of your children. When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me. I understood their end when I went into the sanctuary of God. Surely you set them in slippery places. You threw them down into destruction. How are they destroyed, suddenly! They are utterly consumed with terrors. It is like waking up from a dream, O Jehovah. When you awake you will despise everything they represent. My heart was grieved and I was pierced within. I was so foolish and ignorant: I was like a beast before you.
A stupid (senseless) person cannot know and a fool cannot understand. Wicked people sprout like grass and all troublemakers flourish. Yet they will be destroyed forever.
Jehovah, if I argued my case with you, you would prove to be right. Indeed, I must question you about matters of justice. Why are the wicked so prosperous? Why do dishonest people succeed with impunity? You plant them, and they take root. They grow and bear fruit. You are near their lips, but far from their mind.
Your eyes are too pure to look at evil. You cannot look at perversity. Why do you look at treacherous persons and not act? Why do you keep quiet when the wicked destroy the man who is more righteous? Why do you make men like the fish of the sea, like creeping things that have no ruler over them? He brings them all up with the hook. He gathers them away in his net. He gladly gathers them and rejoices. read more.
He offers sacrifices and burns incense to his fishing net. For it is through this their catch is great and the food is plentiful. Will they keep on emptying their nets and keep on destroying nations without mercy?
He offers sacrifices and burns incense to his fishing net. For it is through this their catch is great and the food is plentiful. Will they keep on emptying their nets and keep on destroying nations without mercy?