Thematic Bible: Straying


Thematic Bible



Like a bird wandering from the place of her eggs is a man wandering from his station.

This is what the Lord has said about this people: Even so they have been glad to go from the right way; they have not kept their feet from wandering, so the Lord has no pleasure in them; now he will keep their wrongdoing in mind and send punishment for their sins.

I am a hater of men of doubting mind; but I am a lover of your law. You are my secret place and my breastplate against danger; my hope is in your word. Go far from me, you evil-doers; so that I may keep the teachings of my God. read more.
Be my support as you have said, and give me life; let not my hope be turned to shame. Let me not be moved, and I will be safe, and ever take delight in your rules. You have overcome all those who are wandering from your rules; for all their thoughts are false.

The wanderer from the way of knowledge will have his resting-place among the shades.


But there were false prophets among the people, as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly put forward wrong teachings for your destruction, even turning away from the Lord who gave himself for them; whose destruction will come quickly, and they themselves will be the cause of it. And a great number will go with them in their evil ways, through whom the true way will have a bad name. And in their desire for profit they will come to you with words of deceit, like traders doing business in souls: whose punishment has been ready for a long time and their destruction is watching for them. read more.
For if God did not have pity for the angels who did evil, but sent them down into hell, to be kept in chains of eternal night till they were judged; And did not have mercy on the world which then was, but only kept safe Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when he let loose the waters over the world of the evil-doers; And sent destruction on Sodom and Gomorrah, burning them up with fire as an example to those whose way of life might in the future be unpleasing to him; And kept safe Lot, the upright man, who was deeply troubled by the unclean life of the evil-doers (Because the soul of that upright man living among them was pained from day to day by seeing and hearing their crimes): The Lord is able to keep the upright safe in the time of testing, and to keep evil-doers under punishment till the day of judging; But specially those who go after the unclean desires of the flesh, and make sport of authority. Ready to take chances, uncontrolled, they have no fear of saying evil of those in high places: Though the angels, who are greater in strength and power, do not make use of violent language against them before the Lord. But these men, like beasts without reason, whose natural use is to be taken and put to death, crying out against things of which they have no knowledge, will undergo that same destruction which they are designing for others; For the evil which overtakes them is the reward of their evil-doing: such men take their pleasure in the delights of the flesh even in the daytime; they are like the marks of a disease, like poisoned wounds among you, feasting together with you in joy; Having eyes full of evil desire, never having enough of sin; turning feeble souls out of the true way; they are children of cursing, whose hearts are well used to bitter envy; Turning out of the true way, they have gone wandering in error, after the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who was pleased to take payment for wrongdoing; But his wrongdoing was pointed out to him: an ass, talking with a man's voice, put a stop to the error of the prophet. These are fountains without water, and mists before a driving storm; for whom the eternal night is kept in store. For with high-sounding false words, making use of the attraction of unclean desires of the flesh, they get into their power those newly made free from those who are living in error; Saying that they will be free, while they themselves are the servants of destruction; because whatever gets the better of a man makes a servant of him.

Then there are those who are haters of the light, who have no knowledge of its ways, and do not go in them. He who is purposing death gets up before day, so that he may put to death the poor and those in need. And the man whose desire is for the wife of another is waiting for the evening, saying, No eye will see me; and he puts a cover on his face. And in the night the thief goes about; read more.
In the dark he makes holes in the walls of houses: in the daytime they are shutting themselves up, they have no knowledge of the light. For the middle of the night is as morning to them, they are not troubled by the fear of the dark. They go quickly on the face of the waters; their heritage is cursed in the earth; the steps of the crusher of grapes are not turned to their vine-garden.

Wise purposes will be watching over you, and knowledge will keep you; Giving you salvation from the evil man, from those whose words are false; Who give up the way of righteousness, to go by dark roads; read more.
Who take pleasure in wrongdoing, and have joy in the evil designs of the sinner; Whose ways are not straight, and whose footsteps are turned to evil: To take you out of the power of the strange woman, who says smooth words with her tongue; Who is false to the husband of her early years, and does not keep the agreement of her God in mind: For her house is on the way down to death; her footsteps go down to the shades: Those who go to her do not come back again; their feet do not keep in the ways of life:

For a man's ways are before the eyes of the Lord, and he puts all his goings in the scales. The evil-doer will be taken in the net of his crimes, and prisoned in the cords of his sin. He will come to his end for need of teaching; he is so foolish that he will go wandering from the right way.


Anyone causing the upright to go wandering in an evil way, will himself go down into the hole he has made; but the upright will have good things for their heritage.

Cursed is he by whom the blind are turned out of the way. And let all the people say, So be it.


Basic English, produced by Mr C. K. Ogden of the Orthological Institute - public domain