20 Bible Verses about Falsehood

Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. A slave girl came to him and said, "You also were with Jesus the Galilean." But he denied it in front of them all: "I don't know what you're talking about!" When he went out to the gateway, another slave girl saw him and said to the people there, "This man was with Jesus the Nazarene." read more.
He denied it again with an oath, "I do not know the man!" After a little while, those standing there came up to Peter and said, "You really are one of them too -- even your accent gives you away!" At that he began to curse, and he swore with an oath, "I do not know the man!" At that moment a rooster crowed. Then Peter remembered what Jesus had said: "Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times." And he went outside and wept bitterly.

But he denied it: "I don't even understand what you're talking about!" Then he went out to the gateway, and a rooster crowed. When the slave girl saw him, she began again to say to the bystanders, "This man is one of them." But he denied it again. A short time later the bystanders again said to Peter, "You must be one of them, because you are also a Galilean." read more.
Then he began to curse, and he swore with an oath, "I do not know this man you are talking about!"

Then a slave girl, seeing him as he sat in the firelight, stared at him and said, "This man was with him too!" But Peter denied it: "Woman, I don't know him!" Then a little later someone else saw him and said, "You are one of them too." But Peter said, "Man, I am not!" read more.
And after about an hour still another insisted, "Certainly this man was with him, because he too is a Galilean." But Peter said, "Man, I don't know what you're talking about!" At that moment, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. Then the Lord turned and looked straight at Peter, and Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said to him, "Before a rooster crows today, you will deny me three times." And he went outside and wept bitterly.

Meanwhile Simon Peter was standing in the courtyard warming himself. They said to him, "You aren't one of his disciples too, are you?" Peter denied it: "I am not!" One of the high priest's slaves, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, said, "Did I not see you in the orchard with him?" Then Peter denied it again, and immediately a rooster crowed.

When they had brought them before the magistrates, they said, "These men are throwing our city into confusion. They are Jews and are advocating customs that are not lawful for us to accept or practice, since we are Romans."

For we have found this man to be a troublemaker, one who stirs up riots among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.

But the Jews became jealous, and gathering together some worthless men from the rabble in the marketplace, they formed a mob and set the city in an uproar. They attacked Jason's house, trying to find Paul and Silas to bring them out to the assembly. When they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city officials, screaming, "These people who have stirred up trouble throughout the world have come here too, and Jason has welcomed them as guests! They are all acting against Caesar's decrees, saying there is another king named Jesus!"

When he arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many serious charges that they were not able to prove. Paul said in his defense, "I have committed no offense against the Jewish law or against the temple or against Caesar."

Then the high priest tore his clothes and declared, "He has blasphemed! Why do we still need witnesses? Now you have heard the blasphemy!

You have heard the blasphemy! What is your verdict?" They all condemned him as deserving death.

The Jewish leaders replied, "We are not going to stone you for a good deed but for blasphemy, because you, a man, are claiming to be God." Jesus answered, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, you are gods'? If those people to whom the word of God came were called 'gods' (and the scripture cannot be broken), read more.
do you say about the one whom the Father set apart and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'? If I do not perform the deeds of my Father, do not believe me. But if I do them, even if you do not believe me, believe the deeds, so that you may come to know and understand that I am in the Father and the Father is in me."

"'For this is what the sovereign Lord says: I will deal with you according to what you have done when you despised your oath by breaking your covenant.

He also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him vow allegiance in the name of God. He was stubborn and obstinate, and refused to return to the Lord God of Israel.

But this one from Israel's royal family rebelled against the king of Babylon by sending his emissaries to Egypt to obtain horses and a large army. Will he prosper? Will the one doing these things escape? Can he break the covenant and escape? "'As surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, surely in the city of the king who crowned him, whose oath he despised and whose covenant he broke -- in the middle of Babylon he will die! Pharaoh with his great army and mighty horde will not help him in battle, when siege ramps are erected and siege-walls are built to kill many people. read more.
He despised the oath by breaking the covenant. Take note -- he gave his promise and did all these things -- he will not escape! "'Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: As surely as I live, I will certainly repay him for despising my oath and breaking my covenant! I will throw my net over him and he will be caught in my snare; I will bring him to Babylon and judge him there because of the unfaithfulness he committed against me.

"Why does this man speak this way? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

Then the experts in the law and the Pharisees began to think to themselves, "Who is this man who is uttering blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?"

Just then some people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Have courage, son! Your sins are forgiven." Then some of the experts in the law said to themselves, "This man is blaspheming!" When Jesus saw their reaction he said, "Why do you respond with evil in your hearts? read more.
Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven' or to say, 'Stand up and walk'? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins" -- then he said to the paralytic -- "Stand up, take your stretcher, and go home."

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their grandeur. And he said to him, "I will give you all these things if you throw yourself to the ground and worship me."

And he said to him, "To you I will grant this whole realm -- and the glory that goes along with it, for it has been relinquished to me, and I can give it to anyone I wish. So then, if you will worship me, all this will be yours."

As he approached Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, "Look, I know that you are a beautiful woman. When the Egyptians see you they will say, 'This is his wife.' Then they will kill me but will keep you alive. So tell them you are my sister so that it may go well for me because of you and my life will be spared on account of you." read more.
When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. When Pharaoh's officials saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. So Abram's wife was taken into the household of Pharaoh, and he did treat Abram well on account of her. Abram received sheep and cattle, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels. But the Lord struck Pharaoh and his household with severe diseases because of Sarai, Abram's wife. So Pharaoh summoned Abram and said, "What is this you have done to me? Why didn't you tell me that she was your wife? Why did you say, 'She is my sister,' so that I took her to be my wife? Here is your wife! Take her and go!"

Abraham said about his wife Sarah, "She is my sister." So Abimelech, king of Gerar, sent for Sarah and took her.

Then Satan answered the Lord, "Is it for nothing that Job fears God? Have you not made a hedge around him and his household and all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his livestock have increased in the land.

But Satan answered the Lord, "Skin for skin! Indeed, a man will give up all that he has to save his life! But extend your hand and strike his bone and his flesh, and he will no doubt curse you to your face!"

Rebekah said to her son Jacob, "Look, I overheard your father tell your brother Esau, Bring me some wild game and prepare for me some tasty food. Then I will eat it and bless you in the presence of the Lord before I die.' Now then, my son, do exactly what I tell you! read more.
Go to the flock and get me two of the best young goats. I'll prepare them in a tasty way for your father, just the way he loves them. Then you will take it to your father. Thus he will eat it and bless you before he dies." "But Esau my brother is a hairy man," Jacob protested to his mother Rebekah, "and I have smooth skin! My father may touch me! Then he'll think I'm mocking him and I'll bring a curse on myself instead of a blessing." So his mother told him, "Any curse against you will fall on me, my son! Just obey me! Go and get them for me!" So he went and got the goats and brought them to his mother. She prepared some tasty food, just the way his father loved it. Then Rebekah took her older son Esau's best clothes, which she had with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob. She put the skins of the young goats on his hands and the smooth part of his neck. Then she handed the tasty food and the bread she had made to her son Jacob. He went to his father and said, "My father!" Isaac replied, "Here I am. Which are you, my son?" Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau, your firstborn. I've done as you told me. Now sit up and eat some of my wild game so that you can bless me." But Isaac asked his son, "How in the world did you find it so quickly, my son?" "Because the Lord your God brought it to me," he replied. Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Come closer so I can touch you, my son, and know for certain if you really are my son Esau." So Jacob went over to his father Isaac, who felt him and said, "The voice is Jacob's, but the hands are Esau's." He did not recognize him because his hands were hairy, like his brother Esau's hands. So Isaac blessed Jacob. Then he asked, "Are you really my son Esau?" "I am," Jacob replied.

Then Rebekah said to Isaac, "I am deeply depressed because of these daughters of Heth. If Jacob were to marry one of these daughters of Heth who live in this land, I would want to die!"

Then Hushai reported to Zadok and Abiathar the priests, "Here is what Ahithophel has advised Absalom and the leaders of Israel to do, and here is what I have advised. Now send word quickly to David and warn him, "Don't spend the night at the fords of the desert tonight. Instead, be sure you cross over, or else the king and everyone who is with him may be overwhelmed." Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying in En Rogel. A female servant would go and inform them, and they would then go and inform King David. It was not advisable for them to be seen going into the city. read more.
But a young man saw them on one occasion and informed Absalom. So the two of them quickly departed and went to the house of a man in Bahurim. There was a well in his courtyard, and they got down in it. His wife then took the covering and spread it over the top of the well and scattered some grain over it. No one was aware of what she had done. When the servants of Absalom approached the woman at her home, they asked, "Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?" The woman replied to them, "They crossed over the stream." Absalom's men searched but did not find them, so they returned to Jerusalem. After the men had left, Ahimaaz and Jonathan climbed out of the well. Then they left and informed King David. They advised David, "Get up and cross the stream quickly, for Ahithophel has devised a plan to catch you." So David and all the people who were with him got up and crossed the Jordan River. By dawn there was not one person left who had not crossed the Jordan.

So Michal lowered David through the window, and he ran away and escaped. Then Michal took a household idol and put it on the bed. She put a quilt made of goat's hair over its head and then covered the idol with a garment. When Saul sent messengers to arrest David, she said, "He's sick." read more.
Then Saul sent the messengers back to see David, saying, "Bring him up to me on his bed so I can kill him." When the messengers came, they found only the idol on the bed and the quilt made of goat's hair at its head. Saul said to Michal, "Why have you deceived me this way by sending my enemy away? Now he has escaped!" Michal replied to Saul, "He said to me, 'Help me get away or else I will kill you!'"

Jehu assembled all the people and said to them, "Ahab worshiped Baal a little; Jehu will worship him with great devotion. So now, bring to me all the prophets of Baal, as well as all his servants and priests. None of them must be absent, for I am offering a great sacrifice to Baal. Any of them who fail to appear will lose their lives." But Jehu was tricking them so he could destroy the servants of Baal. Then Jehu ordered, "Make arrangements for a celebration for Baal." So they announced it. read more.
Jehu sent invitations throughout Israel, and all the servants of Baal came; not one was absent. They arrived at the temple of Baal and filled it up from end to end. Jehu ordered the one who was in charge of the wardrobe, "Bring out robes for all the servants of Baal." So he brought out robes for them. Then Jehu and Jehonadab son of Rekab went to the temple of Baal. Jehu said to the servants of Baal, "Make sure there are no servants of the Lord here with you; there must be only servants of Baal." They went inside to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had stationed eighty men outside. He had told them, "If any of the men inside get away, you will pay with your lives!" When he finished offering the burnt sacrifice, Jehu ordered the royal guard and officers, "Come in and strike them down! Don't let any escape!" So the royal guard and officers struck them down with the sword and left their bodies lying there. Then they entered the inner sanctuary of the temple of Baal. They hauled out the sacred pillar of the temple of Baal and burned it. They demolished the sacred pillar of Baal and the temple of Baal; it is used as a latrine to this very day. So Jehu eradicated Baal worship from Israel.

But you will be able to counter the advice of Ahithophel if you go back to the city and say to Absalom, 'I will be your servant, O king! Previously I was your father's servant, and now I will be your servant.' Zadok and Abiathar the priests will be there with you. Everything you hear in the king's palace you must tell Zadok and Abiathar the priests. Furthermore, their two sons are there with them, Zadok's son Ahimaaz and Abiathar's son Jonathan. You must send them to me with any information you hear." read more.
So David's friend Hushai arrived in the city, just as Absalom was entering Jerusalem.

But he only got as far as the Benjamin Gate. There an officer in charge of the guards named Irijah, who was the son of Shelemiah and the grandson of Hananiah, stopped him. He seized Jeremiah and said, "You are deserting to the Babylonians!" Jeremiah answered, "That's a lie! I am not deserting to the Babylonians." But Irijah would not listen to him. Irijah put Jeremiah under arrest and took him to the officials. The officials were very angry at Jeremiah. They had him flogged and put in prison in the house of Jonathan, the royal secretary, which they had converted into a place for confining prisoners.

Then the king arranged for a meeting with the priest Ahimelech son of Ahitub and all the priests of his father's house who were at Nob. They all came to the king. Then Saul said, "Listen, son of Ahitub." He replied, "Here I am, my lord." Saul said to him, "Why have you conspired against me, you and this son of Jesse? You gave him bread and a sword and inquired of God on his behalf, so that he opposes me and waits in ambush, as is the case today!" read more.
Ahimelech replied to the king, "Who among all your servants is faithful like David? He is the king's son-in-law, the leader of your bodyguard, and honored in your house! Was it just today that I began to inquire of God on his behalf? Far be it from me! The king should not accuse his servant or any of my father's house. For your servant is not aware of all this -- not in whole or in part!" But the king said, "You will surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father's house!

Now there was an old prophet living in Bethel. When his sons came home, they told their father everything the prophet had done in Bethel that day and all the words he had spoken to the king. Their father asked them, "Which road did he take?" His sons showed him the road the prophet from Judah had taken. He then told his sons, "Saddle the donkey for me." When they had saddled the donkey for him, he mounted it read more.
and took off after the prophet, whom he found sitting under an oak tree. He asked him, "Are you the prophet from Judah?" He answered, "Yes, I am." He then said to him, "Come home with me and eat something." But he replied, "I can't go back with you or eat and drink with you in this place. For the Lord gave me strict orders, 'Do not eat or drink there; do not go back the way you came.'" The old prophet then said, "I too am a prophet like you. An angel told me with the Lord's authority, 'Bring him back with you to your house so he can eat and drink.'" But he was lying to him. So the prophet went back with him and ate and drank in his house. While they were sitting at the table, the Lord spoke through the old prophet and he cried out to the prophet from Judah, "This is what the Lord says, 'You have rebelled against the Lord and have not obeyed the command the Lord your God gave you. You went back and ate and drank in this place, even though he said to you, "Do not eat or drink there." Therefore your corpse will not be buried in your ancestral tomb.'"

He altered his behavior in their presence. Since he was in their power, he pretended to be insane, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting his saliva run down his beard. Achish said to his servants, "Look at this madman! Why did you bring him to me? Do I have a shortage of fools, that you have brought me this man to display his insanity in front of me? Should this man enter my house?"

When David's friend Hushai the Arkite came to Absalom, Hushai said to him, "Long live the king! Long live the king!" Absalom said to Hushai, "Do you call this loyalty to your friend? Why didn't you go with your friend?" Hushai replied to Absalom, "No, I will be loyal to the one whom the Lord, these people, and all the men of Israel have chosen. read more.
Moreover, whom should I serve? Should it not be his son? Just as I served your father, so I will serve you."

Then Samuel said to Saul, "I was the one the Lord sent to anoint you as king over his people Israel. Now listen to what the Lord says. Here is what the Lord of hosts says: 'I carefully observed how the Amalekites opposed Israel along the way when Israel came up from Egypt. So go now and strike down the Amalekites. Destroy everything that they have. Don't spare them. Put them to death -- man, woman, child, infant, ox, sheep, camel, and donkey alike.'" read more.
So Saul assembled the army and mustered them at Telaim. There were 200,000 foot soldiers and 10,000 men of Judah. Saul proceeded to the city of Amalek, where he set an ambush in the wadi. Saul said to the Kenites, "Go on and leave! Go down from among the Amalekites! Otherwise I will sweep you away with them! After all, you were kind to all the Israelites when they came up from Egypt." So the Kenites withdrew from among the Amalekites. Then Saul struck down the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, which is next to Egypt. He captured King Agag of the Amalekites alive, but he executed all Agag's people with the sword. However, Saul and the army spared Agag, along with the best of the flock, the cattle, the fatlings, and the lambs, as well as everything else that was of value. They were not willing to slaughter them. But they did slaughter everything that was despised and worthless. Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: "I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned away from me and has not done what I told him to do." Samuel became angry and he cried out to the Lord all that night. Then Samuel got up early to meet Saul the next morning. But Samuel was informed, "Saul has gone to Carmel where he is setting up a monument for himself. Then Samuel left and went down to Gilgal." When Samuel came to him, Saul said to him, "May the Lord bless you! I have done what the Lord said." Samuel replied, "If that is the case, then what is this sound of sheep in my ears and the sound of cattle that I hear?" Saul said, "They were brought from the Amalekites; the army spared the best of the flocks and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord our God. But everything else we slaughtered." Then Samuel said to Saul, "Wait a minute! Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night." Saul said to him, "Tell me." Samuel said, "Is it not true that when you were insignificant in your own eyes, you became head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord chose you as king over Israel. The Lord sent you on a campaign saying, 'Go and exterminate those sinful Amalekites! Fight against them until you have destroyed them.' Why haven't you obeyed the Lord? Instead you have greedily rushed upon the plunder! You have done what is wrong in the Lord's estimation." Then Saul said to Samuel, "But I have obeyed the Lord! I went on the campaign the Lord sent me on. I brought back King Agag of the Amalekites after exterminating the Amalekites. But the army took from the plunder some of the sheep and cattle -- the best of what was to be slaughtered -- to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal." Then Samuel said, "Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as he does in obedience? Certainly, obedience is better than sacrifice; paying attention is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and presumption is like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king." Then Saul said to Samuel, "I have sinned, for I have disobeyed what the Lord commanded and what you said as well. For I was afraid of the army, and I followed their wishes. Now please forgive my sin! Go back with me so I can worship the Lord." Samuel said to Saul, "I will not go back with you, for you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel!"

Gehazi, the prophet Elisha's servant, thought, "Look, my master did not accept what this Syrian Naaman offered him. As certainly as the Lord lives, I will run after him and accept something from him." So Gehazi ran after Naaman. When Naaman saw someone running after him, he got down from his chariot to meet him and asked, "Is everything all right?" He answered, "Everything is fine. My master sent me with this message, 'Look, two servants of the prophets just arrived from the Ephraimite hill country. Please give them a talent of silver and two suits of clothes.'" read more.
Naaman said, "Please accept two talents of silver. He insisted, and tied up two talents of silver in two bags, along with two suits of clothes. He gave them to two of his servants and they carried them for Gehazi. When he arrived at the hill, he took them from the servants and put them in the house. Then he sent the men on their way.

Later Reuben returned to the cistern to find that Joseph was not in it! He tore his clothes, returned to his brothers, and said, "The boy isn't there! And I, where can I go?" So they took Joseph's tunic, killed a young goat, and dipped the tunic in the blood. read more.
Then they brought the special tunic to their father and said, "We found this. Determine now whether it is your son's tunic or not." He recognized it and exclaimed, "It is my son's tunic! A wild animal has eaten him! Joseph has surely been torn to pieces!" Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourned for his son many days. All his sons and daughters stood by him to console him, but he refused to be consoled. "No," he said, "I will go to the grave mourning my son." So Joseph's father wept for him.

telling them, "You are to say, 'His disciples came at night and stole his body while we were asleep.'

So they took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story is told among the Jews to this day.

So I stood over him and put him to death, since I knew that he couldn't live in such a condition. Then I took the crown which was on his head and the bracelet which was on his arm. I have brought them here to my lord." David then grabbed his own clothes and tore them, as did all the men who were with him. They lamented and wept and fasted until evening because Saul, his son Jonathan, the Lord's people, and the house of Israel had fallen by the sword.

she called for her household servants and said to them, "See, my husband brought in a Hebrew man to us to humiliate us. He tried to have sex with me, but I screamed loudly. When he heard me raise my voice and scream, he left his outer garment beside me and ran outside." So she laid his outer garment beside her until his master came home. read more.
This is what she said to him: "That Hebrew slave you brought to us tried to humiliate me,

Then David and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, the Girzites, and the Amalekites. (They had been living in that land for a long time, from the approach to Shur as far as the land of Egypt.) When David would attack a district, he would leave neither man nor woman alive. He would take sheep, cattle, donkeys, camels, and clothing and would then go back to Achish. When Achish would ask, "Where did you raid today?" David would say, "The Negev of Judah" or "The Negev of Jeharmeel" or "The Negev of the Kenites." read more.
Neither man nor woman would David leave alive so as to bring them back to Gath. He was thinking, "This way they can't tell on us, saying, 'This is what David did.'" Such was his practice the entire time that he lived in the country of the Philistines. So Achish trusted David, thinking to himself, "He is really hated among his own people in Israel! From now on he will be my servant."

His wife Jezebel said to him, "You are the king of Israel! Get up, eat some food, and have a good time. I will get the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite for you." She wrote out orders, signed Ahab's name to them, and sealed them with his seal. She then sent the orders to the leaders and to the nobles who lived in Naboth's city. This is what she wrote: "Observe a time of fasting and seat Naboth in front of the people. read more.
Also seat two villains opposite him and have them testify, 'You cursed God and the king.' Then take him out and stone him to death." The men of the city, the leaders and the nobles who lived there, followed the written orders Jezebel had sent them. They observed a time of fasting and put Naboth in front of the people. The two villains arrived and sat opposite him. Then the villains testified against Naboth right before the people, saying, "Naboth cursed God and the king." So they dragged him outside the city and stoned him to death.

the king summoned Shimei and said to him, "You will recall that I made you take an oath by the Lord, and I solemnly warned you, 'If you ever leave and go anywhere, know for sure that you will certainly die.' You said to me, 'The proposal is acceptable; I agree to it.' Why then have you broken the oath you made before the Lord and disobeyed the order I gave you?"

Jesus answered them, "I will also ask you one question. If you answer me then I will also tell you by what authority I do these things. Where did John's baptism come from? From heaven or from people?" They discussed this among themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say, 'Then why did you not believe him?' But if we say, 'From people,' we fear the crowd, for they all consider John to be a prophet." read more.
So they answered Jesus, "We don't know." Then he said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.

Hushai replied to Absalom, "Ahithophel's advice is not sound this time." Hushai went on to say, "You know your father and his men -- they are soldiers and are as dangerous as a bear out in the wild that has been robbed of her cubs. Your father is an experienced soldier; he will not stay overnight with the army. At this very moment he is hiding out in one of the caves or in some other similar place. If it should turn out that he attacks our troops first, whoever hears about it will say, 'Absalom's army has been slaughtered!' read more.
If that happens even the bravest soldier -- one who is lion-hearted -- will virtually melt away. For all Israel knows that your father is a warrior and that those who are with him are brave. My advice therefore is this: Let all Israel from Dan to Beer Sheba -- in number like the sand by the sea! -- be mustered to you, and you lead them personally into battle. We will come against him wherever he happens to be found. We will descend on him like the dew falls on the ground. Neither he nor any of the men who are with him will be spared alive -- not one of them! If he regroups in a city, all Israel will take up ropes to that city and drag it down to the valley, so that not a single pebble will be left there!" Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, "The advice of Hushai the Arkite sounds better than the advice of Ahithophel." Now the Lord had decided to frustrate the sound advice of Ahithophel, so that the Lord could bring disaster on Absalom.

Elisha traveled to Damascus while King Ben Hadad of Syria was sick. The king was told, "The prophet has come here." So the king told Hazael, "Take a gift and go visit the prophet. Request from him an oracle from the Lord. Ask him, 'Will I recover from this sickness?'" So Hazael went to visit Elisha. He took along a gift, as well as forty camel loads of all the fine things of Damascus. When he arrived, he stood before him and said, "Your son, King Ben Hadad of Syria, has sent me to you with this question, 'Will I recover from this sickness?'" read more.
Elisha said to him, "Go and tell him, 'You will surely recover,' but the Lord has revealed to me that he will surely die." Elisha just stared at him until Hazael became uncomfortable. Then the prophet started crying. Hazael asked, "Why are you crying, my master?" He replied, "Because I know the trouble you will cause the Israelites. You will set fire to their fortresses, kill their young men with the sword, smash their children to bits, and rip open their pregnant women." Hazael said, "How could your servant, who is as insignificant as a dog, accomplish this great military victory?" Elisha answered, "The Lord has revealed to me that you will be the king of Syria." He left Elisha and went to his master. Ben Hadad asked him, "What did Elisha tell you?" Hazael replied, "He told me you would surely recover." The next day Hazael took a piece of cloth, dipped it in water, and spread it over Ben Hadad's face until he died. Then Hazael replaced him as king.

Ehud made himself a sword -- it had two edges and was eighteen inches long. He strapped it under his coat on his right thigh. He brought the tribute payment to King Eglon of Moab. (Now Eglon was a very fat man.) After Ehud brought the tribute payment, he dismissed the people who had carried it. read more.
But he went back once he reached the carved images at Gilgal. He said to Eglon, "I have a secret message for you, O king." Eglon said, "Be quiet!" All his attendants left. When Ehud approached him, he was sitting in his well-ventilated upper room all by himself. Ehud said, "I have a message from God for you." When Eglon rose up from his seat, Ehud reached with his left hand, pulled the sword from his right thigh, and drove it into Eglon's belly. The handle went in after the blade, and the fat closed around the blade, for Ehud did not pull the sword out of his belly. As Ehud went out into the vestibule, he closed the doors of the upper room behind him and locked them.

When the people saw that Moses delayed in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said to him, "Get up, make us gods that will go before us. As for this fellow Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him!" So Aaron said to them, "Break off the gold earrings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me." So all the people broke off the gold earrings that were on their ears and brought them to Aaron. read more.
He accepted the gold from them, fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molten calf. Then they said, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt." When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it, and Aaron made a proclamation and said, "Tomorrow will be a feast to the Lord." So they got up early on the next day and offered up burnt offerings and brought peace offerings, and the people sat down to eat and drink, and they rose up to play. The Lord spoke to Moses: "Go quickly, descend, because your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have acted corruptly. They have quickly turned aside from the way that I commanded them -- they have made for themselves a molten calf and have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and said, 'These are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt.'" Then the Lord said to Moses: "I have seen this people. Look what a stiff-necked people they are! So now, leave me alone so that my anger can burn against them and I can destroy them, and I will make from you a great nation." But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God and said, "O Lord, why does your anger burn against your people, whom you have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, 'For evil he led them out to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth'? Turn from your burning anger, and relent of this evil against your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel your servants, to whom you swore by yourself and told them, 'I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken about I will give to your descendants, and they will inherit it forever.'" Then the Lord relented over the evil that he had said he would do to his people. Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hands. The tablets were written on both sides -- they were written on the front and on the back. Now the tablets were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets. When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, "It is the sound of war in the camp!" Moses said, "It is not the sound of those who shout for victory, nor is it the sound of those who cry because they are overcome, but the sound of singing I hear." When he approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses became extremely angry. He threw the tablets from his hands and broke them to pieces at the bottom of the mountain. He took the calf they had made and burned it in the fire, ground it to powder, poured it out on the water, and made the Israelites drink it. Moses said to Aaron, "What did this people do to you, that you have brought on them so great a sin?" Aaron said, "Do not let your anger burn hot, my lord; you know these people, that they tend to evil. They said to me, 'Make us gods that will go before us, for as for this fellow Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.' So I said to them, 'Whoever has gold, break it off.' So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and this calf came out."

Then they secretly instigated some men to say, "We have heard this man speaking blasphemous words against Moses and God." They incited the people, the elders, and the experts in the law; then they approached Stephen, seized him, and brought him before the council. They brought forward false witnesses who said, "This man does not stop saying things against this holy place and the law. read more.
For we have heard him saying that Jesus the Nazarene will destroy this place and change the customs that Moses handed down to us."

But the Lord had told Ahijah, "Look, Jeroboam's wife is coming to find out from you what will happen to her son, for he is sick. Tell her so-and-so. When she comes, she will be in a disguise." When Ahijah heard the sound of her footsteps as she came through the door, he said, "Come on in, wife of Jeroboam! Why are you pretending to be someone else? I have been commissioned to give you bad news. Go, tell Jeroboam, 'This is what the Lord God of Israel says: "I raised you up from among the people and made you ruler over my people Israel.

The man said, "The woman whom you gave me, she gave me some fruit from the tree and I ate it." So the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" And the woman replied, "The serpent tricked me, and I ate."

When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he replied, "She is my sister." He was afraid to say, "She is my wife," for he thought to himself, "The men of this place will kill me to get Rebekah because she is very beautiful." After Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelech king of the Philistines happened to look out a window and observed Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah. So Abimelech summoned Isaac and said, "She is really your wife! Why did you say, 'She is my sister'?" Isaac replied, "Because I thought someone might kill me to get her." read more.
Then Abimelech exclaimed, "What in the world have you done to us? One of the men might easily have had sexual relations with your wife, and you would have brought guilt on us!"

Did Abraham not say to me, 'She is my sister'? And she herself said, 'He is my brother.' I have done this with a clear conscience and with innocent hands!"

To Sarah he said, "Look, I have given a thousand pieces of silver to your 'brother.' This is compensation for you so that you will stand vindicated before all who are with you."

Now a man named Ananias, together with Sapphira his wife, sold a piece of property. He kept back for himself part of the proceeds with his wife's knowledge; he brought only part of it and placed it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back for yourself part of the proceeds from the sale of the land? read more.
Before it was sold, did it not belong to you? And when it was sold, was the money not at your disposal? How have you thought up this deed in your heart? You have not lied to people but to God!" When Ananias heard these words he collapsed and died, and great fear gripped all who heard about it. So the young men came, wrapped him up, carried him out, and buried him. After an interval of about three hours, his wife came in, but she did not know what had happened. Peter said to her, "Tell me, were the two of you paid this amount for the land?" Sapphira said, "Yes, that much." Peter then told her, "Why have you agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out!" At once she collapsed at his feet and died. So when the young men came in, they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

You are making a fatal mistake. For you sent me to the Lord your God and asked me, 'Pray to the Lord our God for us. Tell us what the Lord our God says and we will do it.'

But the woman hid the two men and replied, "Yes, these men were clients of mine, but I didn't know where they came from. When it was time to shut the city gate for the night, the men left. I don't know where they were heading. Chase after them quickly, for you have time to catch them!" (Now she had taken them up to the roof and had hidden them in the stalks of flax she had spread out on the roof.)

The father went to the other son and said the same thing. This boy answered, 'I will, sir,' but did not go.

A certain one of them, in fact, one of their own prophets, said, "Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons."

Jeroboam told his wife, "Disguise yourself so that people cannot recognize you are Jeroboam's wife. Then go to Shiloh; Ahijah the prophet, who told me I would rule over this nation, lives there.

King Solomon then swore an oath by the Lord, "May God judge me severely, if Adonijah does not pay for this request with his life!

The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Look at him, a glutton and a drunk, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' But wisdom is vindicated by her deeds."

Then Sarah lied, saying, "I did not laugh," because she was afraid. But the Lord said, "No! You did laugh."

The serpent said to the woman, "Surely you will not die, for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will open and you will be like divine beings who know good and evil."

He said to her, "Stand watch at the entrance to the tent. If anyone comes along and asks you, 'Is there a man here?' say 'No.'"

He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and look carefully for the child. When you find him, inform me so that I can go and worship him as well."

Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, "There is a particular people that is dispersed and spread among the inhabitants throughout all the provinces of your kingdom whose laws differ from those of all other peoples. Furthermore, they do not observe the king's laws. It is not appropriate for the king to provide a haven for them.

Then the Lord said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?" And he replied, "I don't know! Am I my brother's guardian?"