12 Bible Verses about Heathen

This, then, I say, and I testify in the Lord; ye are no more to walk, as also the other nations walk, in the vanity of their mind, being darkened in the understanding, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart, who, having ceased to feel, themselves did give up to the lasciviousness, for the working of all uncleanness in greediness;

for sufficient to us is the past time of life the will of the nations to have wrought, having walked in lasciviousnesses, desires, excesses of wines, revellings, drinking-bouts, and unlawful idolatries,

Why have nations tumultuously assembled? And do peoples meditate vanity?

and the Writing having foreseen that by faith God doth declare righteous the nations did proclaim before the good news to Abraham --

And the sons of Israel, those returning from the captivity, and every one who is separated from the uncleanness of the nations of the land unto them, to seek to Jehovah, God of Israel, do eat,

and he walketh in the way of the kings of Israel, and also his son he hath caused to pass over into fire, according to the abominations of the nations that Jehovah dispossessed from the presence of the sons of Israel,

And -- praying -- ye may not use vain repetitions like the nations, for they think that in their much speaking they shall be heard,

Sunk have nations in a pit they made, In a net that they hid hath their foot been captured.

Why have nations tumultuously assembled? And do peoples meditate vanity?

And casteth out nations from before them, And causeth them to fall in the line of inheritance, And causeth the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents,

And He giveth to them the lands of nations, And the labour of peoples they possess,

And He gave their land an inheritance, An inheritance to Israel His people,

And He gave their land for inheritance, For to the age is His kindness. An inheritance to Israel His servant, For to the age is His kindness.

Sing, O barren, she hath not borne! Break forth with singing, and cry aloud, She hath not brought forth! For more are the sons of the desolate, Than the sons of the married one, said Jehovah. Enlarge the place of thy tent, And the curtains of thy tabernacles they stretch out, Restrain not -- lengthen thy cords, And thy pins make strong. For right and left thou breakest forth, And thy seed doth nations possess,

Thus said Cyrus king of Persia, All kingdoms of the earth hath Jehovah, God of the heavens, given to me, and He hath laid a charge on me to build to Him a house in Jerusalem, that is in Judah; who is among you of all His people? Jehovah his God is with him, and he doth go up.'

And in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, at the completion of the word of Jehovah from the mouth of Jeremiah, hath Jehovah waked up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, and he causeth an intimation to pass over into all his kingdom, and also in writing, saying, Thus said Cyrus king of Persia, All kingdoms of the earth hath Jehovah, God of the heavens, given to me, and He hath laid a charge on me to build to Him a house in Jerusalem, that is in Judah; who is among you of all His people? His God is with him, and he doth go up to Jerusalem, that is in Judah, and build the house of Jehovah, God of Israel -- He is God -- that is in Jerusalem. read more.
And every one who is left, of any of the places where he is a sojourner, assist him do the men of his place with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, along with a free-will offering for the house of God, that is in Jerusalem.'

'Ye are not defiled with all these, for with all these have the nations been defiled which I am sending away from before you; and the land is defiled, and I charge its iniquity upon it, and the land vomiteth out its inhabitants:

Thou, with Thy hand, nations hast dispossessed. And Thou dost plant them. Thou afflictest peoples, and sendest them away.

And Jesus having entered into Capernaum, there came to him a centurion calling upon him, and saying, 'Sir, my young man hath been laid in the house a paralytic, fearfully afflicted,' and Jesus saith to him, 'I, having come, will heal him.' read more.
And the centurion answering said, 'Sir, I am not worthy that thou mayest enter under my roof, but only say a word, and my servant shall be healed; for I also am a man under authority, having under myself soldiers, and I say to this one, Go, and he goeth, and to another, Be coming, and he cometh, and to my servant, Do this, and he doth it.' And Jesus having heard, did wonder, and said to those following, 'Verily I say to you, not even in Israel so great faith have I found; and I say to you, that many from east and west shall come and recline (at meat) with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the reign of the heavens, but the sons of the reign shall be cast forth to the outer darkness -- there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth.' And Jesus said to the centurion, 'Go, and as thou didst believe let it be to thee;' and his young man was healed in that hour.

and a certain centurion's servant being ill, was about to die, who was much valued by him, and having heard about Jesus, he sent unto him elders of the Jews, beseeching him, that having come he might thoroughly save his servant. And they, having come near unto Jesus, were calling upon him earnestly, saying -- 'He is worthy to whom thou shalt do this, read more.
for he doth love our nation, and the synagogue he did build to us.' And Jesus was going on with them, and now when he is not far distant from the house the centurion sent unto him friends, saying to him, 'Sir, be not troubled, for I am not worthy that under my roof thou mayest enter; wherefore not even myself thought I worthy to come unto thee, but say in a word, and my lad shall be healed; for I also am a man placed under authority, having under myself soldiers, and I say to this one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Be coming, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doth it.' And having heard these things Jesus wondered at him, and having turned to the multitude following him, he said, 'I say to you, not even in Israel so much faith did I find;'

And Jesus having entered into Capernaum, there came to him a centurion calling upon him, and saying, 'Sir, my young man hath been laid in the house a paralytic, fearfully afflicted,' and Jesus saith to him, 'I, having come, will heal him.' read more.
And the centurion answering said, 'Sir, I am not worthy that thou mayest enter under my roof, but only say a word, and my servant shall be healed; for I also am a man under authority, having under myself soldiers, and I say to this one, Go, and he goeth, and to another, Be coming, and he cometh, and to my servant, Do this, and he doth it.' And Jesus having heard, did wonder, and said to those following, 'Verily I say to you, not even in Israel so great faith have I found; and I say to you, that many from east and west shall come and recline (at meat) with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the reign of the heavens, but the sons of the reign shall be cast forth to the outer darkness -- there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth.' And Jesus said to the centurion, 'Go, and as thou didst believe let it be to thee;' and his young man was healed in that hour.

and a certain centurion's servant being ill, was about to die, who was much valued by him, and having heard about Jesus, he sent unto him elders of the Jews, beseeching him, that having come he might thoroughly save his servant. And they, having come near unto Jesus, were calling upon him earnestly, saying -- 'He is worthy to whom thou shalt do this, read more.
for he doth love our nation, and the synagogue he did build to us.' And Jesus was going on with them, and now when he is not far distant from the house the centurion sent unto him friends, saying to him, 'Sir, be not troubled, for I am not worthy that under my roof thou mayest enter; wherefore not even myself thought I worthy to come unto thee, but say in a word, and my lad shall be healed; for I also am a man placed under authority, having under myself soldiers, and I say to this one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Be coming, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doth it.' And having heard these things Jesus wondered at him, and having turned to the multitude following him, he said, 'I say to you, not even in Israel so much faith did I find;'

Who are saying, 'Keep to thyself, come not nigh to me, For I have declared thee unholy.' These are a smoke in Mine anger, A fire burning all the day.

but in every nation he who is fearing Him, and is working righteousness, is acceptable to Him;

In that hour come forth have fingers of a man's hand, and they are writing over-against the candlestick, on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace: and the king is seeing the extremity of the hand that is writing;

'Then from before Him sent is the extremity of the hand, and the writing is noted down; and this is the writing that is noted down: Numbered, Numbered, Weighed, and Divided. This is the interpretation of the thing: Numbered -- God hath numbered thy kingdom, and hath finished it. read more.
Weighed -- Thou art weighed in the balances, and hast been found lacking. Divided -- Divided is thy kingdom, and it hath been given to the Medes and Persians.' Then hath Belshazzar said, and they have clothed Daniel with purple, and a bracelet of gold is on his neck, and they have proclaimed concerning him that he is the third ruler in the kingdom.

And Melchizedek king of Salem hath brought out bread and wine, and he is priest of God Most High; and he blesseth him, and saith, 'Blessed is Abram to God Most High, possessing heaven and earth; and blessed is God Most High, who hath delivered thine adversaries into thy hand;' and he giveth to him a tenth of all.

And it cometh to pass, at the end of two years of days that Pharaoh is dreaming, and lo, he is standing by the River, and lo, from the River coming up are seven kine, of fair appearance, and fat in flesh, and they feed among the reeds; and lo, seven other kine are coming up after them out of the River, of bad appearance, and lean in flesh, and they stand near the kine on the edge of the River, read more.
and the kine of bad appearance and lean in flesh eat up the seven kine of fair appearance, and fat -- and Pharaoh awaketh. And he sleepeth, and dreameth a second time, and lo, seven ears are coming up on one stalk, fat and good, and lo, seven ears, thin, and blasted with an east wind, are springing up after them; and the thin ears swallow the seven fat and full ears -- and Pharaoh awaketh, and lo, a dream. And it cometh to pass in the morning, that his spirit is moved, and he sendeth and calleth all the scribes of Egypt, and all its wise men, and Pharaoh recounteth to them his dream, and there is no interpreter of them to Pharaoh. And the chief of the butlers speaketh with Pharaoh, saying, 'My sin I mention this day: Pharaoh hath been wroth against his servants, and giveth me into charge in the house of the chief of the executioners, me and the chief of the bakers; and we dream a dream in one night, I and he, each according to the interpretation of his dream we have dreamed. And there is with us a youth, a Hebrew, servant to the chief of the executioners, and we recount to him, and he interpreteth to us our dreams, to each according to his dream hath he interpreted, and it cometh to pass, as he hath interpreted to us so it hath been, me he put back on my station, and him he hanged.' And Pharaoh sendeth and calleth Joseph, and they cause him to run out of the pit, and he shaveth, and changeth his garments, and cometh in unto Pharaoh. And Pharaoh saith unto Joseph, 'A dream I have dreamed, and there is no interpreter of it, and I -- I have heard concerning thee, saying, Thou understandest a dream to interpret it,' and Joseph answereth Pharaoh, saying, 'Without me -- God doth answer Pharaoh with peace.' And Pharaoh speaketh unto Joseph: 'In my dream, lo, I am standing by the edge of the River, and lo, out of the River coming up are seven kine, fat in flesh, and of fair form, and they feed among the reeds; and lo, seven other kine are coming up after them, thin, and of very bad form, and lean in flesh; I have not seen like these in all the land of Egypt for badness. 'And the lean and the bad kine eat up the first seven fat kine, and they come in unto their midst, and it hath not been known that they have come in unto their midst, and their appearance is bad as at the commencement; and I awake. 'And I see in my dream, and lo, seven ears are coming up on one stalk, full and good; and lo, seven ears, withered, thin, blasted with an east wind, are springing up after them; and the thin ears swallow the seven good ears; and I tell unto the scribes, and there is none declaring to me.' And Joseph saith unto Pharaoh, 'The dream of Pharaoh is one: that which God is doing he hath declared to Pharaoh; the seven good kine are seven years, and the seven good ears are seven years, the dream is one; and the seven thin and bad kine which are coming up after them are seven years, and the seven empty ears, blasted with an east wind, are seven years of famine; this is the thing which I have spoken unto Pharaoh: That which God is doing, he hath shewn Pharaoh.

And the men of Nineveh believe in God, and proclaim a fast, and put on sackcloth, from their greatest even unto their least, seeing the word doth come unto the king of Nineveh, and he riseth from his throne, and removeth his honourable robe from off him, and spreadeth out sackcloth, and sitteth on the ashes, and he crieth and saith in Nineveh by a decree of the king and his great ones, saying, 'Man and beast, herd and flock -- let them not taste anything, let them not feed, even water let them not drink; read more.
and cover themselves with sackcloth let man and beast, and let them call unto God mightily, and let them turn back each from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. Who knoweth? He doth turn back, and God hath repented, and hath turned back from the heat of His anger, and we do not perish.' And God seeth their works, that they have turned back from their evil way, and God repenteth of the evil that He spake of doing to them, and he hath not done it.

And Jesus having been born in Beth-Lehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, lo, mages from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, 'Where is he who was born king of the Jews? for we saw his star in the east, and we came to bow to him.' And Herod the king having heard, was stirred, and all Jerusalem with him, read more.
and having gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he was inquiring from them where the Christ is born. And they said to him, 'In Beth-Lehem of Judea, for thus it hath been written through the prophet, And thou, Beth-Lehem, the land of Judah, thou art by no means the least among the leaders of Judah, for out of thee shall come one leading, who shall feed My people Israel.' Then Herod, privately having called the mages, did inquire exactly from them the time of the appearing star, and having sent them to Beth-Lehem, he said, 'Having gone -- inquire ye exactly for the child, and whenever ye may have found, bring me back word, that I also having come may bow to him.' And they, having heard the king, departed, and lo, the star, that they did see in the east, did go before them, till, having come, it stood over where the child was. And having seen the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy, and having come to the house, they found the child with Mary his mother, and having fallen down they bowed to him, and having opened their treasures, they presented to him gifts, gold, and frankincense, and myrrh,

'Nebuchadnezzar the king to all peoples, nations, and languages, who are dwelling in all the earth: Your peace be great! The signs and wonders that God Most High hath done with me, it is good before me to shew. His signs how great! and His wonders how mighty! His kingdom is a kingdom age-during, and His rule is with generation and generation. read more.
'I, Nebuchadnezzar, have been at rest in my house, and flourishing in my palace: a dream I have seen, and it maketh me afraid, and the conceptions on my bed, and the visions of my head, do trouble me. And by me a decree is made, to cause all the wise men of Babylon to come up before me, that the interpretation of the dream they may cause me to know. Then coming up are the scribes, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers, and the dream I have told before them, and its interpretation they are not making known to me. And at last come up before me hath Daniel, whose name is Belteshazzar -- according to the name of my god -- and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods, and the dream before him I have told: O Belteshazzar, master of the scribes, as I have known that the spirit of the holy gods is in thee, and no secret doth press thee, the visions of my dream that I have seen, and its interpretation, tell. As to the visions of my head on my bed, I was looking, and lo, a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height is great: become great hath the tree, yea, strong, and its height doth reach to the heavens, and its vision to the end of the whole land; its leaves are fair, and its budding great, and food for all is in it: under it take shade doth the beast of the field, and in its boughs dwell do the birds of the heavens, and of it fed are all flesh. 'I was looking, in the visions of my head on my bed, and lo, a sifter, even a holy one, from the heavens is coming down. He is calling mightily, and thus hath said, Cut down the tree, and cut off its branches, shake off its leaves, and scatter its budding, move away let the beast from under it, and the birds from off its branches; but the stump of its roots leave in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field, and with the dew of the heavens is it wet, and with the beasts is his portion in the herb of the earth; his heart from man's is changed, and the heart of a beast is given to him, and seven times pass over him; by the decree of the sifters is the sentence, and by the saying of the holy ones the requirement, to the intent that the living may know that the Most High is ruler in the kingdom of men, and to whom He willeth He giveth it, and the lowest of men He doth raise up over it. This dream I have seen, I king Nebuchadnezzar; and thou, O Belteshazzar, the interpretation tell, because that all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to cause me to know the interpretation, and thou art able, for the spirit of the holy gods is in thee.

And there was a certain man in Caesarea, by name Cornelius, a centurion from a band called Italian, pious, and fearing God with all his house, doing also many kind acts to the people, and beseeching God always, he saw in a vision manifestly, as it were the ninth hour of the day, a messenger of God coming in unto him, and saying to him, 'Cornelius;' read more.
and he having looked earnestly on him, and becoming afraid, said, 'What is it, Lord?' And he said to him, 'Thy prayers and thy kind acts came up for a memorial before God, and now send men to Joppa, and send for a certain one Simon, who is surnamed Peter, this one doth lodge with a certain Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea; this one shall speak to thee what it behoveth thee to do.' And when the messenger who is speaking to Cornelius went away, having called two of his domestics, and a pious soldier of those waiting on him continually,

And God cometh in unto Abimelech in a dream of the night, and saith to him, 'Lo, thou art a dead man, because of the woman whom thou hast taken -- and she married to a husband.' And Abimelech hath not drawn near unto her, and he saith, 'Lord, also a righteous nation dost thou slay? hath not he himself said to me, She is my sister! and she, even she herself, said, He is my brother; in the integrity of my heart, and in the innocency of my hands, I have done this.' read more.
And God saith unto him in the dream, 'Yea, I -- I have known that in the integrity of thy heart thou hast done this, and I withhold thee, even I, from sinning against Me, therefore I have not suffered thee to come against her; and now send back the man's wife, for he is inspired, and he doth pray for thee, and live thou; and if thou do not send back, know that dying thou dost die, thou, and all that thou hast.'

And Jesus having been born in Beth-Lehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, lo, mages from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, 'Where is he who was born king of the Jews? for we saw his star in the east, and we came to bow to him.' And Herod the king having heard, was stirred, and all Jerusalem with him, read more.
and having gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he was inquiring from them where the Christ is born. And they said to him, 'In Beth-Lehem of Judea, for thus it hath been written through the prophet, And thou, Beth-Lehem, the land of Judah, thou art by no means the least among the leaders of Judah, for out of thee shall come one leading, who shall feed My people Israel.' Then Herod, privately having called the mages, did inquire exactly from them the time of the appearing star, and having sent them to Beth-Lehem, he said, 'Having gone -- inquire ye exactly for the child, and whenever ye may have found, bring me back word, that I also having come may bow to him.' And they, having heard the king, departed, and lo, the star, that they did see in the east, did go before them, till, having come, it stood over where the child was. And having seen the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy, and having come to the house, they found the child with Mary his mother, and having fallen down they bowed to him, and having opened their treasures, they presented to him gifts, gold, and frankincense, and myrrh, and having been divinely warned in a dream not to turn back unto Herod, through another way they withdrew to their own region.

And in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, at the completion of the word of Jehovah from the mouth of Jeremiah, hath Jehovah waked up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, and he causeth an intimation to pass over into all his kingdom, and also in writing, saying, Thus said Cyrus king of Persia, All kingdoms of the earth hath Jehovah, God of the heavens, given to me, and He hath laid a charge on me to build to Him a house in Jerusalem, that is in Judah; who is among you of all His people? His God is with him, and he doth go up to Jerusalem, that is in Judah, and build the house of Jehovah, God of Israel -- He is God -- that is in Jerusalem.

His hand spread out hath an adversary On all her desirable things, For she hath seen -- Nations have entered her sanctuary, Concerning which Thou didst command, 'They do not come into the assembly to thee.'