39 Bible Verses about Society, Negative Aspects Of

And he cried out with a powerful voice, saying, "Fallen, fallen [is] Babylon the great, and it has become a dwelling place of demons and a haunt of every unclean spirit and a haunt of every unclean bird and a haunt of every unclean and detested animal. For all the nations have drunk from the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich from the power of her sensuality."

Now the whole earth [had] one language and the same words. And as people migrated from the east they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. And they said {to each other}, "Come, let us make bricks and {burn them thoroughly}." And they had brick for stone and they had tar for mortar.read more.
And they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower whose top [reaches to] the heavens. And let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered over the face of the whole earth." Then Yahweh came down to see the city and the tower that {humankind} was building. And Yahweh said, "Behold, {they are one people with one language}, and {this is only the beginning of what they will do}. So now nothing that they intend to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand {each other's language}." So Yahweh scattered them from there over the face of the whole earth, and they stopped building the city. Therefore its name was called Babel, for there Yahweh confused the language of the whole earth, and there Yahweh scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

And the two angels came to Sodom in the evening. And Lot was sitting in the gateway of Sodom. Then Lot saw [them] and stood up to meet them. And he bowed down [with his] face to the ground. And he said, "Behold, my lords, please turn aside into the house of your servant and spend the night and wash your feet. Then you can rise early and go on your way." And they said, "No, but we will spend the night in the square." But {he urged them strongly}, and they turned aside with him and came into his house. And he made a meal for them and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.read more.
Before they laid down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both young and old, all the people {to the last man}, surrounded the house. And they called to Lot and said to him, "Where [are] the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we may know them." But Lot went out to them at the entrance, and he shut the door behind him. And he said, "No, my brothers, please do not do [such a] wrong [thing]. Behold, I have two daughters who have not known a man. Please, let me bring them out to you; then do to them as [it seems] good in your eyes. Only to these men do not do [this] thing, since they came under{ my roof} for protection." But they said, "Step aside!" Then they said, "{This fellow} came to dwell as a foreigner and he acts as a judge! Now we shall do worse to you than them!" And they pressed very hard against the man, against Lot, and they drew near to break the door. Then the men reached out [with] their hands and brought Lot in to them, into the house, and they shut the door. And the men who [were] at the entrance of the house they struck with blindness, both small and great, and they were unable to find the entrance. Then the men said to Lot, "Who [is] here with you? Bring out from the place [your] sons-in-law, and your sons and your daughters, and all who [are] with you in the city. For we are [about to] destroy this place, because their cry has become great before Yahweh. Yahweh sent us to destroy it."

And the word of Yahweh {came} to me, {saying}, "And you, son of man, will you judge? Will you judge the {bloody city}? Then you must make known [to] her all of her detestable things! And you must say, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "A city pouring out blood in the midst of her; {its time has come}, and it made idols for itself, becoming unclean.read more.
By your blood that you poured out you have become guilty, and by your idols that you made you have become unclean, and you have brought your days near, {and your appointed years have come}. Therefore I have made you a disgrace for the nations and a laughingstock to all of the countries. The [people] near and the [people] far from you will make fun of you, {the unclean and the terrified}.

"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How many times I wanted to gather your children together {the way} a hen gathers her young together under [her] wings, and you were not willing! Behold, your house has been left to you desolate For I tell you, you will never see me from now [on] until you say, 'Blessed [is] the one who comes in the name of the Lord!'"

"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How many times I wanted to gather your children together {the way} a hen [gathers] her own brood under [her] wings, and you were not willing! Behold, your house has been left to you! And I tell you, you will never see me until [the time] will come when you say, 'Blessed [is] the one who comes in the name of the Lord!'"

And another second angel followed, saying, "Fallen, fallen [is] Babylon the great, who caused all the nations to drink from the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality."

But the scripture imprisoned all under sin, in order that the promise could be given by faith in Jesus Christ to those who believe.

If the world hates you, you know that it has hated me before [it hated] you.

because our struggle is not against blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual [forces] of wickedness in the heavenly [places].

We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in [the power of] the evil one.

And the great dragon was thrown down, the ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

Be very strong to observe carefully all that is written in the scroll of the law of Moses so as not to turn aside from it, [to] the right or left, so as not to go among these remaining nations with you; {do not profess} the name of their gods, and do not swear by them, serve them, or {bow down to them}. But hold fast to Yahweh your God, just as you have done up to this day.

You will not make a covenant with them and with their gods. They will not live in your land, lest they cause you to sin against me when you serve their gods, for it will be a snare to you.'"

"So now, revere Yahweh and serve him in sincerity and faithfulness; remove the gods that your ancestors served beyond the river and in Egypt, and serve Yahweh. But if it is bad in your eyes to serve Yahweh, choose for yourselves today whom you want to serve, whether it is the gods that your ancestors served beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you [are] living; but as for me and my household, we will serve Yahweh." And the people answered and said, "Far be it from us that we would forsake Yahweh to serve other gods,read more.
for Yahweh our God brought us and our ancestors from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery, and did these great signs before our eyes. He protected us along the entire way that we went, and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed. And Yahweh drove out all the people before us, the Amorites who live [in] the land. We will serve Yahweh, for he [is] our God." But Joshua said to the people, "You cannot serve Yahweh, for he [is] a holy and jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. If you forsake Yahweh and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster to you; he will destroy you after he has done good to you." And the people said to Joshua, "No, we will serve Yahweh." And Joshua said to the people, "You [are] witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves to serve Yahweh." And they said, "[We are] witnesses." He said, "Remove the foreign gods that [are] in your midst, and incline your hearts to Yahweh the God of Israel."

King Solomon loved many foreign women: the daughter of Pharaoh, Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, Hittite; from the nations which Yahweh had said to the {Israelites}, "You shall not {marry them}, and they shall not {marry you}. They will certainly turn your heart after other gods." But Solomon clung to them to love. He had seven hundred princesses and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned his heart.read more.
It happened at the time of Solomon's old age that his wives guided his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully with Yahweh his God as the heart of David his father [had been]. Solomon went after Ashtoreth the god of [the] Sidonians and after Molech the abhorrence of the Ammonites. So Solomon did evil in the eyes of Yahweh and did not fully [follow] after Yahweh as David his father.

So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and he told him, so Ahab went to meet Elijah. When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, "[Is] this you [who] throws Israel into confusion?" He said, "I did not throw Israel into confusion; rather you and the house of your father [have] by forsaking the commands of Yahweh when you went after the Baals!read more.
So then, send [word] and assemble all of Israel to me on Mount Carmel, with the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at the table of Jezebel." So Ahab sent [word] among the {Israelites}, and he assembled the prophets to Mount Carmel. Elijah approached to all the people and said, "How long [will] you [go] limping over two opinions? If Yahweh [is] God, go after him; but if Baal, go after him." But the people did not answer him a word. Then Elijah said to the people, "I alone [am] left a prophet of Yahweh, but the prophets of Baal [are] four hundred and fifty men. Let them give us two bulls, and let them choose for themselves one bull, cut him in pieces, and put it on the wood, but don't let them start a fire on it. I will prepare the other bull and set it on the wood, but I will put no fire [on it]. Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of Yahweh, and it shall be that the god who answers by fire, he [is] God." Then all the people answered and said, "The word [is] good!" Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, "Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you [are] the majority, and call on the name of your god, but don't set fire [under it]." So they took the bull that he allowed to them, prepared it, and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, "O Baal, answer us!" But there was no voice and there was no answer, so they limped about the altar which they had made. It happened at noon that Elijah mocked them and said, "Call out with a loud voice, for he [is] a god! Perhaps he is meditating, or {is using the bathroom}, or [is] on a journey. Perhaps he [is] asleep and must wake up!" So they called out with a loud voice, and they cut themselves with swords and with spears as was their custom, until the blood poured out over them. It happened as noon passed, they raged until the [time of] the evening offering, but there was no voice, there was no answer, and no [one] paid attention. Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come near to me," so all the people came closer to him. He repaired the altar of Yahweh [that had been] destroyed. Elijah took twelve stones according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of God came, saying, "Israel shall be your name." With them, he built an altar in the name of Yahweh, and he made a trench {which would have held} about two seahs of seed, all around the altar. And he arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces, and placed [it] on the wood. Then he said, "Fill four jars [with] water, and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood." He said, "Do [it] again!" They did [it] again. He said, "Do [it] a third time!" So they did [it] a third time. The water went all around the altar, and the trench also was filled [with] water. It happened at the offering of the [evening] oblation, Elijah the prophet went near, and he said, "O Yahweh, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel; let it be known today that you [are] God in Israel and [that] I [am] your servant and [that] I have done all of these things by your words. Answer me, O Yahweh, answer me; that this people may know that you, O Yahweh, [are] God and that you have turned their hearts back again." Then the fire of Yahweh fell, and it consumed the burnt offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust; and the water which [was] in the trench it licked up! When all the people saw, they fell on their faces and said, "Yahweh, he [is] God! Yahweh, he [is] God!" Then Elijah said to them, "Seize the prophets of Baal; don't let any man of them escape!" So they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the wadi of Kishon and killed them there.

After finishing these things the officials approached me saying, "The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated from the people of the lands with their detestable things, and from the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites. For they have taken from their daughters for themselves and their sons. So the holy seed has mixed itself with the peoples of the lands, and the hand of the officials and prefects were foremost in this sin.

For you have forsaken your people, house of Jacob, because they are full from [the] east, and [of] soothsayers like the Philistines, and {they make alliances} with the offspring of foreigners. And its land is filled [with] silver and gold, and there is no end to its treasures; and its land is filled [with] horses, and [there is] no end to its chariots. Its land is filled [with] idols; they bow down to the work of their hands, to what they made [with] their fingers.

Nebuchadnezzar the king made a statue of gold. Its height [was] sixty cubits [and] its width [was] six cubits; he set it up in the valley of Dura in the province of Babylon. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent [directions] to assemble the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates and all of the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the statue that Nebuchadnezzar the king [had] set up. Then the satraps, the prefects, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the province [were] assembled for the dedication of the statue that Nebuchadnezzar the king [had] set up, and [were] standing {before} the statue that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.read more.
Then the herald proclaimed {aloud}, "To you {it is commanded}, O peoples, {nations and people of all languages}, [that] at the time that you hear the sound of the horn, the flute, [the] lyre, [the] trigon, [the] harp, [the] drum and all kinds of music, you must fall down and you must worship the statue of gold that Nebuchadnezzar the king [has] set up. And {whoever} does not fall down and worship will be thrown {immediately} into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire." {Therefore}, {at that time}, {as soon as} all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, the flute, [the] lyre, [the] trigon, [the] harp and all kinds of music, all the peoples, {the nations and people of all languages} [were] falling down [and] were worshiping the statue of gold that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. {Therefore} {at this time} [some] {astrologers} came forward and {they denounced the Jews}. {They responded and said} to Nebuchadnezzar the king, "O king, may [you] live {forever}! You, O king, have made a decree that {everyone} who hears the sound of the horn, the flute, [the] lyre, [the] trigon, [the] harp and [the] drum and all kinds of music, he shall fall down and shall worship the statue of gold. {And whoever} {does not fall down} and worship shall be thrown into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire. [However] there are Judean men whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon--Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego--these men, O king, {pay you no heed} [and] [were] not serving your god, and the statue of gold that you set up they are not worshiping."

Now while Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was provoked within him [when he] observed the city was full of idols. So he was discussing in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing [Gentiles], and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. And even some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him, and some were saying, "What does this babbler want to say?" But [others said], "He appears to be a proclaimer of foreign deities," because he was proclaiming the good news [about] Jesus and the resurrection.read more.
And they took hold of him [and] brought [him] to the Areopagus, saying, "May we learn what [is] this new teaching being proclaimed by you? For you are bringing some astonishing things to our ears. Therefore we want to know what {these things mean}." (Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who stayed there used to spend [their] time in nothing else than telling something or listening to something new.) So Paul stood there in the middle of the Areopagus [and] said, "Men of Athens, I see you [are] very religious {in every respect}. For [as I] was passing through and observing carefully your objects of worship, I even found an altar on which was inscribed, 'To an unknown God.' Therefore what you worship without knowing [it], this I proclaim to you--

Therefore, concerning the eating of food sacrificed to idols, we know that "an idol [is] nothing in the world" and that "[there is] no God except one." For even if after all [there] are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth, just as [there] are many gods and many lords, yet to us [there is] one God, the Father, from whom [are] all [things], and we [are] for him, and [there is] one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom [are] all [things], and we [are] through him.

For there will be a time when they will not put up with sound teaching, but in accordance with their own desires, they will accumulate for themselves teachers, {because they have an insatiable curiosity}, and they will turn away from the hearing of the truth, but will turn to myths.

Little children, guard yourselves from idols.

For [there is] one God and one mediator between God and human beings, the man Christ Jesus,

"You [are] my witnesses," {declares} Yahweh, "and my servant whom I have chosen so that you may know and believe {in} me and understand that I [am] he. No god was formed before {me}, and none shall be after me. I myself [am] Yahweh, and there is no savior besides me!

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that is given among people by which we must be saved."

For [although they] knew God, they did not honor [him] as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their reasoning, and their senseless hearts were darkened.

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all impiety and unrighteousness of people, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what can be known about God is evident among them, for God made [it] clear to them. For from the creation of the world, his invisible [attributes], both his eternal power and deity, are discerned clearly, being understood in the things created, so that they are without excuse.read more.
For [although they] knew God, they did not honor [him] as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their reasoning, and their senseless hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God with the likeness of an image of mortal human beings and birds and quadrupeds and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to immorality, [that] their bodies would be dishonored among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God with a lie, and worshiped and served the creation rather than the Creator, who is blessed for eternity. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to degrading passions, for their females exchanged the natural relations for those contrary to nature, and likewise also the males, abandoning the natural relations with the female, were inflamed in their desire toward one another, males with males committing the shameless deed, and receiving in themselves the penalty that was necessary for their error. And just as they did not see fit {to recognize God}, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do the things [that are] not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greediness, malice, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malevolence. [They are] gossipers, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boasters, contrivers of evil, disobedient to parents, senseless, faithless, unfeeling, unmerciful, who, [although they] know the requirements of God, that those who do such things are worthy of death, not only do they do the same [things], but also they approve of those who do [them].

But know this, that in the last days difficult times will come, for people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, arrogant, slanderers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, hardhearted, irreconcilable, slanderous, without self-control, savage, with no interest for what is good,read more.
traitors, reckless, conceited, loving pleasure rather than loving God, maintaining a form of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid these [people].

After these [things] I saw another angel descending from heaven, who had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. And he cried out with a powerful voice, saying, "Fallen, fallen [is] Babylon the great, and it has become a dwelling place of demons and a haunt of every unclean spirit and a haunt of every unclean bird and a haunt of every unclean and detested animal. For all the nations have drunk from the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich from the power of her sensuality."

But my people did not listen to my voice, and Israel did not yield to me. So I let them go in the stubbornness of their heart; they walked in their counsels.

Then I thought, 'How I would set you among the children, and I would give you a land of desire, an inheritance of [the] glory of [the] hosts of nations.' And I thought, 'You would call me, "My father," and you would not turn back from {behind} me.' However, as a wife departs treacherously from her lover, so you have dealt treacherously with me, house of Israel," {declares} Yahweh. "A voice [is] heard on [the] barren heights, the weeping of the pleas for mercy of the children of Israel, because they have perverted their way, they have forgotten Yahweh their God.

Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of testing in the wilderness, where your fathers tested [me] by trial and saw my worksread more.
[for] forty years. Therefore I was angry with this generation, and I said, 'They always go astray in their heart, and they do not know my ways.' As I swore in my anger, '{They will never enter} into my rest.'"

"I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your assemblies. Yes, [even] if you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept [them], and I will not look at the fellowship offerings of your fattened animals. Remove from me the noise of your songs, and I do not want to hear the melody of your harps!read more.
But let justice roll on like the water, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

Thus says Yahweh: "For three transgressions of Israel and for four I will not revoke [the punishment], because they sell the righteous for money and the poor for a pair of sandals! Those who trample the heads of the powerless into the dust of the ground and turn aside the way of the destitute, a man and his father {have sexual relations with} the same girl, so that [they] profane my holy name.

For thus says Yahweh to the house of Israel, "Seek me so that you may live." But do not seek Bethel or go [to] Gilgal or cross over to Beersheba, for Gilgal will certainly go into exile and Bethel will come to disaster." Seek Yahweh so that you may live, so that he will not break out like a fire [against] the house of Joseph! And it will devour, {with none to quench} [it] for Bethel.read more.
[Ah,] you who turn justice into wormwood and hurl righteousness to the ground! The one who made the Pleiades and Orion and who turns deep darkness into the morning and darkens day [into] night, the one who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out on the surface of the earth, Yahweh [is] his name! The one who makes destruction flash upon [the] fierce, {so that} destruction comes upon [the] fortification. They hate the one who reproves in the gate and they abhor the one who speaks honestly. Therefore, because you trample on [the] poor and you take a grain tax from them, you built houses of dressed stone, but you will not live in them. You built vineyards of delightfulness, but you will not drink their wine. For I know your transgressions [are] many and your sins [are] numerous, [you] foes of [the] righteous, those who take a bribe, and {those who} push aside [the] poor [ones] in the gate! Therefore, whoever has insight will keep silent in that time, for it [is] a time of evil. Seek good and not bad in order that you may live, and so Yahweh, the God of hosts, will be with you, as you have said. Hate evil and love good and establish justice in the gate; perhaps Yahweh, the God of hosts, will be gracious [to] the remnant of Joseph.

Hear this, those who trample on [the] poor and who annihilate the afflicted of [the] land, saying, "When will the new moon be over, so that we can sell grain? And the Sabbath, so that we can open the grain bins, that we can make [the] ephah small and make [the] shekel large, and can practice deceit [with] a set of scales of deceit? {That we can} buy [the] powerless with silver and [the] poor for the sake of a pair of sandals, and we can sell the waste of the grain?"read more.
Yahweh has sworn by the pride of Jacob, "Surely I will never forget any of their deeds! On account of this, will not the land tremble and will not every living [thing] in it mourn? And all of it will rise like the Nile and it will be tossed about and subside like the Nile of Egypt. And then in that day," {declares} my Lord Yahweh, "I will make the sun go down at noon and I will darken the land on a day of light. And I will turn your feasts into mourning and all of your songs into lament, and I will put sackcloth on all loins and baldness on every head. And I will make it like the mourning for an only child, and its end like a bitter day.