'Heathen' in the Bible

But [in the meantime] the people were still sacrificing [to God] on the high places (hilltops) [as the pagans did to their idols], for there was no [permanent] house yet built for the Name of the Lord.

Instead he walked in the way of the [idolatrous] kings of Israel, and even made his son pass through the fire [as a human sacrifice], in accordance with the repulsive [and idolatrous] practices of the [pagan] nations whom the Lord drove out before the Israelites.

Now King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser the king of Assyria, and saw the pagan altar which was at Damascus. Then King Ahaz sent a model of the altar to Urijah the priest along with a [detailed] pattern for all its construction.

and walked in the customs of the [pagan] nations whom the Lord had driven out before the sons (descendants) of Israel, and in the pagan customs of the kings of Israel which they had introduced.

They rejected His statutes and His covenant which He made with their fathers, as well as His warnings that he gave them. And they followed vanity [that is, false gods, idols] and became vain (empty-headed). They followed the [pagan practices of the] nations which surrounded them, although the Lord had commanded that they were not to do as they did.

He did [great] evil in the sight of the Lord, in accordance with the [idolatrous] repulsive acts of the [pagan] nations whom the Lord dispossessed before the sons (descendants) of Israel.

And he built [pagan] altars in the house (temple) of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “In Jerusalem I will put My Name (Presence).”

And he burned incense in the Valley of Ben-hinnom and burned his sons [as an offering], in accordance with the repulsive acts of the [pagan] nations whom the Lord had driven out before the sons (descendants) of Israel.

But he did evil in the sight of the Lord, like the repulsive acts of the [pagan] nations whom the Lord dispossessed before the sons (descendants) of Israel.

He built [pagan] altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, “My Name shall be in Jerusalem forever.”

So Manasseh caused Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to sin, by doing more evil than the [pagan] nations whom the Lord had destroyed before the sons of Israel.

Also, all the officials of the priests and the people were very unfaithful, following all the repulsive acts of the [pagan] nations; and they defiled the house of the Lord which He had sanctified in Jerusalem.

Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have been unfaithful [to God] and have married foreign (pagan) women, adding to the guilt of Israel.

So now, make confession to the Lord God of your fathers and do His will. Separate yourselves from the peoples of the land and from [your] foreign wives.”

They vowed to send away their [pagan] wives, and being guilty, they each offered a ram of the flock for their offense.

Do we then hear about you that you have done all this great evil, acting unfaithfully against our God by marrying foreign (pagan) women?”

Thus I cleansed and purified them from everything foreign (pagan), and I defined the duties of the priests and Levites, each one in his task;

You drove out the [pagan] nations with Your own hand;Then you planted and established them (Israel);[It was by Your power that] You uprooted the [pagan] peoples,Then You spread them abroad.

You uprooted a vine (Israel) from Egypt;You drove out the [Canaanite] nations and planted the vine [in Canaan].

They did not destroy the [pagan] peoples [in Canaan],As the Lord commanded them,

He gave them into the hands of the nations,And those who hated them ruled over them.

“But when I look [on the pagan prophets and priests], there is no one [who could predict these events],And there is no counselor among them,Who, if I ask, can give an answer.

Sing to the Lord a new song,Sing His praise from the end of the earth!You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it,You islands and coastlands, and those who inhabit them [sing His praise]!

Thus says the Lord,“Do not learn the way of the [pagan] nations,And do not be terrified and distressed by the signs of the heavensAlthough the pagans are terrified by them;

“O Lord, though our many sins testify against us” [prays Jeremiah],“Act now [for us and] for Your name’s sake [so that the faithless may witness Your faithfulness]!For our backslidings are countless;We have sinned against You.

As they remember their children,So they remember [in detail] their [pagan] altars and their AsherimBeside green trees on the high hills.

Judah has gone into exile under afflictionAnd under harsh servitude;She dwells among the [pagan] nations,But she has found no rest;All her pursuers have overtaken herIn the midst of [her] distress.

And she has rebelled against My ordinances more wickedly than the [pagan] nations and against My statutes more than the countries that are around her; for Israel has rejected My ordinances and has not walked in My statutes.’

So it will be a disgrace, a taunt, a warning and an object of horror to the [pagan] nations who surround you when I execute judgments against you in anger and in wrath and in raging reprimands—I, the Lord, have spoken.

Therefore, I will bring the worst of the [Gentile] nations, and they will take possession of their houses [those of the people of Judah]; I will also silence their pride, and their holy places will be profaned.

When they return there, they will remove from it all [traces of] its detestable things and all its repulsive things (remnants of paganism).

But I acted for My Name’s sake, that it would not be profaned in the sight of the [pagan] nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made Myself known to them by bringing them out of the land of Egypt.

But I acted for My Name’s sake, that it would not be profaned in the sight of the [pagan] nations in whose sight I had brought them out [of slavery].

Yet I withdrew My hand and acted for My Name’s sake, that it would not be profaned in the sight of the [pagan] nations in whose sight I had brought them out [of slavery].

Moreover, I swore to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the [Gentile] nations and disperse them among the countries,

You have become guilty by the blood which you have shed, and you are defiled by the idols which you have made. Thus you have caused your day [of judgment and punishment] to approach and have arrived at [the completion of] your years; therefore, I have made you an object of scorn to the [pagan] nations and a thing to be mocked by all countries.

They will come against you with weapons, chariots, and wagons, and with a company of people (infantry) who will array themselves against you on every side with large shield and small, and helmet; and I will commit the judgment and the punishment to them, and they will judge and punish you in accordance with their [pagan] customs.

‘Thus says the Lord God, “Because Moab and Seir (Edom) say, ‘Behold, the house of Judah is like all the [pagan] nations,’

“Which among the trees of Eden do you equal in glory and in greatness [O Egypt]? Yet you [also] will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the earth beneath (nether world). You will lie among the uncircumcised (the barbaric, the boorish, the crude) with those who were slain by the sword. This is how it shall be with Pharaoh and all his hordes!”’ says the Lord God.”

‘Whom [among them] do you surpass in beauty?Go down and make your bed with the uncircumcised (the barbaric, the boorish, the crude).’

The strong among the mighty rulers will say of him (Pharaoh) and his allies from the midst of Sheol, ‘They have gone down [defeated]; they lie still, the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.’

“Edom is there also, her kings and all her princes, who for all their power and strength are laid with those who were slain by the sword; they will lie [in shame and defeat] with the uncircumcised and with those who go down to the pit.

“Though I instilled a terror of him in the land of the living, yet he will be made to lie down among the uncircumcised along with those slain by the sword, even Pharaoh and all his hordes,” says the Lord God.

The wind [of God’s relentless wrath] has wrapped up Israel in its wings,And [in captivity] they will be ashamed because of their sacrifices [to calves, to sun, to moon, to stars, and to pagan gods].

Is there wickedness (idolatry) in Gilead?Surely the people there are worthless.In Gilgal [they defy Me when] they sacrifice bulls,Yes, [after My judgment] their [pagan] altars are like the stone heapsIn the furrows of the fields.

For a [pagan and hostile] nation has invaded My land [like locusts],Mighty and without number;Its teeth are the teeth of a lion,And it has the fangs of a lioness.

A day of darkness and gloom,A day of clouds and of thick [dark] mist,Like the dawn spread over the mountains;There is a [pagan, hostile] people numerous and mighty,The like of which has never been beforeNor will be again afterwardEven for years of many generations.

Let the priests, the ministers of the Lord,Weep between the porch and the altar,And let them say, “Have compassion and spare Your people, O Lord,And do not make Your inheritance (Israel) an object of ridicule,Or a [humiliating] byword among the [Gentile] nations.Why should they say among the peoples,‘Where is their God?’”

The Lord will answer and say to His people,“Behold, I am going to send you grain and new wine and oil,And you will be satisfied in full with them;And I will never again make you an object of ridicule among the [Gentile] nations.

“You will be filled with disgrace instead of honor.Now drink and expose your own nakedness!The cup [of wrath] in the Lord’s right hand will come around to you [O destroyer],And utter disgrace will be on your own glory.

And those who bow down and worship the host of heaven [the sun, the moon, and the stars] on their housetopsAnd those who bow down and swear [oaths] to [and pretend to worship] the Lord and [yet also] swear by [the pagan god called] Milcom [god of the Ammonites],

This is another thing you do: you cover the altar of the Lord with tears, with [your own] weeping and sighing, because the Lord no longer regards your offering or accepts it with favor from your hand.

And if you greet only your brothers [wishing them God’s blessing and peace], what more [than others] are you doing? Do not even the Gentiles [who do not know the Lord] do that?

For the [pagan] Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; [but do not worry,] for your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

who by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David, Your servant, said,‘Why did the nations (Gentiles) become arrogant and rage,And the peoples devise futile things [against the Lord]?

“You stiff-necked and stubborn people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you are always actively resisting the Holy Spirit. You are doing just as your fathers did.

Now the apostles and the believers who were throughout Judea heard [with astonishment] that the Gentiles also had received and accepted the word of God [the message concerning salvation through Christ].

And [at the same time] Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and confidently, saying, “It was necessary that God’s message [of salvation through faith in Christ] be spoken to you [Jews] first. Since you repudiate it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, now we turn to the Gentiles.

For that is what the Lord has commanded us, saying,‘I have placed You as a light for the Gentiles,So that You may bring [the message of eternal] salvation to the end of the earth.’”

So, after being supplied and sent on their way by the church, they went through both Phoenicia and Samaria telling in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and they brought great joy to all the believers.

But since the Jews kept resisting and opposing him, and blaspheming [God], he shook out his robe and said to them, “Your blood (damnation) be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

And coming to [see] us, he took Paul’s [wide] band (belt, sash) and bound his own feet and hands, and said, “This is what the Holy Spirit says: ‘In this same way the Jews in Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this band, and they will hand him over to the Gentiles (pagans).’”

including us, whom He also called, not only from among the Jews, but also from among the Gentiles?

It is actually reported [everywhere] that there is sexual immorality among you, a kind of immorality that is condemned even among the [unbelieving] Gentiles: that someone has [an intimate relationship with] his father’s wife.

For the unbelieving husband is sanctified [that is, he receives the blessings granted] through his [Christian] wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be [ceremonially] unclean, but as it is they are holy.

You know that when you were pagans, you were led off after speechless idols; however you were led off [whether by impulse or habit].

[I went on to say] “We are Jews by birth and not sinners from among the Gentiles;

So this I say, and solemnly affirm together with the Lord [as in His presence], that you must no longer live as the [unbelieving] Gentiles live, in the futility of their minds [and in the foolishness and emptiness of their souls],

not [to be used] in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God and are ignorant of His will;

For these [traveling missionaries] went out for the sake of the Name [of Christ], accepting nothing [in the way of assistance] from the Gentiles.

And the nations (Gentiles) became enraged, and Your wrath and indignation came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and [the time came] to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints (God’s people) and those who fear Your name, the small and the great, and [the time came] to destroy the destroyers of the earth.”