Reference: Divination
American
The Eastern people were fond of divination, magic, and the pretended art of interpreting dreams and acquiring a knowledge of futurity. When Moses published the law, this disposition had long been common in Egypt and the neighboring countries; and to correct the Israelites inclination to consult diviners, wizards, fortune-tellers, and interpreters of dreams, it was forbidden them under very severe penalties, and the true spirit of prophecy was promised to them as infinitely superior, Ex 22:18; Le 19:26,31; 20:27. Those were to be stoned who pretended to have a familiar spirit, or the spirit of divination, De 18:9-12; and the prophecies are full of invectives against the Israelite who consulted such, as well as against false prophets, who seduced the people, Isa 8:19; 47:11-14; Eze 13:6-9. A fresh impulse to these superstitions was gained from intercourse with the Chaldeans, during the reign of the later kings of Judah and the captivities in Babylon, 2Ki 21:6; 2Ch 33:6. See MAGIC, SORCERERS.
Divination was of several kinds: by water, fire, earth, air; by the fight of birds, and their singing; by lots, dreams, arrows, clouds, entrails of sacrifices, pretended communication with spirits, etc., Eze 21:21.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
" 'You will not let a witch live.
" 'You must not eat [anything] with the blood; you shall not practice divination, nor shall you interpret signs.
" 'You shall not turn to the mediums and to the soothsayers; you shall not seek [them] to become unclean with them; I [am] Yahweh your God.
" 'And a man or a woman, if a spirit of the dead or a spirit of divination is in them, they shall surely be put to death; they shall stone them with stones--their blood [is] on them.'"
"When you come to the land that Yahweh your God [is] giving to you, you must not learn to do like the detestable practices of those nations. [There] shall not be found among you one who makes his son or his daughter go through the fire, [or] {one who practices divination}, [or] an interpreter of signs, or an augur, or sorcerer, read more. or one who casts magic spells, or one who consults spirit of the dead, or spiritist, or one who inquires of the dead. For everyone doing these [things] [is] detestable to Yahweh, and because of these detestable things Yahweh your God [is] driving them out from {before you}.
He made his son pass through the fire, practiced soothsaying and divination, and dealt with mediums and spiritists. He increased the doing of evil in the eyes of Yahweh to provoke him.
Now if they tell you, "Consult the ghosts and the spirits, those who chirp and those who mutter. Should not a people consult its gods, the dead on behalf of the living,
And evil shall come upon you, you will not know; it will be on the lookout for her. And disaster shall fall upon you; you will not be able to {avert} it. And ruin shall come on you suddenly; you do not know. Stand, now, in your enchantments, and in your many sorceries with which you have labored from your youth. Perhaps you may be able to benefit; perhaps you may {scare away}. read more. You struggle with your many consultations; let them stand, now, and save you-- those who see the stars, divide [the] {celestial sphere}, who inform by new moons-- from [those things] that are coming upon you. Look! They are like stubble; [the] fire burns them completely. They cannot deliver {themselves} from [the] {power} of [the] flame; there is no coal {for warming oneself}, [no] fire before which to sit.
They saw falseness and {a lying divination}, the ones saying, 'Declaration of Yahweh!' and Yahweh did not send them, and they wait {for the confirmation of their word}. Have you not seen {a false vision} and spoken {lying divination}, and [you] said, 'Declaration of Yahweh!' but {I myself did not speak}. read more. Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: 'Because of your speaking falseness and [because] you envisioned a lie, therefore, look! I [am] against you!" {declares} the Lord Yahweh. "And it will be my hand against the prophets who [are] seeing falseness and who [are] practicing lying divination. They will not be in the council of my people, and they will not be written [down] in the record [book] of the house of Israel, and into the land of Israel they will not come, and [then] you will know that I [am] the Lord Yahweh.
For the king of Babylon stands at the fork of the road at the head of the two roads to practice divination. {He shakes the arrows}, he inquires with the teraphim, he {examines} the liver.
Easton
of false prophets (De 18:10,14; Mic 3:6-7,11), of necromancers (1Sa 28:8), of the Philistine priests and diviners (1Sa 6:2), of Balaam (Jos 13:22). Three kinds of divination are mentioned in Eze 21:21, by arrows, consulting with images (the teraphim), and by examining the entrails of animals sacrificed. The practice of this art seems to have been encouraged in ancient Egypt. Diviners also abounded among the aborigines of Canaan and the Philistines (Isa 2:6; 1Sa 28). At a later period multitudes of magicians poured from Chaldea and Arabia into the land of Israel, and pursued their occupations (Isa 8:19; 2Ki 21:6; 2Ch 33:6). This superstition widely spread, and in the time of the apostles there were "vagabond Jews, exorcists" (Ac 19:13), and men like Simon Magus (Ac 8:9), Bar-jesus (Ac 13:6,8), and other jugglers and impostors (Ac 19:19; 2Ti 3:13). Every species and degree of this superstition was strictly forbidden by the law of Moses (Ex 22:18; Le 19:26,31; 20:27; De 18:10-11).
But beyond these various forms of superstition, there are instances of divination on record in the Scriptures by which God was pleased to make known his will.
(1.) There was divination by lot, by which, when resorted to in matters of moment, and with solemnity, God intimated his will (Jos 7:13). The land of Canaan was divided by lot (Nu 26:55-56); Achan's guilt was detected (Jos 7:16-19), Saul was elected king (1Sa 10:20-21), and Matthias chosen to the apostleship, by the solem lot (Ac 1:26). It was thus also that the scape-goat was determined (Le 16:8-10).
(2.) There was divination by dreams (Ge 20:6; De 13:1,3; Jg 7:13,15; Mt 1:20; 2:12-13,19,22). This is illustrated in the history of Joseph (Ge 41:25-32) and of Daniel (Da 2:27; 4:19-28).
(3.) By divine appointment there was also divination by the Urim and Thummim (Nu 27:21), and by the ephod.
(4.) God was pleased sometimes to vouch-safe direct vocal communications to men (De 34:10; Ex 3:4; 4:3; De 4:14-15; 1Ki 19:12). He also communed with men from above the mercy-seat (Ex 25:22), and at the door of the tabernacle (Ex 29:42-43).
(5.) Through his prophets God revealed himself, and gave intimations of his will (2Ki 13:17; Jer 51:63-64).
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Then God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you did this, and I also {kept you from sinning} against me. Therefore, I did not allow you to touch her.
Then Joseph said to Pharaoh, "The dreams of Pharaoh [are] one. God has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to do. The seven good cows, they are seven years, and the seven good ears of grain, they [are] seven years. The dreams [are] one. read more. And the seven thin and ugly cows coming up after them, they [are] seven years, and the seven empty ears of grain, scorched by the east wind, they are [also] seven years of famine. This [is] the word that I have spoken to Pharaoh; God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. Behold, seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the whole land of Egypt. Then seven years of famine will arise after them, and all the abundance in the land of Egypt will be forgotten. The famine will consume the land. Abundance in the land will not be known because of the famine {that follows}, for it will be very heavy. Now concerning the repetition of the dream twice to Pharaoh, [it is] because the matter [is] established by God, and God will do [it] quickly.
And Yahweh saw that he turned aside to see, and God called to him from the midst of the bush, and he said, "Moses, Moses." And he said, "Here I [am]."
And he said, "Throw it onto the ground." And he threw it onto the ground, and it became a snake, and Moses fled from it.
" 'You will not let a witch live.
And I will meet you there, and I will speak with you from over the atonement cover, from between the two cherubim that [are to be] on the ark of the testimony--all that I will command you to the {Israelites}.
[It will be] a burnt offering of continuity throughout your generations [at] the entrance of the tent of assembly before Yahweh, where I will meet with you to speak to you there. "And I will meet with the {Israelites} there, and it will be consecrated by my glory.
Then Aaron shall cast lots for the two goats: one lot for Yahweh and one for Azazel. And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot for Yahweh fell, and he shall {sacrifice} it [as] a sin offering. read more. But he must present alive {before} Yahweh the goat on which the lot for Azazel fell to make atonement for himself, to send it away into the desert to Azazel.
" 'You must not eat [anything] with the blood; you shall not practice divination, nor shall you interpret signs.
" 'You shall not turn to the mediums and to the soothsayers; you shall not seek [them] to become unclean with them; I [am] Yahweh your God.
" 'And a man or a woman, if a spirit of the dead or a spirit of divination is in them, they shall surely be put to death; they shall stone them with stones--their blood [is] on them.'"
Surely the land will be divided by lot. They will inherit according to the names of the tribes of their ancestors. {Their} inheritance must be divided according to the lot between the larger and smaller [groups]."
He will stand before Eleazar the priest, who will ask for him by the decision of the Urim before Yahweh. On {his command} they will go out, and at {his command} they will come in, [both] he and all of the {Israelites} with him, the entire community."
And Yahweh charged me at that time to teach you rules and regulations {for your observation of them} in the land that you [are] {about to cross into} to take possession of it. "So {you must be very careful for yourselves}, because you did not see any form on the day Yahweh spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire,
"If a prophet stands up in your midst or a dreamer of dreams and he gives to you a sign or wonder,
you must not listen to the words of that prophet or to that dreamer, for Yahweh your God {is testing you to know whether you love} Yahweh your God with all of your heart and with all [of] your inner self.
[There] shall not be found among you one who makes his son or his daughter go through the fire, [or] {one who practices divination}, [or] an interpreter of signs, or an augur, or sorcerer,
[There] shall not be found among you one who makes his son or his daughter go through the fire, [or] {one who practices divination}, [or] an interpreter of signs, or an augur, or sorcerer, or one who casts magic spells, or one who consults spirit of the dead, or spiritist, or one who inquires of the dead.
For these nations that you [are] about to dispossess listen to interpreters of signs and to diviners, but Yahweh your God has not allowed you to do the same.
And not again has a prophet arisen in Israel like Moses, whom Yahweh knew face to face,
Get up, sanctify the people, and say, 'Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow. Thus says Yahweh the God of Israel: "[There are] devoted things in your midst, O Israel. You will be unable to stand before you enemies until you remove the devoted things from your midst."
So Joshua rose early in the morning and brought forward Israel, {tribe by tribe}, and the tribe of Judah was selected by lot. And he brought forward the clans of Judah and selected the clan of the Zerahites by lot. Then he brought forward the clan of the Zerahites, one by one, and Zabdi was selected by lot. read more. He brought forward his family, one by one, and Achan son of Carmi son of Zabdi son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was selected by lot. And Joshua said to Achan, "My son, please, give glory to Yahweh the God of Israel, and give him a doxology in court. Tell me, please, what you have done; do not hide [it] from me."
[In addition] to their slain, the {Israelites} killed with the sword Balaam son of Beor, who practiced divination.
When Gideon came, a man [was] recounting a dream to his friend, and he said, "Behold, {I had a dream}; a round loaf of barley bread [was] tumbling into the camp of Midian, and it came up to the tent, it struck it, and it fell and turned it upside down so that the tent fell."
When Gideon heard the recounting of the dream and its interpretation, he bowed down and returned to the camp of Israel; and he said, "Get up, for Yahweh has given the camp of Midian into your hand."
and [the] Philistines called to the priests and to those who practiced divination, saying, "What should we do with the ark of Yahweh? Inform us how we should send it to its place."
So Samuel brought near all the tribes of Israel, and the tribe of Benjamin was selected by lot. Then he brought near the tribe of Benjamin according to its families, and the family of Matri was selected by lot. Then Saul the son of Kish was chosen, and they sought him, but he could not be found.
So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothes, and he went {with two of his men}. And they came to the woman [by] night and he said, "Please consult a spirit for me through {the ritual pit}, and bring up for me [the one] whom I tell you."
Then he said, "Open the window to the east," so he opened [it]. Elisha said, "Shoot," and he shot. Then he said, "An arrow of victory for Yahweh, and an arrow of victory against Aram; you shall fight the Arameans in Aphek until finishing [them]."
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.
Now if they tell you, "Consult the ghosts and the spirits, those who chirp and those who mutter. Should not a people consult its gods, the dead on behalf of the living,
{And then} when you finish reading aloud this scroll, you must tie a stone on it, and you must throw it into the middle of [the] Euphrates. And you must say, 'Babylon will sink, and she will not rise, {because of} the face of the disasters that I [am] bringing on her, and they will grow weary.'" {Thus far} the words of Jeremiah.
For the king of Babylon stands at the fork of the road at the head of the two roads to practice divination. {He shakes the arrows}, he inquires with the teraphim, he {examines} the liver.
Daniel answered the king and said, "The mystery that the king asks, no wise men, conjurers, magicians, [or] diviners are able to make known to the king.
"Then Daniel, whose name [was] Belteshazzar, was distressed {for some time}, and his thoughts disturbed him. The king answered and he said, 'Belteshazzar, let the dream and its explanation not disturb you.' Belteshazzar answered and said, 'My lord, [may] the dream and its explanation [be] for [those who] hate you and for your enemies. The tree that you saw, which grew and became strong and its height reached to heaven and {it was visible to the end of the whole earth}, read more. and its foliage [was] beautiful and its fruit abundant, and [so there was] provision for all in it, [and] the animals of the field lived under it and in its branches nest [the] birds of heaven, --it is you, O king, who have grown [great] and you have grown strong, and [so] your greatness has increased and it has reached to heaven and your sovereignty to the end of the earth. And [inasmuch] that the king saw [the] watcher, a holy [one] coming down from heaven and he said, "Cut down the tree and destroy it, but the stump of its root in the earth leave with a band of iron and bronze in the grass of the field, and let it be watered with the dew of heaven and [let] his lot [be] with [the] animals of the field {until seven times have passed over him}." This [is] the explanation, O king, and it [is] a decree of the Most High that has come upon my lord the king: you will be driven away {from human society} and {you will dwell} with the animals of the field, and you will be caused to graze grass like the oxen {yourself}, and you will be watered with the dew of heaven, and seven [periods of] time will pass over you until that you have acknowledged that the Most High [is] sovereign over the kingdom of humankind, and {to whom he wills} he gives it. {And in that} they said to leave alone the stump of the tree's root, so your kingdom [will be] restored for you {when} you acknowledge that heaven [is] sovereign. Therefore, O king, let my advice be acceptable [to you] and your sin remove with righteousness and your iniquity with having mercy on [the] oppressed, {in case there might be a prolongation of your prosperity}.'" {All this happened} to Nebuchadnezzar the king.
Therefore [it will be as] night to you, without vision, and darkness to you, without divination. And the sun will set on the prophets, and the day will grow dark over them. Then the seers will be disgraced, and those practicing divination will be put to shame. All of them will cover their lips, for there is no reply from God.
Its rulers judge for a bribe; its priests teach for a price; its prophets practice divination for money. But they lean on Yahweh, saying, "[Is] not Yahweh in our midst? Disaster will not come upon us."
But [as] he was considering these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary [as] your wife, for what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their [own] country by another route. Now [after] they had gone away, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph, saying, "Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. For Herod is about to seek the child to destroy him."
Now [after] Herod had died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
But [when he] heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and being warned in a dream, he took refuge in the regions of Galilee.
And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was added [to serve] with the eleven apostles.
Now a certain man {named} Simon had been in the city practicing magic and astonishing the people of Samaria, saying he was someone great.
And [when they] had crossed over the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a certain man, a magician, a Jewish false prophet whose name [was] Bar-Jesus,
But Elymas the magician (for his name is translated in this way) opposed them, attempting to turn the proconsul away from the faith.
But some itinerant Jewish exorcists also attempted to pronounce the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, "I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches!"
and many of those who practiced magic brought together [their] books [and] burned [them] up in the sight of everyone. And they counted up their value and found [it was] {fifty thousand silver coins}.
Diligently send on their way Zenas the lawyer and Apollos, so that {they may lack nothing}.
Fausets
Eze 13:7. Used in Scripture of false systems of ascertaining the divine will, such as are allied to idolatry: as necromancy, which evoked the dead (1Sa 28:8); prognostication by arrows (Eze 21:21). The arrows marked with names of places to be attacked were shaken (for "He made His arrows bright," translated, "He shook") together in a quiver; whichever came out first intimated the place selected; or else threw them in the air to see in alighting which way they inclined, toward Jerusalem or Ammon. Inspecting entrails. The healthy or unhealthy state of the sacrificial entrails intimated success or failure. In the Nineveh sculptures the king is represented with a cup in his right hand, his left hand resting on a bow, also two arrows in the right hand, possibly for divination. The "magicians" of Egypt in Ge 41:8, (chartumim, from cheret "a style" or pen,) were sacred "scribes" of the hieroglyphics, devoted to astrology, magic, etc.; else from Egyptian chertom, "wonder workers," or cher-tum, "bearers of sacred spells."
Daniel was made "master of the magicians" (Da 5:11); chokmim, wise men, our wizards (Ex 7:11);" sorcerers" (mekaskphim), "mutterers of magic formulae" (Isa 47:9-12). Jannes or Anna in Egyptian means "scribe," a frequent name in papyri of the time of Rameses II. Jambres, the other name of an Egyptian magician preserved by Paul (2Ti 3:8), means "scribe of the south." The earliest prohibition of witchcraft is Ex 22:18, "thou shalt not suffer a witch to live." Witchcraft was an appeal to a power alien from God. So it was accounted rebellion against Jehovah. Saul's disobedience and rebellion against God's will led him, though zealous to extirpate witches so long as God's law did not interfere with his impatient self-will, at last to consult the witch of Endor; Samuel's words as to his disobedience in the case of Amalek proving prophetic, "rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry" (1Sa 15:23; compare 1Sa 28:3-20).
So Saul died for his transgression (Hebrew shuffling evasion of obedience) ... and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to inquire of it (1Ch 10:13). "Wizards," yid'oniym, from yaada "to know" (Le 19:31). Consulters of "the dead," 'oboth (Le 20:6), "those having familiar spirits" which they consulted to evoke the dead; literally, "bottles" (leather) inflated by the spirit; compare Job 32:19, "my belly is as wine which hath no vent ... ready to burst like new bottles." The pythonesses (margin of Ac 16:16) spoke with a deep voice as from the belly; by ventriloquism (Septuagint so translated "them that have familiar spirits," ventriloquists) they made a low voice sound ("peep and mutter") as from the grave or departed person's spirit (Isa 19:3; 29:4).
Scripture has written for all ages (Isa 8:19-20):"when they shall say, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits; and unto wizards that peep and that mutter, should not a people seek unto their God? (should they seek) for the (good of) the living to the dead? To the law and to the testimony ... if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." This tests and condemns modern spiritualism, the sign of "the latter times and the last days" (1Ti 4:1), "seducing spirits and doctrines suggested by demons" (2Ti 3:1-8). The phenomena seem supernatural and Satanic, and the communications often lying, as was to be expected from "the father of lying" (Joh 8:44). The Angekoks, Esquimaux sorcerers, when converted, have declared that their sorceries, when they were heathen, were not mere impostures, that they were acted on by a power they could not control; but when they believed in Jesus they had neither the will nor the power to do what they used in their pagan state.
Brainerd states the same as to the Indian diviners, namely, that all their former powers of divination departed the moment the word of God entered their souls. Satan's design in spiritualism is, judging from the alleged spirit communications, to supersede Scripture with another authority (namely, spirit communications) in matters of faith. Satan and his demons are the real speakers in these pretended communications from the spirits of the dead. The "associate spirit" of spiritualism answers to the Scripture "familiar spirit" of the wizards. The pythoness and the witch of Endor were each a "medium" between the consulters and the powers of darkness. The consulters are put en rapport with the latter, not really with the departed dead. Scripture (Ec 9:5-6, "the dead know not anything ... neither have they any more a portion forever in anything done under the sun"; 2Ki 2:9; Lu 16:19-31) implies that it is not the spirits of the dead that make the alleged communications, though these communications assert that it is; this assertion is from a lying spirit, such as was in Ahab's prophets (1Ki 22:22).
The dead do not return, they are personated by evil spirits. Spiritualism is virtually condemned in De 18:10; 2Ki 17:17; 21:6. "Sorcerers" are especially mentioned as about to abound with "lying wonders," and to be adjudged to damnation, at the Lord's coming again (2Th 2:9-11; Mal 3:5; Re 21:8; 22:15). The three frog-like demons out of the mouths of the anti-trinity, the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet, shall "work miracles" to tempt the ten kings under Antichrist to the last battle for the kingship of the world, against Christ, in "the great day of God Almighty" (Re 16:13-14; compare Zec 13:2; Mt 24:24; Re 13:14-15). Paul was "grieved," so far was he from seeking and welcoming like spiritualists the pythoness' testimony to him (Ac 16:17-18); for the Spirit of Christ and the spirit of divination cannot dwell together in the same soul.
God condemns those who "remain among the graves and lodge in the monuments" (Isa 65:4) for necromancy, to consult the dead. The warning in Isa 8:19-20; Mr 5:3, applies to all times. The witch of Endor was "mistress of a spirit by which the dead are conjured up" (1Sa 28:7, ba'alath 'owb). Saul's request, "bring me him up whom I shall name," explains the previous "divine (qacomi) unto me by the familiar spirit." The witch's recognizing Saul as soon as Samuel appeared proves that her art was not mere jugglery: "Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Saul"; she was in a state of clairvoyance. On the other hand, her "crying with a loud voice," startled at the sight of Samuel, shows that his appearance differed essentially from anything she had ever by demon art effected before. She tells Saul, "I saw gods (a supernatural being) ascending out of the earth ... an old man covered with a (prophet's) mantle" (me'il).
Saul apparently did not see Samuel's person, but recognized the "mantle." Saul's inconsistency is convicted by Samuel: "wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the Lord is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy?" If God was departed from him he should have been the more afraid to increase Jehovah's displeasure by breaking the laws in consulting the dead, as if they were less under God's control than the living. Abject superstition never reasons. Samuel's prophecy of his and his sons' death on the morrow, and Israel's defeat by the Philistines, proves Samuel's appearance to have been of God, and not by demoniac agency nor an illusion (Sir 46:20). God for special reasons awakened His servant out of his repose ("why hast thou disquieted me," etc.) to appear, not at a conjuring call which He forbids, but to show the witch and the king the terrible penalty of disobedience and witchcraft, as he (Samuel) had long ago declared in more general terms when alive (1Sa 15:23; 28:17-19).
Jehovah's principle is (Eze 14:4,7-8), "every man that setteth up his idols in his heart and putteth the stumbling-block of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet, I the Lord will answer him that cometh, according to the multitude of his idols, that I may take the house of Israel in their own heart ... I will answer him by Myself" (by My own special interposition), answering the fool according to his folly, making the sinner's sin his own punishment. In Egypt books containing magic formulae belonged exclusively to the king,
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And let it be [that] the girl to whom I shall say, 'Please, offer your jar that I may drink' and [who] says, 'Drink--and I will also water your camels,' she [is the one] you have chosen for your servant, for Isaac. By her I will know that you have shown loyal love to my master."
And it happened [that] in the morning his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called all of the magicians of Egypt, and all its wise men, and Pharaoh told his dream to them. But {they had no interpretation} for Pharaoh.
And Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers, and they also, the magicians of Egypt, did likewise with their secret arts.
And Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers, and they also, the magicians of Egypt, did likewise with their secret arts.
" 'You will not let a witch live.
" 'You will not let a witch live.
" 'You shall not turn to the mediums and to the soothsayers; you shall not seek [them] to become unclean with them; I [am] Yahweh your God.
As for the person who turns to the mediums and the soothsayers to prostitute after them, I will set my face against that person, and I will cut him off from the midst of his people.
[There] shall not be found among you one who makes his son or his daughter go through the fire, [or] {one who practices divination}, [or] an interpreter of signs, or an augur, or sorcerer,
[There] shall not be found among you one who makes his son or his daughter go through the fire, [or] {one who practices divination}, [or] an interpreter of signs, or an augur, or sorcerer,
For rebellion [is like] the sin of divination; arrogance [is like] iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of Yahweh, he has rejected you from [being] king!"
For rebellion [is like] the sin of divination; arrogance [is like] iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of Yahweh, he has rejected you from [being] king!"
(Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had mourned for him, and they had buried him in Ramah, his [own] city. And Saul had expelled the mediums and the soothsayers from the land.) Then [the] Philistines assembled and came and encamped at Shunem, so Saul assembled all Israel, and they encamped at Gilboa. read more. When Saul saw the army of [the] Philistines, he was afraid and his heart trembled greatly. And Saul inquired of Yahweh, but Yahweh did not answer him, not by dreams or by the Urim or by the prophets. So Saul said to his servants, "Search for me {a woman who is a medium} so that I may go to her and inquire of her." His servants said to him, "Look [there is] a woman who [is] a medium in Endor."
So Saul said to his servants, "Search for me {a woman who is a medium} so that I may go to her and inquire of her." His servants said to him, "Look [there is] a woman who [is] a medium in Endor." So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothes, and he went {with two of his men}. And they came to the woman [by] night and he said, "Please consult a spirit for me through {the ritual pit}, and bring up for me [the one] whom I tell you."
So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothes, and he went {with two of his men}. And they came to the woman [by] night and he said, "Please consult a spirit for me through {the ritual pit}, and bring up for me [the one] whom I tell you." But the woman said to him, "Look, you know what Saul did, how he exterminated the mediums and the soothsayers from the land! Why [are] you setting a trap for my life to kill me?" read more. Then Saul swore to her by Yahweh, "{As Yahweh lives}, {you will not be punished} for this thing." So the woman asked, "Whom shall I bring up for you?" He said, "Bring up Samuel for me." When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice, and the woman said to Saul, "Why did you deceive me? You [are] Saul!" The king said to her, "Do not be afraid! What do you see?" And the woman said to Saul, "I see a god coming up from the ground!" Then he said to her, "What [is] his appearance?" She said, "An old man [is] coming up, and {he is wrapped in a robe}." Then Saul realized that it was Samuel, and he knelt [with] his face to the ground and bowed down. Then Samuel said to Saul, "Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?" And Saul said, "{I am in distress}! For [the] Philistines [are about] to make war against me, but God has turned away from me, and he does not answer me any more, not {by the prophets} or by the dreams. So I called to you to let me know what I should do." Then Samuel said, "Why do you ask me, since Yahweh has turned away from you and has become your enemy? Yahweh has done to you just as he spoke by my hand! Yahweh has torn the kingdom from your hand and has given it to your neighbor, to David.
Yahweh has done to you just as he spoke by my hand! Yahweh has torn the kingdom from your hand and has given it to your neighbor, to David. Because you {did not obey} Yahweh and did not carry out the fierce anger of his {wrath} against Amalek, therefore Yahweh has done this thing to you today.
Because you {did not obey} Yahweh and did not carry out the fierce anger of his {wrath} against Amalek, therefore Yahweh has done this thing to you today. And Yahweh will also give Israel with you into the hands of [the] Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons [will be] with me, and Yahweh will also give the army of Israel into [the] hand of [the] Philistines."
And Yahweh will also give Israel with you into the hands of [the] Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons [will be] with me, and Yahweh will also give the army of Israel into [the] hand of [the] Philistines." {Then Saul immediately fell prostrate} to the ground, and he was very afraid because of the words of Samuel; there was no more strength in him, for he had not eaten food all day and all night.
It happened after this that David inquired of Yahweh, saying, "Shall I go up into one of the cities of Judah?" And Yahweh said to him, "Go up." David asked, "Where shall I go up?" And he said, "To Hebron."
So David inquired of Yahweh, but he said, "You shall not go up. [Rather,] go around to their rear and come to them from opposite the balsam trees.
He built twenty cubits from the rear of the house with boards of cedar from the floor up to the ceiling, and he built for it an inner sanctuary on the inside, as the {most holy place}.
He said, 'I will go out and I will be a false spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.' And he said, 'You shall entice and succeed, go out and do so.'
Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice in his upper room, which [was] in Samaria, and he was injured. So he sent messengers, and he said to them, "Go, inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron, if I will survive this injury." Then the angel of Yahweh spoke to Elijah the Tishbite, "Get up, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and speak to them, 'Is it because there is no God in Israel that you [are] going to inquire of Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?' read more. Therefore, thus says Yahweh, 'The bed upon which you have gone, you will not come down from it, but you shall surely die.'" So Elijah went. When the messengers returned to him, he asked them, "Why have you returned?" Then they said to him, "A man came up to meet us, and he said to us, 'Go, return to the king who sent you and speak to him, "Thus says Yahweh, 'Is it because there is no God in Israel that you [are] sending to inquire of Baal-Zebub the god of Ekron? Therefore the bed upon which you have gone, you will not come down from it, for you will surely die.'" '"
After they crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, "Ask what I may do for you before I am taken away from you." Then Elisha said, "Please let there come to me a double portion of your spirit."
He made his son pass through the fire, practiced soothsaying and divination, and dealt with mediums and spiritists. He increased the doing of evil in the eyes of Yahweh to provoke him.
So Saul died on account of his sin which he had sinned against Yahweh concerning the command of Yahweh that he did not keep. He also consulted a medium to seek [guidance].
"Look, my internal organs [are] like unopened wine, like new wineskins it is [ready] to burst open.
Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry to you for help, when I lift up my hands toward your holy inner sanctuary.
For the living know that they will die, but the dead do not know anything. They no longer have a reward, and even the memory of them is forgotten. What they loved and hated, as well as what they desired, has already perished. They no longer have any share in what is done under the sun.
Now if they tell you, "Consult the ghosts and the spirits, those who chirp and those who mutter. Should not a people consult its gods, the dead on behalf of the living,
Now if they tell you, "Consult the ghosts and the spirits, those who chirp and those who mutter. Should not a people consult its gods, the dead on behalf of the living, for teaching and for testimony?" {surely they [who] speak like this have no dawn}.
for teaching and for testimony?" {surely they [who] speak like this have no dawn}.
And the spirit of {the Egyptians} will be disturbed in his midst, and I will {confuse} his plans, and they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead, and the ghosts and the spiritists.
Then you shall be low; you shall speak from [the] earth, and your words will be low, from dust. And your voice will be from [the] earth, like a ghost, and your word will whisper from [the] dust.
And these two shall come to you [in] a moment, in one day: [the] loss of children and widowhood shall come on you {completely}, in spite of your many sorceries, in spite of the power of your great enchantments. And you felt secure in your wickedness; you said, "{No one} sees me." Your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray, and you said in your heart, "I [am], and besides me [there is] no one." read more. And evil shall come upon you, you will not know; it will be on the lookout for her. And disaster shall fall upon you; you will not be able to {avert} it. And ruin shall come on you suddenly; you do not know. Stand, now, in your enchantments, and in your many sorceries with which you have labored from your youth. Perhaps you may be able to benefit; perhaps you may {scare away}. You struggle with your many consultations; let them stand, now, and save you-- those who see the stars, divide [the] {celestial sphere}, who inform by new moons-- from [those things] that are coming upon you.
{who sit} in graves and spend the night in {secret places}, {who eat} the flesh of swine with a fragment of impurity [in] their vessels,
Have you not seen {a false vision} and spoken {lying divination}, and [you] said, 'Declaration of Yahweh!' but {I myself did not speak}.
Therefore speak with them, and you must say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Every person from the house of Israel who brings up his idols into his heart and {places before himself} a stumbling block of his guilt and [yet] he comes to the prophet, I Yahweh, I will respond to him through this act with [respect to] the multitude of his idols,
For {each person} from the house of Israel, and from the alien who dwells as an alien in Israel, who separates himself {from following me} and brings up his idols into his heart and {places before himself} a stumbling block of his guilt, and [yet] he comes to the prophet to consult him concerning me, I Yahweh will answer him myself. And I will set my face against that person, and I will make him to [be] a sign and [make him] into [the subject of] proverbs; and I will cut him off from the midst of my people, and you will know I [am] Yahweh.
For the king of Babylon stands at the fork of the road at the head of the two roads to practice divination. {He shakes the arrows}, he inquires with the teraphim, he {examines} the liver.
So the king said to call the magicians and the conjurers and the sorcerers and the {astrologers} to tell to the king his dreams. And they came in and they stood {before} the king.
There is a man in your kingdom {who has the spirit of the holy gods in him}. And in the days of your {predecessor}, enlightenment and insight and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods was found in him; and, O king, Nebuchadnezzar your {predecessor} appointed him [as] chief of the magicians, the conjurers, the {astrologers}, [and] the diviners. Your {predecessor} the king [did this]
My people, consult {their wooden idols}, and their divining rod gives them oracles; because a spirit of whoredom led [them] astray, and they played the whore from under their God.
{And then}, on that day,' {declares} Yahweh of hosts, 'I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered; and also the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness I will banish from the land.
"Then I will approach you for judgment, and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers, and against those who swear {falsely}, and against the oppressors of [the] hired worker [with his] wages, [the] widow and [the] orphan, and {the abusers of} [the] alien, and [yet] do not fear me," says Yahweh of hosts.
Is it not permitted for me to do whatever I want with [what is] mine? Or is your eye evil because I am generous?'
For false messiahs and false prophets will appear, and will produce great signs and wonders in order to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
who {lived} among the tombs. And no one was able to bind him any longer, not even with a chain,
"Now a certain man was rich, and dressed [in] purple cloth and fine linen, feasting sumptuously every day. And a certain poor man {named} Lazarus, covered with sores, lay at his gate, read more. and was longing to be filled with what fell from the table of the rich man. But even the dogs came [and] licked his sores. Now it happened that the poor man died, and he was carried away by the angels to {Abraham's side}. And the rich man also died and was buried. And in Hades he lifted up his eyes [as he] was in torment [and] saw Abraham from a distance, and Lazarus {at his side}. And he called out [and] said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he could dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am suffering pain in this flame!' But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that you received your good [things] during your life, and Lazarus likewise bad [things]. But now he is comforted here, but you are suffering pain. And in [addition to] all these [things], a great chasm has been established between us and you, so that those who want to cross over from here to you are not able [to do so], nor can they cross over from there to us.' So he said, 'Then I ask you, father, that you send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, so that he could warn them, in order that they also should not come to this place of torment!' But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the prophets; they must listen to them.' And he said, 'No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent!' But he said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone rises from the dead.'"
You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father! That one was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand firm in the truth, because truth is not in him. Whenever he speaks the lie, he speaks from his own [nature], because he is a liar and the father {of lies}.
This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and who [with] our fathers received living oracles to give to us,
Now a certain man {named} Simon had been in the city practicing magic and astonishing the people of Samaria, saying he was someone great. They were all paying attention to {him}, from the least to the greatest, saying, "This man is the power of God that is called 'Great.'" read more. And they were paying attention to him because for a long time he had astonished them with [his] magic.
And [when they] had crossed over the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a certain man, a magician, a Jewish false prophet whose name [was] Bar-Jesus,
But Elymas the magician (for his name is translated in this way) opposed them, attempting to turn the proconsul away from the faith.
And it happened that [as] we were going to the place of prayer, a certain female slave who had a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing a large profit to her owners [by] fortune-telling.
And it happened that [as] we were going to the place of prayer, a certain female slave who had a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing a large profit to her owners [by] fortune-telling. She followed Paul and us [and] was crying out, saying, "These men are slaves of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation!" read more. And she was doing this for many days. But Paul, becoming greatly annoyed and turning around, said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!" And it came out {immediately}.
But some itinerant Jewish exorcists also attempted to pronounce the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, "I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches!"
and many of those who practiced magic brought together [their] books [and] burned [them] up in the sight of everyone. And they counted up their value and found [it was] {fifty thousand silver coins}.
Much in every way. For first, that they were entrusted with the oracles of God.
idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, factions,
whose coming is in accordance with the working of Satan, with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with every unrighteous deception against those who are perishing, in place of which they did not accept the love of the truth, so that they would be saved. read more. And because of this, God sends them {a powerful delusion} so that they will believe the lie,
Now the Spirit explicitly says that in the last times some will depart from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons,
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, read more. hardhearted, irreconcilable, slanderous, without self-control, savage, with no interest for what is good, traitors, reckless, conceited, loving pleasure rather than loving God, maintaining a form of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid these [people]. For from these are those who slip into houses and captivate foolish women loaded down with sins, led by various kinds of desires, always learning and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. And {just as} Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these oppose the truth, people corrupted in mind, disqualified concerning the faith.
And {just as} Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these oppose the truth, people corrupted in mind, disqualified concerning the faith.
and they did not repent of their murders or of their magic spells or of their sexual immorality or of their thefts.
And he deceives those who live on the earth because of the signs that it has been granted to him to perform on behalf of the beast, telling those who live on the earth to make an image to the beast who has the wound of the sword and [yet] lived. And it was given to him to put breath into the image of the beast, in order that the image of the beast both spoke and caused that all those, unless they worshiped the image of the beast, should be killed.
And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet three unclean spirits like frogs. For they are the spirits of demons performing signs that go out to the kings of the whole inhabited world, to gather them for the battle of the great day of God the All-Powerful.
But [as] for the cowards and unbelievers and detestable persons and murderers and sexually immoral people and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their share [is] in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death.
Outside [are] the dogs and the sorcerers and the sexually immoral people and the murderers and the idolaters and everyone who loves and who practices falsehood.
Hastings
Morish
The numerous references in scripture to the various forms of occult science, as it is now called, and the strong denunciations against the Israelites having anything to do with it, show that it was a dangerous reality, however much deception might at times have been associated with it. We read of it first in Ge 41:8, when Pharaoh called for all the magicians, chartummim, of Egypt and the wise men, to interpret his dream. All their resources failing, God's man in the prison was called forth to show the dream, and this proved the occasion of working out God's purposes respecting Joseph. Doubtless the above class of men were eminent for their learning, as those were at the court of Babylon, over whom Daniel was made chief. Da 4:7,9.
Among those in Egypt there were some at least who were able to exercise powers beyond what they obtained by human learning. When Moses was endeavouring by means of signs to convince Pharaoh of the power of God, the magicians of Egypt were able to turn their rods into serpents, and to simulate the first two plagues with their enchantments. Ex 7:22; 8:7. These plagues were 'turning the water into blood' and 'bringing up frogs upon the land.' This was beyond mere human power, and certainly the magicians did not work by the power of God; it must therefore have been by the power of Satan. We know not the nature of the enchantments used, the word is lat, and signifies 'secret, magic arts.' Satan can suggest what incantations to employ, if man is willing, and can exercise his powers as far as permitted by God. After the first two plagues the power was stopped, and the magicians had to own, when lice were produced, "This is the finger of God."
In De 18:10-11 there is a list of things bearing on our subject which were denounced by the Lord:
1. DIVINATION, qesem, 'prediction.' A remarkable passage in Eze 21:21-22 gives some instances of how the heathen divined. The king of Babylon had come to two roads, and wanting to know whether he should take the road to Rabbath or to Jerusalem, resorted to divination. First 'he shook his arrows' (as it should be translated). Doubtless two or more arrows were marked each with the name of one of the cities, and shaken in the quiver, whichever arrow was taken by the right hand decided which road was to be taken. Jerusalem fell to the right hand. Perhaps the king was doubtful, so he consulted with images, teraphim; it is not known how these were used for divination: cf. Zec 10:2. The king still sought another guide: 'he looked in the liver.' By certain set rules the intestines of a sacrifice were said to be propitious or the reverse. The king using three sets of prognostications shows that he had no great confidence in his divinations: he may have been often deceived by them previously. How different from an answer from God vouchsafed to Israel!
Other means of divination are named, as, 'divining by the cup.' Ge 44:5,15. This was practised by the Egyptians and Persians and is thus described: small pieces of metal and stones, marked with signs were thrown into the cup, and answers gathered from the marks as they fell. Sometimes the cup was filled with water, and, as the sun fell upon the water, images were seen or fancied on its surface. Another reference is "My people ask counsel at their stocks and their staff declareth unto them." Ho 4:12. The Arabs used two rods, on one of which was written God bids, and on the other God forbids, these were shaken together, and the first that fell, or was drawn, was taken for the answer; or one rod was thrown up and the direction in which it pointed when it fell was answer. It will be seen here that a 'stock' or god was invoked that what the staff declared should be controlled by him. So in all divination, incantations were used, and the gods invoked to let the replies given be the most favourable. Behind all this we know there were demons who controlled the results given, so as to work out the purposes of Satan.
In the Acts we find a damsel possessed with a spirit of divination, or of Python. This was the prophetic oracle at Delphi, held to be the centre and focus of Gentile divination. An evil spirit connected with that oracle possessed this young woman. The testimony of the evil spirit to the servants of the most high God is remarkable: it may have been compelled to speak thus when brought face to face with the power of God (as the demons owned Christ): but the apostle could not tolerate commendation from such a source
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And it happened [that] in the morning his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called all of the magicians of Egypt, and all its wise men, and Pharaoh told his dream to them. But {they had no interpretation} for Pharaoh.
Is this not that from which my master drinks? Now he himself certainly practices divination with it. You have done evil [in] what you have done.'"
Then Joseph said to them, "What is this deed that you have done? Did you not know that a man who [is] like me surely practices divination?"
And the magicians of Egypt did likewise with their secret arts, and Pharaoh's heart was hard, and he did not listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken.
And the magicians did likewise with their secret arts, and they brought up frogs over the land of Egypt.
[There] shall not be found among you one who makes his son or his daughter go through the fire, [or] {one who practices divination}, [or] an interpreter of signs, or an augur, or sorcerer,
[There] shall not be found among you one who makes his son or his daughter go through the fire, [or] {one who practices divination}, [or] an interpreter of signs, or an augur, or sorcerer, or one who casts magic spells, or one who consults spirit of the dead, or spiritist, or one who inquires of the dead.
or one who casts magic spells, or one who consults spirit of the dead, or spiritist, or one who inquires of the dead.
or one who casts magic spells, or one who consults spirit of the dead, or spiritist, or one who inquires of the dead.
He made his son pass through the fire, practiced soothsaying and divination, and dealt with mediums and spiritists. He increased the doing of evil in the eyes of Yahweh to provoke him.
And he himself burned his sons in the fire in the Valley of Ben-Hinnom. And he practiced sorcery and divination, and he engaged in witchcraft and dealt with mediums and spiritists. And he did much evil in the eyes of Yahweh, to provoke him to anger.
so that it does not hear [the] voice of charmers [or the] skilled caster of spells.
They also attached themselves to Baal of Peor, and they ate sacrifices offered to [the] dead.
Now if they tell you, "Consult the ghosts and the spirits, those who chirp and those who mutter. Should not a people consult its gods, the dead on behalf of the living,
Now if they tell you, "Consult the ghosts and the spirits, those who chirp and those who mutter. Should not a people consult its gods, the dead on behalf of the living,
And the spirit of {the Egyptians} will be disturbed in his midst, and I will {confuse} his plans, and they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead, and the ghosts and the spiritists.
Then you shall be low; you shall speak from [the] earth, and your words will be low, from dust. And your voice will be from [the] earth, like a ghost, and your word will whisper from [the] dust.
And these two shall come to you [in] a moment, in one day: [the] loss of children and widowhood shall come on you {completely}, in spite of your many sorceries, in spite of the power of your great enchantments.
Stand, now, in your enchantments, and in your many sorceries with which you have labored from your youth. Perhaps you may be able to benefit; perhaps you may {scare away}. You struggle with your many consultations; let them stand, now, and save you-- those who see the stars, divide [the] {celestial sphere}, who inform by new moons-- from [those things] that are coming upon you.
You struggle with your many consultations; let them stand, now, and save you-- those who see the stars, divide [the] {celestial sphere}, who inform by new moons-- from [those things] that are coming upon you.
For the king of Babylon stands at the fork of the road at the head of the two roads to practice divination. {He shakes the arrows}, he inquires with the teraphim, he {examines} the liver. In his right hand is the divination for Jerusalem, to put [up] battering rams, to open mouth for slaughter, {to raise the battle cry}, to put [up] battering rams against gates, to build a siege ramp, to build siege works.
Then the magicians, the conjurers, the {astrologers} and the diviners came in and I told them the dream, but they could not make known to me its explanation.
" ' Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I myself know that [the] spirit of [the] holy gods [is] in you, and {no mystery is too difficult} for you. [Now] tell [me] [the] visions of my dream that I saw, and its explanation.
My people, consult {their wooden idols}, and their divining rod gives them oracles; because a spirit of whoredom led [them] astray, and they played the whore from under their God.
"Because of the many idolatries of [the] prostitute, the beautiful charm [of] a mistress of witchcraft, she who enslaves nations by her harlotries, and peoples by her sorceries,
Because the household gods speak deceit, and those who practice divination see a lie, and the dreamers of vanity speak in vain. Therefore [the people] wander like sheep; they are afflicted because there is no shepherd.
Now a certain man {named} Simon had been in the city practicing magic and astonishing the people of Samaria, saying he was someone great. They were all paying attention to {him}, from the least to the greatest, saying, "This man is the power of God that is called 'Great.'" read more. And they were paying attention to him because for a long time he had astonished them with [his] magic.
And [when they] had crossed over the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a certain man, a magician, a Jewish false prophet whose name [was] Bar-Jesus,
But Elymas the magician (for his name is translated in this way) opposed them, attempting to turn the proconsul away from the faith.
And it happened that [as] we were going to the place of prayer, a certain female slave who had a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing a large profit to her owners [by] fortune-telling. She followed Paul and us [and] was crying out, saying, "These men are slaves of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation!" read more. And she was doing this for many days. But Paul, becoming greatly annoyed and turning around, said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!" And it came out {immediately}. But [when] her owners saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas [and] dragged [them] into the marketplace before the rulers.
and many of those who practiced magic brought together [their] books [and] burned [them] up in the sight of everyone. And they counted up their value and found [it was] {fifty thousand silver coins}.
idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, factions,
Let no one condemn you, taking pleasure in humility and the worship of angels, going into detail [about] [the things] which he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind,
Therefore, since the children share in blood and flesh, he also in like manner shared in these [same things], in order that through death he could destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,
and they did not repent of their murders or of their magic spells or of their sexual immorality or of their thefts.
And the light of a lamp will never shine in you again! And the sound of a bridegroom and bride will never be heard in you again! For your merchants were the most important people of the earth, because with your sorcery they deceived all the nations.
And Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death--the lake of fire.
But [as] for the cowards and unbelievers and detestable persons and murderers and sexually immoral people and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their share [is] in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death.
Outside [are] the dogs and the sorcerers and the sexually immoral people and the murderers and the idolaters and everyone who loves and who practices falsehood.
Smith
is a "foretelling future events, or discovering things secret by the aid of superior beings, or other than human means." It is used in Scripture of false systems of ascertaining the divine will. It has been universal in all ages, and all nations alike civilized and savage. Numerous forms of divination are mentioned, such as divination by rods,
divination by arrows,
divination by cups,
consultation of teraphim,
1Sa 15:23; Eze 21:21; Zec 10:2
[TERAPHIM]; divination by the liver,
See Teraphim
divination by dreams,
consultation of oracles.
Moses forbade every species of divination, because a prying into the future clouds the mind with superstition, and because it would have been an incentive to idolatry. But God supplied his people with substitutes for divination which would have rended it superfluous, and left them in no doubt as to his will in circumstances of danger, had they continued faithful. It was only when they were unfaithful that the revelation was withdrawn.
etc. Superstition not unfrequently goes hand in hand with skepticism, and hence, amid the general infidelity prevalent throughout the Roman empire at our Lord's coming, imposture was rampant. Hence the lucrative trade of such men as Simon Magus,
Bar-jesus,
the slave with the spirit of Python,
the vagabond jews, exorcists,
Lu 11:19; Ac 19:13
and others,
etc., as well as the notorious dealers in magical books at Ephesus.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Is this not that from which my master drinks? Now he himself certainly practices divination with it. You have done evil [in] what you have done.'"
and the sign or the wonder comes [about] that he spoke to you, {saying}, 'Let us go after other gods (those whom you have not known), and let us serve them,' you must not listen to the words of that prophet or to that dreamer, for Yahweh your God {is testing you to know whether you love} Yahweh your God with all of your heart and with all [of] your inner self.
When Gideon came, a man [was] recounting a dream to his friend, and he said, "Behold, {I had a dream}; a round loaf of barley bread [was] tumbling into the camp of Midian, and it came up to the tent, it struck it, and it fell and turned it upside down so that the tent fell."
For rebellion [is like] the sin of divination; arrogance [is like] iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of Yahweh, he has rejected you from [being] king!"
And Saul inquired of Yahweh, but Yahweh did not answer him, not by dreams or by the Urim or by the prophets.
"Present your legal case," says Yahweh. "Bring your evidence," says the king of Jacob. Let them bring [them], and let them tell us what will happen. Tell us what the former things [are] {so that} we may take [them to] our heart and know their outcome. Declare to us the things to come; read more. tell [us] the things coming {hereafter}, that we may know that you [are] gods. Indeed, do good or do evil, that we may be afraid and see together. Look! you [are] nothing, and your work [is] something worthless; whoever chooses you [is] an abomination.
And who [is] like me? Let him proclaim [it]! And let him declare it and set it in order for me {since I established an eternal people} and things that are to come, and let them tell them [the things] that are coming.
Look, I [am] against those who prophesy dreams of lies," {declares} Yahweh, "and tell them, and they caused my people to err through their lies, and in their recklessness, when I myself have not sent them nor commanded them, so they profit not this people at all," {declares} Yahweh.
For the king of Babylon stands at the fork of the road at the head of the two roads to practice divination. {He shakes the arrows}, he inquires with the teraphim, he {examines} the liver.
For the king of Babylon stands at the fork of the road at the head of the two roads to practice divination. {He shakes the arrows}, he inquires with the teraphim, he {examines} the liver.
For the king of Babylon stands at the fork of the road at the head of the two roads to practice divination. {He shakes the arrows}, he inquires with the teraphim, he {examines} the liver.
My people, consult {their wooden idols}, and their divining rod gives them oracles; because a spirit of whoredom led [them] astray, and they played the whore from under their God.
Because the household gods speak deceit, and those who practice divination see a lie, and the dreamers of vanity speak in vain. Therefore [the people] wander like sheep; they are afflicted because there is no shepherd.
But if I expel demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons expel [them]? For this [reason] they will be your judges!
Now a certain man {named} Simon had been in the city practicing magic and astonishing the people of Samaria, saying he was someone great.
And [when they] had crossed over the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a certain man, a magician, a Jewish false prophet whose name [was] Bar-Jesus,
And it happened that [as] we were going to the place of prayer, a certain female slave who had a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing a large profit to her owners [by] fortune-telling.
But some itinerant Jewish exorcists also attempted to pronounce the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, "I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches!"
and many of those who practiced magic brought together [their] books [and] burned [them] up in the sight of everyone. And they counted up their value and found [it was] {fifty thousand silver coins}.
But evil people and imposters will progress to the worse, deceiving and being deceived.
And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs before him, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who had worshiped his image. The two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulphur.
Watsons
DIVINATION, a conjecture or surmise, formed concerning future events, from things which are supposed to presage them. The eastern people were always fond of divination, magic, the curious arts of interpreting dreams, and of obtaining a knowledge of future events. When Moses published the law, this disposition had long been common in Egypt and the neighbouring countries. To prevent the Israelites from consulting diviners, fortune tellers, interpreters of dreams, &c, he forbade them, under very severe penalties, to consult persons of this description, and promised to them the true spirit of prophecy as infinitely superior. He commanded those to be stoned who pretended to have a familiar spirit, or the spirit of divination, De 18:9-10,15. The writings of the prophets are full of invectives against the Israelites who consulted diviners, and against false prophets who by such means seduced the people.
2. Different kinds of divination have passed for sciences, as
1. Aeromancy, divining by the air. 2. Astrology, by the heavens. 3. Augury, by the flight and singing of birds, &c. 4. Cheiromancy, by inspecting the lines of the hand.
5. Geomancy, by observing cracks or clefts in the earth. 6. Haruspicy, by inspecting the bowels of animals. 7. Horoscopy, a branch of astrology, marking the position of the heavens when a person is born. 8. Hydromancy, by water. 9. Physiognomy, by the countenance. 10. Pyromancy, a divination made by fire.
3. The kinds of divination, to which superstition in modern times has given belief, are not less numerous, or less ridiculous, than those which were practised in the days of profound ignorance. The divining rod, which is mentioned in Scripture, is still in some repute in the north of England, though its application is now confined principally to the discovery of veins of lead ore, seams of coal, or springs. In order that it may possess the full virtue for this purpose, it should be made of hazel. Divination by Virgilian, Horatian, or Bible lots, was formerly very common; and the last kind is still practised. The works are opened by chance, and the words noticed which are covered by the thumb: if they can be interpreted in any respect relating to the person, they are reckoned prophetic. Charles I. is said to have used this kind of divination to ascertain his fate. The ancient Christians were so much addicted to the sortes sanctorum, or divining by the Bible, that it was expressly forbidden by a council. Divination by the speal, or blade bone of a sheep, is used in Scotland. In the Highlands it is called sleina-reached, or reading the speal bone. It was very common in England in the time of Drayton, particularly among the colony of Flemings settled in Pembroke- shire. Camden relates of the Irish, that they looked through the bare blade bone of a sheep; and if they saw any spot in it darker than ordinary, they believed that somebody would be buried out of the house. The Persians used this mode of divination.
4. Of all attempts to look into futurity by such means, as well as resorting to charms and other methods of curing diseases, and discovering secrets, we may say, that they are relics of Paganism, and argue an ignorance, folly, or superstition, dishonourable to the Christian name; and are therefore to be reproved and discouraged.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
"When you come to the land that Yahweh your God [is] giving to you, you must not learn to do like the detestable practices of those nations. [There] shall not be found among you one who makes his son or his daughter go through the fire, [or] {one who practices divination}, [or] an interpreter of signs, or an augur, or sorcerer,
"Yahweh your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your midst, from your countrymen, [and] to him you shall listen.