And I said, "Ah, sovereign Lord, I have never been ceremonially defiled before. I have never eaten a carcass or an animal torn by wild beasts; from my youth up, unclean meat has never entered my mouth."

I will do to you what I have never done before and will never do again because of all your abominable practices.

"Son of man, these men have erected their idols in their hearts and placed the obstacle leading to their iniquity right before their faces. Should I really allow them to seek me?

Therefore speak to them and say to them, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: When any one from the house of Israel erects his idols in his heart and sets the obstacle leading to his iniquity before his face, and then consults a prophet, I the Lord am determined to answer him personally according to the enormity of his idolatry.

For when anyone from the house of Israel, or the foreigner who lives in Israel, separates himself from me and erects his idols in his heart and sets the obstacle leading to his iniquity before his face, and then consults a prophet to seek something from me, I the Lord am determined to answer him personally.

As for my food that I gave you -- the fine flour, olive oil, and honey I fed you -- you placed it before them as a soothing aroma. That is exactly what happened, declares the sovereign Lord.

They were haughty and practiced abominable deeds before me. Therefore when I saw it I removed them.

before your evil was exposed? Now you have become an object of scorn to the daughters of Aram and all those around her and to the daughters of the Philistines -- those all around you who despise you.

I said to them, "Each of you must get rid of the detestable idols you keep before you, and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am the Lord your God."

I acted for the sake of my reputation, so that I would not be profaned before the nations among whom they lived, before whom I revealed myself by bringing them out of the land of Egypt.

I acted for the sake of my reputation, so that I would not be profaned before the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.

But I refrained from doing so, and acted instead for the sake of my reputation, so that I would not be profaned before the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.

"And you, son of man, groan with an aching heart and bitterness; groan before their eyes.

"I looked for a man from among them who would repair the wall and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land, so that I would not destroy it, but I found no one.

Will you still say, "I am a god," before the one who kills you -- though you are a man and not a god -- when you are in the power of those who wound you?

Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom on account of your splendor. I threw you down to the ground; I placed you before kings, that they might see you.

By the multitude of your iniquities, through the sinfulness of your trade, you desecrated your sanctuaries. So I drew fire out from within you; it consumed you, and I turned you to ashes on the earth before the eyes of all who saw you.

I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon, and I will place my sword in his hand, but I will break the arms of Pharaoh, and he will groan like the fatally wounded before the king of Babylon.

I will shock many peoples with you, and their kings will shiver with horror because of you. When I brandish my sword before them, every moment each one will tremble for his life, on the day of your fall.

Now the hand of the Lord had been on me the evening before the refugee reached me, but the Lord opened my mouth by the time the refugee arrived in the morning; he opened my mouth and I was no longer unable to speak.

You will advance against my people Israel like a cloud covering the earth. In the latter days I will bring you against my land so that the nations may acknowledge me, when before their eyes I magnify myself through you, O Gog.

I will exalt and magnify myself; I will reveal myself before many nations. Then they will know that I am the Lord.'

Then he measured the width from before the lower gate to the front of the exterior of the inner court as 175 feet on the east and on the north.

Then he measured its length as 35 feet, and its width as 35 feet, before the outer sanctuary. He said to me, "This is the most holy place."

The altar was of wood, 5? feet high, with its length 3? feet; its corners, its length, and its walls were of wood. He said to me, "This is the table that is before the Lord."

You will present them before the Lord, and the priests will scatter salt on them and offer them up as a burnt offering to the Lord.

Only the prince may sit in it to eat a sacrificial meal before the Lord; he will enter by way of the porch of the gate and will go out by the same way."

Yet they will be ministers in my sanctuary, having oversight at the gates of the temple, and serving the temple. They will slaughter the burnt offerings and the sacrifices for the people, and they will stand before them to minister to them.

Because they used to minister to them before their idols, and became a sinful obstacle to the house of Israel, consequently I have made a vow concerning them, declares the sovereign Lord, that they will be responsible for their sin.

"'But the Levitical priests, the descendants of Zadok who kept the charge of my sanctuary when the people of Israel went astray from me, will approach me to minister to me; they will stand before me to offer me the fat and the blood, declares the sovereign Lord.

The people of the land will bow down at the entrance of that gate before the Lord on the Sabbaths and on the new moons.

"'When the people of the land come before the Lord at the appointed feasts, whoever enters by way of the north gate to worship will go out by way of the south gate; whoever enters by way of the south gate will go out by way of the north gate. No one will return by way of the gate they entered but will go out straight ahead.

"You, O king, were watching as a great statue -- one of impressive size and extraordinary brightness -- was standing before you. Its appearance caused alarm.

This was the dream. Now we will set forth before the king its interpretation.

Then Nebuchadnezzar in a fit of rage demanded that they bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego before him. So they brought them before the king.

So I issued an order for all the wise men of Babylon to be brought before me so that they could make known to me the interpretation of the dream.

You will be driven from human society, and you will live with the wild animals. You will be fed grass like oxen, and you will become damp with the dew of the sky. Seven periods of time will pass by for you, before you understand that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms and gives them to whomever he wishes.

You will be driven from human society, and you will live with the wild animals. You will be fed grass like oxen, and seven periods of time will pass by for you before you understand that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms and gives them to whomever he wishes."

At that time my sanity returned to me. I was restored to the honor of my kingdom, and my splendor returned to me. My ministers and my nobles were seeking me out, and I was reinstated over my kingdom. I became even greater than before.

So Daniel was brought in before the king. The king said to Daniel, "Are you that Daniel who is one of the captives of Judah, whom my father the king brought from Judah?

Now the wise men and astrologers were brought before me to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation. But they were unable to disclose the interpretation of the message.

Due to the greatness that he bestowed on him, all peoples, nations, and language groups were trembling with fear before him. He killed whom he wished, he spared whom he wished, he exalted whom he wished, and he brought low whom he wished.

Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. You brought before you the vessels from his temple, and you and your nobles, together with your wives and concubines, drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone -- gods that cannot see or hear or comprehend! But you have not glorified the God who has in his control your very breath and all your ways!

Then those officials who had gone to the king came by collusion and found Daniel praying and asking for help before his God.

My God sent his angel and closed the lions' mouths so that they have not harmed me, because I was found to be innocent before him. Nor have I done any harm to you, O king."

The king gave another order, and those men who had maliciously accused Daniel were brought and thrown into the lions' den -- they, their children, and their wives. They did not even reach the bottom of the den before the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.

"After these things, as I was watching in the night visions a fourth beast appeared -- one dreadful, terrible, and very strong. It had two large rows of iron teeth. It devoured and crushed, and anything that was left it trampled with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that came before it, and it had ten horns.

I was watching in the night visions, "And with the clouds of the sky one like a son of man was approaching. He went up to the Ancient of Days and was escorted before him.

I also wanted to know the meaning of the ten horns on its head, and of that other horn which came up and before which three others fell. This was the horn that had eyes and a mouth speaking arrogant things, whose appearance was more formidable than the others.

I saw that the ram was butting westward, northward, and southward. No animal was able to stand before it, and there was none who could deliver from its power. It did as it pleased and acted arrogantly.

While I, Daniel, was watching the vision, I sought to understand it. Now one who appeared to be a man was standing before me.

We have not obeyed the LORD our God by living according to his laws that he set before us through his servants the prophets.

While I was still speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and presenting my request before the LORD my God concerning his holy mountain --

Then he said to me, "Don't be afraid, Daniel, for from the very first day you applied your mind to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard. I have come in response to your words.

Then one who appeared to be a human being was touching my lips. I opened my mouth and started to speak, saying to the one who was standing before me, "Sir, due to the vision, anxiety has gripped me and I have no strength.

For the king of the north will again muster an army, one larger than before. At the end of some years he will advance with a huge army and enormous supplies.

The one advancing against him will do as he pleases, and no one will be able to stand before him. He will prevail in the beautiful land, and its annihilation will be within his power.

Armies will be suddenly swept away in defeat before him; both they and a covenant leader will be destroyed.

They do not realize that I remember all of their wicked deeds. Their evil deeds have now surrounded them; their sinful deeds are always before me.

Our food has been cut off right before our eyes! There is no longer any joy or gladness in the temple of our God!

It will be a day of dreadful darkness, a day of foreboding storm clouds, like blackness spread over the mountains. It is a huge and powerful army -- there has never been anything like it ever before, and there will not be anything like it for many generations to come!

Like fire they devour everything in their path; a flame blazes behind them. The land looks like the Garden of Eden before them, but behind them there is only a desolate wilderness -- for nothing escapes them!

The earth quakes before them; the sky reverberates. The sun and the moon grow dark; the stars refuse to shine.

The sunlight will be turned to darkness and the moon to the color of blood, before the day of the Lord comes -- that great and terrible day!

The following is a record of what Amos prophesied. He was one of the herdsmen from Tekoa. These prophecies about Israel were revealed to him during the time of King Uzziah of Judah and King Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

"I withheld rain from you three months before the harvest. I gave rain to one city, but not to another. One field would get rain, but the field that received no rain dried up.

The one who can break through barriers will lead them out they will break out, pass through the gate, and leave. Their king will advance before them, The Lord himself will lead them.

Listen to what the Lord says: "Get up! Defend yourself before the mountains! Present your case before the hills!"

With what should I enter the Lord's presence? With what should I bow before the sovereign God? Should I enter his presence with burnt offerings, with year-old calves?

He has told you, O man, what is good, and what the Lord really wants from you: He wants you to promote justice, to be faithful, and to live obediently before your God.

The mountains tremble before him, the hills convulse; the earth is laid waste before him, the world and all its inhabitants are laid waste.

Plague goes before him; pestilence marches right behind him.

Be silent before the Lord God, for the Lord's day of judgment is almost here. The Lord has prepared a sacrificial meal; he has ritually purified his guests.

before God's decree becomes reality and the day of opportunity disappears like windblown chaff, before the Lord's raging anger overtakes you -- before the day of the Lord's angry judgment overtakes you!

Now therefore reflect carefully on the recent past, before one stone was laid on another in the Lord's temple.

The angel of the Lord then asked, "Lord who rules over all, how long before you have compassion on Jerusalem and the other cities of Judah which you have been so angry with for these seventy years?"

Next I saw Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, with Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.

Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood there before the angel.

Listen now, Joshua the high priest, both you and your colleagues who are sitting before you, all of you are a symbol that I am about to introduce my servant, the Branch.

As for the stone I have set before Joshua -- on the one stone there are seven eyes. I am about to engrave an inscription on it,' says the Lord who rules over all, 'to the effect that I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day.

Before he could reply I asked again, "What are these two extensions of the olive trees, which are emptying out the golden oil through the two golden pipes?"

The messenger replied, "These are the four spirits of heaven that have been presenting themselves before the Lord of all the earth.

Before that time there was no compensation for man or animal, nor was there any relief from adversity for those who came and went, because I had pitted everybody -- each one -- against everyone else.

I will signal for them and gather them, for I have already redeemed them; then they will become as numerous as they were before.

On that day the Lord himself will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the weakest among them will be like mighty David, and the dynasty of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord before them.

"My covenant with him was designed to bring life and peace. I gave its statutes to him to fill him with awe, and he indeed revered me and stood in awe before me.

"Therefore, I have caused you to be ignored and belittled before all people to the extent to which you are not following after me and are showing partiality in your instruction."

"I am about to send my messenger, who will clear the way before me. Indeed, the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his temple, and the messenger of the covenant, whom you long for, is certainly coming," says the Lord who rules over all.

Then I will stop the plague from ruining your crops, and the vine will not lose its fruit before harvest," says the Lord who rules over all.

You have said, 'It is useless to serve God. How have we been helped by keeping his requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord who rules over all?

Then those who respected the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord took notice. A scroll was prepared before him in which were recorded the names of those who respected the Lord and honored his name.

Look, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord arrives.

Now the birth of Jesus Christ happened this way. While his mother Mary was engaged to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.

Rejoice and be glad because your reward is great in heaven, for they persecuted the prophets before you in the same way.

In the same way, let your light shine before people, so that they can see your good deeds and give honor to your Father in heaven.

But I say to you that anyone who is angry with a brother will be subjected to judgment. And whoever insults a brother will be brought before the council, and whoever says 'Fool' will be sent to fiery hell.

Thus whenever you do charitable giving, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in synagogues and on streets so that people will praise them. I tell you the truth, they have their reward.

Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

Do not give what is holy to dogs or throw your pearls before pigs; otherwise they will trample them under their feet and turn around and tear you to pieces.

And a leper approached, and bowed low before him, saying, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean."