Thematic Bible: Contention


Thematic Bible



But for those who are selfishly ambitious and self-seeking and disobedient to the truth but responsive to wickedness, [there will be] wrath and indignation. Verse ConceptsGod's IndignationAttention SeekersRejection Of God, Results OfSelf IndulgenceSelfishnessPerforming The TruthContinuing In SinSelf CenterednessRejectionCompetitiondisobedience




It is better to live in a corner of the housetop [on the flat roof, exposed to the weather]
Than in a house shared with a quarrelsome (contentious) woman.
Verse ConceptsArguingContentious WomandisagreementsRoofSpeech, Negative Aspects OfWivesArgumentsStrifeHousetopsDomestic ViolenceContentiousnessAngry WivesRooftopQuarrelsome WivesSharingnagging


Like charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire,
So is a contentious man to kindle strife.
Verse ConceptsArguingDissensionContentiousnessCharcoal

A continual dripping on a day of violent showers and a contentious woman are alike; Whoever attempts to restrain [a contentious woman] might as well try to stop the wind -- "his right hand encounters oil [and she slips through his fingers].

Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness and dimness of eyes? Those who tarry long at the wine, those who go to seek and try mixed wine.

A [self-confident] fool's lips bring contention, and his mouth invites a beating. A [self-confident] fool's mouth is his ruin, and his lips are a snare to himself.

But Zion [Jerusalem, her people as seen in captivity] said, The Lord has forsaken me, and my Lord has forgotten me. [And the Lord answered] Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yes, they may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have indelibly imprinted (tattooed a picture of) you on the palm of each of My hands; [O Zion] your walls are continually before Me. read more.
Your children and your builders make haste; your destroyers and those who laid you waste go forth from you. Lift up your eyes round about and see [the returning exiles, ready to rebuild Jerusalem]; all these gather together and come to you. As I live, says the Lord, you [Zion] shall surely clothe yourself with them all as with an ornament and bind them on you as a bride does. For your waste and desolate places and your land [once the scene] of destruction surely now [in coming years] will be too narrow to accommodate the population, and those who once swallowed you up will be far away. The children of your bereavement [born during your captivity] shall yet say in your ears, The place is too narrow for me; make room for me, that I may live. Then [Zion], you will say in your heart, Who has borne me all these children, seeing that I lost my offspring and am alone and barren and unfruitful, an exile put away and wandering hither and thither? And who brought them up? Behold, I was left alone [put away by the Lord, my Husband]; from where then did all these children come? Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will lift up My hand to the Gentile nations and set up My standard and raise high My signal banner to the peoples; and they will bring your sons in the bosom of their garments, and your daughters will be carried upon their shoulders. And kings shall be your foster fathers and guardians, and their queens your nursing mothers. They shall bow down to you with their faces to the earth and lick up the dust of your feet; and you shall know [with an acquaintance and understanding based on and grounded in personal experience] that I am the Lord; for they shall not be put to shame who wait for, look for, hope for, and expect Me. Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or the lawful captives of the just be delivered? For thus says the Lord: Even the captives of the mighty will be taken away, and the prey of the terrible will be delivered; for I will contend with him who contends with you, and I will give safety to your children and ease them.


To cast lots puts an end to quarrels
And decides between powerful contenders.
Verse ConceptsCasting LotsResolving Conflict


Drive out the scoffer, and contention will go away;
Even strife and dishonor will cease.
Verse ConceptsArguingdriving outInsultsMockeryRidicule, Nature OfScornersQuarrelsAbusemockers


For lack of wood the fire goes out,
And where there is no whisperer [who gossips], contention quiets down.
Verse ConceptsBackbitingDiscordGossipExtinguishingFirewoodBurnoutFamily ProblemsConflictFamily Conflictrumorsgossiping



If a wise man has a controversy with a foolish and arrogant man,
The foolish man [ignores logic and fairness and] only rages or laughs, and there is no peace (rest, agreement).
Verse ConceptsLawsuitsScoffing


Those who set aside the law [of God and man] praise the wicked,
But those who keep the law [of God and man] struggle with them.
Verse ConceptsCommendationConnivanceResults Of Keeping The Commandments


“Woe (judgment is coming) to him who quarrels with his Maker—
A [worthless] piece of broken pottery among other broken pieces [equally worthless]!
Shall the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you doing?’
Or does the thing say, ‘He has no hands’?
Verse ConceptsCriticism, amongst believersArguingClaySurrenderingPresumptionPotteryAuthority, Belonging To GodAnimositySuing GodWoe To The WickedMan's Relationship With His Creatorstriving



An arrogant and greedy man stirs up strife,
But he who trusts in the Lord will be blessed and prosper.
Verse ConceptsCovetingProsperityPride, Results InThe Effects Of FaithThe Righteous ProsperEconomicsGreedTrusting OthersConflict