Thematic Bible: Decision


Thematic Bible



And now, Amariah, the chief priest, is over you in all questions to do with the Lord; and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the head of the family of Judah, in everything to do with the king's business; and the Levites will be overseers for you. Be strong to do the work; and may the Lord be with the upright. Verse ConceptsChief priestsBravery

And I say to you that to everyone who gives witness to me before men, the Son of man will give witness before the angels of God. Verse ConceptsHeaven,  Redeemed CommunityConfession Of ChristConfessing ChristAcknowledging ChristAngels Interacting With PeopleWitness Before MenAcknowledging GodconfessingUnbelief Toward Christ


Only take heart and be very strong; take care to do all the law which Moses my servant gave you, not turning from it to the right hand or to the left, so that you may do well in all your undertakings. Verse ConceptsCourage, In Facing EnemiesBeing ConfidentSuccessMoving ForwardStrength Of PeopleNot Turning AsideBe Courageous!Be Strong!Keep The Commandments!Success Through GodCourageCourage And Strength

No man may be a servant to two masters: for he will have hate for the one and love for the other; or he will keep to the one and have no respect for the other. You may not be servants of God and of wealth. Verse Conceptsdoubt, results ofGospel, Responses ToIndecisionLoyaltyMoney, Attitudes ToRiches, Dangers OfServanthood, In Life Of BelieversServants, BadSlavery, SpiritualTreasuredouble mindednessUnquestioning ServiceServing PeopleDespising PeopleTwo PeopleNot Serving GodServing God

And he said to another, Come after me. But he said, Lord, let me first go and give the last honours to my father. But he said to him, Let the dead take care of their dead; it is for you to go and give news of the kingdom of God. And another man said, I will come with you, Lord, but first let me say a last good-day to those who are at my house. read more.
But Jesus said, No man, having put his hand to the plough and looking back, is good enough for the kingdom of God.



He has kept his agreement in mind for ever, the word which he gave for a thousand generations; Verse ConceptsGod, Faithfulness OfGenerationsCommands, in OTRememberingGod Remembering His Covenantmindfulness

And another of the disciples said to him, Lord, let me first go and give the last honours to my father. But Jesus said to him, Come after me; and let the dead take care of their dead.

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Whoever is not with me is against me; and he who does not take part with me in getting people together, is driving them away. Verse ConceptsGospel, Responses ToNot MeChrist With People In SpiritNo Helpgathering

He who is not with me is against me, and he who will not give me help in getting people together is driving them away. Verse ConceptsGospel, Responses ToCooperationDissensiongathering

Keep in mind Lot's wife. Verse ConceptsHesitationWifeluck

As, then, you took Christ Jesus the Lord, so go on in him, Rooted and based together in him, strong in the faith which the teaching gave you, giving praise to God at all times.

But you, O man of God, keep yourself from these things, and go after righteousness, religion, faith, love, a quiet mind, gentle behaviour. Be fighting the good fight of the faith; take for yourself the life eternal, for which you were marked out, and of which you gave witness in the eyes of all. I give you orders before God, the giver of life, and Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate gave witness to the faith, read more.
To keep the word untouched by evil, clear from all shame, till the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ:

And if it seems evil to you to be the servants of the Lord, make the decision this day whose servants you will be: of the gods whose servants your fathers were across the River, or of the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living: but I and my house will be the servants of the Lord. Verse ConceptsFreedom, Of The WillAge, Glories OfFamily, Worship InChoicesdoubt, results ofFamilies, Examples OfGood Decision Making ExamplesIntentionsHeads Of The FamilyChoosingFaithful, Choose To RemainZeal, ReligiousLife's PurposeEmployers, Good ExamplesChoosing God's WayBehold Me!Encouraged To Serve Foreign godsServing One's Own GodsBeyond The EuphratesServingServing God


And Naomi said, See, your sister-in-law has gone back to her people and to her gods: go back after your sister-in-law. Verse ConceptsMothers, Examples Of

And Elijah came near to all the people and said, How long will you go on balancing between two opinions? if the Lord is God, then give worship to him; but if Baal, give worship to him. And the people said not a word in answer. Verse ConceptsChoicesdoubt, results ofdouble mindednessChallengesChoosingHesitationIndecisionOpinionsPublic OpinionSyncretismSkepticismDivided HeartsIndividuals Being SilentTwo Intangible ThingsThe Lord [Yahweh] Is Godfollowing

So when they came together, Pilate said to them, Whom will you have? Barabbas, or Jesus, who is named Christ? Verse ConceptsBarabbasRight DesiresPeople Releasing Othersfree


No man may be a servant to two masters: for he will have hate for the one and love for the other; or he will keep to the one and have no respect for the other. You may not be servants of God and of wealth. Verse Conceptsdoubt, results ofGospel, Responses ToIndecisionLoyaltyMoney, Attitudes ToRiches, Dangers OfServanthood, In Life Of BelieversServants, BadSlavery, SpiritualTreasuredouble mindednessUnquestioning ServiceServing PeopleDespising PeopleTwo PeopleNot Serving GodServing God

So Jesus said to the twelve, Have you a desire to go away? Verse ConceptsExamples Of FaithLonelinessLeavingTwelve DisciplesSchoolwill

I have made a good fight, I have come to the end of my journey, I have kept the faith: From now on, the crown of righteousness is made ready for me, which the Lord, the upright judge, Will give to me at that day: and not only to me, but to all those who have had love for his revelation.

In the measure of my strong hope and belief that in nothing will I be put to shame, but that without fear, as at all times, so now will Christ have glory in my body, by life or by death. For to me life is Christ and death is profit.


Preaching in the name of the Lord without fear; and he had discussions with the Greek Jews; but they were working for his death. Verse Conceptsevangelists, ministry ofGreeksHatredSuffering, Of BelieversDisputesPersecution Of The Apostle PaulReasoned ArgumentAttempting To Kill Specific PeopleBoldness



Then Simon Peter gave this answer: Lord, to whom are we to go? you have the words of eternal life; And we have faith and are certain that you are the Holy One of God.

And Peter said, See, we have given up what is ours to come after you. Verse ConceptsPeter, The DiscipleSelf DenialNever Giving Upfollowingimpossible

And now I am here to be judged because of the hope given by God's word to our fathers; Verse ConceptsHope, In GodMinistry, Qualifications ForAncestorsGod's Promise To Abraham

And if it seems evil to you to be the servants of the Lord, make the decision this day whose servants you will be: of the gods whose servants your fathers were across the River, or of the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living: but I and my house will be the servants of the Lord. Verse ConceptsFreedom, Of The WillAge, Glories OfFamily, Worship InChoicesdoubt, results ofFamilies, Examples OfGood Decision Making ExamplesIntentionsHeads Of The FamilyChoosingFaithful, Choose To RemainZeal, ReligiousLife's PurposeEmployers, Good ExamplesChoosing God's WayBehold Me!Encouraged To Serve Foreign godsServing One's Own GodsBeyond The EuphratesServingServing God

And Elijah came near to all the people and said, How long will you go on balancing between two opinions? if the Lord is God, then give worship to him; but if Baal, give worship to him. And the people said not a word in answer. Verse ConceptsChoicesdoubt, results ofdouble mindednessChallengesChoosingHesitationIndecisionOpinionsPublic OpinionSyncretismSkepticismDivided HeartsIndividuals Being SilentTwo Intangible ThingsThe Lord [Yahweh] Is Godfollowing

Then Moses took his place at the way into the tents, and said, Whoever is on the Lord's side, let him come to me. And all the sons of Levi came together to him. Verse ConceptsChoicesGood Decision Making ExamplesRankChoosingAssembling LeadersStanding In The Gateway


But only Caleb, the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua, the son of Nun: because they have been true to the Lord. Verse ConceptsConsecration, Examples OfFollowing God

But my servant Caleb, because he had a different spirit in him, and has been true to me with all his heart, him I will take into that land into which he went, and his seed will have it for their heritage. Verse ConceptsExamples Of FaithFaithfulness, Examples OfLoyaltyReliabilitySpirit, Emotional Aspects OfFollowing GodServant Leadership

My brothers, however, who went up with me, made the heart of the people like water: but I was true to the Lord with all my heart. Verse ConceptsCowardiceFollowing GodLosing Courage

Those same men who said evil of the land, came to their death by disease before the Lord. But Joshua, the son of Nun, and Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, of those who went to see the land, were not touched by disease.

But only Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, he will see it; and to him and to his children I will give the land over which his feet have gone, because he has been true to the Lord with all his heart. Verse ConceptsFaithfulness, Examples OfFollowing God

But my servant Caleb, because he had a different spirit in him, and has been true to me with all his heart, him I will take into that land into which he went, and his seed will have it for their heritage. Verse ConceptsExamples Of FaithFaithfulness, Examples OfLoyaltyReliabilitySpirit, Emotional Aspects OfFollowing GodServant Leadership

And Joshua, the son of Nun, and Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, two of those who had been to see the land, giving signs of grief, Said to all the children of Israel, This land which we went through to see is a very good land. And if the Lord has delight in us, he will take us into this land and give it to us, a land flowing with milk and honey. read more.
Only, do not go against the Lord or go in fear of the people of the land, for they will be our food; their strength has been taken from them and the Lord is with us: have no fear of them. But all the people said they were to be stoned. Then the glory of the Lord was seen in the Tent of meeting, before the eyes of all the children of Israel.

So Hebron became the heritage of Caleb, the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, to this day, because with all his heart he was true to the Lord, the God of Israel. Verse ConceptsFollowing GodWhere People Live To This Day


By faith Moses, when he became a man, had no desire to be named the son of Pharaoh's daughter; Feeling that it was better to undergo pain with the people of God, than for a short time to have a taste of the pleasures of sin; Judging a part in the shame of Christ to be better than all the wealth of Egypt; for he was looking forward to his reward.


He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, walking in the ways of David his father, without turning to the right hand or to the left. Verse ConceptsFaithfulness, Examples OfGood Kings Examples OfSteadfastness, Examples OfImitating Good KingsNot Turning AsidePeople Who Did Right

And the king took his place by the pillar, and made an agreement before the Lord, to go in the way of the Lord, and keep his orders and his decisions and his rules with all his heart and all his soul, and to keep the words of the agreement recorded in the book; and all the people gave their word to keep the agreement. Verse ConceptsAgreement, Before GodGuaranteeHeart, And Holy SpiritPledgesReformationReligionConsecration, Examples OfPillars For Solomon's TempleWhole HeartednessLater Covenants With God

Never before had there been a king like him, turning to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his power, as the law of Moses says; and after him there was no king like him. Verse ConceptsCommitment, to GodConsecration, Examples OfWhole HeartednessUnique IndividualsTaking The Law To HeartGuidance And Strength

Then the king, taking his place by the pillar, made an agreement before the Lord, to go in the way of the Lord, and to keep his orders and his decisions and his rules with all his heart and with all his soul, and to keep the words of the agreement recorded in this book. Verse ConceptsReligion

And not be like their fathers, a stiff-necked and uncontrolled generation; a generation whose heart was hard, whose spirit was not true to God. Verse ConceptsFaithfulness, To GodGenerationsAttitudes Of StubbornnessLoyaltyRebellion, Of IsraelSelf WillNot Like PeopleBeing Differentrebellionfatherhoodapostasy

And their hearts were not right with him, and they did not keep their agreement with him. Verse ConceptsNot Whole HeartedSpirit, Fallen And RedeemedBreaking The Covenantsteadfast

For his heart was fixed on the Lord, not turning from his ways, and he did his orders which the Lord gave to Moses. Verse ConceptsSteadfastness, Examples OfClinging To God

But the high places were not taken away out of Israel; but still the heart of Asa was true to the Lord all his life. Verse ConceptsCommitment, to GodReformationSacrifice, In OtGrandmothers

But Ruth said, Give up requesting me to go away from you, or to go back without you: for where you go I will go; and where you take your rest I will take my rest; your people will be my people, and your God my God. Verse ConceptsBest friendIntimacyFriendship, Examples OfProselytesYou Are Our GodWalking In Love

So they sent representatives to Saul's town Gibeah, and these gave the news to the people: and all the people gave themselves to weeping. Now Saul came from the field, driving the oxen before him; and he said, Why are the people weeping? And they gave him word of what the men of Jabesh had said. And at their words, the spirit of God came on Saul with power, and he became very angry. read more.
And he took two oxen and, cutting them up, sent them through all the land of Israel by the hand of runners, saying, If any man does not come out after Saul and Samuel, this will be done to his oxen. And the fear of the Lord came on the people and they came out like one man.

And they made an agreement to be true to the Lord, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and all their soul;

But Jehoshaphat said, Is there no other prophet of the Lord here from whom we may get directions?

But Jehoshaphat said, Is there no other prophet of the Lord here from whom we may get directions?

And Asa, hearing these words of Azariah, the son of Oded the prophet, took heart and put away all the disgusting things out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the towns which he had taken from the hill-country of Ephraim; and he made new again the altar of the Lord in front of the covered way of the Lord's house. Verse ConceptsReformationBraveryThe Altar Of The LordDestruction Of Satan's WorksImmigrants

And the Lord said to the Satan, Have you taken note of my servant Job, for there is no one like him on the earth, a man without sin and upright, fearing God and keeping himself far from evil? and he still keeps his righteousness, though you have been moving me to send destruction on him without cause. Verse ConceptsdiseasesInciting To EvilServants Of The LordFear Of God, Examples OfUnique IndividualsIndividuals Fearing Godshunning

My feet have gone in his steps; I have kept in his way, without turning to one side or to the other. I have never gone against the orders of his lips; the words of his mouth have been stored up in my heart.

Take care, then, to do whatever the Lord your God has given you orders to do; let there be no turning away to the right hand or to the left. Verse ConceptsOrthodoxy, In OtMoving ForwardNot Turning Aside


And if it seems evil to you to be the servants of the Lord, make the decision this day whose servants you will be: of the gods whose servants your fathers were across the River, or of the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living: but I and my house will be the servants of the Lord. Verse ConceptsFreedom, Of The WillAge, Glories OfFamily, Worship InChoicesdoubt, results ofFamilies, Examples OfGood Decision Making ExamplesIntentionsHeads Of The FamilyChoosingFaithful, Choose To RemainZeal, ReligiousLife's PurposeEmployers, Good ExamplesChoosing God's WayBehold Me!Encouraged To Serve Foreign godsServing One's Own GodsBeyond The EuphratesServingServing God

And the Lord sent out from before us all the peoples, the Amorites living in the land: so we will be the servants of the Lord, for he is our God. And Joshua said to the people, You are not able to be the servants of the Lord, for he is a holy God, a God who will not let his honour be given to another: he will have no mercy on your wrongdoing or your sins. If you are turned away from the Lord and become the servants of strange gods, then turning against you he will do you evil, cutting you off, after he has done you good. read more.
And the people said to Joshua, No! But we will be the servants of the Lord. And Joshua said to the people, You are witnesses against yourselves that you have made the decision to be the servants of the Lord. And they said, We are witnesses. Then, he said, put away the strange gods among you, turning your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel. And the people said to Joshua, We will be the servants of the Lord our God, and we will give ear to his voice.

Then Jehu came out again to the servants of his lord, and one said to him, Is all well? why did this man, who is off his head, come to you? And he said to them, You have knowledge of the man and of his talk. And they said, That is not true; now give us his story. Then he said, This is what he said to me: The Lord says, I have made you king over Israel. Then straight away everyone took his robe and put it under him on the top of the steps, and, sounding the horn, they said, Jehu is king. read more.
So Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi, made designs against Joram. (Now Joram and all the army of Israel were keeping watch on Ramoth-gilead because of Hazael, king of Aram: But King Joram had gone back to Jezreel to get well from the wounds which the Aramaeans had given him when he was fighting against Hazael, king of Aram.) And Jehu said, If this is your purpose, then let no one get away and go out of the town to give news of it in Jezreel. So Jehu got into his carriage and went to Jezreel, for Joram was ill in bed there; and Ahaziah, king of Judah, had come down to see Joram. And the watchman on the tower in Jezreel saw Jehu and his band coming, and said, I see a band of people. And Joram said, Send out a horseman to them, and let him say, Is it peace? So a horseman went out to them and said, The king says, Is it peace? And Jehu said, What have you to do with peace? come after me. And the watchman gave them word, saying, The horseman went up to them, but has not come back. Then he sent out a second horseman, who came up to them and said, The king says, Is it peace? And Jehu said in answer, What have you to do with peace? come after me. And the watchman gave them word, saying, He went up to them and has not come back again; and the driving is like the driving of Jehu, son of Nimshi, for he is driving violently. Then Joram said, Make ready. So they made his carriage ready; and Joram, king of Israel, with Ahaziah, king of Judah, went out in their carriages for the purpose of meeting Jehu; and they came face to face with him at the field of Naboth the Jezreelite. Now when Joram saw Jehu he said, Is it peace, Jehu? And he said in answer, What peace is possible while all the land is full of the disgusting sins of your mother Jezebel, and her secret arts? Then Joram, turning his horses in flight, said to Ahaziah, Broken faith, O Ahaziah! Then Jehu took his bow in his hand, and with all his strength sent an arrow, wounding Joram between the arms; and the arrow came out at his heart, and he went down on his face in his carriage. Then Jehu said to Bidkar, his captain, Take him up, and put him in the field of Naboth the Jezreelite: for is not that day in your memory when you and I together on our horses were going after Ahab, his father, and the Lord put this fate on him, saying: I saw the blood of Naboth and of his sons yesterday; and I will give you full payment in this field, says the Lord? So now, take him and put him in this field, as the Lord said. Now when Ahaziah, king of Judah, saw this, he went in flight by the way of the garden house. And Jehu came after him and said, Put him to death in the same way; and they gave him a death-wound in his carriage, on the slope up to Gur, by Ibleam; and he went in flight to Megiddo, where death came to him. And his servants took him in a carriage to Jerusalem, and put him into the earth with his fathers in the town of David. (In the eleventh year of the rule of Joram, the son of Ahab, Ahaziah became king over Judah.) And when Jehu came to Jezreel, Jezebel had news of it; and, painting her eyes and dressing her hair with ornaments, she put her head out of the window. And when Jehu was coming into the town, she said, Is all well, O Zimri, taker of your master's life? Then, looking up to the window, he said, Who is on my side, who? and two or three unsexed servants put out their heads. And he said, Take her and put her out of the window. So they sent her down with force, and her blood went in a shower on the wall and on the horses; and she was crushed under their feet. And he came in, and took food and drink; then he said, Now see to this cursed woman, and put her body into the earth, for she is a king's daughter. And they went out to put her body into the earth, but nothing of her was to be seen, only the bones of her head, and her feet, and parts of her hands. So they came back and gave him word of it. And he said, This is what the Lord said by his servant Elijah the Tishbite, saying, In the heritage of Jezreel the flesh of Jezebel will become food for dogs; And the dead body of Jezebel will be like waste dropped on the face of the earth in the heritage of Jezreel; so that they will not be able to say, This is Jezebel.

So now, go in fear of the Lord, and be his servants with true hearts: put away the gods worshipped by your fathers across the River and in Egypt, and be servants of the Lord. And if it seems evil to you to be the servants of the Lord, make the decision this day whose servants you will be: of the gods whose servants your fathers were across the River, or of the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living: but I and my house will be the servants of the Lord.

They were united with their brothers, their rulers, and put themselves under a curse and an oath, to keep their steps in the way of God's law, which was given by Moses, the servant of God, and to keep and do all the orders of the Lord, our Lord, and his decisions and his rules; Verse ConceptsCommitment, to GodPromises, HumanServants Of The LordThe Curse Of The LawLater Covenants With GodPeople Bound By OathsThe Law Given Through Moses

By faith Abraham made an offering of Isaac, when he was tested: and he with whom the agreement had been made gave up as an offering the only son of his body, Of whom it had been said, From Isaac will your seed take their name: Judging that God was able to give life even to the dead; and because of this he did get him back as if from death.

By faith Abraham did as God said when he was ordered to go out into a place which was to be given to him as a heritage, and went out without knowledge of where he was going. Verse ConceptsAbrahamFaith, Nature OfExamples Of FaithCommitment, to GodReceiving An InheritanceHistoryAbraham, New Testament ReferencesAbraham, Calling And LifeCalling, Of IndividualsDestinationsExploits Of FaithNot Knowing Where

The same night the Lord said to him, Take ten men of your servants and an ox seven years old, and after pulling down the altar of Baal which is your father's, and cutting down the holy tree by its side, Make an altar to the Lord your God on the top of this rock, in the ordered way and take the ox and make a burned offering with the wood of the holy tree which has been cut down. Then Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the Lord had said to him; but fearing to do it by day, because of his father's people and the men of the town, he did it by night. read more.
And the men of the town got up early in the morning, and they saw the altar of Baal broken down, and the holy tree which was by it cut down, and the ox offered on the altar which had been put up there. And they said to one another, Who has done this thing? And after searching with care, they said, Gideon, the son of Joash, has done this thing. Then the men of the town said to Joash, Make your son come out to be put to death, for pulling down the altar of Baal and cutting down the holy tree which was by it. But Joash said to all those who were attacking him, Will you take up the cause of Baal? will you be his saviour? Let anyone who will take up his cause be put to death while it is still morning: if he is a god, let him take up his cause himself because of the pulling down of his altar. So that day he gave him the name of Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal take up his cause against him because his altar has been broken down. Then all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the east, banding themselves together, went over and put up their tents in the valley of Jezreel. But the spirit of the Lord came on Gideon; and at the sound of his horn all Abiezer came together after him. And he sent through all Manasseh, and they came after him; and he sent to Asher and Zebulun and Naphtali, and they came up and were joined to the others. Then Gideon said to God, If you are going to give Israel salvation by my hand, as you have said, See, I will put the wool of a sheep on the grain-floor; if there is dew on the wool only, while all the earth is dry, then I will be certain that it is your purpose to give Israel salvation by my hand as you have said. And it was so: for he got up early on the morning after, and twisting the wool in his hands, he got a basin full of water from the dew on the wool. Then Gideon said to God, Do not be moved to wrath against me if I say only this: let me make one more test with the wool; let the wool now be dry, while the earth is covered with dew. And that night God did so; for the wool was dry, and there was dew on all the earth round it.

Then Caleb made signs to the people to keep quiet, and said to Moses, Let us go up straight away and take this land; for we are well able to overcome it. Verse ConceptsFaith, Nature OfHesitationManlinessPeople OvercomingOvercomingOvercoming Obstaclesexploring

And Elijah came near to all the people and said, How long will you go on balancing between two opinions? if the Lord is God, then give worship to him; but if Baal, give worship to him. And the people said not a word in answer. Verse ConceptsChoicesdoubt, results ofdouble mindednessChallengesChoosingHesitationIndecisionOpinionsPublic OpinionSyncretismSkepticismDivided HeartsIndividuals Being SilentTwo Intangible ThingsThe Lord [Yahweh] Is Godfollowing

And if it seems evil to you to be the servants of the Lord, make the decision this day whose servants you will be: of the gods whose servants your fathers were across the River, or of the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living: but I and my house will be the servants of the Lord. Verse ConceptsFreedom, Of The WillAge, Glories OfFamily, Worship InChoicesdoubt, results ofFamilies, Examples OfGood Decision Making ExamplesIntentionsHeads Of The FamilyChoosingFaithful, Choose To RemainZeal, ReligiousLife's PurposeEmployers, Good ExamplesChoosing God's WayBehold Me!Encouraged To Serve Foreign godsServing One's Own GodsBeyond The EuphratesServingServing God

Then Moses took his place at the way into the tents, and said, Whoever is on the Lord's side, let him come to me. And all the sons of Levi came together to him. Verse ConceptsChoicesGood Decision Making ExamplesRankChoosingAssembling LeadersStanding In The Gateway

Then Moses took his place at the way into the tents, and said, Whoever is on the Lord's side, let him come to me. And all the sons of Levi came together to him. Verse ConceptsChoicesGood Decision Making ExamplesRankChoosingAssembling LeadersStanding In The Gateway





And as for those from a strange country, who are joined to the Lord, to give worship to him and honour to his name, to be his servants, even everyone who keeps the Sabbath holy, and keeps his agreement with me: Verse ConceptsForeignersUnited With GodForeigners Included Among The PeopleStrangers in israelImmigrantsAliens

But the man of God said to the king, Even if you gave me half of all you have, I would not go in with you, and I would not take food or a drink of water in this place; For so I was ordered by the word of the Lord, who said, You are not to take food or a drink of water, and you are not to go back the way you came. So he went another way, and not by the way he came to Beth-el.

And David had word in the waste land that Nabal was cutting the wool of his sheep. And David sent ten young men, and said to them, Go up to Carmel and go to Nabal, and say kind words to him in my name; And say this to my brother, May all be well for you: peace be to you and your house and all you have. read more.
I have had word that you have wool-cutters: now the keepers of your sheep have been with us, and we have done them no evil, and taken nothing of theirs while they were in Carmel. If your young men are questioned they will say the same thing. So now, let my young men have grace in your eyes, for we are come at a good time; please give anything you may have by you to your servants and to your son David. And when David's young men came, they said all this to Nabal, in David's name, and said nothing more. And Nabal gave them his answer and said, Who is David? who is the son of Jesse? there are a number of servants in these days running away from their masters. Am I to take my bread and my wine and the meat I have got ready for my wool-cutters and give it to men coming from I have no idea where? So David's young men, turning away, went back and gave him an account of everything he had said. And David said to his men, Put on your swords, every one of you. And every man put on his sword; and David did the same; and about four hundred men went up with David, and two hundred kept watch over their goods. But one of the young men said to Nabal's wife Abigail, David sent men from the waste land to say kind words to our master, and he gave them a rough answer. But these men have been very good to us; they did us no wrong and nothing of ours was touched while we were with them in the fields: But day and night they were like a wall round us while we were with them, looking after the sheep. So now, give thought to what you are going to do; for evil is in store for our master and all his house: for he is such a good-for-nothing person that it is not possible to say anything to him. Then Abigail quickly took two hundred cakes of bread and two skins full of wine and five sheep ready for cooking and five measures of dry grain and a hundred parcels of dry grapes and two hundred cakes of figs, and put them on asses. And she said to her young men, Go on in front of me and I will come after you. But she said nothing to her husband Nabal. Now while she was going down under cover of the mountain on her ass, David and his men came down against her, and suddenly she came face to face with them. Now David had said, What was the use of my taking care of this man's goods in the waste land, so that there was no loss of anything which was his? he has only given me back evil for good. May God's punishment be on David, if when morning comes there is so much as one male of his people still living. And when Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her ass, falling down on her face before him. And falling at his feet she said, May the wrong be on me, my lord, on me: let your servant say a word to you, and give ear to the words of your servant. Let my lord give no attention to Nabal, that good-for-nothing: for as his name is, so is he, a man without sense: but I, your servant, did not see the young men whom my lord sent. So now, my lord, by the living God and by your living soul, seeing that the Lord has kept you from the crime of blood and from taking into your hands the punishment for your wrongs, may all your haters, and those who would do evil to my lord, be like Nabal. And let this offering, which your servant gives to my lord, be given to the young men who are with my lord. And may the sin of your servant have forgiveness: for the Lord will certainly make your family strong, because my lord is fighting in the Lord's war; and no evil will be seen in you all your days. And though a man has taken up arms against you, putting your life in danger, still the soul of my lord will be kept safe among the band of the living with the Lord your God; and the souls of those who are against you he will send violently away from him, like stones from a bag. And when the Lord has done for my lord all those good things which he has said he will do for you, and has made you a ruler over Israel; Then you will have no cause for grief, and my lord's heart will not be troubled because you have taken life without cause and have yourself given punishment for your wrongs: and when the Lord has been good to you, then give a thought to your servant. And David said to Abigail, May the Lord, the God of Israel, be praised, who sent you to me today: A blessing on your good sense and on you, who have kept me today from the crime of blood and from taking into my hands the punishment for my wrongs. For truly, by the living Lord, the God of Israel, who has kept me from doing you evil, if you had not been so quick in coming to me and meeting me, by dawn there would not have been in Nabal's house so much as one male living. Then David took from her hands her offering: and he said to her, Go back to your house in peace; see, I have given ear to your voice, and taken your offering with respect. And Abigail went back to Nabal; and he was feasting in his house like a king; and Nabal's heart was full of joy, for he had taken much wine; so she said nothing to him till dawn came. And in the morning, when the effect of the wine was gone, Nabal's wife gave him an account of all these things, and all the heart went out of him, and he became like stone.

Then he went back to the man of God, with all his train, and, taking his place before him, said, Now I am certain that there is no God in all the earth, but only in Israel: now then, take an offering from me. Verse ConceptsConversion, examples ofNo Other Is GodMan Of God

Then Naaman said, If you will not, then let there be given to your servant as much earth as two beasts are able to take on their backs; because from now on, your servant will make no offering or burned offering to other gods, but only to the Lord. Verse ConceptsMulesRight SacrificesWeights Of Other Things

So Balak sent more chiefs, greater in number and of higher position than the others. And they came to Balaam and said, Balak, son of Zippor, says, Let nothing keep you from coming to me: For I will give you a place of very great honour, and whatever you say to me I will do; so come, in answer to my prayer, and put a curse on this people. read more.
But Balaam, in answer; said to the servants of Balak, Even if Balak gave me his house full of silver and gold, it would not be possible for me to do anything more or less than the orders of the Lord my God.

Then Jacob took an oath, and said, If God will be with me, and keep me safe on my journey, and give me food and clothing to put on, So that I come again to my father's house in peace, then I will take the Lord to be my God,

Only take heart and be very strong; take care to do all the law which Moses my servant gave you, not turning from it to the right hand or to the left, so that you may do well in all your undertakings. Verse ConceptsCourage, In Facing EnemiesBeing ConfidentSuccessMoving ForwardStrength Of PeopleNot Turning AsideBe Courageous!Be Strong!Keep The Commandments!Success Through GodCourageCourage And Strength

And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, seeing it, got up from among the people and took a spear in his hand, And went after the man of Israel into the tent, driving the spear through the two of them, through the man of Israel and through the stomach of the woman. So the disease was stopped among the children of Israel. But twenty-four thousand of them had come to their death by the disease. read more.
And the Lord said to Moses, Through Phinehas, and because of his passion for my honour, my wrath has been turned away from the children of Israel, so that I have not sent destruction on them all in my wrath. So say to them that I will make with him an agreement of peace: And by this agreement, he and his sons after him have the right to be priests for ever; because, by his care for the honour of his God, he took away the sin of the children of Israel.

And after a time, his master's wife, looking on Joseph with desire, said to him, Be my lover. But he would not, and said to her, You see that my master keeps no account of what I do in his house, and has put all his property in my control; So that no one has more authority in this house than I have; he has kept nothing back from me but you, because you are his wife; how then may I do this great wrong, sinning against God? read more.
And day after day she went on requesting Joseph to come to her and be her lover, but he would not give ear to her. Now one day he went into the house to do his work; and not one of the men of the house was inside. And pulling at his coat, she said, Come to my bed; but slipping out of his coat, he went running away. And when she saw that he had got away, letting her keep his coat, She sent for the men of her house and said to them, See, he has let a Hebrew come here and make sport of us; he came to my bed, and I gave a loud cry; And hearing it he went running out without his coat. And she kept his coat by her, till his master came back. Then she gave him the same story, saying, The Hebrew servant whom you have taken into our house came in to make sport of me; And when I gave a loud cry he went running out without his coat. And hearing his wife's account of what his servant had done, he became very angry. And Joseph's master took him and put him in prison, in the place where the king's prisoners were kept in chains, and he was there in the prison-house.

There came Joseph of Arimathaea, a responsible man in high honour, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God; and he went in to Pilate without fear, and made a request for the body of Jesus. Verse ConceptsBoldness, To PeopleKingdom Of God, Coming OfSanhedrinWaitingWaiting On GodBoldness Examples OfMessianic HopeJesus CorpseNot DiscouragedThose Who Wait For Godrisk


By faith Enoch was taken up to heaven so that he did not see death; he was seen no longer, for God took him away: for before he was taken, witness had been given that he was well-pleasing to God: And without faith it is not possible to be well-pleasing to him, for it is necessary for anyone who comes to God to have the belief that God is, and that he is a rewarder of all those who make a serious search for him.


Then Elijah said to the people, I, even I, am the only living prophet of the Lord; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men. Verse ConceptsExaggerationsMinoritiesFour To Five HundredSole SurvivorsOnly One PersonFour And Five HundredFollowers Of BaalProphets Of Other GodsNot Being Alonejezebellonliness


Then Simon Peter gave this answer: Lord, to whom are we to go? you have the words of eternal life; Verse ConceptsPeter, The DiscipleLife By God's WordWho Is The One?Eternal lifeEverlastingThe Power Of Wordseternity

But Ruth said, Give up requesting me to go away from you, or to go back without you: for where you go I will go; and where you take your rest I will take my rest; your people will be my people, and your God my God. Verse ConceptsBest friendIntimacyFriendship, Examples OfProselytesYou Are Our GodWalking In Love




I have knowledge of your doings, and of your hard work and long waiting, and that you will not put up with evil men, and have put to the test those who say they are Apostles and are not, and have seen that they are false; And you have the power of waiting, and have undergone trouble because of my name, without weariness.

And all the king's servants who were in the king's house went down to the earth before Haman and gave him honour: for so the king had given orders. But Mordecai did not go down before him or give him honour. Then the king's servants who were in the king's house said to Mordecai, Why do you go against the king's order?

By faith Abel made a better offering to God than Cain, and he had witness through it of his righteousness, God giving his approval of his offering: and his voice still comes to us through it though he is dead. Verse ConceptsAbelAbel and CainFaith, As Basis Of SalvationCommendationExamples Of FaithAtonement, Types OfRighteousness, As FaithWorship, Acceptable AttitudesThe Witness Of GodRighteous By ObedienceSacrificeExcellence


And I said, Am I the sort of man to go in flight? what man, in my position, would go into the Temple to keep himself safe? I will not go in. Verse ConceptsBoldness Examples OfCourage, Examples OfNot Maintaining LifeInterlopers In The Temple

Go, get together all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and go without food for me, taking no food or drink night or day for three days: and I and my women will do the same; and so I will go in to the king, which is against the law: and if death is to be my fate, then let it come. Verse ConceptsFasting, Examples OfPray For UsFastingFasting And Prayer

These are they who have not made themselves unclean with women; for they are virgins. These are they who go after the Lamb wherever he goes. These were taken from among men to be the first fruits to God and to the Lamb. Verse ConceptsFollowing Jesus Christdiscipleship, nature ofDefilement, By SinCommitment, to Jesus ChristAsceticism, TypesMarketsCelibacyMetaphorical Firstfruits144,000UniversalismDefilementFirst fruitsSexual PurityThe Rapturerevelationredeemedvirginity

And when Jesus was going from there, he saw a man whose name was Matthew, seated at the place where taxes were taken; and he said to him, Come after me. And he got up and went after him. Verse ConceptsFollowing Jesus ChristCommitment, to Jesus ChristChristlikenessdiscipleship, nature ofHow Disciples Are Calleddelay, humanGospel, Responses ToSelf DenialTax CollectorsCall To ServiceResponding To God's CallInstructions About FollowingPeople Getting Uptaxes

And if it seems evil to you to be the servants of the Lord, make the decision this day whose servants you will be: of the gods whose servants your fathers were across the River, or of the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living: but I and my house will be the servants of the Lord. Verse ConceptsFreedom, Of The WillAge, Glories OfFamily, Worship InChoicesdoubt, results ofFamilies, Examples OfGood Decision Making ExamplesIntentionsHeads Of The FamilyChoosingFaithful, Choose To RemainZeal, ReligiousLife's PurposeEmployers, Good ExamplesChoosing God's WayBehold Me!Encouraged To Serve Foreign godsServing One's Own GodsBeyond The EuphratesServingServing God

Basic English, produced by Mr C. K. Ogden of the Orthological Institute - public domain