Thematic Bible: Described as


Thematic Bible



He sucks the poison of serpents; the fangs of a viper kill him.

his food is turned sour in his stomach; it becomes the venom of serpents within him.


that does not respond to the magicians, or to a skilled snake-charmer.


Issachar is a strong-boned donkey lying down between two saddlebags. When he sees a good resting place, and the pleasant land, he will bend his shoulder to the burden and become a slave laborer.


Issachar is a strong-boned donkey lying down between two saddlebags.


An ox recognizes its owner, a donkey recognizes where its owner puts its food; but Israel does not recognize me, my people do not understand."


They have gone up to Assyria, like a wild donkey that wanders off. Ephraim has hired prostitutes as lovers.


But an empty man will become wise, when a wild donkey's colt is born a human being.


Who let the wild donkey go free? Who released the bonds of the donkey,


(Dalet) To me he is like a bear lying in ambush, like a hidden lion stalking its prey.


"Then a second beast appeared, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and there were three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, 'Get up and devour much flesh!'


Disaster will be inescapable, as if a man ran from a lion only to meet a bear, then escaped into a house, leaned his hand against the wall, and was bitten by a poisonous snake.


Do not be like an unintelligent horse or mule, which will not obey you unless they are controlled by a bridle and bit.

I was ignorant and lacked insight; I was as senseless as an animal before you.



I keep track of every bird in the hills, and the insects of the field are mine.


but, despite their wealth, people do not last, they are like animals that perish. This is the destiny of fools, and of those who approve of their philosophy. (Selah) They will travel to Sheol like sheep, with death as their shepherd. The godly will rule over them when the day of vindication dawns; Sheol will consume their bodies and they will no longer live in impressive houses. read more.
But God will rescue my life from the power of Sheol; certainly he will pull me to safety. (Selah)


yet was rebuked for his own transgression (a dumb donkey, speaking with a human voice, restrained the prophet's madness).


An ox recognizes its owner, a donkey recognizes where its owner puts its food; but Israel does not recognize me, my people do not understand."


In it were all kinds of four-footed animals and reptiles of the earth and wild birds.




When the Lord your God brings you to the land that you are going to occupy and forces out many nations before you -- Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, seven nations more numerous and powerful than you --

But the inhabitants are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. Moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there.


When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, you must not learn the abhorrent practices of those nations. There must never be found among you anyone who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, anyone who practices divination, an omen reader, a soothsayer, a sorcerer, one who casts spells, one who conjures up spirits, a practitioner of the occult, or a necromancer.


You have seen their detestable things and idols of wood, stone, silver, and gold.)


for the people who were in the land before you have done all these abominations, and the land has become unclean.


For Israel's sake I destroyed the Amorites. They were as tall as cedars and as strong as oaks, but I destroyed the fruit on their branches and their roots in the ground.

Through your messengers you taunted the sovereign master, 'With my many chariots I climbed up the high mountains, the slopes of Lebanon. I cut down its tall cedars and its best evergreens. I invaded its most remote regions, its thickest woods.

"'This is what the sovereign Lord says: "'I will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and plant it. I will pluck from the top one of its tender twigs; I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain.


The mountains were covered by its shadow, the highest cedars by its branches.

I will plant it on a high mountain of Israel, and it will raise branches and produce fruit and become a beautiful cedar. Every bird will live under it; Every winged creature will live in the shade of its branches.


Your lips drip sweetness like the honeycomb, my bride, honey and milk are under your tongue. The fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon.


The mountains were covered by its shadow, the highest cedars by its branches. Its branches reached the Mediterranean Sea, and its shoots the Euphrates River.


"The bricks have fallen, but we will rebuild with chiseled stone; the sycamore fig trees have been cut down, but we will replace them with cedars."













but wrath and anger to those who live in selfish ambition and do not obey the truth but follow unrighteousness. There will be affliction and distress on everyone who does evil, on the Jew first and also the Greek,




Then the Lord said to Moses, "You are about to die, and then these people will begin to prostitute themselves with the foreign gods of the land into which they are going. They will reject me and break my covenant that I have made with them.

After he said this, he added, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep. But I am going there to awaken him."



When you ignore them, they panic. When you take away their life's breath, they die and return to dust.






When Jacob finished giving these instructions to his sons, he pulled his feet up onto the bed, breathed his last breath, and went to his people.


since I know that my tabernacle will soon be removed, because our Lord Jesus Christ revealed this to me.


The dead do not praise the Lord, nor do any of those who descend into the silence of death.




At once she collapsed at his feet and died. So when the young men came in, they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.


For the years that lie ahead are few, and then I will go on the way of no return.


He grows up like a flower and then withers away; he flees like a shadow, and does not remain.


He grows up like a flower and then withers away; he flees like a shadow, and does not remain.


and who brought you through the great, fearful desert of venomous serpents and scorpions, an arid place with no water. He made water flow from a flint rock and

The whole community of the Israelites traveled on their journey from the Desert of Sin according to the Lord's instruction, and they pitched camp in Rephidim. Now there was no water for the people to drink.


"Go and declare in the hearing of the people of Jerusalem: 'This is what the Lord says: "I have fond memories of you, how devoted you were to me in your early years. I remember how you loved me like a new bride; you followed me through the wilderness, through a land that had never been planted.

Why have you brought us up from Egypt only to bring us to this dreadful place? It is no place for grain, or figs, or vines, or pomegranates; nor is there any water to drink!"


The Lord found him in a desolate land, in an empty wasteland where animals howl. He continually guarded him and taught him; he continually protected him like the pupil of his eye.


Then we left Horeb and passed through all that immense, forbidding wilderness that you saw on the way to the Amorite hill country as the Lord our God had commanded us to do, finally arriving at Kadesh Barnea.


They did not ask: 'Where is the Lord who delivered us out of Egypt, who brought us through the wilderness, through a land of desert sands and rift valleys, through a land of drought and deep darkness, through a land in which no one travels, and where no one lives?'


"Look, I am about to do something new. Now it begins to happen! Do you not recognize it? Yes, I will make a road in the desert and paths in the wilderness.


I will stretch out my hand against them and make the land a desolate waste from the wilderness to Riblah, in all the places where they live. Then they will know that I am the Lord!"


Dogs will eat the members of your family who die in the city, and the birds of the sky will eat the ones who die in the country."' Indeed, the Lord has announced it!

But when they went to bury her, they found nothing left but the skull, feet, and palms of the hands. When they went back and told him, he said, "The Lord's word through his servant, Elijah the Tishbite, has come to pass. He warned, 'In the plot of land at Jezreel, dogs will devour Jezebel's flesh.


They washed off the chariot at the pool of Samaria (this was where the prostitutes bathed); dogs licked his blood, just as the Lord had said would happen.

Say to him, 'This is what the Lord says: "Haven't you committed murder and taken possession of the property of the deceased?"' Then say to him, 'This is what the Lord says: "In the spot where dogs licked up Naboth's blood they will also lick up your blood -- yes, yours!"'"


who longed to eat what fell from the rich man's table. In addition, the dogs came and licked his sores.

They are illustrations of this true proverb: "A dog returns to its own vomit," and "A sow, after washing herself, wallows in the mire."


Like one who grabs a wild dog by the ears, so is the person passing by who becomes furious over a quarrel not his own.


Yes, wild dogs surround me -- a gang of evil men crowd around me; like a lion they pin my hands and feet.


Their wine is snakes' poison, the deadly venom of cobras.


Now the dragon's tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth. Then the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born.


I have become a brother to jackals and a companion of ostriches.




Saul and Jonathan were greatly loved during their lives, and not even in their deaths were they separated. They were swifter than eagles, stronger than lions.


From there it spots its prey, its eyes gaze intently from a distance.


The Lord is the only true God. He is the living God and the everlasting King. When he shows his anger the earth shakes. None of the nations can stand up to his fury.

the earth shakes, yes, the heavens pour down rain before God, the God of Sinai, before God, the God of Israel.





This is what the Lord says: "The heavens are my throne and the earth is my footstool. Where then is the house you will build for me? Where is the place where I will rest?

not by earth, because it is his footstool, and not by Jerusalem, because it is the city of the great King.


I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east; the sound was like that of rushing water; and the earth radiated his glory.




O Lord, your loyal love fills the earth. Teach me your statutes!




Nations are in uproar, kingdoms are overthrown. God gives a shout, the earth dissolves.


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















The commands to fear the Lord are right and endure forever. The judgments given by the Lord are trustworthy and absolutely just.


They will go into caves in the rocky cliffs and into holes in the ground, trying to escape the dreadful judgment of the Lord and his royal splendor, when he rises up to terrify the earth.


They said to the mountains and to the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who is seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb, because the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to withstand it?"


Distress and anguish terrify him; they prevail against him like a king ready to launch an attack,

Terrifying sounds fill his ears; in a time of peace marauders attack him.

Fear and dread will fall on them; by the greatness of your arm they will be as still as stone until your people pass by, O Lord, until the people whom you have bought pass by.


Then Saul said to Samuel, "I have sinned, for I have disobeyed what the Lord commanded and what you said as well. For I was afraid of the army, and I followed their wishes.

(His parents said these things because they were afraid of the Jewish religious leaders. For the Jewish leaders had already agreed that anyone who confessed Jesus to be the Christ would be put out of the synagogue.


but only a certain fearful expectation of judgment and a fury of fire that will consume God's enemies.


You must never forget the agreement I made with you, and you must not worship other gods.


How desolate they become in a mere moment! Terrifying judgments make their demise complete!


but when the hot wind blows by, it disappears, and one can no longer even spot the place where it once grew.



The pomegranates have appeared in the land, the time for pruning and singing has come; the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.


His cheeks are like garden beds full of balsam trees yielding perfume. His lips are like lilies dripping with drops of myrrh.




For it says in scripture, "Look, I lay in Zion a stone, a chosen and priceless cornerstone, and whoever believes in him will never be put to shame."


Now let the king be aware that the Jews who came up to us from you have gone to Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and odious city. They are completing its walls and repairing its foundations.


By royal order they supplied large valuable stones in order to build the temple's foundation with chiseled stone.


He is like a man building a house, who dug down deep, and laid the foundation on bedrock. When a flood came, the river burst against that house but could not shake it, because it had been well built.


In the first year of his reign, King Cyrus gave orders concerning the temple of God in Jerusalem: 'Let the temple be rebuilt as a place where sacrifices are offered. Let its foundations be set in place. Its height is to be ninety feet and its width ninety feet,


Then Tobiah the Ammonite, who was close by, said, "If even a fox were to climb up on what they are building, it would break down their wall of stones!"


Each one will be handed over to the sword; their corpses will be eaten by jackals.


But he said to them, "Go and tell that fox, 'Look, I am casting out demons and performing healings today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will complete my work.


For the music director, according to the gittith style; a psalm of David. O Lord, our Lord, how magnificent is your reputation throughout the earth! You reveal your majesty in the heavens above!

The Lord is exalted over all the nations; his splendor reaches beyond the sky.




May the splendor of the Lord endure! May the Lord find pleasure in the living things he has made!


Let them sing about the Lord's deeds, for the Lord's splendor is magnificent.


King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; 600 measures of gold were used for each shield. He also made three hundred small shields of hammered gold; three minas of gold were used for each of these shields. The king placed them in the Palace of the Lebanon Forest.

They hammered the gold into thin sheets and cut it into narrow strips to weave them into the blue, purple, and scarlet yarn, and into the fine linen, the work of an artistic designer.


20 gold bowls worth 1,000 darics, and two exquisite vessels of gleaming bronze, as valuable as gold.

I will make human beings more scarce than pure gold, and people more scarce than gold from Ophir.


So all the people broke off the gold earrings that were on their ears and brought them to Aaron. He accepted the gold from them, fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molten calf. Then they said, "These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt."


Fine gold cannot be given in exchange for it, nor can its price be weighed out in silver. It cannot be measured out for purchase with the gold of Ophir, with precious onyx or sapphires.


When you lie down among the sheepfolds, the wings of the dove are covered with silver and with glittering gold.


But the gracious gift is not like the transgression. For if the many died through the transgression of the one man, how much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man Jesus Christ multiply to the many!









And in their prayers on your behalf they long for you because of the extraordinary grace God has shown to you.






so that just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.




The Israelites who were returning from the exile ate it, along with all those who had joined them in separating themselves from the uncleanness of the nations of the land to seek the Lord God of Israel.




and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for an image resembling mortal human beings or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles.


The nations' idols are made of silver and gold, they are man-made.





I have been on journeys many times, in dangers from rivers, in dangers from robbers, in dangers from my own countrymen, in dangers from Gentiles, in dangers in the city, in dangers in the wilderness, in dangers at sea, in dangers from false brothers,

Why do the nations rebel? Why are the countries devising plots that will fail? The kings of the earth form a united front; the rulers collaborate against the Lord and his anointed king.



Remember your covenant promises, for the dark regions of the earth are full of places where violence rules.


No, I mean that what the pagans sacrifice is to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be partners with demons.






Why should the nations say, "Where is their God?" Before our very eyes may the shed blood of your servants be avenged among the nations!



and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.


that person will also drink of the wine of God's anger that has been mixed undiluted in the cup of his wrath, and he will be tortured with fire and sulfur in front of the holy angels and in front of the Lamb.


If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, that person was thrown into the lake of fire.






His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clean out his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the storehouse, but the chaff he will burn up with inextinguishable fire."


Sinners are afraid in Zion; panic grips the godless. They say, 'Who among us can coexist with destructive fire? Who among us can coexist with unquenchable fire?'


Sinners are afraid in Zion; panic grips the godless. They say, 'Who among us can coexist with destructive fire? Who among us can coexist with unquenchable fire?'












Their horses are faster than leopards and more alert than wolves in the desert. Their horses gallop, their horses come a great distance; like a vulture they swoop down quickly to devour their prey.

You say, 'No, we will flee on horses,' so you will indeed flee. You say, 'We will ride on fast horses,' so your pursuers will be fast.

Look! The enemy is approaching like gathering clouds. The roar of his chariots is like that of a whirlwind. His horses move more swiftly than eagles." I cry out, "We are doomed, for we will be destroyed!"





It paws the ground in the valley, exulting mightily, it goes out to meet the weapons.

I have listened to them very carefully, but they do not speak honestly. None of them regrets the evil he has done. None of them says, "I have done wrong!" All of them persist in their own wayward course like a horse charging recklessly into battle.


It paws the ground in the valley, exulting mightily, it goes out to meet the weapons.

In excitement and impatience it consumes the ground; it cannot stand still when the trumpet is blown.


Do you make it leap like a locust? Its proud neighing is terrifying!

It laughs at fear and is not dismayed; it does not shy away from the sword.


You are blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred?

Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside may become clean too!

Blind fools! Which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold sacred?



Then he began to teach them by saying:

They do all their deeds to be seen by people, for they make their phylacteries wide and their tassels long.


Why do you see the speck in your brother's eye, but fail to see the beam of wood in your own? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye,' while there is a beam in your own? You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

But the president of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the crowd, "There are six days on which work should be done! So come and be healed on those days, and not on the Sabbath day." Then the Lord answered him, "You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from its stall, and lead it to water?








and don't think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones!

Stop putting your confidence in the false belief that says, "We are safe! The temple of the Lord is here! The temple of the Lord is here! The temple of the Lord is here!"


They say, 'Keep to yourself! Don't get near me, for I am holier than you!' These people are like smoke in my nostrils, like a fire that keeps burning all day long.

The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself like this: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other people: extortionists, unrighteous people, adulterers -- or even like this tax collector.


We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to be proud of us, so that you may be able to answer those who take pride in outward appearance and not in what is in the heart.


"Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You give a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, yet you neglect what is more important in the law -- justice, mercy, and faithfulness! You should have done these things without neglecting the others. Blind guides! You strain out a gnat yet swallow a camel!


They come to you in crowds, and they sit in front of you as my people. They hear your words, but do not obey them. For they talk lustfully, and their heart is set on their own advantage. Realize that to them you are like a sensual song, a beautiful voice and skilled musician. They hear your words, but they do not obey them.


Then Pharisees and experts in the law came from Jerusalem to Jesus and said, "Why do your disciples disobey the tradition of the elders? For they don't wash their hands when they eat." He answered them, "And why do you disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition?


They love the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues and elaborate greetings in the marketplaces, and to have people call them 'Rabbi.'




"Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You cross land and sea to make one convert, and when you get one, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves!




They seek me day after day; they want to know my requirements, like a nation that does what is right and does not reject the law of their God. They ask me for just decrees; they want to be near God.


For a fool speaks disgraceful things; his mind plans out sinful deeds. He commits godless deeds and says misleading things about the Lord; he gives the hungry nothing to satisfy their appetite and gives the thirsty nothing to drink.




No one thinks to himself, nor do they comprehend or understand and say to themselves: 'I burned half of it in the fire -- yes, I baked bread over the coals; I roasted meat and ate it. With the rest of it should I make a disgusting idol? Should I bow down to dry wood?'

Their idols are made of silver and gold -- they are man-made. They have mouths, but cannot speak, eyes, but cannot see, ears, but cannot hear, noses, but cannot smell, read more.
hands, but cannot touch, feet, but cannot walk. They cannot even clear their throats. Those who make them will end up like them, as will everyone who trusts in them.

For the religion of these people is worthless. They cut down a tree in the forest, and a craftsman makes it into an idol with his tools.


You must not erect a sacred pillar, a thing the Lord your God detests.

I sent my servants the prophets to you people over and over again warning you not to do this disgusting thing I hate.


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."

So I poured my anger on them because of the blood they shed on the land and because of the idols with which they defiled it.


So since we are God's offspring, we should not think the deity is like gold or silver or stone, an image made by human skill and imagination.

For although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give him thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts and their senseless hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for an image resembling mortal human beings or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles.


Go and cry for help to the gods you have chosen! Let them deliver you from trouble!"

They put it on their shoulder and carry it; they put it in its place and it just stands there; it does not move from its place. Even when someone cries out to it, it does not reply; it does not deliver him from his distress.


You must burn the images of their gods, but do not covet the silver and gold that covers them so much that you take it for yourself and thus become ensnared by it; for it is abhorrent to the Lord your God.


On the same day they slaughtered their sons for their idols, they came to my sanctuary to desecrate it. This is what they have done in the middle of my house.




Its bones are tubes of bronze, its limbs like bars of iron.

Then there will be a fourth kingdom, one strong like iron. Just like iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything, and as iron breaks in pieces all of these metals, so it will break in pieces and crush the others.


As silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin are gathered in a furnace so that the fire can melt them, so I will gather you in my anger and in my rage. I will deposit you there and melt you.


He will judge disputes between nations; he will settle cases for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nations will not take up the sword against other nations, and they will no longer train for war.


It is lofty and pleasing to look at, a source of joy to the whole earth. Mount Zion resembles the peaks of Zaphon; it is the city of the great king.

(Samek) All who passed by on the road clapped their hands to mock you. They sneered and shook their heads at Daughter Jerusalem. "Ha! Is this the city they called 'The perfection of beauty, the source of joy of the whole earth!'?"


The Lover to His Beloved: My darling, you are as beautiful as Tirzah, as lovely as Jerusalem, as awe-inspiring as bannered armies!


(Samek) All who passed by on the road clapped their hands to mock you. They sneered and shook their heads at Daughter Jerusalem. "Ha! Is this the city they called 'The perfection of beauty, the source of joy of the whole earth!'?"


Solomon accumulated chariots and horses. He had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horses. He kept them in assigned cities and in Jerusalem. The king made silver as plentiful in Jerusalem as stones; cedar was as plentiful as sycamore fig trees are in the lowlands.


(Alef)Alas! The city once full of people now sits all alone! The prominent lady among the nations has become a widow! The princess who once ruled the provinces has become a forced laborer!


(Alef)Alas! The city once full of people now sits all alone! The prominent lady among the nations has become a widow! The princess who once ruled the provinces has become a forced laborer!


"'People from other nations will pass by this city. They will ask one another, "Why has the Lord done such a thing to this great city?"


All your leaders ran away together -- they fled to a distant place; all your refugees were captured together -- they were captured without a single arrow being shot.


Jerusalem is a city designed to accommodate an assembly.


It is lofty and pleasing to look at, a source of joy to the whole earth. Mount Zion resembles the peaks of Zaphon; it is the city of the great king.


You may not eat any corpse, though you may give it to the resident foreigner who is living in your villages and he may eat it, or you may sell it to a foreigner. You are a people holy to the Lord your God. Do not boil a young goat in its mother's milk.



And now, if you will diligently listen to me and keep my covenant, then you will be my special possession out of all the nations, for all the earth is mine,





For the Lord's allotment is his people, Jacob is his special possession.








The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs.

Why do you skip like rams, O mountains, like lambs, O hills?




When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking firepot with a flaming torch passed between the animal parts.


He was a lamp that was burning and shining, and you wanted to rejoice greatly for a short time in his light.







I realize that everything has its limits, but your commands are beyond full comprehension.










But there is little hope for you ever doing good, you who are so accustomed to doing evil. Can an Ethiopian change the color of his skin? Can a leopard remove its spots?


So like a lion from the thicket their enemies will kill them. Like a wolf from the desert they will destroy them. Like a leopard they will lie in wait outside their cities and totally destroy anyone who ventures out. For they have rebelled so much and done so many unfaithful things.


Their horses are faster than leopards and more alert than wolves in the desert. Their horses gallop, their horses come a great distance; like a vulture they swoop down quickly to devour their prey.






"Does not humanity have hard service on earth? Are not their days also like the days of a hired man?


For no one knows what is best for a person during his life -- during the few days of his fleeting life -- for they pass away like a shadow. Nor can anyone tell him what the future will hold for him on earth.


Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into this or that town and spend a year there and do business and make a profit." You do not know about tomorrow. What is your life like? For you are a puff of smoke that appears for a short time and then vanishes. You ought to say instead, "If the Lord is willing, then we will live and do this or that."





For through the law I died to the law so that I may live to God.






is like the light of morning when the sun comes up, a morning in which there are no clouds. He is like the brightness after rain that produces grass from the earth.

Its snorting throws out flashes of light; its eyes are like the red glow of dawn.


Can his armies be numbered? On whom does his light not rise?

See how he scattered his lightning about him; he has covered the depths of the sea.


I realized that wisdom is preferable to folly, just as light is preferable to darkness:


Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for a person to see the sun.


For everyone who does evil deeds hates the light and does not come to the light, so that their deeds will not be exposed. But the one who practices the truth comes to the light, so that it may be plainly evident that his deeds have been done in God.




But now, the sun cannot be looked at -- it is bright in the skies -- after a wind passed and swept the clouds away.


On the seventh day, before the sun set, the men of the city said to him, "What is sweeter than honey? What is stronger than a lion?" He said to them, "If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have solved my riddle!"

a lion, mightiest of the beasts, who does not retreat from anything;


Indeed, this is what the Lord says to me: "The Lord will be like a growling lion, like a young lion growling over its prey. Though a whole group of shepherds gathers against it, it is not afraid of their shouts or intimidated by their yelling. In this same way the Lord who commands armies will descend to do battle on Mount Zion and on its hill.

Where now is the den of the lions, the feeding place of the young lions, where the lion, lioness, and lion cub once prowled and no one disturbed them?


If I lift myself up, you hunt me as a fierce lion, and again you display your power against me.

Proud beasts have not set foot on it, and no lion has passed along it.


There are three things that are magnificent in their step, four things that move about magnificently: a lion, mightiest of the beasts, who does not retreat from anything;


Of Dan he said: Dan is a lion's cub; he will leap forth from Bashan.


If that happens even the bravest soldier -- one who is lion-hearted -- will virtually melt away. For all Israel knows that your father is a warrior and that those who are with him are brave.


He is like a lion that wants to tear its prey to bits, like a young lion crouching in hidden places.


locusts have no king, but they all go forward by ranks;

There are four things on earth that are small, but they are exceedingly wise:


Now the locusts looked like horses equipped for battle. On their heads were something like crowns similar to gold, and their faces looked like men's faces.

They look like horses; they charge ahead like war horses.


They covered the surface of all the ground, so that the ground became dark with them, and they ate all the vegetation of the ground and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left. Nothing green remained on the trees or on anything that grew in the fields throughout the whole land of Egypt.


Your plunder disappears as if locusts were eating it; they swarm over it like locusts!


Rather it is because of his love for you and his faithfulness to the promise he solemnly vowed to your ancestors that the Lord brought you out with great power, redeeming you from the place of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

However, only to your ancestors did he show his loving favor, and he chose you, their descendants, from all peoples -- as is apparent today.


Can a woman forget her baby who nurses at her breast? Can she withhold compassion from the child she has borne? Even if mothers were to forget, I could never forget you! Look, I have inscribed your name on my palms; your walls are constantly before me.








nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.




Accomplish awesome, faithful deeds, you who powerfully deliver those who look to you for protection from their enemies.

The Lord deserves praise for he demonstrated his amazing faithfulness to me when I was besieged by enemies.


They refused to obey and did not recall your miracles that you had performed among them. Instead, they rebelled and appointed a leader to return to their bondage in Egypt. But you are a God of forgiveness, merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and unfailing in your loyal love. You did not abandon them,


I will tell of the faithful acts of the Lord, of the Lord's praiseworthy deeds. I will tell about all the Lord did for us, the many good things he did for the family of Israel, because of his compassion and great faithfulness.


In a burst of anger I rejected you momentarily, but with lasting devotion I will have compassion on you," says your protector, the Lord.




Answer me, O Lord, for your loyal love is good! Because of your great compassion, turn toward me!




How precious is your loyal love, O God! The human race finds shelter under your wings.


The house of Israel called its name "manna." It was like coriander seed and was white, and it tasted like wafers with honey.

(Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its color like the color of bdellium.


The house of Israel called its name "manna." It was like coriander seed and was white, and it tasted like wafers with honey.


(Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its color like the color of bdellium.


And the people went about and gathered it, and ground it with mills or pounded it in mortars; they baked it in pans and made cakes of it. It tasted like fresh olive oil.


When the layer of dew had evaporated, there on the surface of the desert was a thin flaky substance, thin like frost on the earth.


The house of Israel called its name "manna." It was like coriander seed and was white, and it tasted like wafers with honey.


I will always extend my loyal love to him, and my covenant with him is secure.


Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good and his loyal love endures.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, and his loyal love endures!




Remember your compassionate and faithful deeds, O Lord, for you have always acted in this manner.


Though he causes us grief, he then has compassion on us according to the abundance of his loyal kindness.

Therefore you delivered them into the hand of their adversaries, who oppressed them. But in the time of their distress they called to you, and you heard from heaven. In your abundant compassion you provided them with deliverers to rescue them from their adversaries.


The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in loyal love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children until the third and fourth generations.'

"For a short time I abandoned you, but with great compassion I will gather you.



For as the skies are high above the earth, so his loyal love towers over his faithful followers.


You will be loyal to Jacob and extend your loyal love to Abraham, which you promised on oath to our ancestors in ancient times.

Pay attention and come to me! Listen, so you can live! Then I will make an unconditional covenantal promise to you, just like the reliable covenantal promises I made to David.









O Lord, your loyal love fills the earth. Teach me your statutes!


The Lord is good to all, and has compassion on all he has made.








One should think about us this way -- as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.


One should think about us this way -- as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.






You used your mighty power and your great strength to perform miracles and amazing deeds and to bring great terror on the Egyptians. By this means you brought your people Israel out of the land of Egypt.


Therefore I will again do an amazing thing for these people -- an absolutely extraordinary deed. Wise men will have nothing to say, the sages will have no explanations."

Recall the miraculous deeds he performed, his mighty acts and the judgments he decreed,


He did amazing things in the sight of their ancestors, in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.


Use it to send messages to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon. Send them through the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to King Zedekiah of Judah.

So do not listen to your prophets or to those who claim to predict the future by divination, by dreams, by consulting the dead, or by practicing magic. They keep telling you, 'You do not need to be subject to the king of Babylon.'


We have heard about Moab's pride, their great arrogance, their boasting, pride, and excess. But their boastful claims are empty!

I have heard how proud the people of Moab are, I know how haughty they are. I have heard how arrogant, proud, and haughty they are, what a high opinion they have of themselves.


"From its earliest days Moab has lived undisturbed. It has never been taken into exile. Its people are like wine allowed to settle undisturbed on its dregs, never poured out from one jar to another. They are like wine which tastes like it always did, whose aroma has remained unchanged.


How can you men of Moab say, 'We are heroes, men who are mighty in battle?'


"Moab, you trust in the things you do and in your riches. So you too will be conquered. Your god Chemosh will go into exile along with his priests and his officials.


Furthermore, on the hill east of Jerusalem Solomon built a high place for the detestable Moabite god Chemosh and for the detestable Ammonite god Milcom.


"Who is this who appears like the dawn? Beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun, awe-inspiring as the stars in procession?"


if I looked at the sun when it was shining, and the moon advancing as a precious thing,



For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that matters is a new creation!



In him you also were circumcised -- not, however, with a circumcision performed by human hands, but by the removal of the fleshly body, that is, through the circumcision done by Christ.

The Lord your God will also cleanse your heart and the hearts of your descendants so that you may love him with all your mind and being and so that you may live.

but someone is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart by the Spirit and not by the written code. This person's praise is not from people but from God.



even though we were dead in transgressions, made us alive together with Christ -- by grace you are saved! --

Therefore we have been buried with him through baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may live a new life. For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be united in the likeness of his resurrection. We know that our old man was crucified with him so that the body of sin would no longer dominate us, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.






But now we have been released from the law, because we have died to what controlled us, so that we may serve in the new life of the Spirit and not under the old written code.












"Go immediately to Nineveh, that large capital city, and announce judgment against its people because their wickedness has come to my attention."

"Go immediately to Nineveh, that large city, and proclaim to it the message that I tell you."


This is how the once-proud city will end up -- the city that was so secure. She thought to herself, "I am unique! No one can compare to me!" What a heap of ruins she has become, a place where wild animals live! Everyone who passes by her taunts her and shakes his fist.


The Lord has issued a decree against you: "Your dynasty will come to an end. I will destroy the idols and images in the temples of your gods. I will desecrate your grave -- because you are accursed!"


Increase your merchants more than the stars of heaven! They are like the young locust which sheds its skin and flies away.


Should I not be even more concerned about Nineveh, this enormous city? There are more than one hundred twenty thousand people in it who do not know right from wrong, as well as many animals!"


All your fortifications will be like fig trees with first-ripe fruit: If they are shaken, their figs will fall into the mouth of the eater!


The Lord has issued a decree against you: "Your dynasty will come to an end. I will destroy the idols and images in the temples of your gods. I will desecrate your grave -- because you are accursed!"




"Because you have acted like a wanton prostitute -- a seductive mistress who practices sorcery, who enslaves nations by her harlotry, and entices peoples by her sorcery --


So Jonah went immediately to Nineveh, as the Lord had said. (Now Nineveh was an enormous city -- it required three days to walk through it!)


"Go immediately to Nineveh, that large capital city, and announce judgment against its people because their wickedness has come to my attention."


Her conquerors cry out: "Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold!" There is no end to the treasure; riches of every kind of precious thing.


Then Absalom happened to come across David's men. Now as Absalom was riding on his mule, it went under the branches of a large oak tree. His head got caught in the oak and he was suspended in midair, while the mule he had been riding kept going.

Then you will know that I am the Lord -- when their dead lie among their idols around their altars, on every high hill and all the mountaintops, under every green tree and every leafy oak, the places where they have offered fragrant incense to all their idols.


Even if only a tenth of the people remain in the land, it will again be destroyed, like one of the large sacred trees or an Asherah pole, when a sacred pillar on a high place is thrown down. That sacred pillar symbolizes the special chosen family."


For Israel's sake I destroyed the Amorites. They were as tall as cedars and as strong as oaks, but I destroyed the fruit on their branches and their roots in the ground.


From the soles of your feet to your head, there is no spot that is unharmed. There are only bruises, cuts, and open wounds. They have not been cleansed or bandaged, nor have they been treated with olive oil.

He went up to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him.


For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey, and her seductive words are smoother than olive oil,


He made cursing a way of life, so curses poured into his stomach like water and seeped into his bones like oil.


His words are as smooth as butter, but he harbors animosity in his heart. His words seem softer than oil, but they are really like sharp swords.


I, the Lord, once called you a thriving olive tree, one that produced beautiful fruit. But I will set you on fire, fire that will blaze with a mighty roar. Then all your branches will be good for nothing.

Can a fig tree produce olives, my brothers and sisters, or a vine produce figs? Neither can a salt water spring produce fresh water.


His young shoots will grow; his splendor will be like an olive tree, his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.

I, the Lord, once called you a thriving olive tree, one that produced beautiful fruit. But I will set you on fire, fire that will blaze with a mighty roar. Then all your branches will be good for nothing.


Now if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among them and participated in the richness of the olive root,

But the olive tree said to them, 'I am not going to stop producing my oil, which is used to honor gods and men, just to sway above the other trees!'


I, the Lord, once called you a thriving olive tree, one that produced beautiful fruit. But I will set you on fire, fire that will blaze with a mighty roar. Then all your branches will be good for nothing.


She is harsh with her young, as if they were not hers; she is unconcerned about the uselessness of her labor.


For God deprived her of wisdom, and did not impart understanding to her.


She forgets that a foot might crush them, or that a wild animal might trample them.


But as soon as she springs up, she laughs at the horse and its rider.


Owls will make nests and lay eggs there; they will hatch them and protect them. Yes, hawks will gather there, each with its mate.


I am like an owl in the wilderness; I am like a screech owl among the ruins.


For this reason I will mourn and wail; I will walk around barefoot and without my outer garments. I will howl like a wild dog, and screech like an owl.


Ephraim was a well-trained heifer who loved to thresh grain; I myself put a fine yokeon her neck. I will harness Ephraim. Let Judah plow! Let Jacob break up the unplowed ground for himself!

Egypt is like a beautiful young cow. But northern armies will attack her like swarms of stinging flies.


Where there are no oxen, the feeding trough is clean, but an abundant harvest is produced by strong oxen.

Our cattle will be weighted down with produce. No one will break through our walls, no one will be taken captive, and there will be no terrified cries in our city squares.


An ox recognizes its owner, a donkey recognizes where its owner puts its food; but Israel does not recognize me, my people do not understand."


Then our sons will be like plants, that quickly grow to full size. Our daughters will be like corner pillars, carved like those in a palace.


Wild dogs will yip in her ruined fortresses, jackals will yelp in the once-splendid palaces. Her time is almost up, her days will not be prolonged.


He made his sanctuary as enduring as the heavens above; as secure as the earth, which he established permanently.


The Lover to His Beloved: Your stature is like a palm tree, and your breasts are like clusters of grapes.


Such idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field. They cannot talk. They must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them because they cannot hurt you. And they do not have any power to help you."






O Lord, sovereign God! Who is strong like you, O Lord? Your faithfulness surrounds you.

Do you have an arm as powerful as God's, and can you thunder with a voice like his?

"O, Lord God, you have begun to show me your greatness and strength. (What god in heaven or earth can rival your works and mighty deeds?)

Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you? -- majestic in holiness, fearful in praises, working wonders? You stretched out your right hand, the earth swallowed them.



the one who made his majestic power available to Moses, who divided the water before them, gaining for himself a lasting reputation,





God has made everything fit beautifully in its appropriate time, but he has also placed ignorance in the human heart so that people cannot discover what God has ordained, from the beginning to the end of their lives.

Indeed, these are but the outer fringes of his ways! How faint is the whisper we hear of him! But who can understand the thunder of his power?"


All the inhabitants of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he wishes with the army of heaven and with those who inhabit the earth. No one slaps his hand and says to him, 'What have you done?'

"See now that I, indeed I, am he!" says the Lord, "and there is no other god besides me. I kill and give life, I smash and I heal, and none can resist my power.









Listen to the painful cries of the prisoners! Use your great strength to set free those condemned to die!



with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, for his loyal love endures,



he does great and unsearchable things, and wonderful things without number.


Has the potter no right to make from the same lump of clay one vessel for special use and another for ordinary use?



This power he exercised in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms far above every rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.













All the inhabitants of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he wishes with the army of heaven and with those who inhabit the earth. No one slaps his hand and says to him, 'What have you done?'

"See now that I, indeed I, am he!" says the Lord, "and there is no other god besides me. I kill and give life, I smash and I heal, and none can resist my power.


God has made everything fit beautifully in its appropriate time, but he has also placed ignorance in the human heart so that people cannot discover what God has ordained, from the beginning to the end of their lives.

Indeed, these are but the outer fringes of his ways! How faint is the whisper we hear of him! But who can understand the thunder of his power?"






the one who made his majestic power available to Moses, who divided the water before them, gaining for himself a lasting reputation,



with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, for his loyal love endures,






Listen to the painful cries of the prisoners! Use your great strength to set free those condemned to die!






he does great and unsearchable things, and wonderful things without number.


Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you? -- majestic in holiness, fearful in praises, working wonders? You stretched out your right hand, the earth swallowed them.


Has the potter no right to make from the same lump of clay one vessel for special use and another for ordinary use?


Then he moved from there to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and worshiped the Lord.


I called on the name of the Lord, "Please Lord, rescue my life!"



But as for me, God's presence is all I need. I have made the sovereign Lord my shelter, as I declare all the things you have done.


Perhaps then they will ask the Lord for mercy and will all stop doing the evil things they have been doing. For the Lord has threatened to bring great anger and wrath against these people."

But if you will look to God, and make your supplication to the Almighty,



Hear me, O Lord, when I cry out! Have mercy on me and answer me!


King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz prayed about this and cried out to heaven.


Let us lift up our hearts and our hands to God in heaven:




But Hannah replied, "That's not the way it is, my lord! I am under a great deal of stress. I have drunk neither wine nor beer. Rather, I have poured out my soul to the Lord.


But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God and said, "O Lord, why does your anger burn against your people, whom you have brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?






By David. O Lord, I come before you in prayer.




But if you will look to God, and make your supplication to the Almighty,


But I see the prophets of Jerusalem doing something just as shocking. They are unfaithful to me and continually prophesy lies. So they give encouragement to people who are doing evil, with the result that they do not stop their evildoing. I consider all of them as bad as the people of Sodom, and the citizens of Jerusalem as bad as the people of Gomorrah.

Moreover, the Lord says, "Both the prophets and priests are godless. I have even found them doing evil in my temple!


Her prophets are proud; they are deceitful men. Her priests defile what is holy; they break God's laws.




Even these men stagger because of wine, they stumble around because of beer -- priests and prophets stagger because of beer, they are confused because of wine, they stumble around because of beer; they stagger while seeing prophetic visions, they totter while making legal decisions.


Her leaders take bribes when they decide legal cases, her priests proclaim rulings for profit, and her prophets read omens for pay. Yet they claim to trust the Lord and say, "The Lord is among us. Disaster will not overtake us!"


His head is like the most pure gold. His hair is curly -- black like a raven.




Owls and wild animals will live there, all kinds of wild birds will settle in it. The Lord will stretch out over her the measuring line of ruin and the plumb line of destruction.






O Israel, hope in the Lord, for the Lord exhibits loyal love, and is more than willing to deliver.


(the ransom price for a human life is too high, and people go to their final destiny),


Then I saw thrones and seated on them were those who had been given authority to judge. I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. These had not worshiped the beast or his image and had refused to receive his mark on their forehead or hand. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.










until the Ancient of Days arrived and judgment was rendered in favor of the holy ones of the Most High. Then the time came for the holy ones to take possession of the kingdom.


that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you not competent to settle trivial suits?











just as you have given him authority over all humanity, so that he may give eternal life to everyone you have given him. Now this is eternal life -- that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent.

who will not receive many times more in this age -- and in the age to come, eternal life."





























And if children, then heirs (namely, heirs of God and also fellow heirs with Christ) -- if indeed we suffer with him so we may also be glorified with him. For I consider that our present sufferings cannot even be compared to the glory that will be revealed to us.






For in fact you shared the sufferings of those in prison, and you accepted the confiscation of your belongings with joy, because you knew that you certainly had a better and lasting possession.






The sun will no longer supply light for you by day, nor will the moon's brightness shine on you; the Lord will be your permanent source of light -- the splendor of your God will shine upon you.














A man who is all alone with no companion, he has no children nor siblings; yet there is no end to all his toil, and he is never satisfied with riches. He laments, "For whom am I toiling and depriving myself of pleasure?" This also is futile and a burdensome task!




saying, "Woe, woe, O great city -- dressed in fine linen, purple and scarlet clothing, and adorned with gold, precious stones, and pearls -- because in a single hour such great wealth has been destroyed!" And every ship's captain, and all who sail along the coast -- seamen, and all who make their living from the sea, stood a long way off


You know that from your empty way of life inherited from your ancestors you were ransomed -- not by perishable things like silver or gold,



So my heart moans for Moab like a flute playing a funeral song. Yes, like a flute playing a funeral song, my heart moans for the people of Kir Heres. For the wealth they have gained will perish.










"But all these nations will someday taunt him and ridicule him with proverbial sayings: 'The one who accumulates what does not belong to him is as good as dead (How long will this go on?) -- he who gets rich by extortion!'


For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would inherit the world was not fulfilled through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.

What shall we say then? -- that the Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness obtained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith,

But the righteousness that is by faith says: "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down)








But now apart from the law the righteousness of God (which is attested by the law and the prophets) has been disclosed --




I will tell about your justice, and all day long proclaim your salvation, though I cannot fathom its full extent.




Your justice, O God, extends to the skies above; you have done great things. O God, who can compare to you?


The praise you receive as far away as the ends of the earth is worthy of your reputation, O God. You execute justice!




I will make you a bare rock; you will be a place where fishing nets are spread. You will never be built again, for I, the Lord, have spoken, declares the sovereign Lord.

They will destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers. I will scrape her soil from her and make her a bare rock.


Lord, I know you look for faithfulness. But even when you punish these people, they feel no remorse. Even when you nearly destroy them, they refuse to be corrected. They have become as hardheaded as a rock. They refuse to change their ways.


that with an iron chisel and with lead they were engraved in a rock forever!


Some of the Gadites joined David at the stronghold in the desert. They were warriors who were trained for battle; they carried shields and spears. They were as fierce as lions and could run as quickly as gazelles across the hills.


a loving doe, a graceful deer; may her breasts satisfy you at all times, may you be captivated by her love always.


The three sons of Zeruiah were there -- Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. (Now Asahel was as quick on his feet as one of the gazelles in the field.)


And by being perfected in this way, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,

Look up at the sky! Look at the earth below! For the sky will dissipate like smoke, and the earth will wear out like clothes; its residents will die like gnats. But the deliverance I give is permanent; the vindication I provide will not disappear.

Israel will be delivered once and for all by the Lord; you will never again be ashamed or humiliated.






For a moth will eat away at them like clothes; a clothes moth will devour them like wool. But the vindication I provide will be permanent; the deliverance I give will last."


how will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was first communicated through the Lord and was confirmed to us by those who heard him,


Dear friends, although I have been eager to write to you about our common salvation, I now feel compelled instead to write to encourage you to contend earnestly for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints.











They are of greater value than gold, than even a great amount of pure gold; they bring greater delight than honey, than even the sweetest honey from a honeycomb.




Our storehouses will be full, providing all kinds of food. Our sheep will multiply by the thousands and fill our pastures.

Yet he protected the needy from oppression, and cared for his families like a flock of sheep.

Your teeth are like a flock of newly-shorn sheep coming up from the washing place; each of them has a twin, and not one of them is missing.

"This is what the sovereign Lord says: I will allow the house of Israel to ask me to do this for them: I will multiply their people like sheep.


The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs.

Why do you skip like rams, O mountains, like lambs, O hills?


When he saw the angel who was destroying the people, David said to the Lord, "Look, it is I who have sinned and done this evil thing! As for these sheep -- what have they done? Attack me and my family."


When he has brought all his own sheep out, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they recognize his voice. They will never follow a stranger, but will run away from him, because they do not recognize the stranger's voice."


whose heart did not bless me as he warmed himself with the fleece of my sheep,


Instead the Lord will rule there as our mighty king. Rivers and wide streams will flow through it; no war galley will enter; no large ships will sail through.


Wail, you large ships, for your fortress is destroyed!


Look at ships too: Though they are so large and driven by harsh winds, they are steered by a tiny rudder wherever the pilot's inclination directs.


They glide by like reed boats, like an eagle that swoops down on its prey.


So now assemble the rest of the army and besiege the city and capture it. Otherwise I will capture the city and it will be named for me."

After these faithful deeds were accomplished, King Sennacherib of Assyria invaded Judah. He besieged the fortified cities, intending to seize them.


So he sent horses and chariots there, along with a good-sized army. They arrived during the night and surrounded the city.



I will send people to winnow Babylonia like a wind blowing away chaff. They will winnow her and strip her land bare. This will happen when they come against her from every direction, when it is time to destroy her.


For I will rouse into action and bring against Babylon a host of mighty nations from the land of the north. They will set up their battle lines against her. They will come from the north and capture her. Their arrows will be like a skilled soldier who does not return from the battle empty-handed.


So King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came against Jerusalem with his whole army and set up camp outside it. They built siege ramps all around it. He arrived on the tenth day of the tenth month in the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign.


As silver, bronze, iron, lead, and tin are gathered in a furnace so that the fire can melt them, so I will gather you in my anger and in my rage. I will deposit you there and melt you.

As silver is melted in a furnace, so you will be melted in it, and you will know that I, the Lord, have poured out my anger on you.'"


When you lie down among the sheepfolds, the wings of the dove are covered with silver and with glittering gold. When the sovereign judge scatters kings, let it snow on Zalmon!


Hammered-out silver is brought from Tarshish and gold is brought from Uphaz to cover those idols. They are the handiwork of carpenters and goldsmiths. They are clothed in blue and purple clothes. They are all made by skillful workers.


"Because of this, the Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, 'I am determined to bring disaster on you, even to the point of destroying all the Judeans here.

The Lord abhors the way of the wicked, but he loves those who pursue righteousness.

I sent my servants the prophets to you people over and over again warning you not to do this disgusting thing I hate.


Remember -- don't ever forget -- how you provoked the Lord your God in the desert; from the time you left the land of Egypt until you came to this place you were constantly rebelling against him.

Any man who rebels against what you say and does not obey all your commands will be executed. But be strong and brave!"


He took the calf they had made and burned it in the fire, ground it to powder, poured it out on the water, and made the Israelites drink it.

The sin of these young men was very great in the Lord's sight, for they treated the Lord's offering with contempt.


For your hands are stained with blood and your fingers with sin; your lips speak lies, your tongue utters malicious words.



Remember how the enemy hurls insults, O Lord, and how a foolish nation blasphemes your name!

"'But the person who acts defiantly, whether native-born or a resident foreigner, insults the Lord. That person must be cut off from among his people.



The sins of some people are obvious, going before them into judgment, but for others, they show up later.







because her sins have piled up all the way to heaven and God has remembered her crimes.


The sins of some people are obvious, going before them into judgment, but for others, they show up later.












Come, let's consider your options," says the Lord. "Though your sins have stained you like the color red, you can become white like snow; though they are as easy to see as the color scarlet, you can become white like wool.


Moreover, keep me from committing flagrant sins; do not allow such sins to control me. Then I will be blameless, and innocent of blatant rebellion.








They are illustrations of this true proverb: "A dog returns to its own vomit," and "A sow, after washing herself, wallows in the mire."


The wild boars of the forest ruin it; the insects of the field feed on it.


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.


I will sharpen my lightning-like sword, and my hand will grasp hold of the weapon of judgment; I will execute vengeance on my foes, and repay those who hate me!

When he pulls it out and it comes out of his back, the gleaming point out of his liver, terrors come over him.


I will make many stumble. They will fall over one another in their hurry to flee. They will say, 'Get up! Let's go back to our own people. Let's go back to our homelands because the enemy is coming to destroy us.'


the one who delivers kings, and rescued David his servant from a deadly sword.


I am surrounded by lions; I lie down among those who want to devour me; men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are a sharp sword.


The charioteers will charge ahead; their swords will flash and their spears will glimmer! There will be many people slain; there will be piles of the dead, and countless casualties -- so many that people will stumble over the corpses.





For your loyal love extends beyond the sky, and your faithfulness reaches the clouds.


For the Lord is good. His loyal love endures, and he is faithful through all generations.


But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and merciful God. You are patient and demonstrate great loyal love and faithfulness.




For your loyal love extends beyond the sky, and your faithfulness reaches the clouds.


Is the wild ox willing to be your servant? Will it spend the night at your feeding trough? Can you bind the wild ox to a furrow with its rope, will it till the valleys, following after you?

Can you count on it to bring in your grain, and gather the grain to your threshing floor?


Will you rely on it because its strength is great? Will you commit your labor to it?











Who has ascended into heaven, and then descended? Who has gathered up the winds in his fists? Who has bound up the waters in his cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son's name? -- if you know!

He caused streams to flow from the rock, and made the water flow like rivers.



You gave the weary no water to drink and from the hungry you withheld food.




You are destructive like water and will not excel, for you got on your father's bed, then you defiled it -- he got on my couch!


He made cursing a way of life, so curses poured into his stomach like water and seeped into his bones like oil.


as water wears away stones, and torrents wash away the soil, so you destroy man's hope.




For he looks to the ends of the earth and observes everything under the heavens.





Everyone should revere you, O King of all nations, because you deserve to be revered. For there is no one like you among any of the wise people of the nations nor among any of their kings.

Who is like me? Let him make his claim! Let him announce it and explain it to me -- since I established an ancient people -- let them announce future events!





Can anyone teach God knowledge, since he judges those that are on high?

From whom does he receive directions? Who teaches him the correct way to do things, or imparts knowledge to him, or instructs him in skillful design?


Do you know about the balancing of the clouds, that wondrous activity of him who is perfect in knowledge?

For in truth, my words are not false; it is one complete in knowledge who is with you.


Your knowledge is beyond my comprehension; it is so far beyond me, I am unable to fathom it.


Your knowledge is beyond my comprehension; it is so far beyond me, I am unable to fathom it.


Indeed, God is mighty; and he does not despise people, he is mighty, and firm in his intent.


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