Thematic Bible




Thematic Bible



An unreliable messenger falls into trouble, but a faithful envoy brings healing.

that sends messengers by sea, who glide over the water's surface in boats made of papyrus. Go, you swift messengers, to a nation of tall, smooth-skinned people, to a people that are feared far and wide, to a nation strong and victorious, whose land rivers divide.

Though his officials are in Zoan and his messengers arrive at Hanes,

Look, ambassadors cry out in the streets; messengers sent to make peace weep bitterly.

Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the chief adviser, "Speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it. Don't speak with us in the Judahite dialect in the hearing of the people who are on the wall."

At that time Merodach-Baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been ill and had recovered. Hezekiah welcomed them and showed them his storehouse with its silver, gold, spices, and high-quality olive oil, as well as his whole armory and everything in his treasuries. Hezekiah showed them everything in his palace and in his whole kingdom.

If he cannot succeed, he will send a representative while the other is still a long way off and ask for terms of peace.


Ephraim continually feeds on the wind; he chases the east wind all day; he multiplies lies and violence. They make treaties with Assyria, and send olive oil as tribute to Egypt.

They travel down to Egypt without seeking my will, seeking Pharaoh's protection, and looking for safety in Egypt's protective shade. But Pharaoh's protection will bring you nothing but shame, and the safety of Egypt's protective shade nothing but humiliation. Though his officials are in Zoan and his messengers arrive at Hanes, read more.
all will be put to shame because of a nation that cannot help them, who cannot give them aid or help, but only shame and disgrace."


Though his officials are in Zoan and his messengers arrive at Hanes,


"The rebellious children are as good as dead," says the Lord, "those who make plans without consulting me, who form alliances without consulting my Spirit, and thereby compound their sin. They travel down to Egypt without seeking my will, seeking Pharaoh's protection, and looking for safety in Egypt's protective shade. But Pharaoh's protection will bring you nothing but shame, and the safety of Egypt's protective shade nothing but humiliation. read more.
Though his officials are in Zoan and his messengers arrive at Hanes, all will be put to shame because of a nation that cannot help them, who cannot give them aid or help, but only shame and disgrace." This is a message about the animals in the Negev: Through a land of distress and danger, inhabited by lionesses and roaring lions, by snakes and darting adders, they transport their wealth on the backs of donkeys, their riches on the humps of camels, to a nation that cannot help them. Egypt is totally incapable of helping. For this reason I call her 'Proud one who is silenced.'" Now go, write it down on a tablet in their presence, inscribe it on a scroll, so that it might be preserved for a future time as an enduring witness. For these are rebellious people -- they are lying children, children unwilling to obey the Lord's law.


"The rebellious children are as good as dead," says the Lord, "those who make plans without consulting me, who form alliances without consulting my Spirit, and thereby compound their sin. They travel down to Egypt without seeking my will, seeking Pharaoh's protection, and looking for safety in Egypt's protective shade. But Pharaoh's protection will bring you nothing but shame, and the safety of Egypt's protective shade nothing but humiliation. read more.
Though his officials are in Zoan and his messengers arrive at Hanes, all will be put to shame because of a nation that cannot help them, who cannot give them aid or help, but only shame and disgrace." This is a message about the animals in the Negev: Through a land of distress and danger, inhabited by lionesses and roaring lions, by snakes and darting adders, they transport their wealth on the backs of donkeys, their riches on the humps of camels, to a nation that cannot help them. Egypt is totally incapable of helping. For this reason I call her 'Proud one who is silenced.'" Now go, write it down on a tablet in their presence, inscribe it on a scroll, so that it might be preserved for a future time as an enduring witness. For these are rebellious people -- they are lying children, children unwilling to obey the Lord's law. They say to the visionaries, "See no more visions!" and to the seers, "Don't relate messages to us about what is right! Tell us nice things, relate deceptive messages. Turn aside from the way, stray off the path. Remove from our presence the Holy One of Israel." For this reason this is what the Holy One of Israel says: "You have rejected this message; you trust instead in your ability to oppress and trick, and rely on that kind of behavior. So this sin will become your downfall. You will be like a high wall that bulges and cracks and is ready to collapse; it crumbles suddenly, in a flash. It shatters in pieces like a clay jar, so shattered to bits that none of it can be salvaged. Among its fragments one cannot find a shard large enough to scoop a hot coal from a fire or to skim off water from a cistern." For this is what the master, the Lord, the Holy One of Israel says: "If you repented and patiently waited for me, you would be delivered; if you calmly trusted in me you would find strength, but you are unwilling. 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. One thousand will scurry at the battle cry of one enemy soldier; at the battle cry of five enemy soldiers you will all run away, until the remaining few are as isolated as a flagpole on a mountaintop or a signal flag on a hill."

Those who go down to Egypt for help are as good as dead, those who rely on war horses, and trust in Egypt's many chariots and in their many, many horsemen. But they do not rely on the Holy One of Israel and do not seek help from the Lord. Yet he too is wise and he will bring disaster; he does not retract his decree. He will attack the wicked nation, and the nation that helps those who commit sin. The Egyptians are mere humans, not God; their horses are made of flesh, not spirit. The Lord will strike with his hand; the one who helps will stumble and the one being helped will fall. Together they will perish. read more.
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. Just as birds hover over a nest, so the Lord who commands armies will protect Jerusalem. He will protect and deliver it; as he passes over he will rescue it. You Israelites! Return to the one against whom you have so blatantly rebelled!


There are those who rebel against the light; they do not know its ways and they do not stay on its paths. Before daybreak the murderer rises up; he kills the poor and the needy; in the night he is like a thief. And the eye of the adulterer watches for the twilight, thinking, 'No eye can see me,' and covers his face with a mask. read more.
In the dark the robber breaks into houses, but by day they shut themselves in; they do not know the light. For all of them, the morning is to them like deep darkness; they are friends with the terrors of darkness. "You say, 'He is foam on the face of the waters; their portion of the land is cursed so that no one goes to their vineyard. The drought as well as the heat carry away the melted snow; so the grave takes away those who have sinned. The womb forgets him, the worm feasts on him, no longer will he be remembered. Like a tree, wickedness will be broken down. He preys on the barren and childless woman, and does not treat the widow well. But God drags off the mighty by his power; when God rises up against him, he has no faith in his life. God may let them rest in a feeling of security, but he is constantly watching all their ways. They are exalted for a little while, and then they are gone, they are brought low like all others, and gathered in, and like a head of grain they are cut off.'

"The rebellious children are as good as dead," says the Lord, "those who make plans without consulting me, who form alliances without consulting my Spirit, and thereby compound their sin. They travel down to Egypt without seeking my will, seeking Pharaoh's protection, and looking for safety in Egypt's protective shade. But Pharaoh's protection will bring you nothing but shame, and the safety of Egypt's protective shade nothing but humiliation. read more.
Though his officials are in Zoan and his messengers arrive at Hanes, all will be put to shame because of a nation that cannot help them, who cannot give them aid or help, but only shame and disgrace." This is a message about the animals in the Negev: Through a land of distress and danger, inhabited by lionesses and roaring lions, by snakes and darting adders, they transport their wealth on the backs of donkeys, their riches on the humps of camels, to a nation that cannot help them. Egypt is totally incapable of helping. For this reason I call her 'Proud one who is silenced.'" Now go, write it down on a tablet in their presence, inscribe it on a scroll, so that it might be preserved for a future time as an enduring witness. For these are rebellious people -- they are lying children, children unwilling to obey the Lord's law. They say to the visionaries, "See no more visions!" and to the seers, "Don't relate messages to us about what is right! Tell us nice things, relate deceptive messages. Turn aside from the way, stray off the path. Remove from our presence the Holy One of Israel."

The word of the Lord came to me: "Son of man, you are living in the midst of a rebellious house. They have eyes to see, but do not see, and ears to hear, but do not hear, because they are a rebellious house.


Though his officials are in Zoan and his messengers arrive at Hanes,