Thematic Bible
Thematic Bible
Condescension of God » Expostulates with backsliding israel
Produce your cause, saith Jehovah; bring forward your arguments, saith the King of Jacob. Let them bring them forward, and declare to us what shall happen: shew the former things, what they are, that we may give attention to them, and know the end of them; or let us hear things to come: declare the things that are to happen hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods; yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be astonished, and behold it together. read more.
Behold, ye are less than nothing, and your work is of nought; an abomination is he that chooseth you. ...
Behold, ye are less than nothing, and your work is of nought; an abomination is he that chooseth you. ...
But now thus saith Jehovah, that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel: Fear not, for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee; when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am Jehovah thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee. read more.
Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee; and I will give men for thee, and peoples for thy life. Fear not, for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from afar, and my daughters from the end of the earth, every one that is called by my name, and whom I have created for my glory: I have formed him, yea, I have made him. Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears. Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the peoples be assembled: who among them declareth this, or causeth us to hear former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified; or let them hear, and say, It is truth. Ye are my witnesses, saith Jehovah, and my servant whom I have chosen; that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am HE: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, I am Jehovah; and besides me there is no saviour. It is I that have declared, and have saved, and have shewed, when there was no strange god among you; and ye are my witnesses, saith Jehovah, that I am God. Yea, since the day was, I am HE, and there is none that delivereth out of my hand: I will work, and who shall hinder it? Thus saith Jehovah, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought all of them down as fugitives, even the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships. I am Jehovah, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King. Thus saith Jehovah, who maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters, who bringeth forth chariot and horse, army and power they lie down together, they shall not rise; they are extinct, they are quenched as tow: Remember not the former things, neither consider the ancient things: behold, I do a new thing; now it shall spring forth: shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the waste.
Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee; and I will give men for thee, and peoples for thy life. Fear not, for I am with thee: I will bring thy seed from the east, and gather thee from the west; I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from afar, and my daughters from the end of the earth, every one that is called by my name, and whom I have created for my glory: I have formed him, yea, I have made him. Bring forth the blind people that have eyes, and the deaf that have ears. Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the peoples be assembled: who among them declareth this, or causeth us to hear former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified; or let them hear, and say, It is truth. Ye are my witnesses, saith Jehovah, and my servant whom I have chosen; that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am HE: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. I, I am Jehovah; and besides me there is no saviour. It is I that have declared, and have saved, and have shewed, when there was no strange god among you; and ye are my witnesses, saith Jehovah, that I am God. Yea, since the day was, I am HE, and there is none that delivereth out of my hand: I will work, and who shall hinder it? Thus saith Jehovah, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: For your sake I have sent to Babylon, and have brought all of them down as fugitives, even the Chaldeans, whose cry is in the ships. I am Jehovah, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King. Thus saith Jehovah, who maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters, who bringeth forth chariot and horse, army and power they lie down together, they shall not rise; they are extinct, they are quenched as tow: Remember not the former things, neither consider the ancient things: behold, I do a new thing; now it shall spring forth: shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, rivers in the waste.
I am sought out of them that inquired not for me, I am found of them that sought me not; I have said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name. I have stretched out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, who walk in a way not good, after their own thoughts; the people that provoke me to anger continually to my face, sacrificing in gardens and burning incense upon the bricks; read more.
who sit down among the graves, and lodge in the secret places; who eat swine's flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels; who say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day. Behold, it is written before me: I will not keep silence, but will recompense, even recompense into their bosom, your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together, saith Jehovah, who have burned incense upon the mountains, and outraged me upon the hills; and I will measure their former work into their bosom. Thus saith Jehovah: As the new wine is found in the cluster, and it is said, Destroy it not, for a blessing is in it; so will I do for my servants' sakes, that I may not destroy them all. And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah a possessor of my mountains; and mine elect shall possess it, and my servants shall dwell there. And the Sharon shall be a fold for flocks, and the valley of Achor a couching-place of the herds, for my people that have sought me. But ye who forsake Jehovah, who forget my holy mountain, who prepare a table for Gad, and fill up mixed wine unto Meni: I will even assign you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down in the slaughter; because I called, and ye did not answer, I spoke, and ye did not hear; but ye did what was evil in mine eyes, and chose that wherein I delight not. Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, my servants shall eat, and ye shall be hungry; behold, my servants shall drink, and ye shall be thirsty; behold, my servants shall rejoice, and ye shall be ashamed; behold, my servants shall sing aloud for gladness of heart, and ye shall cry out for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit. And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto mine elect; for the Lord Jehovah will slay thee, and will call his servants by another name: so that he who blesseth himself in the land shall bless himself by the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the land shall swear by the God of truth: because the former troubles shall be forgotten, and because they shall be hidden from mine eyes.
who sit down among the graves, and lodge in the secret places; who eat swine's flesh, and broth of abominable things is in their vessels; who say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day. Behold, it is written before me: I will not keep silence, but will recompense, even recompense into their bosom, your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together, saith Jehovah, who have burned incense upon the mountains, and outraged me upon the hills; and I will measure their former work into their bosom. Thus saith Jehovah: As the new wine is found in the cluster, and it is said, Destroy it not, for a blessing is in it; so will I do for my servants' sakes, that I may not destroy them all. And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah a possessor of my mountains; and mine elect shall possess it, and my servants shall dwell there. And the Sharon shall be a fold for flocks, and the valley of Achor a couching-place of the herds, for my people that have sought me. But ye who forsake Jehovah, who forget my holy mountain, who prepare a table for Gad, and fill up mixed wine unto Meni: I will even assign you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down in the slaughter; because I called, and ye did not answer, I spoke, and ye did not hear; but ye did what was evil in mine eyes, and chose that wherein I delight not. Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, my servants shall eat, and ye shall be hungry; behold, my servants shall drink, and ye shall be thirsty; behold, my servants shall rejoice, and ye shall be ashamed; behold, my servants shall sing aloud for gladness of heart, and ye shall cry out for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit. And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto mine elect; for the Lord Jehovah will slay thee, and will call his servants by another name: so that he who blesseth himself in the land shall bless himself by the God of truth; and he that sweareth in the land shall swear by the God of truth: because the former troubles shall be forgotten, and because they shall be hidden from mine eyes.
They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man's, shall he return unto her again? Would not that land be utterly polluted? But thou hast committed fornication with many lovers; yet return to me, saith Jehovah. Lift up thine eyes unto the heights and see, where hast thou not been lain with? In the ways hast thou sat for them, as an Arab in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy fornications and with thy wickedness. And the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; but thou hast a harlot's forehead, thou refusest to be ashamed. read more.
Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My father, thou art the guide of my youth? Will he keep his anger for ever? Will he preserve it perpetually? Behold, thou hast spoken and hast done evil things, and thou art so determined. And Jehovah said unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen what backsliding Israel hath done? She hath gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath committed fornication. And I said, After she hath done all these things, she will return unto me; but she returned not. And her sister Judah, the treacherous, saw it. And I saw that when for all the causes wherein backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce, yet the treacherous Judah, her sister, feared not, but went and committed fornication also. And it came to pass through the lightness of her fornication that she polluted the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks. And even for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not returned unto me with her whole heart, but with falsehood, saith Jehovah. And Jehovah said unto me, Backsliding Israel hath shewn herself more just than treacherous Judah. Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith Jehovah: I will not make my face dark upon you; for I am merciful, saith Jehovah; I will not keep anger for ever. Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against Jehovah thy God, and hast turned thy ways hither and thither to the strangers under every green tree; and ye have not hearkened to my voice, saith Jehovah. Return, backsliding children, saith Jehovah; for I am a husband unto you, and I will take you, one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion. And I will give you shepherds according to my heart, and they shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.
Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My father, thou art the guide of my youth? Will he keep his anger for ever? Will he preserve it perpetually? Behold, thou hast spoken and hast done evil things, and thou art so determined. And Jehovah said unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen what backsliding Israel hath done? She hath gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath committed fornication. And I said, After she hath done all these things, she will return unto me; but she returned not. And her sister Judah, the treacherous, saw it. And I saw that when for all the causes wherein backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce, yet the treacherous Judah, her sister, feared not, but went and committed fornication also. And it came to pass through the lightness of her fornication that she polluted the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks. And even for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not returned unto me with her whole heart, but with falsehood, saith Jehovah. And Jehovah said unto me, Backsliding Israel hath shewn herself more just than treacherous Judah. Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith Jehovah: I will not make my face dark upon you; for I am merciful, saith Jehovah; I will not keep anger for ever. Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against Jehovah thy God, and hast turned thy ways hither and thither to the strangers under every green tree; and ye have not hearkened to my voice, saith Jehovah. Return, backsliding children, saith Jehovah; for I am a husband unto you, and I will take you, one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion. And I will give you shepherds according to my heart, and they shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.
And ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear then, house of Israel. Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal? When the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and practiseth what is wrong, and dieth for it; in his wrong that he hath done shall he die. And when the wicked turneth from his wickedness which he hath committed, and doeth judgment and justice, he shall keep his soul alive. read more.
Because he considereth, and turneth from all his transgressions which he hath committed, he shall certainly live, he shall not die. But the house of Israel say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? Is it not your ways that are unequal? Therefore I will judge you, house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord Jehovah. Return ye, and turn from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your snare. Cast away from you all your transgressions wherewith ye have transgressed, and make you a new heart and a new spirit: why then will ye die, house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord Jehovah; therefore turn ye and live.
Because he considereth, and turneth from all his transgressions which he hath committed, he shall certainly live, he shall not die. But the house of Israel say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? Is it not your ways that are unequal? Therefore I will judge you, house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord Jehovah. Return ye, and turn from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your snare. Cast away from you all your transgressions wherewith ye have transgressed, and make you a new heart and a new spirit: why then will ye die, house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord Jehovah; therefore turn ye and live.
And thou, son of man, say unto the house of Israel, Thus ye speak, saying, Our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we waste away in them, how then should we live? Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel? And thou, son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression; and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live thereby in the day that he sinneth. read more.
When I say to the righteous that he shall certainly live, and he trusteth to his righteousness and doeth what is wrong, none of his righteous acts shall be remembered; but in his unrighteousness which he hath done, in it shall he die. And when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt certainly die, and he turneth from his sin, and doeth judgment and justice; if the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had taken by robbery, walk in the statutes of life, doing nothing that is wrong; he shall certainly live, he shall not die. None of his sins which he hath committed shall be remembered against him: he hath done judgment and justice; he shall certainly live. Yet the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not equal: but as for them, their way is not equal. When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and doeth what is wrong, then he shall die therein. And when the wicked turneth from his wickedness, and doeth judgment and justice, he shall live for these things. Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways.
When I say to the righteous that he shall certainly live, and he trusteth to his righteousness and doeth what is wrong, none of his righteous acts shall be remembered; but in his unrighteousness which he hath done, in it shall he die. And when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt certainly die, and he turneth from his sin, and doeth judgment and justice; if the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had taken by robbery, walk in the statutes of life, doing nothing that is wrong; he shall certainly live, he shall not die. None of his sins which he hath committed shall be remembered against him: he hath done judgment and justice; he shall certainly live. Yet the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not equal: but as for them, their way is not equal. When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and doeth what is wrong, then he shall die therein. And when the wicked turneth from his wickedness, and doeth judgment and justice, he shall live for these things. Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways.
Hear ye now what Jehovah saith: Arise, contend before the mountains, and let the hills hear thy voice. Hear, ye mountains, Jehovah's controversy, and ye, unchanging foundations of the earth; for Jehovah hath a controversy with his people, and he will plead with Israel. O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me. read more.
For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of bondage; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. My people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him, from Shittim unto Gilgal, that ye may know the righteousness of Jehovah. Wherewith shall I come before Jehovah, bow myself before the high God? Shall I come before him with burnt-offerings, with calves of a year old? Will Jehovah take pleasure in thousands of rams, in ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath shewn thee, O man, what is good: and what doth Jehovah require of thee, but to do justly, and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with thy God? Jehovah's voice crieth unto the city, and wisdom looketh on thy name. Hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.
For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of bondage; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. My people, remember now what Balak king of Moab consulted, and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him, from Shittim unto Gilgal, that ye may know the righteousness of Jehovah. Wherewith shall I come before Jehovah, bow myself before the high God? Shall I come before him with burnt-offerings, with calves of a year old? Will Jehovah take pleasure in thousands of rams, in ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath shewn thee, O man, what is good: and what doth Jehovah require of thee, but to do justly, and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with thy God? Jehovah's voice crieth unto the city, and wisdom looketh on thy name. Hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.
Since the days of your fathers have ye departed from my statutes, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith Jehovah of hosts. But ye say, Wherein shall we return? Will a man rob God? But ye rob me. And ye say, Wherein do we rob thee? In tithes and heave-offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse; and me ye rob, even this whole nation. read more.
Bring the whole tithe into the treasure-house, that there may be food in my house, and prove me now herewith, saith Jehovah of hosts, if I open not to you the windows of the heavens, and pour you out a blessing, till there be no place for it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast its fruit before the time in the field, saith Jehovah of hosts. And all nations shall call you blessed; for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith Jehovah of hosts. Your words have been stout against me, saith Jehovah; but ye say, What have we been speaking against thee? Ye say, It is vain to serve God; and what profit is it that we keep his charge, and that we walk mournfully before Jehovah of hosts? And now we hold the proud for happy; yea, they that work wickedness are built up; yea, they tempt God, and they escape.
Bring the whole tithe into the treasure-house, that there may be food in my house, and prove me now herewith, saith Jehovah of hosts, if I open not to you the windows of the heavens, and pour you out a blessing, till there be no place for it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast its fruit before the time in the field, saith Jehovah of hosts. And all nations shall call you blessed; for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith Jehovah of hosts. Your words have been stout against me, saith Jehovah; but ye say, What have we been speaking against thee? Ye say, It is vain to serve God; and what profit is it that we keep his charge, and that we walk mournfully before Jehovah of hosts? And now we hold the proud for happy; yea, they that work wickedness are built up; yea, they tempt God, and they escape.