Thematic Bible
Thematic Bible
Heart » The unregenerate » Is full of iniquity
A heart that creates wicked plans,
Feet that run swiftly to evil,
The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma [a soothing, satisfying scent] and the Lord said to Himself, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intent (strong inclination, desire) of man’s heart is wicked from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done.
O Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness,
That you may be saved.
How long will your wicked and immoral thoughts
Lodge within you?
Now Eliab his oldest brother heard what he said to the men; and Eliab’s anger burned against David and he said, “Why have you come down here? With whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your presumption (overconfidence) and the evil of your heart; for you have come down in order to see the battle.”
“The heart is deceitful above all things
And it is
Who can understand it fully and know its secret motives?
Verse Concepts
Faithfulness, In Human RelationshipsDeceitful Heartsevil, origins ofBeing Born In SinHeart, Fallen And RedeemedHuman NatureMedicineMind, The HumanMorality, And CreationDeception In Fallen Human NatureCorrupted ConsciencesSelf Righteousness, Nature OfSin, Causes OfSin, Universality OfSpirit, Fallen And RedeemedDepravity Of Man
Because the sentence against an evil act is not executed quickly, the hearts of the sons of men are fully set to do evil.
The perverse in heart are repulsive and shamefully vile to the Lord,
But those who are blameless and above reproach in their walk are His delight!
Who perversely in his heart plots trouble and evil continually;
Who spreads discord and strife.
The Lord saw that the wickedness (depravity) of man was great on the earth, and that every imagination or intent of the thoughts of his heart were only evil continually.
Verse Concepts
For even though they knew God [as the Creator], they did not honor Him as God or give thanks [for His wondrous creation]. On the contrary, they became worthless in their thinking [godless, with pointless reasonings, and silly speculations], and their foolish heart was darkened.
This evil is in all that is done under the sun, that one fate comes to all. Also, the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and afterwards they go to the dead.
“Your ways and your deeds
Have brought these things on you.
This is your tragedy and doom; how bitter,
How it has touched your heart!”
Jeremiah » The prophet » Lamentations of » Over jerusalem
And my eyes a fountain of tears,
That I might weep day and night
For the slain of the daughter of my people!
O Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness, that you may be saved! How long shall your iniquitous and grossly offensive thoughts lodge within you? For a voice declares from Dan [in the north] and proclaims evil from Mount Ephraim [the range dividing Israel from Judah]. Warn the [neighboring] nations [that our adversary is coming]; announce to Jerusalem that besiegers are coming from a far country, and they shout against the cities of Judah. read more.
Like keepers of a field they are against her round about, because she has been rebellious against Me, says the Lord. Your ways and your doings have brought these things upon you. This is your calamity and doom; surely it is bitter, for surely it reaches your very heart!
Like keepers of a field they are against her round about, because she has been rebellious against Me, says the Lord. Your ways and your doings have brought these things upon you. This is your calamity and doom; surely it is bitter, for surely it reaches your very heart!
Oh, that I [Jeremiah] could comfort myself against sorrow, [for my grief is beyond healing], my heart is sick and faint within me! Behold [says the prophet, listen to the voice of] the cry of the daughter of my people [for help] because of those who dwell in a far country: Is not the Lord in Zion? Is not her King in her? [But the Lord answers] Why have they provoked Me to anger with their carved images and with foreign idols? The harvest is past, the summer has ended and the gathering of fruit is over, yet we are not saved! [comes again the voice of the people.] read more.
For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I [Jeremiah] hurt; I go around mourning; dismay has taken hold on me.
For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I [Jeremiah] hurt; I go around mourning; dismay has taken hold on me.
Woe is me because of my hurt! [says Jeremiah, speaking for the nation.] My wound is grievous and incurable. But I said, Surely this sickness and suffering and grief are mine, and I must endure, tolerate, and bear them. My tent (home) is taken by force and plundered, and all my [tent] cords are broken. My children have gone forth [as captives] from me, and they are no more; there is no one to stretch forth my tent any more and to set up my [tent] curtains. For the shepherds [of the people] have become like brutes, irrational and stupid, and have not sought the Lord or inquired of Him or required Him [by necessity and by right of His word]. Therefore they have not dealt prudently and have not prospered, and all their flocks are scattered. read more.
Hark, the sound of a rumor! [The invading army] comes! -- "a great commotion out of the north country -- "to make the cities of Judah a desolation, a dwelling place of jackals.
Hark, the sound of a rumor! [The invading army] comes! -- "a great commotion out of the north country -- "to make the cities of Judah a desolation, a dwelling place of jackals.
Rebellion against God » Punishment for
But if you do not listen to the Lord’s voice, but rebel against His command, then the hand of the Lord will be against you [to punish you], as it was against your fathers.
But they rebelled against Me and were not willing to listen to Me; they did not throw away the detestable things on which they feasted their eyes, nor did they give up the idols of Egypt.
“Then I decided to pour out My wrath on them and finish My anger against them in the land of Egypt.
“Then I decided to pour out My wrath on them and finish My anger against them in the land of Egypt.
But if you will not hearken to Me and will not do all these commandments, And if you spurn and despise My statutes, and if your soul despises and rejects My ordinances, so that you will not do all My commandments, but break My covenant, I will do this: I will appoint over you [sudden] terror (trembling, trouble), even consumption and fever that consume and waste the eyes and make the [physical] life pine away. You shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. read more.
I [the Lord] will set My face against you and you shall be defeated and slain before your enemies; they who hate you shall rule over you; you shall flee when no one pursues you. And if in spite of all this you still will not listen and be obedient to Me, then I will chastise and discipline you seven times more for your sins. And I will break and humble your pride in your power, and I will make your heavens as iron [yielding no answer, no blessing, no rain] and your earth [as sterile] as brass. And your strength shall be spent in vain, for your land shall not yield its increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruit. If you walk contrary to Me and will not heed Me, I will bring seven times more plagues upon you, according to your sins. I will loose the wild beasts of the field among you, which shall rob you of your children, destroy your livestock, and make you few so that your roads shall be deserted and desolate. If by these means you are not turned to Me but determine to walk contrary to Me, I also will walk contrary to you, and I will smite you seven times for your sins. And I will bring a sword upon you that shall execute the vengeance [for the breaking] of My covenant; and you shall be gathered together within your cities, and I will send the pestilence among you, and you shall be delivered into the hands of the enemy. When I break your staff of bread and cut off your supply of food, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall ration your bread and deliver it again by weight; and you shall eat, and not be satisfied. And if in spite of all this you will not listen and give heed to Me but walk contrary to Me, Then I will walk contrary to you in wrath, and I also will chastise you seven times for your sins. You shall eat the flesh of your sons and of your daughters. And I will destroy your high places [devoted to idolatrous worship], and cut down your sun-images, and throw your dead bodies upon the [wrecked] bodies of your idols, and My soul shall abhor you [with deep and unutterable loathing]. I will lay your cities waste, bring your sanctuaries to desolation, and I will not smell the fragrance of your sweet and soothing odors [of offerings made by fire]. And I will bring the land into desolation, and your enemies who dwell in it shall be astonished at it. I will scatter you among the nations and draw out [your enemies'] sword after you; and your land shall be desolate and your cities a waste. Then shall the land [of Israel have the opportunity to] enjoy its sabbaths as long as it lies desolate and you are in your enemies' land; then shall the land rest, to enjoy and receive payments for its sabbaths [divinely ordained for it]. As long as it lies desolate and waste, it shall have rest, the rest it did not have in your sabbaths when you dwelt upon it. As for those who are left of you, I will send dejection (lack of courage, a faintness) into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; the sound of a driven leaf shall put them to hasty and tumultuous flight, and they shall flee as if from the sword, and fall when no one pursues them. They shall stumble over one another as if to escape a sword when no one pursues them; and you shall have no power to stand before your enemies. You shall perish among the nations; the land of your enemies shall eat you up. And those of you who are left shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies' lands; also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away like them.
I [the Lord] will set My face against you and you shall be defeated and slain before your enemies; they who hate you shall rule over you; you shall flee when no one pursues you. And if in spite of all this you still will not listen and be obedient to Me, then I will chastise and discipline you seven times more for your sins. And I will break and humble your pride in your power, and I will make your heavens as iron [yielding no answer, no blessing, no rain] and your earth [as sterile] as brass. And your strength shall be spent in vain, for your land shall not yield its increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruit. If you walk contrary to Me and will not heed Me, I will bring seven times more plagues upon you, according to your sins. I will loose the wild beasts of the field among you, which shall rob you of your children, destroy your livestock, and make you few so that your roads shall be deserted and desolate. If by these means you are not turned to Me but determine to walk contrary to Me, I also will walk contrary to you, and I will smite you seven times for your sins. And I will bring a sword upon you that shall execute the vengeance [for the breaking] of My covenant; and you shall be gathered together within your cities, and I will send the pestilence among you, and you shall be delivered into the hands of the enemy. When I break your staff of bread and cut off your supply of food, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall ration your bread and deliver it again by weight; and you shall eat, and not be satisfied. And if in spite of all this you will not listen and give heed to Me but walk contrary to Me, Then I will walk contrary to you in wrath, and I also will chastise you seven times for your sins. You shall eat the flesh of your sons and of your daughters. And I will destroy your high places [devoted to idolatrous worship], and cut down your sun-images, and throw your dead bodies upon the [wrecked] bodies of your idols, and My soul shall abhor you [with deep and unutterable loathing]. I will lay your cities waste, bring your sanctuaries to desolation, and I will not smell the fragrance of your sweet and soothing odors [of offerings made by fire]. And I will bring the land into desolation, and your enemies who dwell in it shall be astonished at it. I will scatter you among the nations and draw out [your enemies'] sword after you; and your land shall be desolate and your cities a waste. Then shall the land [of Israel have the opportunity to] enjoy its sabbaths as long as it lies desolate and you are in your enemies' land; then shall the land rest, to enjoy and receive payments for its sabbaths [divinely ordained for it]. As long as it lies desolate and waste, it shall have rest, the rest it did not have in your sabbaths when you dwelt upon it. As for those who are left of you, I will send dejection (lack of courage, a faintness) into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; the sound of a driven leaf shall put them to hasty and tumultuous flight, and they shall flee as if from the sword, and fall when no one pursues them. They shall stumble over one another as if to escape a sword when no one pursues them; and you shall have no power to stand before your enemies. You shall perish among the nations; the land of your enemies shall eat you up. And those of you who are left shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies' lands; also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away like them.
But if you refuse and rebel,
You shall be devoured by the sword.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
Warn the [neighboring] nations [that our adversary is coming]; announce to Jerusalem that besiegers are coming from a far country, and they shout against the cities of Judah. Like keepers of a field they are against her round about, because she has been rebellious against Me, says the Lord. Your ways and your doings have brought these things upon you. This is your calamity and doom; surely it is bitter, for surely it reaches your very heart!
And I will separate from you the rebels and those who transgress against Me; I will bring them out of the land where they temporarily live, but they will not enter the land of Israel. Thus you will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.