Thematic Bible
Thematic Bible
Afflictions of the The Wicked » Frequently harden
But after they had rest, they did evil again before you: therefore you left them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them: yet when they returned, and cried unto you, you heard them from heaven; and many times did you deliver them according to your mercies; And testified against them, that you might bring them again unto your law: yet they acted presumptuously, and hearkened not unto your commandments, but sinned against your judgments, (which if a man does, he shall live in them;) and turned the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear.
Evil » The reward for doing evil
Because of all the evil of the children of Israel and of the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke me to anger, they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets, and the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And they have turned unto me the back, and not the face: though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not hearkened to receive instruction. But they set their abominations in the house, which is called by my name, to defile it. read more.
And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin. And now therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city, of which you say, It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence;
And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin. And now therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city, of which you say, It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence;
But you are they that forsake the LORD, that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop, and that furnish the drink offering unto that number. Therefore will I number you to the sword, and you shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, you did not answer; when I spoke, you did not hear; but did evil before my eyes, and did choose that in which I delighted not. Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, Behold, my servants shall eat, but you shall be hungry: behold, my servants shall drink, but you shall be thirsty: behold, my servants shall rejoice, but you shall be ashamed: read more.
Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but you shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall wail for anguish of spirit. And you shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen: for the Lord GOD shall slay you, and call his servants by another name:
Behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but you shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall wail for anguish of spirit. And you shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen: for the Lord GOD shall slay you, and call his servants by another name:
Thus says the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that you build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? For all those things has my hand made, and all those things have been, says the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembles at my word. He that kills an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrifices a lamb, as if he breaks a dog's neck; he that offers a grain offering, as if he offered swine's blood; he that burns incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations. read more.
I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spoke, they did not hear: but they did evil before my eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not.
I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spoke, they did not hear: but they did evil before my eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not.
For I know that after my death you will utterly corrupt yourselves, and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and evil will befall you in the latter days; because you will do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger through the work of your hands.
And the LORD spoke by his servants the prophets, saying, Because Manasseh king of Judah has done these abominations, and has done wickedly above all that the Amorites did, who were before him, and has made Judah also to sin with his idols: Therefore thus says the LORD God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever hears of it, both his ears shall tingle. read more.
And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipes a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down. And I will forsake the remnant of my inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies; Because they have done that which was evil in my sight, and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came forth out of Egypt, even unto this day. Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; besides his sin with which he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of the LORD.
And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the house of Ahab: and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipes a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down. And I will forsake the remnant of my inheritance, and deliver them into the hand of their enemies; and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies; Because they have done that which was evil in my sight, and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came forth out of Egypt, even unto this day. Moreover Manasseh shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; besides his sin with which he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of the LORD.
For our fathers have trespassed, and done that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD our God, and have forsaken him, and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the LORD, and turned their backs. Also they have shut up the doors of the vestibule, and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense nor offered burnt offerings in the holy place unto the God of Israel. Therefore the wrath of the LORD was upon Judah and Jerusalem, and he has delivered them to trouble, to astonishment, and to hissing, as you see with your eyes. read more.
For, lo, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this.
For, lo, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this.
But after they had rest, they did evil again before you: therefore you left them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them: yet when they returned, and cried unto you, you heard them from heaven; and many times did you deliver them according to your mercies; And testified against them, that you might bring them again unto your law: yet they acted presumptuously, and hearkened not unto your commandments, but sinned against your judgments, (which if a man does, he shall live in them;) and turned the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear. Yet many years did you bear with them, and testified against them by your spirit in your prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore you gave them into the hand of the people of the lands. read more.
Nevertheless for your great mercies' sake you did not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for you are a gracious and merciful God.
Nevertheless for your great mercies' sake you did not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for you are a gracious and merciful God.
For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns. Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, you men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? says the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; read more.
If that nation, against whom I have spoken, turn from their evil, I will change from the evil that I thought to do unto them. And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; If it does evil in my sight, that it obeys not my voice, then I will change from the good, with which I said I would benefit them.
If that nation, against whom I have spoken, turn from their evil, I will change from the evil that I thought to do unto them. And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; If it does evil in my sight, that it obeys not my voice, then I will change from the good, with which I said I would benefit them.
Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resists the power, resists the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Will you then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and you shall have praise of the same: read more.
For he is the minister of God to you for good. But if you do that which is evil, be afraid; for he bears not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, an avenger to execute wrath upon him that does evil.
For he is the minister of God to you for good. But if you do that which is evil, be afraid; for he bears not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, an avenger to execute wrath upon him that does evil.
Rebellion » The reward for rebelling against the lord
Now go, write it before them on a tablet, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come, forever and ever: That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD: Who say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits: read more.
Get out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us. Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel, Because you despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and rely on them: Therefore this iniquity shall be to you like a breach ready to fall, a bulge in a high wall, whose breaking comes suddenly, in an instant. And he shall break it as the breaking of the potters' vessel that is broken in pieces; he shall not spare: so that there shall not be found among the fragments of it a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to dip water out of the cistern. For thus says the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall you be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: but you would not. But you said, No; for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall you flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift. One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall you flee: till you be left as a flagstaff upon the top of a mountain, and as a banner on a hill.
Get out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us. Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel, Because you despise this word, and trust in oppression and perverseness, and rely on them: Therefore this iniquity shall be to you like a breach ready to fall, a bulge in a high wall, whose breaking comes suddenly, in an instant. And he shall break it as the breaking of the potters' vessel that is broken in pieces; he shall not spare: so that there shall not be found among the fragments of it a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to dip water out of the cistern. For thus says the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall you be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: but you would not. But you said, No; for we will flee upon horses; therefore shall you flee: and, We will ride upon the swift; therefore shall they that pursue you be swift. One thousand shall flee at the rebuke of one; at the rebuke of five shall you flee: till you be left as a flagstaff upon the top of a mountain, and as a banner on a hill.
But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the commandment of the LORD, then shall the hand of the LORD be against you, as it was against your fathers.
But if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD has spoken it.
Therefore thus says the LORD; Behold, I will cast you from off the face of the earth: this year you shall die, because you have taught rebellion against the LORD. So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.
Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against you, and cast your law behind their backs, and slew your prophets who testified against them to turn them to you, and they worked great provocations. Therefore you delivered them into the hand of their enemies, who oppressed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto you, you heard them from heaven; and according to your manifold mercies you gave them saviors, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies. But after they had rest, they did evil again before you: therefore you left them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them: yet when they returned, and cried unto you, you heard them from heaven; and many times did you deliver them according to your mercies; read more.
And testified against them, that you might bring them again unto your law: yet they acted presumptuously, and hearkened not unto your commandments, but sinned against your judgments, (which if a man does, he shall live in them;) and turned the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear. Yet many years did you bear with them, and testified against them by your spirit in your prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore you gave them into the hand of the people of the lands. Nevertheless for your great mercies' sake you did not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for you are a gracious and merciful God.
And testified against them, that you might bring them again unto your law: yet they acted presumptuously, and hearkened not unto your commandments, but sinned against your judgments, (which if a man does, he shall live in them;) and turned the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear. Yet many years did you bear with them, and testified against them by your spirit in your prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore you gave them into the hand of the people of the lands. Nevertheless for your great mercies' sake you did not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for you are a gracious and merciful God.
Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! For he satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness. Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and in irons; read more.
Because they rebelled against the words of God, and the counsel of the most High: Therefore he brought down their heart with labor; they fell down, and there was none to help.
Because they rebelled against the words of God, and the counsel of the most High: Therefore he brought down their heart with labor; they fell down, and there was none to help.
And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and awesome God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from your precepts and from your judgments: Neither have we hearkened unto your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. read more.
O Lord, righteousness belongs unto you, but unto us shame of face, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries where you have driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against you. O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you. To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him;
O Lord, righteousness belongs unto you, but unto us shame of face, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries where you have driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against you. O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you. To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him;
national Sins » Often caused by prosperity
Behold, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom, pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.
By your great wisdom and by your trade have you increased your riches, and your heart is lifted up because of your riches:
But Jeshurun grew fat, and kicked: you are grown fat, you are grown thick, you are covered with fatness; then he forsook God who made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.
Moab has been at ease from his youth, and he has settled on his dregs, and has not been emptied from vessel to vessel, neither has he gone into captivity: therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed.
But after they had rest, they did evil again before you: therefore you left them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them: yet when they returned, and cried unto you, you heard them from heaven; and many times did you deliver them according to your mercies;
Thankfulness » To God, instances of » Of the levites
Then stood up upon the stairs, of the Levites, Jeshua, and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani, and cried with a loud voice unto the LORD their God. Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said, Stand up and bless the LORD your God forever and ever: and blessed be your glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. You, even you, are LORD alone; you have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and you preserve them all; and the host of heaven worships you. read more.
You are the LORD, the God who did choose Abram, and brought him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gave him the name of Abraham; And found his heart faithful before you, and made a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Jebusites, and the Girgashites, to give it, I say, to his descendants, and have performed your words; for you are righteous: And did see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heard their cry by the Red sea; And showed signs and wonders upon Pharaoh, and on all his servants, and on all the people of his land: for you knew that they dealt arrogantly against them. So did you get you a name, as it is this day. And you did divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their persecutors you threw into the deep, as a stone into the mighty waters. Moreover you led them in the day by a cloudy pillar; and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the way in which they should go. You came down also upon mount Sinai, and spoke with them from heaven, and gave them right ordinances, and true laws, good statutes and commandments: And made known unto them your holy sabbath, and commanded them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses your servant: And gave them bread from heaven for their hunger, and brought forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promised them that they should go in to possess the land which you had sworn to give them. But they and our fathers acted presumptuously, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to your commandments, And refused to obey, neither were mindful of your wonders that you did among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a leader to return to their bondage: but you are a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsook them not. Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is your God that brought you up out of Egypt, and had worked great provocations; Yet you in your manifold mercies forsook them not in the wilderness: the pillar of cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to show them light, and the way in which they should go. You gave also your good spirit to instruct them, and withheld not your manna from their mouth, and gave them water for their thirst. Yea, forty years did you sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes grew not old, and their feet swelled not. Moreover you gave them kingdoms and nations, and did distribute them even into the corners: so they possessed the land of Sihon, the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of Bashan. Their children also you multiplied as the stars of heaven, and brought them into the land, concerning which you had promised to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it. So the children went in and possessed the land, and you subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them into their hands, with their kings, and the people of the land, that they might do with them as they would. And they took strong cities, and a rich land, and possessed houses full of all goods, cisterns hewed out, vineyards, and olive groves, and fruit trees in abundance: so they did eat, and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in your great goodness. Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against you, and cast your law behind their backs, and slew your prophets who testified against them to turn them to you, and they worked great provocations. Therefore you delivered them into the hand of their enemies, who oppressed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto you, you heard them from heaven; and according to your manifold mercies you gave them saviors, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies. But after they had rest, they did evil again before you: therefore you left them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them: yet when they returned, and cried unto you, you heard them from heaven; and many times did you deliver them according to your mercies; And testified against them, that you might bring them again unto your law: yet they acted presumptuously, and hearkened not unto your commandments, but sinned against your judgments, (which if a man does, he shall live in them;) and turned the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear. Yet many years did you bear with them, and testified against them by your spirit in your prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore you gave them into the hand of the people of the lands. Nevertheless for your great mercies' sake you did not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for you are a gracious and merciful God. Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble seem little before you, that has come upon us, on our kings, on our princes, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all your people, since the time of the kings of Assyria unto this day. Yet you are just in all that is brought upon us; for you have done right, but we have done wickedly: Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept your law, nor hearkened unto your commandments and your testimonies, with which you did testify against them. For they have not served you in their kingdom, or in your great goodness that you gave them, or in the large and rich land which you gave before them, neither turned they from their wicked works. Behold, we are servants this day, and for the land that you gave unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it: And it yields much increase unto the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins: also they have dominion over our bodies, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress. And because of all this we make a sure covenant, and write it; and our leaders, Levites, and priests, seal it.
You are the LORD, the God who did choose Abram, and brought him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gave him the name of Abraham; And found his heart faithful before you, and made a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Jebusites, and the Girgashites, to give it, I say, to his descendants, and have performed your words; for you are righteous: And did see the affliction of our fathers in Egypt, and heard their cry by the Red sea; And showed signs and wonders upon Pharaoh, and on all his servants, and on all the people of his land: for you knew that they dealt arrogantly against them. So did you get you a name, as it is this day. And you did divide the sea before them, so that they went through the midst of the sea on the dry land; and their persecutors you threw into the deep, as a stone into the mighty waters. Moreover you led them in the day by a cloudy pillar; and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the way in which they should go. You came down also upon mount Sinai, and spoke with them from heaven, and gave them right ordinances, and true laws, good statutes and commandments: And made known unto them your holy sabbath, and commanded them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses your servant: And gave them bread from heaven for their hunger, and brought forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promised them that they should go in to possess the land which you had sworn to give them. But they and our fathers acted presumptuously, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to your commandments, And refused to obey, neither were mindful of your wonders that you did among them; but hardened their necks, and in their rebellion appointed a leader to return to their bondage: but you are a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsook them not. Yea, when they had made them a molten calf, and said, This is your God that brought you up out of Egypt, and had worked great provocations; Yet you in your manifold mercies forsook them not in the wilderness: the pillar of cloud departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of fire by night, to show them light, and the way in which they should go. You gave also your good spirit to instruct them, and withheld not your manna from their mouth, and gave them water for their thirst. Yea, forty years did you sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes grew not old, and their feet swelled not. Moreover you gave them kingdoms and nations, and did distribute them even into the corners: so they possessed the land of Sihon, the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king of Bashan. Their children also you multiplied as the stars of heaven, and brought them into the land, concerning which you had promised to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it. So the children went in and possessed the land, and you subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them into their hands, with their kings, and the people of the land, that they might do with them as they would. And they took strong cities, and a rich land, and possessed houses full of all goods, cisterns hewed out, vineyards, and olive groves, and fruit trees in abundance: so they did eat, and were filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in your great goodness. Nevertheless they were disobedient, and rebelled against you, and cast your law behind their backs, and slew your prophets who testified against them to turn them to you, and they worked great provocations. Therefore you delivered them into the hand of their enemies, who oppressed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto you, you heard them from heaven; and according to your manifold mercies you gave them saviors, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies. But after they had rest, they did evil again before you: therefore you left them in the hand of their enemies, so that they had the dominion over them: yet when they returned, and cried unto you, you heard them from heaven; and many times did you deliver them according to your mercies; And testified against them, that you might bring them again unto your law: yet they acted presumptuously, and hearkened not unto your commandments, but sinned against your judgments, (which if a man does, he shall live in them;) and turned the shoulder, and hardened their neck, and would not hear. Yet many years did you bear with them, and testified against them by your spirit in your prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore you gave them into the hand of the people of the lands. Nevertheless for your great mercies' sake you did not utterly consume them, nor forsake them; for you are a gracious and merciful God. Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble seem little before you, that has come upon us, on our kings, on our princes, and on our priests, and on our prophets, and on our fathers, and on all your people, since the time of the kings of Assyria unto this day. Yet you are just in all that is brought upon us; for you have done right, but we have done wickedly: Neither have our kings, our princes, our priests, nor our fathers, kept your law, nor hearkened unto your commandments and your testimonies, with which you did testify against them. For they have not served you in their kingdom, or in your great goodness that you gave them, or in the large and rich land which you gave before them, neither turned they from their wicked works. Behold, we are servants this day, and for the land that you gave unto our fathers to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof, behold, we are servants in it: And it yields much increase unto the kings whom you have set over us because of our sins: also they have dominion over our bodies, and over our cattle, at their pleasure, and we are in great distress. And because of all this we make a sure covenant, and write it; and our leaders, Levites, and priests, seal it.