Thematic Bible: Wicked people


Thematic Bible



I would not make request to the king for a band of armed men and horsemen to give us help against those who might attack us on the way. We said to the king: The hand (power) (protection) of our God is on his servants for good, but his power and his wrath are against all those who have turned away from him. Verse ConceptsForsaking GodGrace, In OtRejection Of God, Results OfRoadsGod's HandConsequences Of Forsaking GodGod's Hands On PeopleShame Has Come


I will show you the one to fear. Fear the one who, after he has killed, has power to destroy you (throw into the ever-burning trash fires of the valley of Hinnom) (Greek: Gehenna). This is one you should fear. Verse ConceptsGospel, Responses ToPunishment, By GodGehennaReverence To GodGod KillingGod KillsFear God!

([Psalm of David]) Do not be bothered by evildoers. Do not envy those who do wicked things. Verse ConceptsEvildoersInsecurityAvoid EnvyDo Not Be AnxiousWorryingTrusting God And Not Worryingprospering

The tents of marauders prosper and those who provoke God are secure in what God's hand brings them. Verse ConceptsSecurityTentsApparent InjusticeThe Wicked Prosperthieves

Terrifying sounds fill his ears. When all seems well, marauders attack him. Verse ConceptsThose Who DestroyFear Is Due

The success of the wicked is brief and the joy of the godless lasts but a moment. Verse ConceptsemptinessTransient WorldProsperity Of The WickedHypocrisy

Though a sinner does evil a hundred times, and he lives a long life, yet I know that it will be well with those who respect (reverence) God and worship him. Things will not go well with the wicked. He will not prolong his days. His days are like a shadow. He does not respect God.

I have seen a wicked, violent man spreading himself like a luxuriant tree in its native soil. Then he passed away, and lo, he was no more. I searched for him, but he could not be found.

We call arrogant people happy. Evil people test God's patience with their wicked deeds. They not only get away with it, they also prosper. Verse ConceptsFaithlessness, As DisobedienceArrogance, Characterizes The WickedThe ProudEvildoersTesting GodBlessingEscaping From GodProsperity Of The WickedThe Wicked Prosperarroganceconsequencesprospering

Why do you make me see wickedness and immorality? Destruction and violence are before me. Strife exists and contention arises. The law is paralyzed and justice is never delivered. The wicked surround the righteous and deliver perverted justice.

I have seen a stubborn fool take root and I quickly cursed his house. His children are far from help. They are crushed at the court of justice at the city gate. No one is there to rescue them. Hungry people eat what a stubborn fool gathers. They take it even from among the thorns. Thirsty people pant after his wealth.


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His face is covered with fat and his waist bulges with flesh. Verse ConceptsFat PeopleFat Of People

He will no longer be rich and his wealth will not endure, nor will his possessions spread over the land. Verse ConceptsTransient WealthDrawbacks To Riches

Distress will overtake him in the midst of his plenty. The full force of misery will come upon him. Verse ConceptsDistressFamine ComingFamine Will Come

Why do the wicked live on, reach old age, and become mighty in power? Their children are established in their presence, and their offspring before their eyes. Their houses are safe and without fear, and no rod of God is upon them. read more.
Their bull breeds without fail and their cow calves and never miscarries. They send out their little ones like a flock, and their children dance around. They sing to the tambourine and the lyre, and rejoice to the sound of the pipe. They spend their days in prosperity, and in peace they go down to the grave.

One can see that wise people die, that foolish and stupid people meet the same end. They leave their wealth to others. Inwardly they think their houses are forever, their dwelling place to all generations. So they named their lands after themselves. But mortals will not continue here with what they treasure. They are like animals that die. read more.
This is the final outcome for fools and their followers who are delighted by what they say: Like sheep, they are laid in the grave. Death will shepherd them. The upright will rule them in the morning. Their forms will decay in the grave, far away from their comfortable homes. But God will redeem me (buy me back) from the power of the grave because he will receive me.

I was envious of arrogant people when I saw the peace and prosperity that wicked people enjoy. They suffer no pain. Their bodies are healthy. They have no drudgery in their lives like ordinary people. They are not plagued with problems like mankind. read more.
That is why arrogance is their necklace and violence covers them like clothing. Their eyes stand out with fatness, and their heart's imagination run wild. They ridicule. They speak maliciously. They speak arrogantly about oppression. They set their mouth in the heavens and their tongue parades through the earth. Therefore his people return here and here they drink waters of abundance. They ask: How does God know? And is there knowledge with the most High? Behold, these are the ungodly. They prosper in the world; they increase in wealth. I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocence. I have been plagued all day long, and chastened every morning. If I say, I will speak thus; then, I would offend the generation of your children. When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me. I understood their end when I went into the sanctuary of God. Surely you set them in slippery places. You threw them down into destruction. How are they destroyed, suddenly! They are utterly consumed with terrors. It is like waking up from a dream, O Jehovah. When you awake you will despise everything they represent. My heart was grieved and I was pierced within. I was so foolish and ignorant: I was like a beast before you.

A stupid (senseless) person cannot know and a fool cannot understand. Wicked people sprout like grass and all troublemakers flourish. Yet they will be destroyed forever.

Jehovah, if I argued my case with you, you would prove to be right. Indeed, I must question you about matters of justice. Why are the wicked so prosperous? Why do dishonest people succeed with impunity? You plant them, and they take root. They grow and bear fruit. You are near their lips, but far from their mind.

Your eyes are too pure to look at evil. You cannot look at perversity. Why do you look at treacherous persons and not act? Why do you keep quiet when the wicked destroy the man who is more righteous? Why do you make men like the fish of the sea, like creeping things that have no ruler over them? He brings them all up with the hook. He gathers them away in his net. He gladly gathers them and rejoices. read more.
He offers sacrifices and burns incense to his fishing net. For it is through this their catch is great and the food is plentiful. Will they keep on emptying their nets and keep on destroying nations without mercy?

To the angel of the congregation in Sardis write: He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars says these things: 'I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, and you are [really] dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things that remain that are at the point of death: for I have not found your works perfect (completed) before God. Remember what you received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If you do not stay awake, I will come to you like a thief. You will not know the hour when I will come to you.

Jehovah of Hosts says: I am going to send them wars, famines, and plagues. These people are like rotten figs to me, figs that are so bad that they cannot be eaten. I will chase them with wars, famines, and plagues. I will make them a terror to all the kingdoms on the earth. They will become something cursed, ridiculed, and hissed at, and they will be a disgrace among all the nations where I scatter them. They did not listen to me,' says Jehovah. 'I sent them my servants the prophets again and again, but they refused to listen,' says Jehovah.

Suppose I say to a wicked person, 'You wicked person, you will certainly die.' And you say nothing to warn him to change his ways. That wicked person will die because of his sin. I will hold you responsible for his death. Verse ConceptsPunishment, Nature OfWarning IndividualsResponsible To WarnThe Wicked Will PerishAccountability

He told the crowds that came to be baptized by him: You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Produce fruit that is worthy of repentance. Do not say we have Abraham for our father. I tell you, that God is able to make these stones into children for Abraham. The axe is now at the root of the trees. Every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown in to the fire.

Come together, make everyone come together, you nation without shame! Before the decree takes effect. Before the day passes like the chaff. Before the fierce anger of Jehovah comes upon you. Yes, before the Day of Jehovah's anger comes upon you.


Jehovah has sent all his servants the prophets to you. Yet, you have not listened or paid attention to them. The prophets said: Turn from your evil ways and the evil you have done, and live in the land that Jehovah permanently gave to you and your ancestors. Do not follow other gods to serve and worship them. Do not make me furious about the idols your hands have shaped. Then I will not harm you.

For the reason that you did all these things, says Jehovah, I spoke to you. I rose up early and spoke. But you did not hear, and I called you but you did not answer. Consider what I will do to the house that is called by my name. It is the house in which you trust. It is the place I gave you and your fathers, as I did to Shiloh. I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brothers, all the offspring of Ephraim.

I gave them this command: 'Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you will be my people. You will walk in all the way that I command you that it may be well with you.' Yet they did not obey or incline their ear. They walked in their own counsels and in the stubbornness of their evil heart. They went backward and not forward. Since the day your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have sent you all my servants the prophets, daily rising early and sending them.

Jehovah said to me: Stand in the court of the Temple and proclaim all I have commanded you to say to the people who come from the towns of Judah to worship there. Do not omit anything. Perhaps the people will listen and give up their evil ways. If they do I will change my mind about the destruction I plan to bring on them for all their wicked deeds. Jehovah told me to say to the people: 'I Jehovah said that you must obey me by following the teaching that I gave you. read more.
You are to pay attention to the words of my servants, the prophets, whom I kept sending to you. You have never obeyed what they said. If you continue to disobey I will do to this Temple what I did to Shiloh, and all the nations of the world will use the name of this city as a curse.'' The priests, the prophets, and all the people heard me saying these things in the Temple.

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Then I Jeremiah said: Jehovah sent me to proclaim everything that you heard me say against this Temple and against this city. You must change the way you are living and the things you are doing. You must obey Jehovah your God. If you do, he will change his mind about the destruction that he said he would bring on you.

I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at rest in my house, and active in my palace. I saw a dream that made me afraid. When I saw this vision my thoughts troubled me. I made a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon that they might explain the dream to me. read more.
The magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and the soothsayers came to me. I told the dream to them. They did not explain the dream to me. Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, finally came to me. He has the spirit of the holy gods. So I told the dream to him saying: O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and no secret troubles you! Tell me the visions I have seen in my dream. Give me the interpretation. Here are the visions of my head: I saw a tree in the midst of the earth. It was very tall. The tree grew and became strong. Its height reached to heaven. It could be seen from distant parts of the earth. The leaves were beautiful and the fruit abundant. In it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shadow under it. The birds of the heavens dwelt in its branches. All flesh was fed by it. I saw in the visions of my head: Behold, a watcher and a holy one came down from heaven. He cried aloud: 'Chop down the tree, and cut off its branches, shake off its leaves, and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from its branches. Leave the stump and roots in the earth. Apply to it a band of iron and copper in the tender grass of the field. Let it be wet with the dew of heaven. Let its portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth. Let its heart be changed from a man's, and let a beast's heart be given to it. Seven times should pass over it. The decision is by the decree of the watchers. The sentence by the word of the holy ones! It is to the intent that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever he will, and sets over it the lowest of men. I, king Nebuchadnezzar, have seen this dream and you O Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation! For all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make the interpretation known to me. You are able for the spirit of the holy gods is in you!' Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was stricken dumb for a while, and his thoughts troubled him. The king said, Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or the interpretation trouble you. Belteshazzar answered: My lord, the dream may be to them that hate you and the interpretation to your adversaries. The tree that you saw, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached to heaven, and was seen in the distant parts of the earth; whose leaves were beautiful and fruit abundant, and in it was food for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the birds of the heavens lived: It is you O king! You have grown and become strong. Your greatness has grown, and reaches to heaven. Your dominion is to the end of the earth. Since the king saw a watcher and a holy one coming down from heaven saying: Chop down the tree, and destroy it. Leave the stump and the roots in the earth. With a band of iron and brass leave it in the tender grass of the field and let it be wet with the dew of heaven. Let its portion be with the beasts of the field till seven times pass over it. This is the interpretation, O king. It is the decree from the Most High that has come to my lord the king. You will be driven from men. Your dwelling will be with the beasts of the field. You will eat grass like oxen and will be wet with the dew of heaven. Seven times shall pass over you until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever he will. Because they commanded to leave the stump and the roots of the tree your kingdom will be sure to you. After that you will know that the heavens do rule. Let my counsel be acceptable to you O King. Stop your sins by being righteous and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor. May there be a lengthening of your prosperity.

They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, silver, copper, iron, wood, and of stone. In the same hour the fingers of a man's hand appeared, and wrote above the lamp stand on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace. The king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Then the king's countenance (appearance) changed in him. His thoughts troubled him. The joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees struck one against the other. read more.
The king cried aloud to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. / The king spoke to the wise men of Babylon: Whoever reads this writing, and shows me the interpretation of it will be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about his neck. He will be the third ruler in the kingdom. All the king's wise men came. But they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation. King Belshazzar was greatly troubled, and his appearance changed. His lords were perplexed. The queen came into the banquet hall. She said: O king, may you live for a very long time: do not let your thoughts trouble you or change your countenance. There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods. In your fathers day, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him. King Nebuchadnezzar, your father, made him master of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and soothsayers. Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar, has an excellent spirit, knowledge, and understanding for interpreting dreams, showing of dark sentences, and dissolving doubts. Let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation. Daniel was brought before the king. The king spoke to Daniel: Are you that Daniel, one of the exiles of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Judah? I have heard of you, that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. The wise men and the enchanters, have been brought in before me to read this writing, and make known the interpretation of it. But they could not show the interpretation. I have heard that you can give interpretations and dissolve doubts. If you can read the writing and make the interpretation known to me you will be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about your neck, and will be the third ruler in the kingdom. Daniel answered the king: Keep your gifts and give your rewards to another. I will read the writing to the king, and make known to him the interpretation. O you king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father the kingdom, and greatness, and glory, and majesty. Because of the greatness he gave him, all the peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whom he chose he killed and whom he chose he kept alive. Whom he chose he raised up, and whom he chose he put down. But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened with pride he dealt proudly. He was deposed from his kingly throne and they took his glory from him: He was driven from the sons of men, and his heart was made like the beasts. His dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven until he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and that he sets up over it whomever he will. You his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you know all this. You lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of his house before you and your lords, wives and concubines. They drank wine from them. You praise the gods of silver and gold, of copper, iron, wood, and stone, which you do not see, nor hear, nor know. You have not glorified the God whose hand holds your breath and life. Then the part of the hand was sent from before him, and this writing was inscribed. This is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN. This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God has numbered your kingdom, and brought it to an end; TEKEL: you are weighed in the balances, and are found wanting. PERES; your kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. Then Belshazzar commanded, and they clothed Daniel with purple, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.

Certain men crept in unnoticed. They were appointed long ago for this condemnation. These ungodly men turned the grace of our God into loose conduct. They deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. I want to remind you though you once knew this, that Jehovah (God), having saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. Angels who did not keep their position left their proper habitation. He has kept them in everlasting bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day. read more.
Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them are an example for they, in like manner with these surrendered to fornication and went after flesh for unnatural use. They received justice by ever burning fire.

Because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. You say, I am rich and have become wealthy and have need of nothing." You do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. I counsel you to buy gold from me, gold purified by fire, so that you may be rich; and white clothing, so that you may be clothed. In this way the shame of your nakedness will not appear. And anoint your eyes with eye salve, so that you may see. read more.
I reprove and discipline those whom I love: be zealous therefore, and repent.

The lamp of the wicked is snuffed out. The flame of his fire shall not shine. The light in his tent becomes dark. The lamp beside him will be put out. The vigor of his step is weakened. His own schemes will bring his downfall. read more.
His feet cast him into a net and he wanders into its mesh. A trap seizes him by the heel and a snare holds him fast. A noose is hidden for him on the ground and a trap lies in his path. Terrors startle him on every side and chase him at his heels. Calamity hungers for him and disaster catch him when he falls. It eats away parts of his skin. Death's firstborn devours his limbs. He is torn from the security of his tent and marched off to the king of terrors. Fire resides in his tent; burning sulfur is scattered over his dwelling. His roots dry up below and his branches wither above. The memory of him perishes from the earth. He has no name in the street. He is driven from light into darkness and is banished from the world. He has no offspring or descendants among his people, no survivor where once he lived. Men of the west are appalled at him. Men of the east are seized with horror. This is the dwelling of an evil man! This is the place of one who does not know God!

Your wickedness has turned these things away. Your sins have kept good things away from you. Verse ConceptsFruits Of SinSin Brings ImpoverishmentGod Turning Bad Things Into Good

Here is the fate God accords the wicked. This is the heritage a ruthless man receives from the Almighty: No mater how many his children, their fate is the sword. His offspring will never have enough to eat. The plague will bury those who survive him. Their widows will not weep for them. read more.
Though he heaps up silver like dust and clothes like piles of clay, what he lays up the righteous will wear, and the innocent will divide his silver. The house he builds is like a moth's cocoon, like a hut made by a watchman. He lies down wealthy and wakes up and all is gone. Terrors overtake him like a flood; a tempest snatches him away in the night. The east wind carries him off. He is gone and it sweeps him out of his place. It hurls itself against him without mercy as he flees headlong from its power. Men will clap their hands in derision (ridicule) and hiss him out of his place.

All his days the wicked man suffers torment and the ruthless through all the years stored up for him. Terrifying sounds fill his ears. When all seems well, marauders attack him. He despairs of escaping the darkness; he is marked for the sword. read more.
He wanders about as food for vultures and he knows the day of darkness is at hand. Distress and anguish fill him with terror. They overwhelm him, like a king poised to attack. He shakes his fist at God and vaunts (brags) (shows off) himself against the Almighty, He defiantly charges against him with a thick, strong shield. His face is covered with fat and his waist bulges with flesh. He will inhabit ruined towns and houses where no one lives, houses crumbling to rubble. He will no longer be rich and his wealth will not endure, nor will his possessions spread over the land. He will not escape the darkness; a flame will wither his shoots, and the breath of God's mouth will carry him away. Let him not deceive himself by trusting what is worthless. He will get nothing in return. Before his time he will be paid in full, and his branches will not flourish. He will be like a vine stripped of its unripe grapes, like an olive tree shedding its blossoms. The company of the godless will be barren. And fire will consume the tents of those who love bribes. They conceive trouble and give birth to evil. Their womb fashions deceit.

The success of the wicked is brief and the joy of the godless lasts but a moment. Though his pride reaches to the heavens and his head touches the clouds, he will perish forever like his own dung. Those who have seen him will say: Where is he? read more.
He flies away like a dream banished like a vision of the night. He cannot be found! The eye that saw him will not see him again. His place (home) will look on him no more. His children must make amends to the poor. He must give back his wealth. The youthful vigor that fills his bones will lie with him in the dust. Though evil is sweet in his mouth and he hides it under his tongue, though he cannot bear to let it go and keeps it in his mouth, yet his food will turn sour in his stomach; it will become the venom of serpents within him. He will spit out the riches he swallowed. God will make his stomach vomit them up. He will suck the poison of serpents. The fangs of an adder (cobra) will kill him. He will not look upon the streams, the rivers flowing with honey and cream. What he toiled for he must give back uneaten. He will not enjoy the profit from his trading. For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor and left them destitute. He has violently seized houses he did not build. He will have no respite from his craving; he cannot save himself by his treasure. There is nothing left for him to devour; his prosperity will not endure. Distress will overtake him in the midst of his plenty. The full force of misery will come upon him. With his belly full, God will vent his burning anger against him and rain down his blows upon him. Though he flees from an iron weapon, a bronze-tipped arrow pierces him. He pulls it out of his back, the gleaming point out of his liver. Terrors will come over him. Total darkness lies in wait for his treasures. A fire will consume him and devour what is left in his tent. The heavens will expose his guilt. The earth will rise up against him! A flood will carry off his house. Rushing waters will wash away his possessions on the day of God's wrath. This is the fate God allots the wicked, the heritage appointed for them by God.

Why do the wicked live on, reach old age, and become mighty in power? Their children are established in their presence, and their offspring before their eyes. Their houses are safe and without fear, and no rod of God is upon them. read more.
Their bull breeds without fail and their cow calves and never miscarries. They send out their little ones like a flock, and their children dance around. They sing to the tambourine and the lyre, and rejoice to the sound of the pipe. They spend their days in prosperity, and in peace they go down to the grave. They say to God: 'Leave us alone! We do not desire to know your ways.' Who is the Almighty that we should serve him? And what do we gain if we pray to him? Is their prosperity indeed their own achievement? The plans of the wicked are repugnant to me. How often is the lamp of the wicked put out? How often does calamity come upon them? How often does God distribute pains and sorrow in his anger? How often are they like straw before the wind, and like chaff that the storm carries away? You say: 'God stores up their iniquity for their children.' Let God repay them so they may know. Let their own eyes see their destruction, and let them drink of the wrath of the Almighty. For what do they care for their household after them, when the number of their months is cut off in death? Will any teach God knowledge, seeing that he judges those that are on high? One dies in full prosperity, being wholly at ease and secure. His loins are full of milk and the marrow of his bones is moist. Another dies an angry being, never having tasted of good. They lie down alike in the dust, and the worms cover them. Oh, I know your thoughts, and your schemes to wrong me. For you say: 'Where is the house of the prince? Where is the tent in which the wicked lived?' Have you not asked those who travel the roads, and do you not accept their testimony. They say the wicked are spared in the day of calamity, and are rescued in the day of wrath? Who declares their way to their face, and who repays them for what they have done? When they are carried to the grave, a watch is kept over their tomb. The clods of the valley are sweet to them; everyone will follow after, and those who went before are innumerable.

The wicked remove landmarks. They seize flocks and pasture them. They drive away the donkey of the orphan. They take the widow's ox for a pledge. They force the needy to yield the road. The poor of the earth all hide themselves. read more.
Like wild donkeys in the desert they go out to their toil. They search in the wasteland food for their young. They reap in a field not their own and they glean in the vineyard of the wicked. They lie all night naked, without clothing, and have no covering in the cold. They are wet with the rain of the mountains. They cling to the rock in search of shelter. There are those who snatch the orphan child from the breast. They take as a pledge the infant of the poor. The needy go about naked, without clothing; though hungry, they carry the sheaves. Between their terraces they press out oil. They tread the wine presses, but suffer thirst. The dying groan from the city. The throat of the wounded cries for help. Yet God pays no attention to their prayer. There are those who rebel against the light. They are not acquainted with its ways, and do not stay in its paths. The murderer rises at dusk to kill the poor and needy, and in the night is like a thief. The eye of the adulterer also waits for the twilight. He says: 'No eye will see me.' Then he disguises his face. In the dark they dig through houses. By day they shut themselves up. They do not know the light. For deep darkness is morning to all of them. They are friends with the terrors of deep darkness. Swift are they on the face of the waters. Their portion in the land is cursed! No treader turns toward their vineyards. Drought and heat snatch away the snow waters! In the same way the grave takes those who have sinned. The womb forgets them. The worm finds them sweet. They are no longer remembered. Wickedness is broken like a tree. They harm the childless woman, and do no good to the widow. Yet God prolongs the life of the mighty by his power and they rise up when they despair of life. He gives them security and they are supported. His eyes are upon their ways. They are exalted a little while, and then are gone. They wither and fade like everything gathered up. They are cut off like the heads of grain.

You will be killed in battle in your own country. I will judge you on the border of Israel. Then everyone will know that I am Jehovah. Verse Conceptsborders

Then say to the people of the land: 'The Lord Jehovah says concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the land of Israel, They will eat their bread with anxiety and drink their water with horror, because their land will be stripped of its fullness on account of the violence of all who live in it. The inhabited cities will be laid waste and the land will be a desolation. So you will know that I am Jehovah.'

There will be no rain on those who do not go to Jerusalem to worship the King, Jehovah of Hosts. If the family of Egypt does not go it will not be upon them. There will be the plague and Jehovah will strike the nations that do not go to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations that do not keep the Feast of Tabernacles.


The love of God was made known through us. God sent his only-begotten Son into the world that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation (atonement) (sacrificial payment) for our sins.


They fail to see why they were defeated. They cannot understand what happened. Verse ConceptsDeath, Preparation ForThoughtfulnessAcquiring Wisdomfate

If only they had such a heart in them that they would respect (reverence) me and obey all my commandments for as long as they live! Then things would go well for them and their children from generation to generation.' Verse ConceptsFear Of The LordPenitentReceptive HeartsFear God!Keep The Commandments!

(omitted, text not found in early manuscripts) What do you think? A man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone wandering away. Will he leave the ninety-nine and go in search of the wandering one? When he finds it, I tell you he will be filled with more joy than he would have if he had stayed with the ninety-nine. read more.
Even so, your Father in heaven does not want any of these little ones to be lost.

For God loved the world so much, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever has an active faith in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world. Instead the world should be saved through him.





Ephraim is joined to idols. Leave him alone. Their drink (wheat beer) has become sour. They play the harlot continually. Her rulers dearly love shame. The wind wrapped her up in its wings. They will be put to shame because of their sacrifices!

God is a righteous judge and a God who has indignation every day. Verse ConceptsAngerAnger Of God, Nature OfGod, Righteousness OfJudgesPropitiationWickedGod Has Anger


The arrogant shall not stand before your eyes. You hate all who practice sin. You destroy those who speak falsehood. Jehovah abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit.

God was not pleased with most of them. And their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. Verse ConceptsDesertsDying In The WildernessNot Pleasing GodDying In The Desert Sinners Grasped By Death

His winnowing shovel is in his hand. He will clean his threshing floor and gather his wheat into a barn. He will then burn the husks in a fire that cannot be put out. Verse ConceptsHell, Description OfNames For HeavenHell, As An ExperienceForksSin, God's Judgment OnThreshing FloorToolsWinnowingWicked Described AsEternal JudgmentLight As ChaffReapingBurning PlantsGod's StorehousesWeed

How often are they like straw before the wind, and like chaff that the storm carries away? Verse ConceptsStrawWicked Described AsLight As ChaffHurricanes

This is not so for the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Verse ConceptsWindWicked Described AsChaffLight As ChaffThe Wicked Will Perish

Do not give holy things to the dogs (impure persons) (false prophets) (Matthew 7:15). Do not throw your pearls before swine (the most unclean). They will trample them under their feet and turn and tear you to pieces. Verse ConceptsContemptdogsJewelsPrudenceAskingUngodlinessWasteWicked Described AsDespisersName CallingSwinePeople Torn To PiecesPigsUnfitting ThingsPetsHurt And Betrayalpork

It happened to them according to the true proverb: The dog returns to his own vomit, and the sow that had washed to wallowing in the mire. Verse ConceptsdogsWicked Described AsDegradationSwinePigsUnclean SpiritsOld SayingsUnclean AnimalsBacksliderspork


You have removed all the wicked of the earth like dross; Therefore I love your law. Verse ConceptsdrossWicked Described AsUseless PeopleLoving God's Things

Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me. All of them are the copper, tin, iron and lead in the furnace. They are the dross of silver. Therefore, the Lord Jehovah says: 'I am going to gather you into Jerusalem. This is because all of you have become dross (impure) (worthless).

Listen to the word of Jehovah (YHWH), you rulers of Sodom! Pay attention to the Law of our God, you people of Gomorrah! Jehovah says: What do your many animal sacrifices mean to me? I have had enough of your burnt offerings of rams and enough fat from your fattened calves. I am not pleased with the blood of bulls, lambs, or male goats. Who requires you to trample on my courtyards when you appear in my presence? read more.
Do not bring any more worthless grain offerings. Your incense is disgusting to me! So are your New Moon Festivals, your days of worship, and the assemblies you call. I cannot endure your evil assemblies! I hate your New Moon Festivals and your appointed festivals. They are a burden to me. I am tired of putting up with them. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide my eyes from you. Even though you offer many prayers, I will not listen because your hands are full of blood.

But God says to the wicked: How dare you quote my decrees and mouth my covenant! You hate discipline. You cast (throw) my words behind you.

Blessed are you when men revile you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice, and be filled with joy, for great is your reward in heaven. The prophets, who came before you, were also persecuted.

Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they separate you from their company, and reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy. For your reward is great in heaven. Your fathers treated the prophets the same way.

Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me. All of them are the copper, tin, iron and lead in the furnace. They are the dross of silver. Verse ConceptsCopperdrossIronTinWicked Described AsFurnacesThings Like SilverUseless People

All of them are stubborn rebels. They go about telling false stories. They are copper and iron. They are all corrupt, all of them! Verse ConceptsBackbitingRebellion, Of IsraelWicked Described AsSpreading StoriesThings Like Bronzeapostasy

Instead of the thornbush the pine tree will grow. Instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for Jehovah's fame. It will be for an everlasting sign, which will not be destroyed. Verse ConceptsBriersDivine ManifestationsPlantsFir TreesWeedsWicked Described AsEternal DeliveranceMyrtleSigns Attending Christ

Son of man, do not be afraid of them or the things they say. Do not be afraid, even though thorns and thistles are around you and you live among scorpions. Do not let the things they say frighten you. Do not be terrified in their presence even though they are rebellious people. Verse ConceptsBriersThornsMinisters, Way They Should TeachWicked Described AsScorpionsDo Not Fear Men


I will bring distress on humans and they will walk like they are blind! They have sinned against Jehovah! Their blood will be poured out like dust and their intestines like manure. Verse ConceptsdiscouragementWicked Described AsWalking In DarknessDefecationGod KillingGod BlindingGod Will Kill The PeoplesSin Brings SicknessGod Troubling

Jehovah of Hosts proclaims: The day is coming when all arrogant and evil people will burn like stubble. On that day they will burn up and there will be nothing left of them, either root or bough. Verse ConceptsFurnacesFaithlessness, As Disobedienceevil, victory overevil, warnings againstPride, Results OfPunishment, By GodRootsAbaseWicked Described AsAbasement Of The ProudThe ProudEvildoersLight As ChaffBurning PeopleResidueThe Proud Will Be Abased

How often are they like straw before the wind, and like chaff that the storm carries away? Verse ConceptsStrawWicked Described AsLight As ChaffHurricanes

But mortals will not continue here with what they treasure. They are like animals that die. Verse ConceptsLife, HumanWicked Described AsThe Frailty Of ManAnimals Fate After DeathMen Similar To AnimalsLife Being Temporary

But these are creatures without reason. They were born mere animals to be taken and destroyed! They speak abusively in matters of which they are ignorant. They suffer destruction in their own course of destruction. Verse ConceptsDeath, Of UnbelieversDestructionProfanityWicked Described AsInstinctAnnihilationDestruction Of The WickedKilling Wild AnimalsBeing Killed Like An AnimalMen Similar To AnimalsMammalsKilled Like An AnimalPetsignorancecorruptionacting

Ahab answered: There is one more, Micaiah son of Imlah. But I hate him because he never prophesies anything good for me, always something bad. The king should not say such things! Jehoshaphat replied. Verse ConceptsGrudgesHatredPersecution, Forms OfHating IndividualsNamed Prophets Of The LordFake Friends

Ahab answered: There is one more. He is Micaiah son of Imlah. But I hate him because he never prophesies anything good for me. It is always something bad. Jehoshaphat replied: You should not say that. Verse ConceptsPersecution, Forms Of

Their poison is like the poison of a snake. It is like a deaf cobra that stops its ear. Verse ConceptsCobrasBitingEarsPoisonSerpentsWicked Described AsAnimals, Types OfThings Like SnakesRefusing To Hear

You serpents! You offspring of vipers! How will you escape from being destroyed in the ever-burning fires of the Valley of Hinnom? (Greek: Gehenna, the trash fires in the valley just outside of Jerusalem) Verse ConceptsHell, As Incentive To ActionSerpentsSnakesWicked Described AsGehennaDenunciationsThings Like SnakesEscaping From GodHellHypocritesHypocrisyRacecondemnationvampires

Do not give holy things to the dogs (impure persons) (false prophets) (Matthew 7:15). Do not throw your pearls before swine (the most unclean). They will trample them under their feet and turn and tear you to pieces. Verse ConceptsContemptdogsJewelsPrudenceAskingUngodlinessWasteWicked Described AsDespisersName CallingSwinePeople Torn To PiecesPigsUnfitting ThingsPetsHurt And Betrayalpork

It happened to them according to the true proverb: The dog returns to his own vomit, and the sow that had washed to wallowing in the mire. Verse ConceptsdogsWicked Described AsDegradationSwinePigsUnclean SpiritsOld SayingsUnclean AnimalsBacksliderspork

They all commit adultery. They are like a heated oven, an oven so hot that a baker does not have to fan its flames when he makes bread. Verse ConceptsDoughBakingOvensWicked Described AsCessationLeavenedBaking BreadKneading DoughThose Who Committed Adultery

When you appear, you will make them burn like a blazing furnace. Jehovah will swallow them up in his anger. Fire will devour them. Verse ConceptsFurnacesWicked Described AsBurning PeopleGod Will Be Angry

The Lord Jehovah helps me. Who will find me guilty? They will all wear out like a garment and moths will eat them. Verse ConceptsClothingHelpfulnessInsectsWicked Described AsMothsPeople Eaten By WormPeople Wearing OutNo CondemnationGod Helps

The moth will eat them up like a garment. The worm will devour them like wool. But my righteousness will last forever! My salvation will last through all generations. Verse ConceptsAnimals, Types OfClothingGod, Righteousness OfInsectsWoolSalvation, Described AsWicked Described AsMothsPeople Eaten By WormEternal DeliverancePeople Wearing Outclosureworms

Like sheep, they are laid in the grave. Death will shepherd them. The upright will rule them in the morning. Their forms will decay in the grave, far away from their comfortable homes. Verse ConceptsFeedingGrave, TheSheolSheepInadequate ShepherdingDeath Of The WickedBeauty, Temporal Nature OfUprightnessHow Death Is InevitableThe Fact Of DeathDeath Of Loved One




Agree with God, and be at peace. In this way good will come to you. Receive instruction from his mouth, and lay up his words in your heart. If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored. You must remove unrighteousness from your tents, read more.
If you treat gold like dust, and gold of Ophir like the stones of the torrent-bed, and if the Almighty is your gold and your precious silver, you will delight yourself in the Almighty, and lift up your face to God. You will pray to him and he will hear you! You will pay your vows. You will decide on a matter, and it will be established for you. The light of God's favor will shine on your ways. When others are humiliated, you say it is pride for he saves the humble. He will deliver even those who are guilty. They will escape because of the cleanness of your hands.

God does speak, now one-way and then another, though man may not perceive it. In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men as they slumber in their beds, he may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings, read more.
that turn man from wrongdoing and keep him from pride. It is to preserve him from the pit and keep his life from perishing by the sword. On the other hand a man may be chastened on a bed of pain with constant distress in his bones. His very being finds food repulsive and he loathes the choicest meal. His flesh wastes away to nothing, and his bones, once hidden, now stick out. He draws near to the pit and to the messengers of death. Yet if there is an angel on his side as a mediator, one out of a thousand, to tell a man what is right for him, to be gracious to him and say: 'Spare him from going down to the pit. I have found a ransom for him!' His flesh is renewed like a child's. It is restored as in the days of his youth. He prays to God and finds favor with him. He sees God's face and shouts for joy! God restores him to his righteous state. He comes to men and says: 'I sinned, and perverted what was right, but I did not get what I deserved.' He redeemed me from going down to the pit, and I will live to enjoy the light. God does all these things to a man twice, even three times. He turns him back from the pit that the light of life may shine on him.

Such is the destiny of all who forget God. The hope of the godless will perish. What he trusts in is fragile and what he relies on is like a spider's web. He leans on his web, but it gives way! He clings to it, but it does not hold. read more.
He is like a well-watered plant in the sunshine, spreading its shoots over the garden. It entwines its roots around a pile of rocks and looks for a place among the stones. When it is torn from its spot, that place disowns it and says: 'I never saw you.'

Jesus continued to speak to them with illustrations. The kingdom of heaven is like a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. He sent out his servants to invite guests to the feast, but they would not come. read more.
Again he sent out other servants with orders to say to the guests, 'I have prepared my feast. Oxen and fat livestock are butchered and everything is ready, so come to the feast.' But they paid no attention and went about their business. One went to his farm and another went to his trade. The rest violently attacked his servants and put them to death. The king was angry, and sent his armies to put the evil servants to death and to destroy their town with fire. He said to his servants, 'The feast is ready, but the guests were not worthy. Go then, to the main roads, and invite all those whom you see to come to the feast.' They went to the roads and brought in everyone they could find, good and bad alike. And the banquet room was filled with guests. When the king met the guests he found that one of them was not wearing the right kind of clothes for the wedding. The king asked why did he not wear proper clothes for the wedding? But the guest had no excuse. The king gave orders for that person to be tied hand and foot and thrown outside into the dark. That is where people will cry and grind their teeth in pain. Many are called, but few chosen.

The kingdom of heaven is like the master of a house, who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He made an agreement with the workmen for a penny a day. Then he sent them into his vineyard. He went out the third hour and saw others in the marketplace doing nothing. read more.
He said to them: 'Go to the vineyard with the others. I will pay you whatever is right.' So they went to work. He went out the sixth and the ninth hour, and did the same. The eleventh hour, he saw others doing nothing. He asked: 'Why are you here all the day doing nothing?' They said: 'No man has given us work.' He told them to go work with the rest in the vineyard. When evening came, the lord of the vineyard said to his manager: 'Let the workers come and pay them from the last to the first.' Those men who went to work at the eleventh hour were each given a penny. Those who worked longer, expected to be paid more. They were also given a penny. When they got it, they protested against the master of the house. They said: 'The last ones have done only one hour's work. You have made them equal to us. We have undergone the hard work of the day and the burning heat.' He told them: 'I do you no wrong. You made an agreement with me for a penny. Take what is yours and leave. I wish to give to the last workers the same as to you. Is it lawful for me to do what I wish with what is mine? Or is your eye jealous because I am generous?' So the last will be first, and the first last.

However you are thrown out of your tomb like a rejected branch. You are covered with those who were killed in battle. You go down to the stones (bottom) of the pit like a trampled corpse. Verse ConceptsThe DeadCovering The BodyPitsWicked Described AsUnburied BodiesPits As A Term For Graves

An empty headed man can no more become wise than a wild donkey's colt can be born a man. Verse ConceptsColtsWicked Described AsWorldly WisdomWild DonkeysWise ProverbsWisdom

The inhabitants of these cities are weak, discouraged, and ashamed. They will be like plants in the field, like fresh green grass on the roofs, scorched before it grows up. Verse ConceptsColors, GreenPlantsTendernessWicked Described AsScorchingLike GrassNo Strength Left

But the wicked are like the troubled and restless sea, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. Verse ConceptsTroubleSeaWicked Described AsUnrestThings Like The SeaSea, Metaphorical ReferencesUnclean Things

They are wild waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame. They are wandering stars, for which the black darkness has been reserved forever. Verse ConceptsBlackAstronomyRageColors, BlackHopelessnessThe Fate Of The WickedWanderersWavesEternal JudgementFoamsGod KeepsOuter DarknessShame Has Comewandering

The inhabitants of these cities are weak, discouraged, and ashamed. They will be like plants in the field, like fresh green grass on the roofs, scorched before it grows up. Verse ConceptsColors, GreenPlantsTendernessWicked Described AsScorchingLike GrassNo Strength Left

These men are hidden rocks in your love feasts when they feast (entertain) with you. They are shepherds that without fear feed themselves. They are clouds without water, carried along by winds. They are autumn leaves without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots. Verse ConceptsClouds, Figurative UseRootsAgape LovePlucking OutThe Second DeathLove Exists Between PeopleLove Feast

However you are thrown out of your tomb like a rejected branch. You are covered with those who were killed in battle. You go down to the stones (bottom) of the pit like a trampled corpse. Verse ConceptsThe DeadCovering The BodyPitsWicked Described AsUnburied BodiesPits As A Term For Graves

They are wild waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame. They are wandering stars, for which the black darkness has been reserved forever. Verse ConceptsBlackAstronomyRageColors, BlackHopelessnessThe Fate Of The WickedWanderersWavesEternal JudgementFoamsGod KeepsOuter DarknessShame Has Comewandering

They swarmed around me like bees, but they burned out as quickly as a brush fire; by the power of Jehovah I destroyed them. Verse ConceptsBeesInsectsThornsWicked Described AsEnemies SurroundingExtinguishingWeed

Terrors startle him on every side and chase him at his heels. Verse ConceptsSuperstitionFear Is Dueharassment

Many bulls have surrounded me. Strong bulls from Bashan have encircled me. Verse ConceptsBullsWicked Described AsEnemies SurroundingWild OxUnicorns

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs that appear beautiful on the outside. They are full of dead men's bones and uncleanness on the inside. Verse ConceptsWhiteWicked Described AsSepulchresThe Inward BeingBonesFigurative BurialsWhitewashingBeauty Of ThingsUnclean ThingsHypocritesHypocrisyInner Beauty

The land is blackened by the fury of Jehovah of Hosts. The people are fuel for the fire, and no one spares anyone else. Verse ConceptsWicked Described AsFire Of God's AngerNot Sparingwrath

I have seen a wicked, violent man spreading himself like a luxuriant tree in its native soil. Verse ConceptsColors, GreenAffluenceWicked Described AsPursuing ViolenceAbuse

Burning lips and a wicked heart are like a broken pottery covered with silver dross. Verse ConceptsCoatsNominal ReligionWicked Described AsProfessingArtificialnessOverlaid With SilverShowing Hypocrisy

Like the bad figs that cannot be eaten because they are rotten, says Jehovah, so I will abandon Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials, and the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land and the ones who dwell in the land of Egypt. Verse ConceptsSurvivors Of IsraelBad Items

They drew it up on the beach when it was full. They gathered the good into containers and threw away the bad. Verse ConceptsBaskets, Uses OfOccupationsThrowing AwayWicked Described AsBeachesFullness Of The KingdomPulling ThingsPeople Sitting DownDistinguishingGood Or BadFish

You will be like an oak whose leaves wither and like a garden without water. Verse ConceptsGarden, NaturalWicked Described AsDry PlacesPeople WitheredOaks

He flies away like a dream banished like a vision of the night. He cannot be found! Verse ConceptsWicked Described AsDisappearanceLike A Dreamflying

Each one of them is like a lion eager to tear its prey apart and like a young lion crouching in hiding places. Verse ConceptsHuntingLionsWicked Described AsPeople Torn To PiecesLike CreaturesGreed


He will be like a bush in the desert and will not see when prosperity comes. He will live in stony wastes in the wilderness, a land of salt without inhabitant. Verse ConceptsWicked Described AsDry PlacesLiving In The WildernessEmpty By NatureSourness



Of what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces, who call to their playmates. Verse ConceptsGenerationsWicked Described AsLikeningMarketplacesCommerceComparingLike ChildrenLikening Peoplehumor

You will be like an oak whose leaves wither and like a garden without water. Verse ConceptsGarden, NaturalWicked Described AsDry PlacesPeople WitheredOaks

My God, make them like tumbleweed, like chaff before the wind. Verse ConceptsWicked Described AsLight As ChaffWeed



That is why they will be like fog in the morning and like morning dew that disappears quickly. They will be like straw blown away from threshing floors. They will be like smoke rising from chimneys. Verse ConceptsdewChaffMistMorningSmokeThreshing FloorWeather, As God's JudgmentWicked Described AsPassing AwayLight As ChaffsmokingSmoke Used Poetically

That is why they will be like fog in the morning and like morning dew that disappears quickly. They will be like straw blown away from threshing floors. They will be like smoke rising from chimneys. Verse ConceptsdewChaffMistMorningSmokeThreshing FloorWeather, As God's JudgmentWicked Described AsPassing AwayLight As ChaffsmokingSmoke Used Poetically

I paid attention and listened, but they were not honest. They do not turn away from their wickedness. They do not ask: 'What have we done?' They go their own ways like horses charging into battle.' Verse ConceptsObstinacy Against GodWicked Described As

Every one who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand. Verse ConceptsFolly, Examples OfFailureComplacencyWicked Described AsThe Insecurity Of The WickedHearing ChristThe Work Of FoolsDoing God's WorksSand And Gravel

When I act you will tread down the wicked. They will be like dust under your feet, Jehovah of Hosts said. Verse ConceptsFeetAshesWicked Described AsPromised VictoryTrampling PeopleGod Judges The Wickeddust

A good tree does not produce corrupt fruit and a corrupt tree does not produce good fruit. Verse ConceptsWicked Described AsFood DecayingBad Items



Their poison is like the poison of a snake. It is like a deaf cobra that stops its ear. Verse ConceptsCobrasBitingEarsPoisonSerpentsWicked Described AsAnimals, Types OfThings Like SnakesRefusing To Hear

As smoke is driven away, drive them away: as wax melts before the fire, let the wicked perish at the presence of God. Verse ConceptsSmokeWicked Described AsMeltingWaxDriven From God's PresenceThe Lord Will Drive Them OutThe Presence Of GodsmokinganniversarySmoke Used Poetically

Son of man, do not be afraid of them or the things they say. Do not be afraid, even though thorns and thistles are around you and you live among scorpions. Do not let the things they say frighten you. Do not be terrified in their presence even though they are rebellious people. Verse ConceptsBriersThornsMinisters, Way They Should TeachWicked Described AsScorpionsDo Not Fear Men

That is why they will be like fog in the morning and like morning dew that disappears quickly. They will be like straw blown away from threshing floors. They will be like smoke rising from chimneys. Verse ConceptsdewChaffMistMorningSmokeThreshing FloorWeather, As God's JudgmentWicked Described AsPassing AwayLight As ChaffsmokingSmoke Used Poetically