12 Bible Verses about Heathen

This I say therefore, and testify (affirm) in the Lord, that you no longer walk as the nations also walk, in the vanity (futility) (depravity) of their mind (thinking). They are darkened (blinded) (obscured) in their understanding, alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of their heart. They are past feeling. They have given themselves over to loose conduct, to work all uncleanness with greediness (a lust for more).

You have spent enough time in the past doing what unbelievers like to do. Your lives were spent in indecency, lusts, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and the disgusting worship of idols (false gods).

Why do the nations conspire together and rage? Why do the peoples plot in vain?

The Scripture revealed ahead of time, that God justified the people of the nations by faith. He preached the good news beforehand to Abraham. He said: In you will all the nations be blessed.

The children of Israel, who had come back, and all those who were joined to them, after separating themselves from the evil ways of the people of the land to become the servants of Jehovah, the God of Israel, ate together.

He walked in ways of the kings of Israel. He even offered his son to walk through the fire. He copied the disgusting ways of the nations. Jehovah sent the people of the nations out of the land before the children of Israel.

Large quantities of meaningless words and repetition are not acceptable in prayer. The pagans think their gods will hear long and repetitious prayers.

The nations have dug a pit and fallen in. They have been caught in their own trap.

Why do the nations conspire together and rage? Why do the peoples plot in vain?

He drove nations out of their way and gave them the land of the nations as their inheritance. He settled the tribes of Israel in their own tents.

He gave them the lands of other nations. They inherited what others had worked for.

and gave their land as an inheritance, an inheritance to Israel His people.

And gave their land as a heritage, for his loving kindness is everlasting, Even a heritage to Israel his servant, for his loving kindness is everlasting.

Sing joyfully, O barren woman, you who never bore a child! Burst into song and shout for joy, you who were never in labor! More are the children of the desolate woman than of the woman, who has a husband, proclaims Jehovah. Enlarge the place of your tent. Stretch your tent curtains wide and do not hold back. Lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes. For you will spread out to the right and to the left. Your descendants will dispossess nations and settle in their desolate cities.

Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: Jehovah, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all his people, may Jehovah his God be with him, and let him go up!

It was the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia. In order that the word of Jehovah (YHWH) given by the mouth of Jeremiah might come true, Jehovah moved the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia. He made a public statement through all his kingdom, and put it in writing, saying: These are the words of Cyrus, king of Persia: 'Jehovah the God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has made me responsible for building a house for him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. May your God be with you and let you go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah. There you are to build the house of Jehovah the God of Israel. He is the God who is in Jerusalem. read more.
If any of his people in exile need help to return, their neighbors should give them help. They are to provide them with silver and gold, supplies and pack animals, as well as offerings to present in the Temple of God in Jerusalem.'

Do not become unclean in any of these ways. By these practices all the nations that I am forcing out of your way have become unclean. The land has become unclean. I will punish it for its sins. The land will vomit out those who live in it.

You drove out the nations with your own hand (great power). Then you planted them; you afflicted the peoples and spread them abroad.

When he entered Capernaum, a centurion (captain of one hundred men) approached him. He said: Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home and terribly tormented. Jesus said to him: I will come and heal him. read more.
The centurion replied to Jesus: Lord, I am not worthy that you come under my roof. Say the word and my servant will be healed. I also am a man having authority and commanding soldiers. I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it. When Jesus heard it, he was amazed, and said to the crowd: I tell you, I have not found such great faith in Israel. I tell you, many will come from the east and the west, to sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven: but the sons of the kingdom will be cast forth into the outer darkness: there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Jesus said to the centurion: Go. Just as you believe, so it will be done to you. The servant was healed in that hour.

A centurion's servant, who was highly regarded by him, was sick and at the point of death. When he heard about him he contacted Jesus through the Jewish elders. He asked him to come and save his servant. They came to Jesus and earnestly pleaded with him saying: He is worthy and you should do this for him. read more.
He loves our nation and he also built our synagogue for us. Jesus went with them. As he approached the house, the centurion sent friends to him saying, Lord do not trouble yourself. I am not worthy that you should come under my roof. I am also not worthy to come to you. Just say the word, and my servant will be healed. I also am a man with much authority. I am in charge of soldiers and say to this one go and he goes and to another I say come and he comes. I tell my servant to do this and he does it. Jesus heard this and marveled at him. He turned to the crowd and said, I tell you I find no greater faith in Israel.

When he entered Capernaum, a centurion (captain of one hundred men) approached him. He said: Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home and terribly tormented. Jesus said to him: I will come and heal him. read more.
The centurion replied to Jesus: Lord, I am not worthy that you come under my roof. Say the word and my servant will be healed. I also am a man having authority and commanding soldiers. I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes; and to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it. When Jesus heard it, he was amazed, and said to the crowd: I tell you, I have not found such great faith in Israel. I tell you, many will come from the east and the west, to sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven: but the sons of the kingdom will be cast forth into the outer darkness: there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Jesus said to the centurion: Go. Just as you believe, so it will be done to you. The servant was healed in that hour.

A centurion's servant, who was highly regarded by him, was sick and at the point of death. When he heard about him he contacted Jesus through the Jewish elders. He asked him to come and save his servant. They came to Jesus and earnestly pleaded with him saying: He is worthy and you should do this for him. read more.
He loves our nation and he also built our synagogue for us. Jesus went with them. As he approached the house, the centurion sent friends to him saying, Lord do not trouble yourself. I am not worthy that you should come under my roof. I am also not worthy to come to you. Just say the word, and my servant will be healed. I also am a man with much authority. I am in charge of soldiers and say to this one go and he goes and to another I say come and he comes. I tell my servant to do this and he does it. Jesus heard this and marveled at him. He turned to the crowd and said, I tell you I find no greater faith in Israel.

They say: 'Keep away! Do not come near me, for I am too sacred for you! Such people are smoke in my nostrils, a fire that keeps burning all day.'

In every nation he accepts every person who respects him and does what is right.

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 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; read more.
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.

King Melchizedek of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High. He blessed him and said: Blessed be Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth. Blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand! Abram gave him one tenth of everything.

Two years later Pharaoh had a dream. He dreamed he was standing by the Nile River. Suddenly, seven nice-looking well-fed cows came up from the river and began to graze among the reeds. Seven other cows came up from the river behind them. These cows were sickly and skinny. They stood behind the first seven cows on the riverbank. read more.
The cows that were sickly and skinny ate the seven nice-looking well-fed cows. Then Pharaoh woke up. He fell asleep again and had another dream. Seven heads of grain, full and ripe, were growing on one stalk. Then seven other heads of grain sprouted thin and scorched by the desert wind. The thin heads of grain swallowed the full ones. The king woke up and realized that he had been dreaming. The king was upset the next morning. So he called his magicians and wise men and told them what he had dreamed. None of them could tell him what the dreams meant. The king's chief cupbearer said: Now I remember what I was supposed to do. When you were angry with your chief cook and me, you threw us both in jail in the house of the captain of the guard. One night we both had dreams. Each dream had a different meaning. A young Hebrew, who was a servant of the captain of the guard, was there with us at the time. When we told him our dreams, he explained what each of them meant. Everything happened just as he said it would. I got my job back, and the cook was put to death. So the king sent for Joseph. He was quickly brought out of jail. He shaved, changed his clothes, and went to the king. The king said: I had a dream. No one can explain what it means. I am told that you can interpret dreams. Joseph then answered Pharaoh: I cannot do it myself, but God can give the meaning of your dreams. The king told Joseph: I dreamed as I stood on the bank of the Nile River, I saw seven fat, healthy cows come up out of the river. They began feeding on the grass. Next, seven skinny, bony cows came up out of the river. I have never seen such terrible looking cows anywhere in Egypt. The skinny cows ate the fat ones! Even though they had eaten the fat cows, no one could tell they had eaten them. They looked just as sick as before. Then I woke up. In my second dream I saw seven good, full heads of grain growing on a single stalk. Seven other heads of grain, withered, thin, and scorched by the east wind, sprouted behind them. The thin heads of grain swallowed the seven good heads. I told this to the magicians, but no one could tell me what it meant. Joseph said to Pharaoh: Pharaoh had the same dream twice. God has told Pharaoh what he is going to do. The seven good cows are seven years. The seven good heads of grain are seven years. It is all the same dream. The seven thin, sickly cows that came up behind them are seven years. The seven empty heads of grain scorched by the east wind are also seven years. Seven years of famine are coming! It is just as I said to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what he is going to do.

The people of Nineveh believed God and they proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. The news reached the king of Nineveh. He left his throne, and took off his robe and covered himself with sackcloth. Then he sat in ashes. He made proclamation and published it in Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying: Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste anything; let them not eat, nor drink water. read more.
Let them be covered with sackcloth, both man and beast. Let them sincerely call on God! Let them turn away each one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in his hands. Who knows whether God will turn back and change his mind, and turn away from his fierce anger that we will not perish? God saw their works! That they turned from their evil way. God turned back from the deed that he said he would do to them. He did not do it.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea during the reign of King Herod. Astrologers arrived in Jerusalem from the east. They asked: Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and came to offer him praise. King Herod was troubled when he heard this. Jerusalem was also troubled. read more.
He called together all the chief priests and teachers of the Law and asked where will the Messiah be born? Bethlehem in Judea, they answered. This is what the prophet wrote: Bethlehem in the land of Judah, you are not the least of the leading cities of Judah. A leader will come out of you. He will shepherd my people Israel. Then Herod secretly called the astrologers to find out exactly the time the star appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem. He said: Search diligently for the young child. When you find him, bring me word so I may come and bow down to him also. After they heard the king, they followed the star until it stopped over the place where the child was. They were overwhelmed with joy to see the star. They entered the house and saw the young child with his mother Mary. They bowed down and paid him homage. Then they opened their treasure chests and offered gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.

Nebuchadnezzar the king, to all the peoples, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to you. It seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me. How great are his signs! How mighty are his wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation. read more.
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. 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!'

There was a man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the Italian Band. He was a devout man who respected God with his entire household. He gave many gifts of mercy to the people and prayed to God always. About the ninth hour of the day he clearly saw a vision. An angel of God came to him and said, Cornelius. read more.
He looked at him and was afraid. What is it, Lord? He replied. The angel said: God hears your prayers and sees your gifts of mercy. Send men to Joppa to bring back Simon, whose surname is Peter: He is staying with a tanner named Simon whose house is by the sea. When the angel who spoke to Cornelius left, he called two of his household servants and a devout soldier who was his attendant.

God appeared to the king in a dream and said: You are going to die, because you have taken this woman. She is already married. Abimelech had not come near her. He said: Lord, I am innocent! Would you destroy my people and me? Abraham said that she was his sister. She said the same thing. I did this with a clear conscience. I have done no wrong! read more.
God said to him in a dream: Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience. In fact, I kept you from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her. Give the man's wife back to him now. He is a prophet. He will pray for you, and you will live. But if you do not give her back, you and all who belong to you are doomed to die.

Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea during the reign of King Herod. Astrologers arrived in Jerusalem from the east. They asked: Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and came to offer him praise. King Herod was troubled when he heard this. Jerusalem was also troubled. read more.
He called together all the chief priests and teachers of the Law and asked where will the Messiah be born? Bethlehem in Judea, they answered. This is what the prophet wrote: Bethlehem in the land of Judah, you are not the least of the leading cities of Judah. A leader will come out of you. He will shepherd my people Israel. Then Herod secretly called the astrologers to find out exactly the time the star appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem. He said: Search diligently for the young child. When you find him, bring me word so I may come and bow down to him also. After they heard the king, they followed the star until it stopped over the place where the child was. They were overwhelmed with joy to see the star. They entered the house and saw the young child with his mother Mary. They bowed down and paid him homage. Then they opened their treasure chests and offered gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. God warned the astrologers in a dream not to go back to Herod. So they departed for their country by a different road.

It was the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia. In order that the word of Jehovah (YHWH) given by the mouth of Jeremiah might come true, Jehovah moved the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia. He made a public statement through all his kingdom, and put it in writing, saying: These are the words of Cyrus, king of Persia: 'Jehovah the God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has made me responsible for building a house for him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. May your God be with you and let you go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah. There you are to build the house of Jehovah the God of Israel. He is the God who is in Jerusalem.

The hand of her enemies is stretched out over all her desired things. She sees the nations come into her holy place. Whom you gave orders that they were not to come into the meeting of your people.