39 Bible Verses about Wicked

So Pilate, wanting to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas to them, and after he had Jesus flogged, he turned Him over to be crucified.

Now Jesus stood in front of the governor [i.e., Pilate], who asked Him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" Jesus answered him, "You have said so." When He was accused by the leading priests and the [Jewish] elders, He made no reply. Pilate then said to Him, "Do you not hear how many charges the witnesses are bringing against you?" read more.
But He [again] made no reply, not even to a single charge, which caused the governor to be greatly amazed. Now at the [Passover] Festival, the governor was accustomed to releasing whatever prisoner the crowd wanted. There was at that time in custody a notorious prisoner named Barabbas. Therefore, when the people had gathered together, Pilate asked them, "Whom do you want me to release, Barabbas or Jesus, who is called 'Christ'?" For he knew that the reason they had turned Jesus over to him was out of envy. Then while he was seated in Pilate's courtroom of justice, Pilate's wife sent [word] to him, saying, "You should have nothing to do with that innocent man. For I was very troubled in a dream over him today." [Note: That is, she was troubled over a dream she had before waking up that morning]. Now the leading priests and [Jewish] elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas [to be released] and for Jesus to be killed. But the governor asked them, "Which one of these two men do you want me to release to you?" And they answered, "Barabbas." Pilate replied, "Then what should I do to Jesus, who is called 'Christ'?" They all shouted, "Let him be crucified!" And he said, "Why [should he be]? What wrong has he done?" But they shouted out even louder, "Let him be crucified!" So, when Pilate saw that he was not convincing anyone, but that a riot was brewing instead, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd saying, "I am not responsible for this man's blood. [Note: Some ancient manuscripts say "righteous man's blood"]. You tend to the matter." And all the people answered, "Let his blood be on our hands, and on our children's [as well]." Then he released Barabbas to them, but he had Jesus flogged and then turned over to be crucified.

At that very time certain Pharisees came to Jesus saying, "Get out of here and go someplace else, for King Herod wants to kill you." And He said to them, "Go and tell that fox [Note: This is a metaphor signifying the sly, cunning nature of King Herod], 'Look, I am driving out evil spirits and performing [miraculous] healings today and tomorrow, but on the third day I will be finished.'

When Pilate heard this, he asked if the man were a Galilean. PM on Friday]. And when he realized that Jesus was under Herod's [political] jurisdiction, he sent Him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time. read more.
Now Herod was very pleased when he saw Jesus for he had wanted to see Him for a long time. He had heard [things] about Jesus and [now] hoped to see Him perform a miracle. So, he asked Him many questions, but Jesus did not respond to any [of them]. Then the leading priests and experts in the law of Moses stood up and viciously charged Him [i.e., with false accusations]. Then Herod and his soldiers treated Jesus with contempt and mocked Him. They dressed Him in a luxurious robe and then sent Him back to Pilate. So, Herod and Pilate became mutual friends that very day. (Now before this they had been enemies). Then Pilate called together the leading priests, the [Jewish] leaders and the people, and said to them, "You brought this man to me, claiming he was inciting people to disloyalty [i.e., to the government]. And look, I questioned him in front of you people but did not find him guilty of the charges you or Herod have brought [against him]. For Herod sent him back to us and now I find that he has not done anything deserving of death.

Now about that time King Herod began a persecution of certain people in the [Jerusalem] church. [Note: This man was the grandson of Herod the Great. See Matt. 2:1]. He had James, the brother of John, killed with the sword. When he realized that this act pleased the Jews, he proceeded to have Peter arrested also. [This happened] during the Festival of Unleavened Bread [See Exodus 12:15ff]. read more.
So, Peter was arrested and put in jail with four groups of four soldiers each guarding him. Herod planned to have him brought before the people after the Passover Festival was over. So, Peter was kept in jail, but the church continued to pray earnestly to God for him. [See verse 12]. Then on the night that Herod was planning to have him brought [before the court], Peter was asleep, chained between two soldiers, with guards stationed at the jail doors. [Then it happened]: [Suddenly] an angel from the Lord stood beside Peter as a light shone into his cell. [The angel] gently struck his side, waking him up, saying, "Get up quickly." His chains fell from his hands. The angel [then] said to him, "Put on your belt and sandals," so he did. Then the angel said, "Throw your [outer] robe around you and follow me." So, he followed the angel out [of the jail], not fully realizing what had happened, thinking [perhaps] he had seen [all this in] a vision. And when they passed the first two guards, they came to the iron gate leading out into the city, which opened by itself. So, they went out and, as they walked down the street, the angel [suddenly] left him. Then when Peter realized what had actually happened, he said, "Now I know for certain that [it was] the Lord who sent His angel to rescue me from Herod's custody and from all that the Jewish people had planned [to do to me]." After thinking about the matter [for awhile], he decided to go to the house of Mary, mother of John Mark, where a large gathering [of Christians] was praying. When Peter knocked at the entryway door, a young woman named Rhoda answered. And when she recognized Peter's voice [speaking to her from outside], she ran back in [to where the prayer group was assembled] without even opening the door, and joyously told them that it was Peter [knocking]. And they said to her, "You are crazy." But she insisted that [what she reported] was true. They replied, "It is [only] his angel." But Peter continued to knock and when they [finally] opened [the door] they saw that it [really] was Peter and were amazed. [Upon entering the house] he held up his hand to quiet them, then went on to explain how the Lord had rescued him from jail. He said to them, "[Go] tell all this to James [the Lord's half-brother] and to [the rest of] the brothers." Then he left [them] and went elsewhere. Now as soon as it got daylight there was a lot of commotion among the soldiers over what had become of Peter. When Herod's search for him turned up nothing, he questioned the guards, then ordered them to be led away and executed. He then left Judea and went to Caesarea, where he stayed for awhile.

About that time Herod the tetrarch [Note: This man was the son of Herod the Great (See 2: and governor of that district] heard the report about what Jesus had been saying and doing. He told his servants, "This must be John, the Immerser; he has risen from the dead and [that explains how] these powers can work through him [i.e., Jesus]." read more.
For Herod had arrested John and had him chained and put in prison in order to please Herodias, his brother Philip's wife. For John had said to him, "It is not lawful for you to be married to her." Now Herod wanted to have him put to death, [but hesitated], fearing the crowd, because they considered John to be a prophet. But when Herod's birthday came, Herodias' daughter [Note: According to Josephus her name was Salome], pleased him by [her sensual] dancing in front of the party guests. [Herod was so pleased with her performance that] he promised, with an oath, to give her whatever she asked for [i.e., with limitations. See Mark 6:23]. Her mother persuaded her to say, "Give me the head of John, the Immerser, here on this [large] platter." Now King Herod became very distressed [over such a gruesome request]; but because he had [promised with] oaths and [to look good in front of] his party guests, he ordered John's head to be given [to her]. So, he sent [word to his officers] and had John decapitated in the prison. His head was brought on a [large] platter and given to the young woman [i.e., Salome], and she took it to her mother [i.e., Herodias].

When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the astrologer/sages, he was furious and sent out [his soldiers] to kill all the baby boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity. This was done to those from two years old and under, basing [their decision] on the exact time determined from the astrologer/sages. This fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, [Jer. 31:15], "A voice was heard in [the town of] Ramah [Note: This was a village near Jerusalem, where Rachel was buried], with crying and deep mourning. It was Rachel crying for her children [Note: Initially this was a reference to the Israelites who were taken to Babylonian captivity. See Jer. 29-31]. She refused to be comforted because they were dead."

Now the leading priests and the entire Council [called "the Sanhedrin"] looked for false witnesses [to testify] against Jesus, in order to put Him to death.

[Upon hearing this], the head priest Ananias ordered that those standing closest to Paul hit him on the mouth.

I am writing to you fathers, because you have known Him [i.e., Christ], [who has existed] from the beginning [See John 1:1]. I am writing to you young men, because you have overcome the [power of the] evil one [i.e., through faith they had gained victory over Satan, See 5:4].

For this reason God allowed [or, abandoned] them to [practice] degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function [i.e., of sex] for what is against nature [i.e., lesbianism].

They are the kind of people who enter homes and influence [morally] weak-willed women, loaded down with sins, [and] led on by all kinds of evil desires.