'Condition' in the Bible
But only on this condition will the men consent to our request that they live among us and become one people: that every male among us become circumcised just as they are circumcised.
But Nahash the Ammonite told them, “I will make a treaty with you on this condition, that I will gouge out the right eye of every one of you, and make it a disgrace upon all Israel.”
“Sheol below is excited about you to meet you when you come [you tyrant of Babylon];It stirs up the spirits of the dead [to greet you], all the leaders of the earth;It raises all the kings of the nations from their thrones [in astonishment at your fall].
Therefore through this the wickedness [the sin, the injustice, the wrongdoing] of Jacob (Israel) will be atoned for and forgiven;And this will be the full price [that God requires] for taking away his sin:When Israel makes all the stones of the [pagan] altars like crushed chalk stones;When the Asherim and the incense altars will not stand.
But this is a people despoiled and plundered;All of them are trapped in holes,Or are hidden away in prisons.They have become a prey with no one to rescue them,And a spoil, with no one to say, “Give them back!”
“Is a fast such as this what I have chosen, a day for a man to humble himself [with sorrow in his soul]?Is it only to bow down his head like a reedAnd to make sackcloth and ashes as a bed [pretending to have a repentant heart]?Do you call this a fast and a day pleasing to the Lord?
The satraps, the prefects, the governors and the king’s counselors gathered around them and saw that in regard to these men the fire had no effect on their bodies—their hair was not singed, their clothes were not scorched or damaged, even the smell of smoke was not on them.
“Woe (judgment is coming) to you who make your neighbors drink,Who mix in your venom to make them drunkSo that you may look at their nakedness!
“Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘The fast of the fourth [month to mourn the breaching of Jerusalem’s walls], the fast of the fifth [month to mourn the temple’s destruction], the fast of the seventh [month to mourn Gedaliah’s assassination], and the fast of the tenth [month to mourn the siege of Jerusalem] will become times of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts for the house of Judah; so [to bring this about] love truth and peace.’
Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and make their home there. And the last condition of that man becomes worse than the first. So will it also be with this wicked generation.”
But Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of hearts [your callousness and insensitivity toward your wives and the provision of God] he wrote you this precept.
They came and said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and have no personal bias toward anyone; for You are not influenced by outward appearances or social status, but in truth You teach the way of God. Is it lawful [according to Jewish law and tradition] to pay the poll-tax to [Tiberius] Caesar, or not?
And looking toward His disciples, He began speaking: “Blessed [spiritually prosperous, happy, to be admired] are you who are poor [in spirit, those devoid of spiritual arrogance, those who regard themselves as insignificant], for the kingdom of God is yours [both now and forever].
Blessed [joyful, nourished by God’s goodness] are you who hunger now [for righteousness, actively seeking right standing with God], for you will be [completely] satisfied. Blessed [forgiven, refreshed by God’s grace] are you who weep now [over your sins and repent], for you will laugh [when the burden of sin is lifted].
Blessed [morally courageous and spiritually alive with life-joy in God’s goodness] are you when people hate you, and exclude you [from their fellowship], and insult you, and scorn your name as evil because of [your association with] the Son of Man.
and that repentance [necessary] for forgiveness of sins would be preached in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
When Jesus noticed him lying there [helpless], knowing that he had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to get well?”
And those whom He predestined, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified [declared free of the guilt of sin]; and those whom He justified, He also glorified [raising them to a heavenly dignity].
Your boasting [over the supposed spirituality of your church] is not good [indeed, it is vulgar and inappropriate]. Do you not know that [just] a little leaven ferments the whole batch [of dough, just as a little sin corrupts a person or an entire church]?
Each one should remain in the condition in which he was [when he was] called.
Brothers, let each one remain with God in that condition in which he was [when he was] called.
But if we evaluated and judged ourselves honestly [recognizing our shortcomings and correcting our behavior], we would not be judged.
Therefore if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, new things have come [because spiritual awakening brings a new life].
and even though my physical condition was a trial to you, you did not regard it with contempt, or scorn and reject me; but you received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus Himself.
If you are insulted and reviled for [bearing] the name of Christ, you are blessed [happy, with life-joy and comfort in God’s salvation regardless of your circumstances], because the Spirit of glory and of God is resting on you [and indwelling you—He whom they curse, you glorify].
For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world by [personal] knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, their last condition has become worse for them than the first.
Therefore, [let me warn you] beloved, knowing these things beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men [who distort doctrine] and fall from your own steadfastness [of mind, knowledge, truth, and faith],