'Iniquities' in the Bible
Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the wickedness of the sons of Israel and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins; and he shall lay them on the head of the goat [the scapegoat, the sin-bearer], and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is prepared [for the task].
The goat shall carry on itself all their (the Israelites) wickedness, carrying them to a solitary (infertile) land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness.
Those of you who are left will rot away because of their wickedness in the lands of your enemies; also because of the wickedness of their forefathers they will rot away like them.
According to the number of days in which you spied out the land [of Canaan], forty days, for each day, you shall bear and suffer a year for your sins and guilt, for forty years, and you shall know My displeasure [the revoking of My promise and My estrangement because of your sin].
and I said, “O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to You, my God, for our wrongdoings have risen higher than our heads and our guilt has grown to the heavens.
And after everything that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, since You our God have punished us less than our wrongdoings deserve, and have given us survivors like these,
The descendants of Israel (Jacob) separated themselves from all foreigners, and stood and confessed their sins and the wrongdoings of their fathers.
“How many are my iniquities and sins [that so much sorrow should come to me]?Make me recognize and understand my transgression and my sin.
“For You write bitter things against me [in Your indictment]And make me inherit and suffer for the iniquities of my youth.
For my iniquities have gone over my head [like the waves of a flood];As a heavy burden they weigh too much for me.
For innumerable evils have encompassed me;My sins have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see.They are more numerous than the hairs of my head,And my heart has failed me.
Hide Your face from my sinsAnd blot out all my iniquities.
Wickedness and guilt prevail against me;Yet as for our transgressions,You forgive them [removing them from Your sight].
O do not remember against us the sins and guilt of our forefathers.Let Your compassion and mercy come quickly to meet us,For we have been brought very low.
You have placed our wickedness before you,Our secret sins [which we tried to conceal, You have placed] in the [revealing] light of Your presence.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins [as we deserve],Nor rewarded us [with punishment] according to our wickedness.
Fools, because of their rebellious way,And because of their sins, were afflicted.
The iniquities done by a wicked man will trap him,And he will be held with the cords of his sin.
“You have not bought Me sweet cane with money,Nor have you filled Me with the fat of your sacrifices;But you have burdened Me with your sins,You have wearied Me with your wickedness.
The Lord declares this;“Where is the certificate of divorceBy which I have sent your mother away, [O Israel]?Or to which one of My creditors did I sell you [as slaves]?In fact, You were sold for your wickedness [your sin, your injustice, your wrongdoing],And for your transgressions your mother was sent away.
But He was wounded for our transgressions,He was crushed for our wickedness [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing];The punishment [required] for our well-being fell on Him,And by His stripes (wounds) we are healed.
As a result of the anguish of His soul,He shall see it and be satisfied;By His knowledge [of what He has accomplished] the Righteous One,My Servant, shall justify the many [making them righteous—upright before God, in right standing with Him],For He shall bear [the responsibility for] their sins.
But your wickedness has separated you from your God,And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.
For our transgressions are multiplied before You [O Lord],And our sins testify against us;For our transgressions are with us,And we know and recognize our wickedness [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing]:
For we all have become like one who is [ceremonially] unclean [like a leper],And all our deeds of righteousness are like filthy rags;We all wither and decay like a leaf,And our wickedness [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing], like the wind, takes us away [carrying us far from God’s favor, toward destruction].
There is no one who calls on Your name,Who awakens and causes himself to take hold of You;For You have hidden Your face from usAnd have handed us over to the [consuming and destructive] power of our wickedness [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing].
Both your own wickedness and the wickedness of your fathers,” says the Lord.“Since they too have made offerings with incense on the mountainsAnd scorned and taunted Me on the hills,I therefore will measure [punishment for] their former work [directly] into their arms.”
‘Your wickedness has turned these [blessings] away,And your sins have withheld good [harvests] from you.
They have returned to the wickedness of their ancestors who refused to hear My words; they have followed other gods [in order] to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken My [solemn] covenant which I made with their fathers.”
“O Lord, though our many sins testify against us” [prays Jeremiah],“Act now [for us and] for Your name’s sake [so that the faithless may witness Your faithfulness]!For our backslidings are countless;We have sinned against You.
I will cleanse them from all their wickedness (guilt) by which they have sinned against Me, and I will pardon (forgive) all their sins by which they rebelled against Me.
They have not become apologetic [for their guilt and sin] even to this day; they have not feared [Me with reverence] nor walked in My law or My statutes, which I have set before you and before your fathers.”’
Because of the sins of her [counterfeit] prophetsAnd the wickedness of her [unfaithful] priests,Who have shed in her midstThe blood of the just and righteous;
Our fathers sinned, and are no more;It is we who have carried their sin.
Your turbans will be on your heads and your sandals on your feet. You will not mourn or weep, but you will rot away in your sins and you will groan to one another.
“You profaned your sanctuariesBy the great quantity of your sins and the enormity of your guilt,By the unrighteousness of your trade.Therefore I have brought forth a fire from your midst;It has consumed you,And I have reduced you to ashes on the earthIn the sight of all who look at you.
Nor do they lie beside the fallen heroes of the uncircumcised, who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war, whose swords were laid [with honors] under their heads. The punishment for their sins rested on their bones, for the terror of these heroes was once in the land of the living.
Then you will remember [clearly] your [own] evil ways and your deeds that were not good, and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight for your sins and for your outrageous atrocities.
‘Thus says the Lord God, “On the day that I cleanse you from all your sins I will also cause the cities [of Israel] to be inhabited, and the ruins will be rebuilt.
“As for you, son of man, describe the temple to the house of Israel, so that they will be ashamed of their sins; and let them measure its plan [in detail].
Therefore, O king, let my advice to you be [considered and found] acceptable; break away now from your sins and exhibit your repentance by doing what is right, and from your wickedness by showing mercy to the poor, so that [if you repent] there may possibly be a continuance of your prosperity and tranquility and a healing of your error.’
Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this tragedy has come on us. Yet we have not wholeheartedly begged for forgiveness and sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our wickedness and paying attention to and placing value in Your truth.
O Lord, in accordance with all Your righteous and just acts, please let Your anger and Your wrath turn away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain. Because of our sins and the wickedness of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become an object of scorn and a contemptuous byword to all who are around us.
“I have known [chosen, cared for, and loved] only you of all the families of the earth;Therefore I shall punish you for all your wickedness.”
He shall again have compassion on us;He will subdue and tread underfoot our wickedness [destroying sin’s power].Yes, You will cast all our sinsInto the depths of the sea.