'Evil' in the Bible

“Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean;Get your evil deeds out of My sight.Stop doing evil,

Their partiality testifies against them,They display their sin like Sodom;They do not even hide it.Woe (judgment is coming) to them!For they have brought evil on themselves [as a reward].

Woe (judgment is coming) to those who call evil good, and good evil;Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness;Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

Because Aram, along with Ephraim (Israel) and the son of Remaliah, have planned evil against you (Judah), saying,

He will eat curds and honey when he knows enough to refuse evil and choose good.

For before the child will know enough to refuse evil and choose good, the land (Canaan) whose two kings you dread will be deserted [both Ephraim and Aram].

In this way I will punish the world for its evilAnd the wicked for their wickedness [their sin, their injustice, their wrongdoing];I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proudAnd will abase the arrogance of the tyrant.

In that day the Lord will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpentWith His fierce and great and mighty sword [rescuing Israel from her enemy],Even Leviathan the twisted serpent;And He will kill the dragon who lives in the sea.

As for the rogue, his weapons are evil;He conceives wicked plansTo ruin the poor with lies,Even when the plea of the needy one is just and right.

He who walks righteously and speaks with integrity,Who rejects gain from fraud and from oppression,Who shakes his hand free from the taking of bribes,Who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshedAnd shuts his eyes to avoid looking upon evil;

Tell us the things that are to come afterward,That we may know that you are gods;Indeed, you should do something good or do evil, that we may be afraid and fear [you] together [as we observe the miracle].

The One forming light and creating darkness,Causing peace and creating disaster;I am the Lord who does all these things.

“But these two things shall come to you abruptly, in one day:Loss of children and widowhood.They will come on you in full measureIn spite of your many [claims of power through your] sorceries,In spite of the great power of your enchantments.

“Therefore disaster will come on you;You will not know how to make it disappear [with your magic].And disaster will fall on youFor which you cannot atone [with all your offerings to your gods];And destruction about which you do not knowWill come on you suddenly.

“For you will go out [from exile] with joyAnd be led forth [by the Lord Himself] with peace;The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you,And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.

“Blessed (happy, fortunate) is the man who does this,And the son of man who takes hold of it,Who keeps the Sabbath without profaning it,And keeps his hand from doing any evil.”

The righteous man perishes [at the hand of evil], and no one takes it to heart;Faithful and devout men are taken away, while no one understandsThat the righteous person is taken away [to be spared] from disaster and evil.

No one sues righteously [but for the sake of doing injury to others—to take some undue advantage], and no one pleads [his case] in truth; [but rather]They trust in empty arguments and speak lies;They conceive trouble and bring forth injustice.

They hatch vipers’ eggs and weave the spider’s webs;He who eats of their eggs dies,And from an egg which is crushed a viper breaks out.

Their feet run to evil,And they rush to shed innocent blood.Their thoughts are thoughts of wickedness [of sin, of injustice, of wrongdoing];Devastation and destruction are in their highways.

Yes, truth is missing;And he who turns away from evil makes himself a prey.Now the Lord saw it,And it displeased Him that there was no justice.

I will destine you for the sword, [says the Lord],And all of you will bow down to the slaughter,Because when I called, you did not answer;When I spoke, you did not listen or obey.But you did [what was] evil in My sightAnd chose that in which I did not delight.”

So I will choose their punishments,And will bring the things they dread upon themBecause I called, but no one answered;I spoke, but they did not listen or obey.But they did evil in My sightAnd chose that in which I did not delight.”