'Judgments' in the Bible
while the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn whom the Lord had struck down among them. Upon their gods the Lord also executed judgments.
Remember [with gratitude] His marvelous deeds which He has done,His miracles and the judgments from His mouth,
He is the Lord our God;His judgments are in all the earth.
Whenever any dispute comes to you from your brothers (relatives) who live in their cities, between blood and blood, between law and commandment, or between statutes and judgments, you are to warn [and instruct] them so that they may not be guilty before the Lord; otherwise [God’s] wrath will come on you and your brothers. Do this and you will not be guilty.
He holds back his soul from the pit [of destruction],And his life from passing over into Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead).
“But if they do not hear and obey, they will die by the sword [of God’s destructive judgments]And they will die [in ignorance] without [true] knowledge.
His ways prosper at all times;Your judgments [Lord] are on high, out of his sight [so he never thinks about them];As for all his enemies, he sneers at them.
Your righteousness is like the mountains of God,Your judgments are like the great deep.O Lord, You preserve man and beast.
Let Mount Zion be glad,Let the daughters of Judah rejoiceBecause of Your [righteous] judgments.
“When I select an appointed time,I will judge with equity,” [says the Lord].
Zion heard this and was glad,And the daughters (cities) of Judah rejoiced [in relief]Because of Your judgments, O Lord.
Remember [with awe and gratitude] the wonderful things which He has done,His amazing deeds and the judgments uttered by His mouth [on His enemies, as in Egypt],
He is the Lord our God;His judgments are in all the earth.
I will give thanks to You with an upright heart,When I learn [through discipline] Your righteous judgments [for my transgressions].
My soul is crushed with longingFor Your ordinances at all times.
I know, O Lord, that Your judgments are fair,And that in faithfulness You have disciplined me.
My flesh trembles in [reverent] fear of You,And I am afraid and in awe of Your judgments.
Tsadhe.Righteous are You, O Lord,And upright are Your judgments.
For the Lord will judge His peopleAnd He will have compassion on His servants [revealing His mercy].
Judgments are prepared for scoffers,And beatings for the backs of [thickheaded] fools.
But the Lord of hosts will be exalted in justice,And God, the Holy One, will show Himself holy in righteousness [through His righteous judgments].
Indeed, in the path of Your judgments, O Lord,We have waited expectantly for You;Your name, even Your memory, is the desire and deep longing of our souls.
In the night my soul longs for You [O Lord],Indeed, my spirit within me seeks You diligently;For [only] when Your judgments are experienced on the earthWill the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
But now, this is what the Lord, your Creator says, O Jacob,And He who formed you, O Israel,“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you [from captivity];I have called you by name; you are Mine!
He says, “It is too trivial a thing that You should be My ServantTo raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel;I will also make You a light to the nationsThat My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
“Yet they seek Me day by day and delight [superficially] to know My ways,As [if they were in reality] a nation that has done righteousnessAnd has not abandoned (turned away from) the ordinance of their God.They ask of Me righteous judgments,They delight in the nearness of God.
I will speak My judgments against them for all the wickedness of those who have abandoned (rejected) Me, offered sacrifices or burned incense to other gods, and worshiped the [idolatrous] works of their own hands.
“Therefore I will still contend (struggle) with you [by bringing judgment on you],” says the Lord,“And I will contend with your children’s children.”
“For I will prepare and appoint destroyers [to execute My judgments] against you,Each with his weapons;And they will cut down your [palaces built of] choicest cedarsAnd throw them in the fire.
therefore, thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I, I Myself, am against you, and I will execute judgments among you in the sight of the nations.
Therefore, fathers will eat their sons among you, and sons will eat their fathers; and I will execute judgments on you and I will scatter to all the winds the remnant of you.
So it will be a disgrace, a taunt, a warning and an object of horror to the [pagan] nations who surround you when I execute judgments against you in anger and in wrath and in raging reprimands—I, the Lord, have spoken.
“And I will bring you out of the midst of the city and hand you over to strangers and execute judgment against you.
They will burn down your houses with fire and execute judgments on you in the sight of many women (Gentile nations). Then I will make you cease your prostitution, and you will no longer hire your lovers.
I gave them My statutes and explained My ordinances to them, which, if a man keeps, he will live.
But the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness. They did not walk in My statutes and they despised and rejected My ordinances, which, if a man keeps, he will live; and they greatly profaned My Sabbaths. Then I decided to pour out My wrath on them in the wilderness, to annihilate them.
They uncovered her nakedness; they took her sons and her daughters and they killed her with the sword. So she became notorious among women, and they executed judgments on her.
Thus I will execute judgment and punishment on Moab, and they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.”
and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God,“Behold, I am against you, O Sidon,And I will show My glory and be glorified in your midst.Then they will know [by personal experience] that I am the Lord when I bring judgment and punishment on her,And I will manifest My holiness in her.
They shall live in it securely; and they will build houses, plant vineyards and live securely when I execute judgment on all those around them who despise them. Then they will know [with clarity and confidence] that I am the Lord their God.”’”
“I will make Pathros desolate,Set fire to ZoanAnd execute judgments and punishments on Thebes.
“In this way I will bring judgment and punishment on Egypt.Then they shall know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.”’”
In a controversy they shall take their stand to act as judges; they shall judge it in accordance with My ordinances. They shall also keep My laws and My statutes in all My appointed feasts and sanctify My Sabbaths.
Therefore, I have hewn them in pieces by [the words of] the prophets;I have slain them by the words of My mouth;My judgments [pronounced upon them by the prophets] are like the light that shines forth [obvious to all].
The Lord has taken away the judgments against you;He has cleared away your enemies.The King of Israel, even the Lord [Himself], is in your midst;You will no longer fear disaster.