Topical Scripture

Jacob's sons replied to Shechem and his father Hamor with guile, speaking as they did because their sister Dinah had been defiled. "We could not do such a thing," they said, "as to give our sister to an uncircumcised man; that would be a disgrace for us. We will agree with you only on this condition, that you become like us by having every male among you circumcised. Then we will give you our daughters and take yours in marriage; we will settle among you and become one kindred people with you. But if you do not comply with our terms regarding circumcision, we will take our daughter and go away." Their proposal seemed fair to Hamor and his son Shechem. The young man lost no time in acting in the matter, since he was deeply in love with Jacob's daughter. Moreover he was more highly respected than anyone else in his clan. [GEN 34:13-19]

When the wedding celebration came to an end, Tobit called his son Tobiah and said to him, "Son, see to it that you give what is due to the man who made the journey with you; give him a bonus too." Tobiah said: "Father, how much shall I pay him? It would not hurt me at all to give him half of all the wealth he brought back with me. He led me back safe and sound; he cured my wife; he brought the money back with me; and he cured you. How much of a bonus should I give him?" Tobit answered, "It is only fair, son, that he should receive half of all that he brought back." [TOBIT 12:1-4]

Then Holofernes said to her: "God has done well in sending you ahead of your people, to bring victory to our arms, and destruction to those who have despised my lord. You are fair to behold, and your words are well spoken. If you do as you have said, your God will be my God; you shall dwell in the palace of King Nebuchadnezzar, and shall be renowned throughout the earth." [JDTH 11:22-23]

When I came to rule many peoples and to hold sway over the whole world, I determined not to be carried away with the sense of power, but always to deal fairly and with clemency; to provide for my subjects a life of complete tranquility; and by making my government humane and effective as far as the borders, to restore the peace desired by all men. [ESTH B:2]

Ptolemy, surnamed Macron, had taken the lead in treating the Jews fairly because of the previous injustice that had been done them, and he endeavored to have peaceful relations with them. [2MACC 10:12]

The LORD rules forever, has set up a throne for judgment. It is God who governs the world with justice, who judges the peoples with fairness. [PS 9:8-9]

LORD, my allotted portion and my cup, you have made my destiny secure. Pleasant places were measured out for me; fair to me indeed is my inheritance. [PS 16:5-6]

You are the most handsome of men; fair speech has graced your lips, for God has blessed you forever. [PS 45:3]

Great is the LORD and highly praised in the city of our God: The holy mountain, fairest of heights, the joy of all the earth, Mount Zion, the heights of Zaphon, the city of the great king. [PS 48:2-3]

We thank you, God, we give thanks; we call upon your name, declare your wonderful deeds. You said: "I will choose the time; I will judge fairly. The earth and all its inhabitants will quake, but I have firmly set its pillars." [Taken from PS 75:2-4]

Give to the LORD, you families of nations, give to the LORD glory and might; give to the LORD the glory due his name! Bring gifts and enter his courts; bow down to the LORD, splendid in holiness. Tremble before God, all the earth; say among the nations: The LORD is king. The world will surely stand fast, never to be moved. God rules the peoples with fairness. [PS 96:7-10]

Let the sea and what fills it resound, the world and those who dwell there. Let the rivers clap their hands, the mountains shout with them for joy, Before the LORD who comes, who comes to govern the earth, To govern the world with justice and the peoples with fairness. [PS 98:7-9]

O mighty king, lover of justice, you alone have established fairness; you have created just rule in Jacob. Exalt the LORD, our God; bow down before his footstool; holy is God! [PS 99:4-5]

Remember, LORD, against Edom that day at Jerusalem. They said: "Level it, level it down to its foundations!" Fair Babylon, you destroyer, happy those who pay you back the evil you have done us! [PS 137:7-8]

For there is nought God loves, be it not one who dwells with Wisdom. For she is fairer than the sun and surpasses every constellation of the stars. Compared to light, she takes precedence; for that, indeed, night supplants, but wickedness prevails not over Wisdom. [WISDOM 7:28-30]

Thinking thus within myself, and reflecting in my heart That there is immortality in kinship with Wisdom, and good pleasure in her friendship, and unfailing riches in the works of her hands, And that in frequenting her society there is prudence, and fair renown in sharing her discourses, I went about seeking to take her for my own. [WISDOM 8:17-18]

For from the greatness and the beauty of created things their original author, by analogy, is seen. But yet, for these the blame is less; For they indeed have gone astray perhaps, though they seek God and wish to find him. For they search busily among his works, but are distracted by what they see, because the things seen are fair. But again, not even these are pardonable. For if they so far succeeded in knowledge that they could speculate about the world, how did they not more quickly find its LORD? [Taken from WISDOM 13:5-9]

As long as the rich man can use you he will enslave you, but when you are exhausted, he will abandon you. As long as you have anything he will speak fair words to you, and with smiles he will win your confidence; When he needs something from you he will cajole you, then without regret he will impoverish you. While it serves his purpose he will beguile you, then twice or three times he will terrify you; When later he sees you he will pass you by, and shake his head over you. [SIRACH 13:4-7]

Wisdom sings her own praises, before her own people she proclaims her glory; In the assembly of the Most High she opens her mouth, in the presence of his hosts she declares her worth: "From the mouth of the Most High I came forth, and mistlike covered the earth. In the highest heavens did I dwell, my throne on a pillar of cloud. The vault of heaven I compassed alone, through the deep abyss I wandered. Over waves of the sea, over all the land, over every people and nation I held sway. Among all these I sought a resting place; in whose inheritance should I abide? Then the Creator of all gave me his command, and he who formed me chose the spot for my tent, Saying, 'In Jacob make your dwelling, in Israel your inheritance.' Before all ages, in the beginning, he created me, and through all ages I shall not cease to be. In the holy tent I ministered before him, and in Zion I fixed my abode. Thus in the chosen city he has given me rest, in Jerusalem is my domain. I have struck root among the glorious people, in the portion of the LORD, his heritage. Like a cedar on Lebanon I am raised aloft, like a cypress on Mount Hermon, Like a palm tree in En-gedi, like a rosebush in Jericho, Like a fair olive tree in the field, like a plane tree growing beside the water. Like cinnamon, or fragrant balm, or precious myrrh, I give forth perfume; Like galbanum and onycha and sweet spices, like the odor of incense in the holy place. I spread out my branches like a terebinth, my branches so bright and so graceful. I bud forth delights like the vine, my blossoms become fruit fair and rich. Come to me, all you that yearn for me, and be filled with my fruits; You will remember me as sweeter than honey, better to have than the honeycomb." [Taken from SIRACH 24:1-19]

If a man is virtuous - if he does what is right and just... if he oppresses no one, gives back the pledge received for a debt, commits no robbery; if he gives food to the hungry and clothes the naked; if he does not lend at interest nor exact usury; if he holds off from evildoing, judges fairly between a man and his opponent; if he lives by my statutes and is careful to observe my ordinances, that man is virtuous - he shall surely live, says the Lord GOD. [Taken from EZEK 18:5,7-9]

You say, "The LORD'S way is not fair!" Hear now, house of Israel: Is it my way that is unfair, or rather, are not your ways unfair? When a virtuous man turns away from virtue to commit iniquity, and dies, it is because of the iniquity he committed that he must die. But if a wicked man, turning from the wickedness he has committed, does what is right and just, he shall preserve his life; since he has turned away from all the sins which he committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die. And yet the house of Israel says, "The LORD'S way is not fair!" Is it my way that is not fair, house of Israel, or rather, is it not that your ways are not fair? Therefore I will judge you, house of Israel, each one according to his ways, says the Lord GOD. Turn and be converted from all your crimes, that they may be no cause of guilt for you. Cast away from you all the crimes you have committed, and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies, says the Lord GOD. Return and live! [EZEK 18:25-32]

Yet your countrymen say, "The way of the LORD is not fair!"; but it is their way that is not fair. [EZEK 33:17]

And still you say, "The way of the LORD is not fair!"? I will judge every one of you according to his ways, O house of Israel. [EZEK 33:20]

Ephraim was a trained heifer, willing to thresh; I myself laid a yoke upon her fair neck; Ephraim was to be harnessed, Judah was to plow, Jacob was to break his furrows: "Sow for yourselves justice, reap the fruit of piety; Break up for yourselves a new field, for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain down justice upon you." [Taken from HOSEA 10:11-12]

Yes, days are coming, says the Lord GOD, when I will send famine upon the land: Not a famine of bread, or thirst for water, but for hearing the word of the LORD. Then shall they wander from sea to sea and rove from the north to the east In search of the word of the LORD, but they shall not find it. On that day, fair virgins and young men shall faint from thirst; Those who swear by the shameful idol of Samaria, "By the life of your god, O Dan!" "By the life of your love, O Beersheba!" those shall fall, never to rise again. [AMOS 8:11-14]

For the many debaucheries of the harlot, fair and charming, a mistress of witchcraft, who enslaved nations with her harlotries, and peoples by her witchcraft: I am come against you [Taken from NAHUM 3:4-5]

The Pharisees and Sadducees came and, to test him, asked him to show them a sign from heaven. He said to them in reply, "(In the evening you say, 'Tomorrow will be fair, for the sky is red'; and, in the morning, 'Today will be stormy, for the sky is red and threatening.' You know how to judge the appearance of the sky, but you cannot judge the signs of the times.) An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah." Then he left them and went away. [MT 16:1-4]

The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas to Beroea during the night. Upon arrival they went to the synagogue of the Jews. These Jews were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with all willingness and examined the scriptures daily to determine whether these things were so. Many of them became believers, as did not a few of the influential Greek women and men. [ACTS 17:10-12]

For many days we made little headway, arriving at Cnidus only with difficulty, and because the wind would not permit us to continue our course we sailed for the sheltered side of Crete off Salmone. We sailed past it with difficulty and reached a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea. [ACTS 27:7-8]

I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who create dissensions and obstacles, in opposition to the teaching that you learned; avoid them. For such people do not serve our Lord Christ but their own appetites, and by fair and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the innocent. [ROM 16:17-18]

Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly, realizing that you too have a Master in heaven. [COL 4:1]

Also try:

just [J4]

honest / honesty [H15]

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Reflections: A-Z | Categorized

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faith / faithful / unfaithful

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fall down / fell down

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fallen away loved ones

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false / falsely / falsehood

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false doctrines

See: heresy

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false witness

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family

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fast / fasting

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Father / fathers / fatherhood

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fear / afraid

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fear of God / fear of the Lord

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fellowship

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female

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fertile

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financial / monetary

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flattery / flattering

praise / praises / praised [P10a]

Three years later Jason sent Menelaus, brother of the aforementioned Simon, to deliver the money to the king, and to obtain decisions on some important matters. When he had been introduced to the king, he flattered him with such an air of authority that he secured the high priesthood for himself, outbidding Jason by three hundred talents of silver. He returned with the royal commission, but with nothing that made him worthy of the high priesthood; he had the temper of a cruel tyrant and the rage of a wild beast. [Taken from 2MACC 4:23-25]

Let me speak and obtain relief; let me open my lips, and make reply. I would not be partial to anyone, nor give flattering titles to any. For I know nought of flattery; if I did, my Maker would soon take me away. [JOB 32:20-22]

The lying tongue is its owner's enemy, and the flattering mouth works ruin. [PROV 26:28]

He who rebukes a man gets more thanks in the end than one with a flattering tongue. [PROV 28:23]

The man who flatters his neighbor is spreading a net under his feet. [PROV 29:5]

Men who lived so far away that they could not honor him in his presence copied the appearance of the distant king And made a public image of him they wished to honor, out of zeal to flatter him when absent, as though present. And to promote this observance among those to whom it was strange, the artisan's ambition provided a stimulus. For he, mayhap in his determination to please the ruler, labored over the likeness to the best of his skill; And the masses, drawn by the charm of the workmanship, soon thought he should be worshiped who shortly before was honored as a man. [WISDOM 14:17-20]

My children, heed my instruction about shame; judge of disgrace only according to my rules, For it is not always well to be ashamed, nor is it always the proper thing to blush: Before father and mother be ashamed of immorality, before master and mistress, of falsehood; Before prince and ruler, of flattery; before the public assembly, of crime; Before friend and companion, of disloyalty, and of breaking an oath or agreement. Be ashamed of theft from the people where you settle, and of stretching out your elbow when you dine; Of refusing to give when asked, of defrauding another of his appointed share, Of failing to return a greeting, and of rebuffing a friend; Of gazing at a married woman, and of entertaining thoughts about another's wife; Of trifling with a servant girl you have, and of violating her couch; Of using harsh words with friends, and of following up your gifts with insults; Of repeating what you hear, and of betraying secrets - These are the things you should rightly avoid as shameful if you would be looked upon by everyone with favor. [SIRACH 41:14-24]

This is a rebellious people, deceitful children, Children who refuse to obey the law of the LORD. They say to the seers, "Have no visions"; to the prophets, "Do not descry for us what is right; speak flatteries to us, conjure up illusions. Out of the way! Out of our path! Let us hear no more of the Holy One of Israel." Therefore, thus says the Holy One of Israel: Because you reject this word, And put your trust in what is crooked and devious, and depend on it, This guilt of yours shall be like a descending rift Bulging out in a high wall whose crash comes suddenly, in an instant. [ISA 30:9-13]

For you yourselves know, brothers, that our reception among you was not without effect. Rather, after we had suffered and been insolently treated, as you know, in Philippi, we drew courage through our God to speak to you the gospel of God with much struggle. Our exhortation was not from delusion or impure motives, nor did it work through deception. But as we were judged worthy by God to be entrusted with the gospel, that is how we speak, not as trying to please human beings, but rather God, who judges our hearts. Nor, indeed, did we ever appear with flattering speech, as you know, or with a pretext for greed - God is witness - nor did we seek praise from human beings, either from you or from others, although we were able to impose our weight as apostles of Christ. Rather, we were gentle among you, as a nursing mother cares for her children. With such affection for you, we were determined to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our very selves as well, so dearly beloved had you become to us. You recall, brothers, our toil and drudgery. Working night and day in order not to burden any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers. [1THES 2:1-10]

Also try:

honor / honors / honored / honorable [H16]

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fool / foolish

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forgive / forgiveness / confess-

ing of sins

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fornication

unchaste / unchastity [U]

[Jesus said,] "For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, unchastity, theft, false witness, blasphemy. These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile." [MT 15:19-20]

Do you not know that the unjust will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor boy prostitutes nor practicing homosexuals nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God. That is what some of you used to be; but now you have had yourselves washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. [1COR 6:9-11]

Avoid immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the immoral person sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body. [1COR 6:18-20]

Now the works of the flesh are obvious: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. [GAL 5:19 -21]

Immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be mentioned among you, as is fitting among holy ones, no obscenity or silly or suggestive talk, which is out of place, but instead, thanksgiving. Be sure of this, that no immoral or impure or greedy person, that is, an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. [EPH 5:3-5]

Also try:

adultery / adulterer [A]

immoral / immorality [I]

immodest / impure [I]

lust / lusted / lustful [L]

desire / desires / desired / desirable [D6]

lewd / lewdness [L]

command / commandments [C5a]

sin / sins / sinned / sinful / sinner [S18a]

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Tough Love in the New Testament

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forsake / forsaken

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fortitude / courage

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fortune telling

"Do not go to mediums or consult fortune-tellers, for you will be defiled by them. I, the LORD, am your God." [LEV 19:31]

Should anyone turn to mediums and fortune-tellers and follow their wanton ways, I will turn against such a one and cut him off from his people. [LEV 20:6]

Let there not be found among you ... a fortune-teller, soothsayer, charmer, diviner [Taken from DEUT 18:10]

Though these nations whom you are to dispossess listen to their soothsayers and fortune-tellers, the LORD, your God, will not permit you to do so. [DEUT 18:14]

Now Samuel had died and, after being mourned by all Israel, was buried in his city, Ramah. Meanwhile Saul had driven mediums and fortune-tellers out of the land. [1SAM 28:3]

When Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, he was dismayed and lost heart completely. He therefore consulted the LORD; but the LORD gave no answer, whether in dreams or by the Urim or through prophets. Then Saul said to his servants, "Find me a woman who is a medium, to whom I can go to seek counsel through her." His servants answered him, "There is a woman in Endor who is a medium." So he disguised himself, putting on other clothes, and set out with two companions. They came to the woman by night, and Saul said to her, "Tell my fortune through a ghost; conjure up for me the one I ask you to." But the woman answered him, "You are surely aware of what Saul has done, in driving the mediums and fortune-tellers out of the land. Why, then, are you laying snares for my life, to have me killed?" [1SAM 28:5-9]

They ... practiced fortune-telling and divination, and sold themselves into evil doing in the LORD'S sight, provoking him till, in his great anger against Israel, the LORD put them away out of his sight. Only the tribe of Judah was left. [Taken from 2KGS 17:17-18]

You have abandoned your people, the house of Jacob, Because they are filled with fortunetellers and soothsayers, like the Philistines; they covenant with strangers. [ISA 2:6]

As we were going to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl with an oracular spirit, who used to bring a large profit to her owners through her fortune-telling. She began to follow Paul and us, shouting, "These people are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation." She did this for many days. Paul became annoyed, turned, and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." Then it came out at that moment. When her owners saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them to the public square before the local authorities. [ACTS 16:16-19]

Also try:

soothsayers [H18]

evil spirit [D7a]

deceive / deception [D2]

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foul language

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fraud / defraud

dishonest / dishonesty [D11]

"You shall not defraud or rob your neighbor. You shall not withhold overnight the wages of your day laborer." [LEV 19:13]

"You shall not defraud a poor and needy hired servant, whether he be one of your own countrymen or one of the aliens who live in your communities. You shall pay him each day's wages before sundown on the day itself, since he is poor and looks forward to them. Otherwise he will cry to the LORD against you, and you will be held guilty." [DEUT 24:14-15]

So Heliodorus immediately set out on his journey, ostensibly to visit the cities of Coelesyria and Phoenicia, but in reality to carry out the king's purpose. When he arrived in Jerusalem and had been graciously received by the high priest of the city, he told him about the information that had been given, and explained the reason for his presence, and he asked if these things were really true. The high priest explained that part of the money was a care fund for widows and orphans, and a part was the property of Hyrcanus, son of Tobias, a man who occupied a very high position. Contrary to the calumnies of the impious Simon, the total amounted to four hundred talents of silver and two hundred of gold. He added that it was utterly unthinkable to defraud those who had placed their trust in the sanctity of the Place and in the sacred inviolability of a temple venerated all over the world. But because of the orders he had from the king, Heliodorus said that in any case the money must be confiscated for the royal treasury. So on the day he had set he went in to take an inventory of the funds. There was great distress throughout the city. Priests prostrated themselves in their priestly robes before the altar, and loudly begged him in heaven who had given the law about deposits to keep the deposits safe for those who had made them. [2MACC 3:8-15]

Lord, check and confuse their scheming. I see violence and strife in the city making rounds on its walls day and night. Within are mischief and evil; treachery is there as well; oppression and fraud never leave its streets. If an enemy had reviled me, that I could bear; If my foe had viewed me with contempt, from that I could hide. But it was you, my other self, my comrade and friend, You, whose company I enjoyed, at whose side I walked in procession in the house of God. [PS 55:10-15]

He who defrauds father or mother and calls it no sin, is a partner of the brigand. [PROV 28:24]

But Wisdom delivered from tribulations those who served her. She, when the just man fled from his brother's anger, guided him in direct ways, Showed him the kingdom of God and gave him knowledge of holy things; She prospered him in his labors and made abundant the fruit of his works, Stood by him against the greed of his defrauders, and enriched him; She preserved him from foes, and secured him against ambush, And she gave him the prize for his stern struggle that he might know that devotion to God is mightier than all else. [Taken from WISDOM 10:9-12]

He is chasing ashes-a thing that cannot save itself when the flame consumes it; yet he does not say, "Is not this thing in my right hand a fraud?" [ISA 44:20]

To whom shall I speak? whom shall I warn, and be heard? See! their ears are uncircumcised, they cannot give heed; See, the word of the LORD has become for them an object of scorn, which they will not have. Therefore my wrath brims up within me, I am weary of holding it in; I will pour it out upon the child in the street, upon the young men gathered together. Yes, all will be taken, husband and wife, graybeard with ancient. Their houses will fall to strangers, their fields and their wives as well; For I will stretch forth my hand against those who dwell in this land, says the LORD. Small and great alike, all are greedy for gain; prophet and priest, all practice fraud. They would repair, as though it were nought, the injury to my people: "Peace, peace!" they say, though there is no peace. They are odious; they have done abominable things, yet they are not at all ashamed, they know not how to blush. Hence they shall be among those who fall; in their time of punishment they shall go down, says the LORD. [JER 6:10-15]

Every man is stupid, ignorant; every artisan is put to shame by his idol: He has molded a fraud, without breath of life. Nothingness are they, a ridiculous work; they will perish in their time of punishment. [JER 10:14-15]

O LORD, my strength, my fortress, my refuge in the day of distress! To you will the nations come from the ends of the earth, and say, "Mere frauds are the heritage of our fathers, empty idols of no use." Can man make for himself gods? These are not gods. Look, then: I will give them knowledge; this time I will leave them in no doubt Of my strength and my power: they shall know that my name is LORD. [JER 16:19-21]

Every man is stupid, ignorant; every artisan is put to shame by his idol: He molded a fraud, without breath of life. Nothingness are they, a ridiculous work, that will perish in their time of punishment. [JER 51:17-18]

All that takes place around these gods is a fraud: how then can it be thought or claimed that they are gods? They are produced by woodworkers and goldsmiths, and they are nothing else than what these craftsmen wish them to be. Even those who produce them are not long-lived; how then can what they have produced be gods? They have left frauds and opprobrium to their successors. For when war or disaster comes upon them, the priests deliberate among themselves where they can hide with them. How then can one not know that these are no-gods, which do not save themselves either from war or from disaster? They are wooden, gilded and silvered; they will later be known for frauds. To all peoples and kings it will be clear that they are not gods, but human handiwork; and that God's work is not in them. Who does not know that they are not gods? [BARUCH 6:44-51]

"There shall rise in his place a despicable person, to whom the royal insignia shall not be given. By stealth and fraud he shall seize the kingdom. Armed might shall be completely overwhelmed by him and crushed, and even the prince of the covenant. After allying with him, he shall treacherously rise to power with a small party. By stealth he shall enter prosperous provinces and do that which his fathers or grandfathers never did; he shall distribute spoil, booty, and riches among them and devise plots against their strongholds; but only for a time. He shall call on his strength and cleverness to meet the king of the south with a great army; the king of the south shall prepare for battle with a very large and strong army, but he shall not succeed because of the plots devised against him. Even his table companions shall seek to destroy him, his army shall be overwhelmed, and many shall fall slain." [Taken from DAN 11:21-26]

The LORD, the God of hosts, the LORD is his name! You shall return by the help of your God, if you remain loyal and do right and always hope in your God. A merchant who holds a false balance, who loves to defraud! Though Ephraim says, "How rich I have become; I have made a fortune!" All his gain shall not suffice him for the guilt of his sin. [Taken from HOSEA 12:6-9]

I will draw near to you for judgment, and I will be swift to bear witness Against the sorcerers, adulterers, and perjurers, those who defraud the hired man of his wages, Against those who defraud widows and orphans; those who turn aside the stranger, and those who do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts. [MAL 3:5]

As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus answered him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: 'You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud; honor your father and your mother.'" He replied and said to him, "Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth." Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, "You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to (the) poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." At that statement his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions. Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!" The disciples were amazed at his words. So Jesus again said to them in reply, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through (the) eye of (a) needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves, "Then who can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "For human beings it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God." [MK 10:17-27]

But Saul, also known as Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, "You son of the devil, you enemy of all that is right, full of every sort of deceit and fraud. Will you not stop twisting the straight paths of (the) Lord? Even now the hand of the Lord is upon you. You will be blind, and unable to see the sun for a time." Immediately a dark mist fell upon him, and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand. When the proconsul saw what had happened, he came to believe, for he was astonished by the teaching about the Lord. [Taken from ACTS 13:9-12]

But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews rose up together against Paul and brought him to the tribunal, saying, "This man is inducing people to worship God contrary to the law." When Paul was about to reply, Gallio spoke to the Jews, "If it were a matter of some crime or malicious fraud, I should with reason hear the complaint of you Jews; but since it is a question of arguments over doctrine and titles and your own law, see to it yourselves. I do not wish to be a judge of such matters." And he drove them away from the tribunal. They all seized Sosthenes, the synagogue official, and beat him in full view of the tribunal. But none of this was of concern to Gallio. [ACTS 18:12-17]

Also try:

deceive / deception [D2]

lie / liar [L3]

Other resources:

Tough Love in the New Testament

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friends / friendship

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fruitless / vain / vanity

They rejected his statutes, the covenant which he had made with their fathers, and the warnings which he had given them. The vanity they pursued, they themselves became: they followed the surrounding nations whom the LORD had commanded them not to imitate. [2KGS 17:15]

Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth, vanity of vanities! All things are vanity! [ECCL 1:2]

For he who despises wisdom and instruction is doomed. Vain is their hope, fruitless are their labors, and worthless are their works. [WISDOM 3:11]

For the source of wantonness is the devising of idols; and their invention was a corruption of life. For in the beginning they were not, nor shall they continue forever; for by the vanity of men they came into the world, and therefore a sudden end is devised for them. [WISDOM 14:12-14]

For neither did the evil creation of men's fancy deceive us, nor the fruitless labor of painters, A form smeared with varied colors, the sight of which arouses yearning in the senseless man, till he longs for the inanimate form of a dead image. [WISDOM 15:4-5]

Through the distressed and troubled land of the lioness and roaring lion, of the viper and flying saraph, They carry their riches on the backs of asses and their treasures on the humps of camels To a people good for nothing, to Egypt whose help is futile and vain. Therefore I call her "Rahab quelled." [ISA 30:6-7]

The afflicted and the needy seek water in vain, their tongues are parched with thirst. I, the LORD, will answer them; I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. [ISA 41:17]

Though I thought I had toiled in vain, and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength, Yet my reward is with the LORD, my recompense is with my God. [ISA 49:4]

They shall not toil in vain, nor beget children for sudden destruction; For a race blessed by the LORD are they and their offspring. [ISA 65:23]

In vain I struck your children; the correction they did not take. Your sword devoured your prophets like a ravening lion. [JER 2:30]

You now who are doomed, what do you mean by putting on purple, bedecking yourself with gold, Shading your eyes with cosmetics, beautifying yourself in vain? Your lovers spurn you, they seek your life. [JER 4:30]

The bellows roars, the lead is consumed by the fire; In vain has the smelter refined, the wicked are not drawn off. [JER 6:29]

Our eyes ever wasted away, looking in vain for aid; From our watchtower we watched for a nation that could not save us. [LAM 4:17]

Then those who have escaped will remember me among the nations to which they have been exiled, after I have broken their adulterous hearts that turned away from me (and their eyes which lusted after idols). They shall loathe themselves because of their evil deeds, all their abominations. Then they shall know that it was not in vain that I, the LORD, threatened to inflict this calamity upon them. [Taken from EZEK 6:6-10]

Then she saw that in vain she had waited, her hope was destroyed. She took another of her whelps, him she made a young lion. [EZEK 19:5]

Those who worship vain idols forsake their source of mercy. [JONAH 2:9]

Oh, that one among you would shut the temple gates to keep you from kindling fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, says the LORD of hosts; neither will I accept any sacrifice from your hands [Taken from MAL 1:10]

You have defied me in word, says the LORD, yet you ask, "What have we spoken against you?" You have said, "It is vain to serve God, and what do we profit by keeping his command, And going about in penitential dress in awe of the LORD of hosts?" [MAL 3:13-14]

"Hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy about you when he said: 'This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts.'" [MT 15:7-9]

When he was going back to the city in the morning, he was hungry. Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went over to it, but found nothing on it except leaves. And he said to it, "May no fruit ever come from you again." And immediately the fig tree withered. [MT 21:18-19]

Jesus said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables? The sower sows the word. These are the ones on the path where the word is sown. As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once and takes away the word sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who, when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy. But they have no root; they last only for a time. Then when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Those sown among thorns are another sort. They are the people who hear the word, but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches, and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word, and it bears no fruit. But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold." [MK 4:13-20]

The next day as they were leaving Bethany he was hungry. Seeing from a distance a fig tree in leaf, he went over to see if he could find anything on it. When he reached it he found nothing but leaves; it was not the time for figs. And he said to it in reply, "May no one ever eat of your fruit again!" And his disciples heard it. When evening came, they went out of the city. Early in the morning, as they were walking along, they saw the fig tree withered to its roots. Peter remembered and said to him, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered." [MK 11:12-14,19-21]

"This is the meaning of the parable. The seed is the word of God. Those on the path are the ones who have heard, but the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts that they may not believe and be saved. Those on rocky ground are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy, but they have no root; they believe only for a time and fall away in time of trial. As for the seed that fell among thorns, they are the ones who have heard, but as they go along, they are choked by the anxieties and riches and pleasures of life, and they fail to produce mature fruit. But as for the seed that fell on rich soil, they are the ones who, when they have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance." [LK 8:11-15]

And he told them this parable: "There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard, and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none, he said to the gardener, 'For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none. (So) cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?' He said to him in reply, 'Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future. If not you can cut it down.'" [LK 13:6-9]

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower. He takes away every branch in me that does not bear fruit, and everyone that does he prunes so that it bears more fruit. You are already pruned because of the word that I spoke to you. Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither; people will gather them and throw them into a fire and they will be burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask for whatever you want and it will be done for you. By this is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and remain in his love." [JN 15:1-10]

Ever since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes of eternal power and divinity have been able to be understood and perceived in what he has made. As a result, they have no excuse; for although they knew God they did not accord him glory as God or give him thanks. Instead, they became vain in their reasoning, and their senseless minds were darkened. While claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for the likeness of an image of mortal man or of birds or of four-legged animals or of snakes. Therefore, God handed them over to impurity through the lusts of their hearts for the mutual degradation of their bodies. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and revered and worshiped the creature rather than the creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. [ROM 1:20-25]

Let no one deceive himself. If any one among you considers himself wise in this age, let him become a fool so as to become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in the eyes of God, for it is written: "He catches the wise in their own ruses," and again: "The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain." [1COR 3:18-20]

Now I am reminding you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you indeed received and in which you also stand. Through it you are also being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. [1COR 15:1-2]

But if Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some among you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then neither has Christ been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then empty (too) is our preaching; empty, too, your faith. Then we are also false witnesses to God, because we testified against God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins. Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are the most pitiable people of all. [1COR 15:12-19]

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be firm, steadfast, always fully devoted to the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. [1COR 15:58]

Working together, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. [2COR 6:1]

I went up in accord with a revelation, and I presented to them the gospel that I preach to the Gentiles - but privately to those of repute - so that I might not be running, or have run, in vain. [GAL 2:2]

Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness; rather expose them, for it is shameful even to mention the things done by them in secret; but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore, it says: "Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light." [EPH 5:11-14]

If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, his religion is vain. [JMS 1:26]

These are blemishes on your love feasts, as they carouse fearlessly and look after themselves. They are waterless clouds blown about by winds, fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead and uprooted. [JUDE 1:12]

Also try:

pride / proud [P14]

infertile [B]

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frustration / frustrate / hinder

oppress / oppressor / oppression [O2]

But now the anger of God flared up at him for going, and the angel of the LORD stationed himself on the road to hinder him as he was riding along on his ass, accompanied by two of his servants. [NUM 22:22]

"The LORD will put a curse on you, defeat and frustration in every enterprise you undertake, until you are speedily destroyed and perish for the evil you have done in forsaking me." [DEUT 28:20]

Thereupon Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua, son of Jozadak, began again to build the house of God in Jerusalem, with the prophets of God giving them support. At that time there came to them Tattenai, governor of West-of-Euphrates, and Shethar-bozenai, and their fellow officials, who asked of them: "Who issued the decree for you to build this house and raise this edifice? What are the names of the men who are building this structure?" But their God watched over the elders of the Jews so that they were not hindered, until a report could go to Darius and then a written order be sent back concerning this matter. [EZRA 5:2-5]

Then the servants of Holofernes led her into the tent, where she slept till midnight. In the night watch just before dawn, she rose and sent this message to Holofernes, "Give orders, my lord, to let your handmaid go out for prayer." So Holofernes ordered his bodyguard not to hinder her. Thus she stayed in the camp three days. Each night she went out to the ravine of Bethulia, where she washed herself at the spring of the camp. [JDTH 12:5-7]

He frustrates the plans of the cunning, so that their hands achieve no success [Taken from JOB 5:12]

Then Job answered the LORD and said: I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be hindered. [JOB 42:1-2]

The LORD foils the plan of nations, frustrates the designs of peoples. But the plan of the LORD stands forever, wise designs through all generations. Happy the nation whose God is the LORD, the people chosen as his very own. [PS 33:10-12]

"As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them as it had upon us at the beginning, and I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, 'John baptized with water but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' If then God gave them the same gift he gave to us when we came to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to be able to hinder God?" When they heard this, they stopped objecting and glorified God, saying, "God has then granted life-giving repentance to the Gentiles too." [ACTS 11:15-18]

You were running well; who hindered you from following (the) truth? That enticement does not come from the one who called you. [GAL 5:7-8]

Likewise, you husbands should live with your wives in understanding, showing honor to the weaker female sex, since we are joint heirs of the gift of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered. [1PT 3:7]

I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to dominate, does not acknowledge us. Therefore, if I come, I will draw attention to what he is doing, spreading evil nonsense about us. And not content with that, he will not receive the brothers, hindering those who wish to do so and expelling them from the church. Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does what is good is of God; whoever does what is evil has never seen God. [3JN 1:9-11]

Also try:

provoke / provoked [P21]

tribulation / trials [T9]

Other resources:

Reflections: A-Z | Categorized

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fury / furious