forsake
/ forsaken related
links
|
"But if you do not hearken to the voice of the LORD, your
God, and are not careful to observe all his commandments which I
enjoin on you today, all these curses shall come upon you and
overwhelm you: May you be cursed in the city, and
cursed in the country! Cursed be your grain bin and your
kneading bowl!.. 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. The LORD will bring a pestilence upon you that will
persist until he has exterminated you from the land you are
entering to occupy The LORD will strike you with wasting and
fever, with scorching, fiery drought, with blight and searing
wind, that will plague you until you perish..." [Taken from DEUT
28:25-17,20-22]
When Moses had finished speaking these words to all Israel, he
said to them, "I am now one hundred and twenty years old and
am no longer able to move about freely; besides, the LORD has told
me that I shall not cross this Jordan. It is the LORD, your God,
who will cross before you; he will destroy these nations before
you, that you may supplant them. (It is Joshua who will cross
before you, as the LORD promised.) The LORD will deal with them
just as he dealt with Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites whom
he destroyed, and with their country. When, therefore, the LORD
delivers them up to you, you must deal with them exactly as I have
ordered you. Be brave and steadfast; have no fear or dread of
them, for it is the LORD, your God, who marches with you; he will
never fail you or forsake you."
[DEUT 31:1-6]
Then Moses summoned Joshua and in the presence of all Israel
said to him, "Be brave and steadfast, for you must being this
people into the land which the LORD swore to their fathers he
would give them; you must put them in possession of their
heritage. It is the LORD who marches before you; he will be with
you and will never fail you or forsake you. So do not fear or be
dismayed." [DEUT 31:7-8]
The LORD said to Moses, "Soon you will be at rest with
your fathers, and then this people will take to rendering wanton
worship to the strange gods among whom they will live in the land
they are about to enter. They will forsake me and break the
covenant which I have made with them. At that time my anger will
flare up against them; I will forsake them and hide my face from
them" [Taken from DEUT 31:16-17]
No one can withstand you while you live. I will be with you as
I was with Moses: I will not leave you nor forsake you. [Taken
from JOSH 1:5]
"If it does not please you to serve the LORD, decide today whom
you will serve, the gods your fathers served beyond the River or
the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are dwelling. As for
me and my household, we will serve the LORD." But the people
answered, "Far be it from us to forsake the LORD for the
service of other gods. For it was the LORD, our God, who brought
us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, out of a state of
slavery. He performed those great miracles before our very eyes
and protected us along our entire journey and among all the
peoples through whom we passed. At our approach the LORD drove out
(all the peoples, including) the Amorites who dwelt in the land.
Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God."
Joshua in turn said to the people, "You may not be able to
serve the LORD, for he is a holy God; he is a jealous God who will
not forgive your transgressions or your sins. If, after the good
he has done for you, you forsake the LORD and serve strange gods,
he will do evil to you and destroy you." But the people
answered Joshua, "We will still serve the LORD." Joshua
therefore said to the people, "You are your own witnesses
that you have chosen to serve the LORD." They replied,
"We are, indeed!" [JOSH 24:15-22]
The Ammonites also crossed the Jordan to fight against Judah,
Benjamin, and the house of Ephraim, so that Israel was in great
distress. Then the Israelites cried out to the LORD, "We have
sinned against you; we have forsaken our God and have served the
Baals." The LORD answered the Israelites: "Did not the
Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, the
Sidonians, the Amalekites, and the Midianites oppress you? Yet
when you cried out to me, and I saved you from their grasp, you
still forsook me and worshiped other gods. Therefore I will save
you no more. Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen; let them
save you now that you are in distress." But the Israelites
said to the LORD, "We have sinned. Do to us whatever you
please. Only save us this day." And they cast out the foreign
gods from their midst and served the LORD, so that he grieved over
the misery of Israel. [JUDG 10:9-16]
Again they sobbed aloud and wept; and Orpah kissed her
mother-in-law good-bye, but Ruth stayed with her. "See
now!" she said, "your sister-in-law has gone back to her
people and her god. Go back after your sister-in-law!" But
Ruth said, "Do not ask me to abandon or forsake you! for
wherever you go I will go, wherever you lodge I will lodge, your
people shall be my people, and your God my God. Wherever you die I
will die, and there be buried. May the LORD do so and so to me,
and more besides, if aught but death separates me from you!"
Naomi then ceased to urge her, for she saw she was determined to
go with her. [RUTH 1:14-18]
When Jacob and his sons went to Egypt and the Egyptians
oppressed them, your fathers appealed to the LORD, who sent Moses
and Aaron to bring them out of Egypt, and he gave them this place
to live in. But they forgot the LORD their God; and he allowed
them to fall into the clutches of Sisera, the captain of the army
of Jabin, king of Hazor, into the grasp of the Philistines, and
into the grip of the king of Moab, who made war against them. Each
time they appealed to the LORD and said, 'We have sinned in
forsaking the LORD and worshiping Baals and Ashtaroth; but deliver
us now from the power of our enemies, and we will worship you.'
Accordingly, the LORD sent Jerubbaal, Barak, Jephthah, and Samuel;
he delivered you from the power of your enemies on every side, so
that you were able to live in security. Yet, when you saw Nahash,
king of the Ammonites, advancing against you, you said to me, 'Not
so, but a king must rule us,' even though the LORD your God is
your king. [1SAM 12:8-12]
This word of the LORD came to Solomon: "As to this temple
you are building - if you observe my statutes, carry out my
ordinances, keep and obey all my commands, I will fulfill toward
you the promise I made to your father David. I will dwell in the
midst of the Israelites and will not forsake my people
Israel." [1KGS 6:11-13]
When Solomon finished offering this entire prayer of petition
to the LORD, he rose from before the altar of the LORD, where he
had been kneeling with his hands outstretched toward heaven. He
stood and blessed the whole community of Israel, saying in a loud
voice: "Blessed be the LORD who has given rest to his people
Israel, just as he promised. Not a single word has gone
unfulfilled of the entire generous promise he made through his
servant Moses. May the LORD, our God, be with us as he was with
our fathers and may he not forsake us nor cast us off. May he draw
our hearts to himself, that we may follow him in everything and
keep the commands, statutes, and ordinances which he enjoined on
our fathers. May this prayer I have offered to the LORD, our God,
be present to him day and night, that he may uphold the cause of
his servant and of his people Israel as each day requires, that
all the peoples of the earth may know the LORD is God and there is
no other. You must be wholly devoted to the LORD, our God,
observing his statutes and keeping his commandments, as on this day."
[1KGS 8:54-61]
Ahijah took off his new cloak, tore it into twelve pieces, and
said to Jeroboam: "Take ten pieces for yourself; the LORD,
the God of Israel, says: 'I will tear away the kingdom from
Solomon's grasp and will give you ten of the tribes. One tribe
shall remain to him for the sake of David my servant, and of
Jerusalem, the city I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.
The ten I will give you because he has forsaken me and has
worshiped Astarte, goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh, god of Moab,
and Milcom, god of the Ammonites; he has not followed my ways or
done what is pleasing to me according to my statutes and my
decrees, as his father David did. Yet I will not take any of the
kingdom from Solomon himself, but will keep him a prince as long
as he lives for the sake of my servant David, whom I chose, who
kept my commandments and statutes. But I will take the kingdom
from his son and will give it to you - that is, the ten tribes. I
will give his son one tribe, that my servant David may always have
a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city in which I choose to be
honored. I will take you; you shall reign over all that you desire
and shall become king of Israel. If, then, you heed all that I
command you, follow my ways, and please me by keeping my statutes
and my commandments like my servant David, I will be with you. I
will establish for you, as I did for David, a lasting dynasty; I
will give Israel to you. I will punish David's line for this, but
not forever.'" [1KGS 11:30-39]
So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and informed him. Ahab came to
meet Elijah, and when he saw Elijah, said to him, "Is it you,
you disturber of Israel?" "It is not I who disturb
Israel," he answered, "but you and your family, by
forsaking the commands of the LORD and following the Baals." [Taken from 1KGS
18:16-18]
He got up, ate and drank; then strengthened by that food, he
walked forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God, Horeb.
There he came to a cave, where he took shelter. But the word of
the LORD came to him, "Why are you here, Elijah?" He
answered: "I have been most zealous for the LORD, the God of
hosts, but the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, torn down
your altars, and put your prophets to the sword. I alone am left,
and they seek to take my life." [Taken from 1KGS 19:8-10]
'Thus says the LORD: I will bring upon this place and upon its
inhabitants all the evil that is threatened in the book which the
king of Judah has read. Because they have forsaken me and have
burned incense to other gods, provoking me by everything to which
they turn their hands, my anger is ablaze against this place and
it cannot be extinguished.' [2KGS 22:16-17]
"As for you, if you live in my presence as your father
David did, doing all that I have commanded you and keeping my
statutes and ordinances, I will establish your royal throne as I
covenanted with your father David when I said, 'There shall never
be lacking someone of yours as ruler in Israel.' But if you turn
away and forsake my statutes and commands which I placed before
you, if you proceed to venerate and worship strange gods, then I
will uproot the people from the land I gave them; I will cast from
my sight this house which I have consecrated to my honor, and I
will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples. This temple
which is so exalted - everyone passing by it will be amazed and
ask: 'Why has the LORD done this to this land and to this house?'
And men will answer: 'They forsook the LORD, the God of their
fathers, who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and they
adopted strange gods and worshiped them and served them. That is
why he has brought down upon them all this evil.'"
[Taken from 2CHRON 7:17-22]
However, Edom has continued in revolt against the sovereignty of
Judah down to the present time. Libnah also revolted at that time
against Jehoram's sovereignty because he had forsaken the LORD,
the God of his fathers. He also set up high places in the
mountains of Judah; he led the inhabitants of Jerusalem into
idolatry and seduced Judah. [Taken from 2CHRON 21:10-11]
Then I proclaimed a fast, there by the river of Ahava, that we
might humble ourselves before our God to petition from him a safe
journey for ourselves, our children, and all our possessions. For
I would have been ashamed to ask the king for troops and horsemen
to protect us against enemies along the way, since we had said to
the king, "The favoring hand of our God is upon all who seek
him, but his mighty wrath is against all who forsake him." So
we fasted, and prayed to our God for this, and our petition was
granted. [EZRA 8:21-23]
"But they, our fathers, proved to be insolent; they held
their necks stiff and would not obey your commandments. They
refused to obey and no longer remembered the miracles you had
worked for them. They stiffened their necks and turned their heads
to return to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God of pardons,
gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in mercy; you
did not forsake them. Though they made for themselves a molten
calf, and proclaimed, 'Here is your God who brought you up out of
Egypt,' and were guilty of great effronteries, yet in your great
mercy you did not forsake them in the desert. The column of cloud
did not cease to lead them by day on their journey, nor did the
column of fire by night cease to light for them the way by which
they were to travel." [Taken from NEH 9:16-19]
You bore witness against them, in order to bring them back to
your law. But they were insolent and would not obey your
commandments; they sinned against your ordinances, from which men
draw life when they practice them. They turned stubborn backs,
stiffened their necks, and would not obey. You were patient with
them for many years, bearing witness against them through your
spirit, by means of your prophets; still they would not listen.
Thus you delivered them over into the power of the peoples of the
lands. Yet in your great mercy you did not completely destroy them
and you did not forsake them, for you are a kind and merciful God.
[Taken from NEH 9:29-31]
All
in the assembly with one accord broke into shrill wailing and loud
cries to the Lord their God. But Uzziah said to them,
"Courage, my brothers! Let us wait five days more for the
Lord our God, to show his mercy toward us; he will not utterly
forsake us. But if those days pass without help coming to us, I
will do as you say." Then he dispersed the men to their
posts, and they returned to the walls and towers of the city; the
women and children he sent to their homes. Throughout the city
they were in great misery.
[Taken from JDTH 7:29-32]
"Your strength is not in numbers, nor does your power
depend upon stalwart men; but you are the God of the lowly, the
helper of the oppressed, the supporter of the weak, the protector
of the forsaken, the savior of those without hope." [Taken from JDTH 9:11]
Then the officers of the king addressed Mattathias: "You
are a leader, an honorable and great man in this city, supported
by sons and kinsmen. Come now, be the first to obey the king's
command, as all the Gentiles and the men of Judah and those who
are left in Jerusalem have done. Then you and your sons shall be
numbered among the King's Friends, and shall be enriched with
silver and gold and many gifts." But Mattathias answered in a
loud voice: "Although all the Gentiles in the king's realm
obey him, so that each forsakes the religion of his fathers and
consents to the king's orders, yet I and my sons and my kinsmen
will keep to the covenant of our fathers. God forbid that we
should forsake the law and the commandments. We will not obey the
words of the king nor depart from our religion in the slightest degree."
[1MACC 2:17-22]
May he hear your prayers, and be reconciled to you, and never
forsake you in time of adversity. [2MACC 1:5]
Therefore, the Place itself, having shared in the people's misfortunes,
afterward participated in their good fortune; and what the Almighty had forsaken in his anger was restored in all its glory, once the great Sovereign became reconciled.
[Taken from 2MACC
5:20]
They next brought forward the fifth brother and maltreated him.
Looking at the king, he said: "Since you have power among
men, mortal though you are, do what you please. But do not think
that our nation is forsaken by God. Only wait, and you will see
how his great power will torment you and your descendants."
After him they brought the sixth brother. When he was about to
die, he said: "Have no vain illusions. We suffer these things
on our own account, because we have sinned against our God; that
is why such astonishing things have happened to us. Do not think,
then, that you will go unpunished for having dared to fight
against God." Most admirable and worthy of everlasting
remembrance was the mother, who saw her seven sons perish in a
single day, yet bore it courageously because of her hope in the
Lord. [Taken from 2MACC 7:15-20]
Have I no helper, and has advice deserted me? A friend
owes kindness to one in despair, though he have forsaken the
fear of the Almighty. My brethren are undependable as a
brook, as watercourses that run dry in the wadies; Though
they may be black with ice, and with snow heaped upon them,
Yet once they flow, they cease to be; in the heat, they disappear from their place. [JOB
6:13-17]
The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, stronghold in times of trouble. Those who honor your name trust in you; you never forsake those who seek you, LORD. [PS
9:10-11]
Hear my voice, LORD, when I call; have mercy on me and
answer me. "Come," says my heart, "seek God's
face"; your face, LORD, do I seek! Do not hide your face
from me; do not repel your servant in anger. You are my
help; do not cast me off; do not forsake me, God my savior!
Even if my father and mother forsake me, the LORD will take
me in. [PS 27:7-10]
LORD, punish me no more in your anger; in your wrath do
not chastise me! Your arrows have sunk deep in me; your hand
has come down upon me. My flesh is afflicted because of your
anger; my frame aches because of my sin. My iniquities
overwhelm me, a burden beyond my strength. Foul and
festering are my sores because of my folly. I am stooped and
deeply bowed; all day I go about mourning. My loins burn with
fever; my flesh is afflicted. I am numb and utterly
crushed; I wail with anguish of heart. My Lord, my deepest
yearning is before you; my groaning is not hidden from you.
My heart shudders, my strength forsakes me; the very light of
my eyes has failed. Friends and companions shun my pain; my
neighbors stand far off. Those who seek my life lay snares for
me; they seek my misfortune, they speak of ruin; they
plot treachery all the day. But I am like the deaf, hearing
nothing, like the dumb, saying nothing, Like someone who does
not hear, who has no answer ready. LORD, I wait for
you; O Lord, my God, answer me. For I fear they will
gloat, exult over me if I stumble. I am very near to
falling; my pain is with me always. I acknowledge my
guilt and grieve over my sin. But many are my foes without
cause, a multitude of enemies without reason, Repaying me
evil for good, harassing me for pursuing good. Forsake me
not, O LORD; my God, be not far from me! Come quickly to help
me, my Lord and my salvation! [PS 38:2-23]
Sing to God, praise the divine name; exalt the rider of
the clouds. Rejoice before this God whose name is the LORD.
Father of the fatherless, defender of widows - this is the
God whose abode is holy, Who gives a home to the
forsaken, who leads prisoners out to prosperity, while
rebels live in the desert. [PS 68:5-7]
Do not cast me aside in my old age; as my strength fails,
do not forsake me. For my enemies speak against me; they
watch and plot against me. They say, "God has abandoned that
one. Pursue, seize the wretch! No one will come to the
rescue!" God, do not stand far from me; my God, hasten
to help me. Bring to a shameful end those who attack
me; Cover with contempt and scorn those who seek my
ruin. I will always hope in you and add to all your praise.
My mouth shall proclaim your just deeds, day after day your
acts of deliverance, though I cannot number them all. I will speak
of the mighty works of the Lord; O GOD, I will tell of your
singular justice. [PS 71:9-16]
Now that I am old and gray, do not forsake me, God, That
I may proclaim your might to all generations yet to
come, Your power and justice, God, to the highest
heaven. [Taken from PS 71:18-19]
"I myself make him firstborn, Most High over the kings of
the earth. Forever I will maintain my love for him; my
covenant with him stands firm. I will establish his dynasty
forever, his throne as the days of the heavens. If his
descendants forsake my law, do not follow my decrees, if they
fail to observe my statutes, do not keep my commandments, I
will punish their crime with a rod and their guilt with
lashes. But I will not take my love from him, nor will I
betray my bond of loyalty. I will not violate my
covenant; the promise of my lips I will not alter. By my
holiness I swore once for all: I will never be false to
David. His dynasty will continue forever, his throne, like
the sun before me. Like the moon it will stand
eternal, forever firm like the sky!" [Taken from PS
89:28-38]
You, LORD, will not forsake your people, nor abandon your very own.
[PS 94:14]
Rage seizes me because of the
wicked; they forsake your teaching. [PS 119:53]
The arrogant have dug pits for me; defying your teaching.
All your commands are steadfast. Help me! I am pursued
without cause. They have almost ended my life on earth, but I
do not forsake your precepts. In your kindness give me
life, to keep the decrees you have spoken. [PS 119:85-88]
The LORD is with me to the end. LORD, your love endures forever.
Never forsake the work of your hands! [PS 138:8]
My son, if you receive my words and treasure my commands,
turning your ear to wisdom, inclining your heart to
understanding; Yes, if you call to intelligence, and to
understanding raise your voice; If you seek her like
silver, and like hidden treasures search her out: Then will
you understand the fear of the LORD; the knowledge of God you
will find; For the LORD gives wisdom, from his mouth come
knowledge and understanding; He has counsel in store for the
upright, he is the shield of those who walk honestly, guarding the paths of justice, protecting the way of his
pious ones. Then you will understand rectitude and
justice, honesty, every good path; For wisdom will enter your
heart, knowledge will please your soul, discretion will watch
over you, understanding will guard you; Saving you from the
way of evil men, from men of perverse speech, who leave the
straight paths to walk in the way of darkness, who delight in
doing evil, rejoice in perversity; Whose ways are
crooked, and devious their paths; Saving you from the wife of
another, from the adulteress with her smooth words, who
forsakes the companion of her youth and forgets the pact with
her God; For her path sinks down to death, and her footsteps
lead to the shades; None who enter thereon come back
again, or gain the paths of life. Thus you may walk in the
way of good men, and keep to the paths of the just. For the
upright will dwell in the land, the honest will remain in it;
But the wicked will be cut off from the land, the faithless
will be rooted out of it. [PROV 2:1-22]
Hear, O children, a father's instruction, be attentive,
that you may gain understanding! Yes, excellent advice I give
you; my teaching do not forsake. When I was my father's
child, frail, yet the darling of my mother, He taught me, and
said to me: "Let your heart hold fast my
words: keep my commands, that you may live! Get wisdom,
get understanding! Do not forget or turn aside from the words
I utter. Forsake her not, and she will preserve you; love
her, and she will safeguard you; The beginning of wisdom is: get
wisdom; at the cost of all you have, get understanding. Extol
her, and she will exalt you; she will bring you honors if you
embrace her; She will put on your head a graceful diadem; a
glorious crown will she bestow on you."
[PROV 4:1-9]
Forsake foolishness that you may live; advance in the way of understanding.
[Taken from PROV 9:6]
Your own friend and your father's friend forsake not; but if
ruin befalls you, enter not a kinsman's house. Better is a
neighbor near at hand than a brother far away. [PROV 27:10]
He who conceals his sins prospers not, but he who confesses and
forsakes them obtains mercy. [PROV 28:13]
Should the anger of the ruler burst upon you, forsake not your
place; for mildness abates great offenses. [ECCL 10:4]
My son, when you come to serve the LORD, prepare yourself
for trials. Be sincere of heart and steadfast, undisturbed in
time of adversity. Cling to him, forsake him not; thus will
your future be great. Accept whatever befalls you, in
crushing misfortune be patient; For in fire gold is
tested, and worthy men in the crucible of humiliation. Trust
God and he will help you; make straight your ways and hope in
him. [SIRACH 2:1-6]
You who fear the LORD, wait for his mercy, turn not away
lest you fall. You who fear the LORD, trust him, and your
reward will not be lost. You who fear the LORD, hope for good
things, for lasting joy and mercy. Study the generations long
past and understand; has anyone hoped in the LORD and been
disappointed? Has anyone persevered in his fear and been
forsaken? Has anyone called upon him and been rebuffed?
Compassionate and merciful is the LORD; he forgives sins, he
saves in time of trouble. [SIRACH 2:7-11]
With all your soul, fear God, revere his priests. With all your strength,
love your Creator, forsake not his ministers. [Taken from SIRACH
7:29-30]
Delay not to forsake sins, neglect it not till you are in
distress. [SIRACH 18:21]
Many have fallen by the edge of the sword, but not as many
as by the tongue. Happy he who is sheltered from it, and has
not endured its wrath; Who has not borne its yoke nor
been fettered with its chain; For its yoke is a yoke of
iron and its chains are chains of bronze! Dire is the death
it inflicts, besides which even the nether world is a gain;
It will not take hold among the just nor scorch them in its
flame, But those who forsake the LORD will fall victims to
it, as it burns among them unquenchably! [Taken from SIRACH
28:18-23]
Woe to you, O sinful men, who forsake the law of the Most
High. If you have children, calamity will seize them; you
will beget them only for groaning. When you stumble, there is
lasting joy; at death, you become a curse. [Taken from SIRACH
41:8-9]
When I was young and innocent, I sought wisdom. She came
to me in her beauty, and until the end I will cultivate her.
As the blossoms yielded to ripening grapes, the heart's
joy, my feet kept to the level path because from
earliest youth I was familiar with her. In the short time I paid
heed, I met with great instruction. Since in this way I have
profited, I will give my teacher grateful praise. I became
resolutely devoted to her - the good I persistently strove
for. I burned with desire for her, never turning back. I
became preoccupied with her, never weary of extolling
her. My hand opened her gate and I came to know her
secrets. For her I purified my hands; in cleanness I attained
to her. At first acquaintance with her, I gained
understanding such that I will never forsake her. My whole
being was stirred as I learned about her; therefore I have
made her my prize possession. [SIRACH 51:13-21]
Ah! sinful nation, people laden with wickedness, evil race,
corrupt children! They have forsaken the LORD, spurned
the Holy One of Israel, apostatized. Where would you yet be
struck, you that rebel again and again? The whole head
is sick, the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot to
the head there is no sound spot: Wound and welt and
gaping gash, not drained, or bandaged, or eased with
salve. [ISA 1:4-6]
This, then, shall be the expiation of Jacob's guilt, this
the whole fruit of the removal of his sin: He shall pulverize
all the stones of the altars like pieces of chalk; no
sacred poles or incense altars shall stand. For the fortified city
shall be desolate, an abandoned pasture, a forsaken
wilderness, where calves shall browse and lie. Its
boughs shall be destroyed, its branches shall wither and be broken
off, and women shall come to build a fire with
them. This is not an understanding people; therefore
their maker shall not spare them, nor shall he who formed them
have mercy on them. On that day, The LORD shall beat out the
grain between the Euphrates and the Wadi of Egypt, and
you shall be gleaned one by one, O sons of Israel. On that
day, A great trumpet shall blow, and the lost in the
land of Assyria and the outcasts in the land of
Egypt shall come and worship the LORD on the holy mountain, in Jerusalem. [ISA
27:9-13]
Tremble, you who are complacent! Shudder, you who are
overconfident! Strip yourselves bare, with only a
loincloth to cover you. Beat your breasts for the pleasant
fields, the fruitful vine, and the soil of my
people, overgrown with thorns and briers; For all the
joyful houses, the wanton city. Yes, the castle will be
forsaken, the noisy city deserted; Down it comes, as trees
come down in the forest! The city will be utterly laid
low. Hill and tower will become wasteland forever for
wild asses to frolic in, and flocks to pasture, until the spirit
from on high is poured out on us. Then will the desert
become an orchard and the orchard be regarded as a forest.
Right will dwell in the desert and justice abide in the
orchard. Justice will bring about peace; right will produce
calm and security. My people will live in peaceful
country, in secure dwellings and quiet resting places. Happy
are you who sow beside every stream, and let the ox and the
ass go freely! [ISA 32:11-20]
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. I will
open up rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the
broad valleys; I will turn the desert into a
marshland, and the dry ground into springs of water. [ISA
41:17-18]
I will lead the blind on their
journey; by paths unknown I will guide them. I will turn
darkness into light before them, and make crooked ways
straight. These things I do for them, and I will not
forsake them.
[ISA 42:16]
Sing out, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth, break forth
into song, you mountains. For the LORD comforts his
people and shows mercy to his afflicted. But Zion said,
"The LORD has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten
me." Can a mother forget her infant, be without
tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she
forget, I will never forget you. See, upon the palms of my
hands I have written your name; your walls are ever before
me. [ISA 49:13-16]
Raise a glad cry, you barren one who did not bear, break
forth in jubilant song, you who were not in labor, For more
numerous are the children of the deserted wife than the
children of her who has a husband, says the LORD. Enlarge the
space for your tent, spread out your tent cloths
unsparingly; lengthen your ropes and make firm your stakes.
For you shall spread abroad to the right and to the
left; Your descendants shall dispossess the nations and
shall people the desolate cities. Fear not, you shall not be put
to shame; you need not blush, for you shall not be
disgraced. The shame of your youth you shall forget, the
reproach of your widowhood no longer remember. For he who has
become your husband is your Maker; his name is the LORD of
hosts; Your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, called
God of all the earth. The LORD calls you back, like a wife
forsaken and grieved in spirit, A wife married in youth and
then cast off, says your God. For a brief moment I abandoned
you, but with great tenderness I will take you back. In an
outburst of wrath, for a moment I hid my face from
you; But with enduring love I take pity on you, says the
LORD, your redeemer. [ISA 54:1-8]
Seek the LORD while he may be found, call him while he is
near. Let the scoundrel forsake his way, and the wicked man
his thoughts; Let him turn to the LORD for mercy; to our
God, who is generous in forgiving. [Taken from ISA 55:6-7]
The glory of Lebanon shall come to you: the cypress, the
plane and the pine, To bring beauty to my sanctuary, and
glory to the place where I set my feet. The children of your
oppressors shall come, bowing low before you; All those who
despised you shall fall prostrate at your feet. They
shall call you "City of the LORD," "Zion of
the Holy One of Israel." Once you were forsaken, hated
and unvisited, Now I will make you the pride of the
ages, a joy to generation after generation. [ISA 60:13-15]
For Zion's sake I will not be silent, for Jerusalem's sake
I will not be quiet, until her vindication shines forth like
the dawn and her victory like a burning torch. Nations shall
behold your vindication, and all kings your glory; You shall
be called by a new name pronounced by the mouth of the LORD. You
shall be a glorious crown in the hand of the LORD, a royal
diadem held by your God. No more shall men call you
"Forsaken," or your land
"Desolate," But you shall be called "My
Delight," and your land "Espoused." For
the LORD delights in you, and makes your land his spouse. As
a young man marries a virgin, your Builder shall marry
you; And as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride so shall
your God rejoice in you. [ISA 62:1-5]
See, the LORD proclaims to the ends of the earth: Say to
daughter Zion, your savior comes! Here is his reward
with him, his recompense before him. They shall be called the
holy people, the redeemed of the LORD, And you shall be
called "Frequented," a city that is not forsaken. [ISA
62:11-12]
But you who forsake the LORD, forgetting my holy
mountain, You who spread a table for Fortune and fill
cups of blended wine for Destiny, You I will destine for the
sword; you shall all go down in slaughter. Since I
called and you did not answer, I spoke and you did not
listen, But did what was evil in my sight and preferred
things which displease me, therefore thus says the Lord
GOD: Lo, my servants shall eat, but you shall go
hungry; My servants shall drink, but you shall be
thirsty; My servants shall rejoice, but you shall be put
to shame; My servants shall shout for joy of heart, But
you shall cry out for grief of heart and howl for anguish of
spirit. The Lord GOD shall slay you, and the name you
leave shall be used by my chosen ones for cursing; but
my servants shall be called by another name by which he will be
blessed on whom a blessing is invoked in the land; He
who takes an oath in the land shall swear by the God of
truth; For the hardships of the past shall be forgotten, and
hidden from my eyes. [ISA 65:11-16]
Lo, I am summoning all the kingdoms of the north, says the
LORD; Each king shall come and set up his throne at the
gateways of Jerusalem, opposite her walls all around and
opposite all the cities of Judah. I will pronounce my sentence
against them for all their wickedness in forsaking
me, And in burning incense to strange gods and adoring
their own handiwork. [Taken from JER 1:15-16]
Two evils have my people done: they have forsaken me, the
source of living waters; They have dug themselves
cisterns, broken cisterns, that hold no water. Is Israel a
slave, a bondman by birth? Why then has he become booty? Against
him lions roar full-throated cries. They have made his land a
waste; his cities are charred ruins, without inhabitant. Yes,
the people of Memphis and Tahpanhes shave the crown of your
head. Has not the forsaking of the LORD, your God, done this
to you? And now, why go to Egypt, to drink the waters of the
Nile? Why go to Assyria, to drink the waters of the
Euphrates? Your own wickedness chastises you, your own
infidelities punish you. Know then, and see, how evil and
bitter is your forsaking the LORD, your God, and showing
no fear of me, says the Lord, the GOD of hosts. [JER 2:13-19]
Why should I pardon you these things? Your sons have
forsaken me, they swear by gods that are not. I fed
them, but they committed adultery; to the harlot's house they
throng. Lustful stallions they are, each neighs after
another's wife. Shall I not punish them for these things? says the LORD; On a nation such as this shall I
not take vengeance? [JER 5:7-9]
And when they ask, "Why has the LORD done all these things to us?" say to them, "As you
have forsaken me to serve strange gods in your own land, so shall you serve strangers in a land not your own."
[Taken from JER 5:19]
For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Before your
very eyes and during your lifetime I will silence from this place
the cry of joy and the cry of gladness, the voice of the
bridegroom and the voice of the bride. When you proclaim all these
words to this people and they ask you: "Why has the LORD
pronounced all these great evils against us? What is our crime?
What sin have we committed against the LORD, our God?" - you
shall answer them: It is because your fathers have forsaken me,
says the LORD, and followed strange gods, which they served and
worshiped; but me they have forsaken, and my law they have not
observed. And you have done worse than your fathers. Here you are,
every one of you, walking in the hardness of his evil heart
instead of listening to me. I will cast you out of this land into
a land that neither you nor your fathers have known; there you can
serve strange gods day and night, because I will not grant you my
mercy.
[Taken from JER 16:9-13]
O hope of Israel, O LORD! all who forsake you shall be in
disgrace; The rebels in the land shall be put to shame; they have
forsaken the source of living waters (the LORD). [JER 17:13]
Listen to the word of the LORD, kings of Judah and citizens of
Jerusalem: Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: I am
going to bring such evil upon this place that all who hear of it
will feel their ears tingle. This is because they have forsaken me
and alienated this place by burning in it incense to strange gods
which neither they nor their fathers knew; and the kings of Judah
have filled this place with the blood of the innocent. [Taken from JER
19:3-4]
Damascus is weakened, she turns to flee, panic has seized
her. Distress and pangs take hold of her, like those of a
woman in travail. How can the city of glory be forsaken, the
town of delight! But now her young men shall fall in her
streets, and all her warriors shall be stilled. On that
day, says the LORD of hosts, I will set fire to the wall of
Damascus, and it shall devour the palaces of Ben-hadad. [Taken
from JER
49:24-27]
Hear, O Israel, the commandments of life: listen, and know
prudence! How is it, Israel, that you are in the land of your
foes, grown old in a foreign land, Defiled with the
dead, accounted with those destined for the nether world? You have
forsaken the fountain of wisdom! Had you walked in the way of
God, you would have dwelt in enduring peace. Learn where
prudence is, where strength, where understanding; That
you may know also where are length of days, and
life, where light of the eyes, and peace. [BARUCH 3:9-14]
She is the book of the precepts of God, the law that
endures forever; all who cling to her will live, but
those will die who forsake her. Turn, O Jacob, and receive
her: walk by her light toward splendor. Give not your glory
to another, your privileges to an alien race. Blessed are we,
O Israel; for what pleases God is known to us! [BARUCH 4:1-4]
Then he said to me: Do you see, son of man, what each of these
elders of the house of Israel is doing in his idol room? They
think: "The LORD cannot see us; the LORD has forsaken the
land." He continued: You shall see still greater abominations
that they are practicing. Then he brought me to the entrance of
the north gate of the temple, and I saw sitting there the women
who were weeping for Tammuz. Then he said to me: Do you see this,
son of man? You shall see other abominations, greater than these!
Then he brought me into the inner court of the LORD'S house, and
there at the door of the LORD'S temple, between the vestibule and
the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs to the
LORD'S temple and their faces toward the east; they were bowing
down to the sun. Do you see, son of man? he asked me. Is it such a
trivial matter for the house of Judah to do the abominable things
they have done here - for they have filled the land with violence,
and again and again they have provoked me - that now they must also
put the branch to my nose? Therefore I in turn will act furiously:
I will not look upon them with pity nor will I show mercy. [Taken from EZEK
8:12-18]
As they began to strike, I was left alone. I fell prone, crying
out, "Alas, Lord GOD! Will you destroy all that is left of Israel
when you pour out your fury on Jerusalem?" He answered me:
The sins of the house of Israel are great beyond measure; the land
is filled with bloodshed, the city with lawlessness. They think
that the LORD has forsaken the land, that he does not see them. I,
however, will not look upon them with pity, nor show any mercy. I
will bring down their conduct upon their heads. [Taken from EZEK
9:8-10]
"The two kings, resolved on evil, shall sit at table together
and exchange lies, but they shall have no success, because the
appointed end is not yet. He shall turn back toward his land
with great riches, his mind set against the holy covenant; he
shall arrange matters and return to his land. At the time
appointed he shall come again to the south, but this time it shall
not be as before. When ships of the Kittim confront him, he shall
lose heart and retreat. Then he shall direct his rage and energy
against the holy covenant; those who forsake it he shall once more
single out." [Taken from DAN 11:27-30]
The angel of the Lord seized him by the crown of his head and
carried him by the hair; with the speed of the wind, he set him
down in Babylon above the den. "Daniel, Daniel," cried
Habakkuk, "take the lunch God has sent you." "You
have remembered me, O God," said Daniel; "you have not
forsaken those who love you." While Daniel began to eat, the
angel of the Lord at once brought Habakkuk back to his own place. [Taken from DAN
14:36-39]
They consult their piece of wood, and their wand makes pronouncements
for them, For the spirit of harlotry has led them
astray; they commit harlotry, forsaking their God. [Taken from HOSEA 4:12]
Those who worship vain idols forsake their source of mercy.
[JONAH 2:9]
Gather, gather yourselves together, O nation without
shame! Before you are driven away, like chaff that passes
on; Before there comes upon you the blazing anger of the
LORD: Before there comes upon you the day of the LORD'S
anger. Seek the LORD, all you humble of the earth, who have
observed his law; Seek justice, seek humility; perhaps
you may be sheltered on the day of the LORD'S anger. For Gaza
shall be forsaken, and Ashkelon shall be a waste, Ashdod
they shall drive out at midday, and Ekron shall be uprooted.
[ZEPH
2:1-4]
Woe to my foolish shepherd who forsakes the flock! [Taken from
ZECH 11:17]
From noon onward, darkness came over the whole land until three
in the afternoon. And about three o'clock Jesus cried out in a
loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" which means,
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Some of the
bystanders who heard it said, "This one is calling for
Elijah." Immediately one of them ran to get a sponge; he
soaked it in wine, and putting it on a reed, gave it to him to
drink. But the rest said, "Wait, let us see if Elijah comes
to save him." But Jesus cried out again in a loud voice, and
gave up his spirit. And behold, the veil of the sanctuary was torn
in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked, rocks were split,
tombs were opened, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen
asleep were raised. And coming forth from their tombs after his
resurrection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many. The
centurion and the men with him who were keeping watch over Jesus
feared greatly when they saw the earthquake and all that was
happening, and they said, "Truly, this was the Son of
God!" [MT 27:45-54]
At noon darkness came over the whole land until three in the
afternoon. And at three o'clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice,
"Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which is translated,
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Some of the
bystanders who heard it said, "Look, he is calling
Elijah." One of them ran, soaked a sponge with wine, put it
on a reed, and gave it to him to drink, saying, "Wait, let us
see if Elijah comes to take him down." Jesus gave a loud cry
and breathed his last. The veil of the sanctuary was torn in two
from top to bottom. When the centurion who stood facing him saw
how he breathed his last he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God!"
[MK 15:33-39]
I am amazed that you are so quickly forsaking the one who
called you by (the) grace (of Christ) for a different gospel (not
that there is another). But there are some who are disturbing you
and wish to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an
angel from heaven should preach (to you) a gospel other than the
one that we preached to you, let that one be accursed! As we have
said before, and now I say again, if anyone preaches to you a
gospel other than the one that you received, let that one be
accursed! Am I now currying favor with human beings or God? Or am
I seeking to please people? If I were still trying to please
people, I would not be a slave of Christ. [GAL 1:6-10]
Take care, brothers, that none of you may have an evil and
unfaithful heart, so as to forsake the living God. Encourage
yourselves daily while it is still "today," so that none
of you may grow hardened by the deceit of sin. We have become
partners of Christ if only we hold the beginning of the reality
firm until the end, for it is said: "Oh, that today you
would hear his voice: 'Harden not your hearts as at the
rebellion.'" Who were those who rebelled when they heard? Was
it not all those who came out of Egypt under Moses? With whom was
he "provoked for forty years"? Was it not those who had
sinned, whose corpses fell in the desert? And to whom did he
"swear that they should not enter into his rest," if not
to those who were disobedient? And we see that they could not
enter for lack of faith. [HEB 3:12-19]
Let your life be free from love of money but be content with
what you have, for he has said, "I will never forsake you or
abandon you." Thus we may say with confidence: "The
Lord is my helper, (and) I will not be afraid. What can
anyone do to me?" [Taken from HEB 13:5-6]
Also try:
abandon
[L5]
fallen
away loved ones [F2]
trust
in God / trust in the Lord [T13]
turn
to the Lord [C10]
refuge
[R1]
Other
resources:
Reflections: A-Z
| Categorized
Classic
Encyclicals & Other Papal Documents
(Also
try: Help, A-Z)
more
alphabetical scripture | more
categorized scripture | top |