Topical Scripture

punish / punishment / unpunished

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Then the angels said to Lot: "Who else belongs to you here? Your sons (sons-in-law) and your daughters and all who belong to you in the city - take them away from it! We are about to destroy this place, for the outcry reaching the LORD against those in the city is so great that he has sent us to destroy it." So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who had contracted marriage with his daughters. "Get up and leave this place," he told them; "the LORD is about to destroy the city." But his sons-in-law thought he was joking. As dawn was breaking, the angels urged Lot on, saying, "On your way! Take with you your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city." When he hesitated, the men, by the LORD'S mercy, seized his hand and the hands of his wife and his two daughters and led them to safety outside the city. [GEN 19:12-16]

On the third day Joseph said to them: "Do this, and you shall live; for I am a God-fearing man. If you have been honest, only one of your brothers need be confined in this prison, while the rest of you may go and take home provisions for your starving families. But you must come back to me with your youngest brother. Your words will thus be verified, and you will not die." To this they agreed. To one another, however, they said: "Alas, we are being punished because of our brother. We saw the anguish of his heart when he pleaded with us, yet we paid no heed; that is why this anguish has now come upon us." [GEN 42:18-21]

"I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery. You shall not have other gods besides me. You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; you shall not bow down before them or worship them. For I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God, inflicting punishment for their fathers' wickedness on the children of those who hate me, down to the third and fourth generation; but bestowing mercy down to the thousandth generation, on the children of those who love me and keep my commandments." [EX 20:2-6]

"You shall not take the name of the LORD, your God, in vain. For the LORD will not leave unpunished him who takes his name in vain." [EX 20:7] 

"I see how stiff-necked this people is," continued the LORD to Moses. "Let me alone, then, that my wrath may blaze up against them to consume them. Then I will make of you a great nation." But Moses implored the LORD, his God, saying, "Why, O LORD, should your wrath blaze up against your own people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with such great power and with so strong a hand? Why should the Egyptians say, 'With evil intent he brought them out, that he might kill them in the mountains and exterminate them from the face of the earth'? Let your blazing wrath die down; relent in punishing your people. Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel, and how you swore to them by your own self, saying, 'I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky; and all this land that I promised, I will give your descendants as their perpetual heritage.'" So the LORD relented in the punishment he had threatened to inflict on his people. [EX 32:9-14]

So Moses went back to the LORD and said, "Ah, this people has indeed committed a grave sin in making a god of gold for themselves! If you would only forgive their sin! If you will not, then strike me out of the book that you have written." The LORD answered, "Him only who has sinned against me will I strike out of my book. Now, go and lead the people whither I have told you. My angel will go before you. When it is time for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin." [EX 32:31-34]

Moses then cut two stone tablets like the former, and early the next morning he went up Mount Sinai as the LORD had commanded him, taking along the two stone tablets. Having come down in a cloud, the LORD stood with him there and proclaimed his name, "LORD." Thus the LORD passed before him and cried out, "The LORD, the LORD, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity, continuing his kindness for a thousand generations, and forgiving wickedness and crime and sin; yet not declaring the guilty guiltless, but punishing children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generation for their fathers' wickedness!" Moses at once bowed down to the ground in worship. [EX 34:4-8]

Because their land has become defiled, I am punishing it for its wickedness, by making it vomit out its inhabitants. [LEV 18:25]

"But if you do not heed me and do not keep all these commandments, if you reject my precepts and spurn my decrees, refusing to obey all my commandments and breaking my covenant, then I, in turn, will give you your deserts. I will punish you with terrible woes - with wasting and fever to dim the eyes and sap the life. You will sow your seed in vain, for your enemies will consume the crop. I will turn against you, till you are beaten down before your enemies and lorded over by your foes. You will take to flight though no one pursues you." [Taken from LEV 26:14-17]

"If, despite all this, you still persist in disobeying and defying me, I, also, will meet you with fiery defiance and will chastise you with sevenfold fiercer punishment for your sins..." [Taken from LEV 26:27-28]

'The LORD is slow to anger and rich in kindness, forgiving wickedness and crime; yet not declaring the guilty guiltless, but punishing children to the third and fourth generation for their fathers' wickedness.' [NUM 14:18]

From Mount Hor they set out on the Red Sea road, to by-pass the land of Edom. But with their patience worn out by the journey, the people complained against God and Moses, "Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert, where there is no food or water? We are disgusted with this wretched food!" In punishment the LORD sent among the people saraph serpents, which bit the people so that many of them died. [NUM 21:4-6]

You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; you shall not bow down before them or worship them. For I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God, inflicting punishments for their fathers' wickedness on the children of those who hate me, down to the third and fourth generation but bestowing mercy, down to the thousandth generation, on the children of those who love me and keep my commandments. [DEUT 5:8-10]

'You shall not take the name of the LORD, your God, in vain. For the LORD will not leave unpunished him who takes his name in vain.' [DEUT 5:11]

The third day on the road, the Israelites came to their cities of Gibeon, Chephirah, Beeroth and Kiriath-jearim, but did not attack them, because the princes of the community had sworn to them by the LORD, the God of Israel. When the entire community grumbled against the princes, these all remonstrated with the people, "We have sworn to them by the LORD, the God of Israel, and so we cannot harm them. Let us therefore spare their lives and so deal with them that we shall not be punished for the oath we have sworn to them." [JOSH 9:17-20]

Phinehas, son of Eleazar the priest, said to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the Manassehites, "Now we know that the LORD is with us. Since you have not committed this act of treachery against the LORD, you have kept the Israelites free from punishment by the LORD." [JOSH 22:31]

This is what the LORD of hosts has to say: 'I will punish what Amalek did to Israel when he barred his way as he was coming up from Egypt.' [1SAM 15:2]

On hearing that Nabal was dead, David said: "Blessed be the LORD, who has requited the insult I received at the hand of Nabal, and who restrained his servant from doing evil, but has punished Nabal for his own evil deeds." David then sent a proposal of marriage to Abigail. [1SAM 25:39]

But David said to Abishai, "Do not harm him, for who can lay hands on the LORD'S anointed and remain unpunished? As the LORD lives," David continued, "it must be the LORD himself who will strike him, whether the time comes for him to die, or he goes out and perishes in battle. But the LORD forbid that I touch his anointed! Now take the spear which is at his head and the water jug, and let us be on our way." [1SAM 26:9-11] 

When David saw the angel who was striking the people, he said to the LORD: "It is I who have sinned; it is I, the shepherd, who have done wrong. But these are sheep; what have they done? Punish me and my kindred." [2SAM 24:17]

[David said,] "You also have with you Shimei, son of Gera, the Benjaminite of Bahurim, who cursed me balefully when I was going to Mahanaim. Because he came down to meet me at the Jordan, I swore to him by the LORD that I would not put him to the sword. But you must not let him go unpunished. You are a prudent man and will know how to deal with him to send down his hoary head in blood to the grave." [Taken from 1KGS 2:8-9]

Listen to the petitions of your servant and of your people Israel which they offer in this place. Listen from your heavenly dwelling and grant pardon. "If a man sins against his neighbor and is required to take an oath sanctioned by a curse, when he comes and takes the oath before your altar in this temple, listen in heaven; take action and pass judgment on your servants. Condemn the wicked and punish him for his conduct, but acquit the just and establish his innocence." [1KGS 8:30-32]

"I will punish David's line for this, but not forever." [1KGS 11:39]

At that time, Menahem punished Tappuah, all the inhabitants of the town and of its whole district, because on his way from Tirzah they did not let him in. [Taken from 2KGS 15:16]

David went out to meet them and addressed them in these words: "If you come peacefully, to help me, I am of a mind to have you join me. But if you have come to betray me to my enemies though my hands have done no wrong, may the God of our fathers see and punish you." [1CHRON 12:18]

A satan rose up against Israel, and he enticed David into taking a census of Israel. David therefore said to Joab and to the other generals of the army, "Go, find out the number of the Israelites from Beer-sheba to Dan, and report back to me that I may know their number." But Joab replied: "May the LORD increase his people a hundredfold! My lord king, are not all of them my lord's subjects? Why does my lord seek to do this thing? Why will he bring guilt upon Israel?" However, the king's command prevailed over Joab, who departed and traversed all of Israel, and then returned to Jerusalem. Joab reported the result of the census to David: of men capable of wielding a sword, there were in all Israel one million one hundred thousand, and in Judah four hundred and seventy thousand. Levi and Benjamin, however, he did not include in the census, for the king's command was repugnant to Joab. This command displeased God, who began to punish Israel. Then David said to God, "I have sinned greatly in doing this thing. Take away your servant's guilt, for I have acted very foolishly." Then the LORD spoke to Gad, David's seer, in these words: "Go, tell David: Thus says the LORD: I offer you three alternatives; choose one of them, and I will inflict it on you." [1CHRON 21:1-10]

Though the Aramean force came with few men, the LORD surrendered a very large force into their power, because Judah had abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers. So punishment was meted out to Joash. [2CHRON 24:24]

"As for you, Ezra, in accordance with the wisdom of your God which is in your possession, appoint magistrates and judges to administer justice to all the people in West-of-Euphrates, to all, that is, who know the laws of your God. Instruct those who do not know these laws. Whoever does not obey the law of your God and the law of the king, let strict judgment be executed upon him, whether death, or corporal punishment, or a fine on his goods, or imprisonment." [EZRA 7:25-26]

And now, O Lord, may you be mindful of me, and look with favor upon me. Punish me not for my sins, nor for my inadvertent offenses, nor for those of my fathers. "They sinned against you, and disobeyed your commandments. So you handed us over to plundering, exile, and death, till we were an object lesson, a byword, a reproach in all the nations among whom you scattered us. Yes, your judgments are many and true in dealing with me as my sins and those of my fathers deserve. For we have not kept your commandments, nor have we trodden the paths of truth before you." [TOBIT 3:3-5]

"You go before me and take possession of all their territories for me. If they surrender to you, guard them for me till the day of their punishment." [JDTH 2:10]

All the commanders of the Edomites and all the leaders of the Ammonites, together with the generals of the seacoast, came to Holofernes and said: "Sir, listen to what we have to say, that there may be no losses among your troops. These Israelites do not rely on their spears, but on the height of the mountains where they dwell; it is not easy to reach the summit of their mountains. Therefore, sir, do not attack them in regular formation; thus not a single one of your troops will fall. Stay in your camp, and spare all your soldiers. Have some of your servants keep control of the source of water that flows out at the base of the mountain, for that is where the inhabitants of Bethulia get their water. Then thirst will begin to carry them off, and they will surrender their city. Meanwhile, we and our men will go up to the summits of the nearby mountains, and encamp there to guard against anyone's leaving the city. They and their wives and children will languish with hunger, and even before the sword strikes them they will be laid low in the streets of their city. Thus you will render them dire punishment for their rebellion and their refusal to meet you peacefully." [JDTH 7:8-15]

"We adjure you by heaven and earth, and by our God, the Lord of our forefathers, who is punishing us for our sins and those of our forefathers, to do as we have proposed, this very day." All in the assembly with one accord broke into shrill wailing and loud cries to the Lord their God. [JDTH 7:28-29]

So then, my lord and master, do not disregard his word, but bear it in mind, for it is true. For our people are not punished, nor does the sword prevail against them, except when they sin against their God. [JDTH 11:10]

"Woe to the nations that rise against my people! the Lord Almighty will requite them; in the day of judgment he will punish them: He will send fire and worms into their flesh, and they shall burn and suffer forever." [JDTH 16:17]

"You will do well, then, to ignore the letter sent by Haman, son of Hammedatha, for he who composed it has been hanged, together with his entire household, before the gates of Susa. Thus swiftly has God, who governs all, brought just punishment upon him." [ESTH E:17-18]

Then all the lawless and impious men of Israel came to him. They were led by Alcimus, who desired to be high priest. They made this accusation to the king against the people: "Judas and his brothers have destroyed all your friends and have driven us out of our country. So now, send a man whom you trust to go and see all the havoc Judas has done to us and to the king's land, and let him punish them and all their supporters." [1MACC 7:5-7]

Whoever acts otherwise or violates any of these prescriptions shall be liable to punishment. [1MACC 14:45]

"If, then, any troublemakers from their country take refuge with you, hand them over to Simon the high priest, so that he may punish them according to their law." [1MACC 15:21]

Forever blessed be our God, who has thus punished the wicked! [2MACC 1:17]

Gather together our scattered people, free those who are the slaves of the Gentiles, look kindly on those who are despised and detested, and let the Gentiles know that you are our God. Punish those who tyrannize over us and arrogantly mistreat us. [2MACC 1:27-28]

Inflamed with anger, he immediately stripped Andronicus of his purple robe, tore off his other garments, and had him led through the whole city to the very place where he had committed the outrage against Onias; and there he put the murderer to death. Thus the Lord rendered him the punishment he deserved. [2MACC 4:38]

Menelaus, who was the cause of all the trouble, the king acquitted of the charges, while he condemned to death those poor men who would have been declared innocent even if they had pleaded their case before Scythians. Thus, those who had prosecuted the case for the city, for the people, and for the sacred vessels, quickly suffered unjust punishment. [2MACC 4:47-48]

Now I beg those who read this book not to be disheartened by these misfortunes, but to consider that these chastisements were meant not for the ruin but for the correction of our nation. It is, in fact, a sign of great kindness to punish sinners promptly instead of letting them go for long. Thus, in dealing with other nations, the Lord patiently waits until they reach the full measure of their sins before he punishes them; but with us he has decided to deal differently, in order that he may not have to punish us more severely later, when our sins have reached their fullness. He never withdraws his mercy from us. Although he disciplines us with misfortunes, he does not abandon his own people. [2MACC 6:12-16]

But he made up his mind in a noble manner, worthy of his years, the dignity of his advanced age, the merited distinction of his gray hair, and of the admirable life he had lived from childhood; and so he declared that above all he would be loyal to the holy laws given by God. He told them to send him at once to the abode of the dead, explaining: "At our age it would be unbecoming to make such a pretense; many young men would think the ninety-year-old Eleazar had gone over to an alien religion. Should I thus dissimulate for the sake of a brief moment of life, they would be led astray by me, while I would bring shame and dishonor on my old age. Even if, for the time being, I avoid the punishment of men, I shall never, whether alive or dead, escape the hands of the Almighty. Therefore, by manfully giving up my life now, I will prove myself worthy of my old age, and I will leave to the young a noble example of how to die willingly and generously for the revered and holy laws." He spoke thus, and went immediately to the instrument of torture. [2MACC 6:23-28]

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." [2MACC 7:18-19]

"My brothers, after enduring brief pain, have drunk of never-failing life, under God's covenant, but you, by the judgment of God, shall receive just punishments for your arrogance. Like my brothers, I offer up my body and my life for our ancestral laws, imploring God to show mercy soon to our nation, and by afflictions and blows to make you confess that he alone is God. Through me and my brothers, may there be an end to the wrath of the Almighty that has justly fallen on our whole nation." At that, the king became enraged and treated him even worse than the others, since he bitterly resented the boy's contempt. Thus he too died undefiled, putting all his trust in the Lord. [2MACC 7:36-40]

Nicanor planned to raise the two thousand talents of tribute owed by the king to the Romans by selling captured Jews into slavery. So he immediately sent word to the coastal cities, inviting them to buy Jewish slaves and promising to deliver ninety slaves for a talent - little did he dream of the punishment that was to fall upon him from the Almighty. [2MACC 8:10-11]

So the all-seeing Lord, the God of Israel, struck him down with an unseen but incurable blow; for scarcely had he uttered those words when he was seized with excruciating pains in his bowels and sharp internal torment, a fit punishment for him who had tortured the bowels of others with many barbarous torments. [2MACC 9:5-6]

But since God's punishment had justly come upon him, his sufferings were not lessened, so he lost hope for himself and wrote the following letter to the Jews in the form of a supplication. [Taken from 2MACC 9:18]

For you draw up bitter indictments against me, and punish in me the faults of my youth. [JOB 13:26]

Out of its chamber comes forth the tempest; from the north winds, the cold. With his breath God brings the frost, and the broad waters become congealed. With hail, also, the clouds are laden, as they scatter their flashes of light. He it is who changes their rounds, according to his plans, in their task upon the surface of the earth, whether for punishment or mercy, as he commands. [JOB 37:9-13]

"And let my servant Job pray for you; for his prayer I will accept, not to punish you severely. For you have not spoken rightly concerning me, as has my servant Job." [Taken from JOB 42:8]

Do not reprove me in your anger, LORD, nor punish me in your wrath. Have pity on me, LORD, for I am weak; heal me, LORD, for my bones are trembling. In utter terror is my soul - and you, LORD, how long...? Turn, LORD, save my life; in your mercy rescue me. [PS 6:2-5]

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. [PS 38:2-5]

Rescue me from my enemies, my God; lift me out of reach of my foes. Deliver me from evildoers; from the bloodthirsty save me. They have set an ambush for my life; the powerful conspire against me. For no offense or misdeed of mine, LORD, for no fault they hurry to take up arms. Come near and see my plight! You, LORD of hosts, are the God of Israel! Awake! Punish all the nations. Have no mercy on these worthless traitors. [Taken from PS 59:2-6]

"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 89:31-38]

You need simply watch; the punishment of the wicked you will see. [PS 91:8]

O LORD, our God, you answered them; you were a forgiving God, though you punished their offenses. [PS 99:8]

Let the faithful rejoice in their glory, cry out for joy at their banquet, With the praise of God in their mouths, and a two-edged sword in their hands, To bring retribution on the nations, punishment on the peoples, To bind their kings with chains, shackle their nobles with irons, To execute the judgments decreed for them - such is the glory of all God's faithful. Hallelujah! [PS 149:5-9]

Lust not in your heart after her beauty, let her not captivate you with her glance! For the price of a loose woman may be scarcely a loaf of bread, But if she is married, she is a trap for your precious life. Can a man take fire to his bosom, and his garments not burned? Or can a man walk on live coals, and his feet not be scorched? So with him who goes in to his neighbor's wife - none who touches her shall go unpunished. [PROV 6:25-29]

Truly the evil man shall not go unpunished, but those who are just shall escape. [PROV 11:21] 

If the just man is punished on earth, how much more the wicked and the sinner! [PROV 11:31]

Severe punishment is in store for the man who goes astray; he who hates reproof will die. [PROV 15:10]

Every proud man is an abomination to the LORD; I assure you that he will not go unpunished. [PROV 16:5]

He who mocks the poor blasphemes his Maker; he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished. [PROV 17:5]

The false witness will not go unpunished, and he who utters lies will not escape. [PROV 19:5]

The false witness will not go unpunished, and he who utters lies will perish. [PROV 19:9]

When the arrogant man is punished, the simple are the wiser; when the wise man is instructed, he gains knowledge. [PROV 21:11]

The trustworthy man will be richly blessed; he who is in haste to grow rich will not go unpunished. [PROV 28:20]

Therefore guard against profitless grumbling, and from calumny withhold your tongues; For a stealthy utterance does not go unpunished, and a lying mouth slays the soul. [WISDOM 1:11]

But the souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them. They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead; and their passing away was thought an affliction and their going forth from us, utter destruction. But they are in peace. For if before men, indeed, they be punished, yet is their hope full of immortality; Chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed, because God tried them and found them worthy of himself. As gold in the furnace, he proved them, and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself. In the time of their visitation they shall shine, and shall dart about as sparks through stubble; They shall judge nations and rule over peoples, and the LORD shall be their King forever. Those who trust in him shall understand truth, and the faithful shall abide with him in love: Because grace and mercy are with his holy ones, and his care is with the elect. But the wicked shall receive a punishment to match their thoughts, since they neglected justice and forsook the LORD. For he who despises wisdom and instruction is doomed. Vain is their hope, fruitless are their labors, and worthless are their works. [WISDOM 3:1-11]

For by the things through which their foes were punished they in their need were benefited. [WISDOM 11:5]

And in return for their senseless, wicked thoughts, which misled them into worshiping dumb serpents and worthless insects, You sent upon them swarms of dumb creatures for vengeance; that they might recognize that a man is punished by the very things through which he sins. [WISDOM 11:15-16]

For who can say to you, "What have you done?" or who can oppose your decree? Or when peoples perish, who can challenge you, their maker; or who can come into your presence as vindicator of unjust men? For neither is there any god besides you who have the care of all, that you need show you have not unjustly condemned; Nor can any king or prince confront you on behalf of those you have punished. But as you are just, you govern all things justly; you regard it as unworthy of your power to punish one who has incurred no blame. For your might is the source of justice; your mastery over all things makes you lenient to all. For you show your might when the perfection of your power is disbelieved; and in those who know you, you rebuke temerity. But though you are master of might, you judge with clemency, and with much lenience you govern us; for power, whenever you will, attends you. And you taught your people, by these deeds, that those who are just must be kind; And you gave your sons good ground for hope that you would permit repentance for their sins. For these were enemies of your servants, doomed to death; yet, while you punished them with such solicitude and pleading, granting time and opportunity to abandon wickedness, With what exactitude you judged your sons, to whose fathers you gave the sworn covenants of goodly promises! Us, therefore, you chastise and our enemies with a thousand blows you punish, that we may think earnestly of your goodness when we judge, and, when being judged, may look for mercy. [WISDOM 12:12-22]

But they who took no heed of punishment which was but child's play were to experience a condemnation worthy of God. [WISDOM 12:26]

Equally odious to God are the evildoer and his evil deed; and the thing made shall be punished with its contriver. [WISDOM 14:9-10]

Therefore they were fittingly punished by similar creatures, and were tormented by a swarm of insects. [WISDOM 16:1]

For the bites of locusts and of flies slew them, and no remedy was found to save their lives because they deserved to be punished by such means; But not even the fangs of poisonous reptiles overcame your sons, for your mercy brought the antidote to heal them. For as a reminder of your injunctions, they were stung, and swiftly they were saved, Lest they should fall into deep forgetfulness and become unresponsive to your beneficence. For indeed, neither herb nor application cured them, but your all-healing word, O LORD! [WISDOM 16:9-12]

For the wicked who refused to know you were punished by the might of your arm, Pursued by unwonted rains and hailstorms and unremitting downpours, and consumed by fire. [WISDOM 16:16]

Yet snow and ice withstood fire and were not melted, that they might know that their enemies' fruits Were consumed by a fire that blazed in the hail and flashed lightning in the rain. But this fire, again, that the just might be nourished, forgot even its proper strength; For your creation, serving you, its maker, grows tense for punishment against the wicked, but is relaxed in benefit for those who trust in you. [WISDOM 16:22-24]

Your people awaited the salvation of the just and the destruction of their foes. For when you punished our adversaries, in this you glorified us whom you had summoned. [WISDOM 18:7-8]

For while they were still engaged in funeral rites and were mourning at the burials of the dead, They adopted another senseless plan; and those whom they had sent away with entreaty, they pursued as fugitives. For a compulsion suited to this ending drew them on, and made them forgetful of what had befallen them, That they might fill out the torments of their punishment, and your people might experience a glorious journey while those others met an extraordinary death. [WISDOM 19:3-5]

And the punishments came upon the sinners only after forewarnings from the violence of the thunderbolts. For they justly suffered for their own misdeeds, since indeed they treated their guests with the more grievous hatred. For those others did not receive unfamiliar visitors, but these were enslaving beneficent guests. And not that only; but what punishment was to be theirs since they received strangers unwillingly! [WISDOM 19:13-15]

Rely not on your strength in following the desires of your heart. Say not: "Who can prevail against me?" for the LORD will exact the punishment. [SIRACH 5:2-3]

Do not plot to repeat a sin; not even for one will you go unpunished. [SIRACH 7:8] 

Rejoice not at a proud man's success; remember he will not reach death unpunished. [SIRACH 9:12]

Wealth ill becomes the mean man; and to the miser, of what use is gold? What he denies himself he collects for others, and in his possessions a stranger will revel. To whom will he be generous who is stingy with himself and does not enjoy what is his own? None is more stingy than he who is stingy with himself; he punishes his own miserliness. If ever he is generous, it is by mistake; and in the end he displays his greed. In the miser's opinion his share is too small; he refuses his neighbor and brings ruin on himself. [SIRACH 14:3-9]

And had there been but one stiff-necked man, it were a wonder had he gone unpunished. For mercy and anger alike are with him who remits and forgives, though on the wicked alights his wrath. [SIRACH 16:11]

Great as his mercy is his punishment; he judges men, each according to his deeds. [SIRACH 16:12]

And the man who dishonors his marriage bed and says to himself "Who can see me? Darkness surrounds me, walls hide me; no one sees me; why should I fear to sin?" Of the Most High he is not mindful, fearing only the eyes of men; He does not understand that the eyes of the LORD, ten thousand times brighter than the sun, Observe every step a man takes and peer into hidden corners. He who knows all things before they exist still knows them all after they are made. Such a man will be punished in the streets of the city; when he least expects it, he will be apprehended. So also with the woman who is unfaithful to her husband and offers as heir her son by a stranger. First, she has disobeyed the law of the Most High; secondly, she has wronged her husband; Thirdly, in her wanton adultery she has borne children by another man. Such a woman will be dragged before the assembly, and her punishment will extend to her children; Her children will not take root; her branches will not bring forth fruit. She will leave an accursed memory; her disgrace will never be blotted out. Thus all who dwell on the earth shall know, and all who inhabit the world shall understand, That nothing is better than the fear of the LORD, nothing more salutary than to obey his commandments. [SIRACH 23:18-27]

There are storm winds created to punish, which in their fury can dislodge mountains; When destruction must be, they hurl all their force and appease the anger of their Maker. [SIRACH 39:28]

Valiant leader was Joshua, son of Nun, assistant to Moses in the prophetic office, Formed to be, as his name implies, the great savior of God's chosen ones, To punish the enemy and to win the inheritance for Israel. What glory was his when he raised his arm, to brandish his javelin against the city! And who could withstand him when he fought the battles of the LORD? Did he not by his power stop the sun, so that one day became two? He called upon the Most High God when his enemies beset him on all sides, And God Most High gave answer to him in hailstones of tremendous power, Which he rained down upon the hostile army till on the slope he destroyed the foe; That all the doomed nations might know that the LORD was watching over his people's battles. [SIRACH 46:1-6]

What will you do on the day of punishment, when ruin comes from afar? To whom will you flee for help? [Taken from ISA 10:3]

But when the LORD has brought to an end all his work on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, I will punish the utterance of the king of Assyria's proud heart, and the boastfulness of his haughty eyes. [Taken from ISA 10:12-13]

Lo, the day of the LORD comes, cruel, with wrath and burning anger; To lay waste the land and destroy the sinners within it! The stars and constellations of the heavens send forth no light; The sun is dark when it rises, and the light of the moon does not shine. Thus I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their guilt. I will put an end to the pride of the arrogant, the insolence of tyrants I will humble. I will make mortals more rare than pure gold, men, than gold of Ophir. For this I will make the heavens tremble and the earth shall be shaken from its place, At the wrath of the LORD of hosts on the day of his burning anger. [ISA 13:9-13]

On that day the LORD will punish the host of the heavens in the heavens, and the kings of the earth on the earth. They will be gathered together like prisoners into a pit; They will be shut up in a dungeon, and after many days they will be punished. Then the moon will blush and the sun grow pale, For the LORD of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, glorious in the sight of his elders. [ISA 24:21-23]

O LORD, our God, other lords than you have ruled us; it is from you only that we can call upon your name. Dead they are, they have no life, shades that cannot rise; For you have punished and destroyed them, and wiped out all memory of them. You have increased the nation, O LORD, increased the nation to your own glory, and extended far all the borders of the land. [ISA 26:13-15]

O LORD, oppressed by your punishment, we cried out in anguish under your chastising. As a woman about to give birth writhes and cries out in her pains, so were we in your presence, O LORD. [ISA 26:16-17]

Go, my people, enter your chambers, and close your doors behind you; Hide yourselves for a brief moment, until the wrath is past. See, the LORD goes forth from his place, to punish the wickedness of the earth's inhabitants; The earth will reveal the blood upon her, and no longer conceal her slain. [ISA 26:20-21]

When the LORD speaks, Assyria will be shattered, as he strikes with the rod; While at every sweep of the rod which the LORD will bring down on him in punishment, You will sing as on a night when a feast is observed, And be merry of heart, as one marching along with a flute Toward the mountain of the LORD, toward the Rock of Israel, accompanied by the timbrels and lyres. [ISA 30:29,31-32]

Among the smooth stones of the wadi is your portion, these are your lot; To these you poured out libations, and brought offerings. Should I decide not to punish these things? [ISA 57:6]

When you see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bodies flourish like the grass; The LORD'S power shall be known to his servants, but to his enemies, his wrath. Lo, the LORD shall come in fire, his chariots like the whirlwind, To wreak his wrath with burning heat and his punishment with fiery flames. For the LORD shall judge all mankind by fire and sword. and many shall be slain by the LORD. [ISA 66:14-16]

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. Long ago you broke your yoke, you tore off your bonds. "I will not serve," you said. On every high hill, under every green tree, you gave yourself to harlotry. I had planted you, a choice vine of fully tested stock; How could you turn out obnoxious to me, a spurious vine? Though you scour it with soap, and use much lye, The stain of your guilt is still before me, says the Lord GOD. [JER 2:19-22]

Shall I not punish them for these things? says the LORD; On a nation such as this shall I not take vengeance? [JER 5:9]

Woe to the city marked for punishment; nought but oppression within her! [Taken from JER 6:6]

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 6:15]

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]

Punish us, O LORD, but with equity, not in anger, lest you have us dwindle away. [JER 10:24]

Therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: I am going to punish them. The young men shall die by the sword; their sons and daughters shall die by famine. None shall be spared among them, for I will bring misfortune upon the men of Anathoth, the year of their punishment. [JER 11:22-23]

Thus says the LORD of this people: They so love to wander that they do not spare their feet. The LORD has no pleasure in them; now he remembers their guilt, and will punish their sins. [JER 14:10]

To the royal house of Judah: Hear the word of the LORD, O house of David! Thus says the LORD: Each morning dispense justice, rescue the oppressed from the hand of the oppressor, Lest my fury break out like fire which burns without being quenched, because of the evil of your deeds. Beware! I am against you, Valley-site, Rock of the Plain, says the LORD. You who say, "Who will attack us, who can penetrate our retreats?" I will punish you, says the LORD, as your deeds deserve! I will kindle a fire in its forest that shall devour all its surroundings. [JER 21:11-14]

Therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, against the shepherds who shepherd my people: You have scattered my sheep and driven them away. You have not cared for them, but I will take care to punish your evil deeds. [JER 23:2]

Hence their way shall become for them slippery ground. In the darkness they shall lose their footing, and fall headlong; Evil I will bring upon them: the year of their punishment, says the LORD. [JER 23:12]

Yes, I am against the prophets who prophesy lying dreams, says the LORD, and who lead my people astray by recounting their lies and by their empty boasting. From me they have no mission or command, and they do this people no good at all, says the LORD. And when this people, or a prophet or a priest asks you, "What is the burden of the LORD?" you shall answer, "You are the burden, and I cast you off, says the LORD." If a prophet or a priest or anyone else mentions "the burden of the LORD," I will punish that man and his house. Thus you shall ask, when speaking to one another, "What answer did the LORD give?" or, "What did the LORD say?" But the burden of the LORD you shall mention no more. For each man his own word becomes the burden so that you pervert the words of the living God, the LORD of hosts, our God. [JER 23:32-36]

This whole land shall be a ruin and a desert. Seventy years these nations shall be enslaved to the king of Babylon; but when the seventy years have elapsed, I will punish the king of Babylon and the nation and the land of the Chaldeans for their guilt, says the LORD. Their land I will turn into everlasting desert. [JER 25:11-12]

Meanwhile, if any nation or kingdom will not serve Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, or will not bend its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with sword, famine, and pestilence, says the LORD, until I give them into his hand. [JER 27:8]

Send the message to all the exiles: Thus says the LORD concerning Shemaiah, the Nehelamite: Because Shemaiah prophesies to you without a mission from me, and raises false confidence, says the LORD, I will therefore punish Shemaiah, the Nehelamite, and his offspring. None of them shall survive among this people to see the good I will do to this people, says the LORD, because he preached rebellion against the LORD. [JER 29:31-32]

But you, my servant Jacob, fear not, says the LORD, be not dismayed, O Israel! Behold, I will deliver you from the far-off land, your descendants, from their land of exile; Jacob shall again find rest, shall be tranquil and undisturbed, for I am with you, says the LORD, to deliver you. I will make an end of all the nations among which I have scattered you; but of you I will not make an end. I will chastise you as you deserve, I will not let you go unpunished. For thus says the LORD: Incurable is your wound, grievous your bruise; There is none to plead your cause, no remedy for your running sore, no healing for you. All your lovers have forgotten you, they do not seek you. I struck you as an enemy would strike, punished you cruelly; Why cry out over your wound? your pain is without relief. Because of your great guilt, your numerous sins, I have done this to you. Yet all who devour you shall be devoured, all your enemies shall go into exile. All who plunder you shall be plundered, all who pillage you I will hand over to pillage. For I will restore you to health; of your wounds I will heal you, says the LORD. "The outcast" they have called you, "with no avenger." Thus says the LORD: See! I will restore the tents of Jacob, his dwellings I will pity; City shall be rebuilt upon hill, and palace restored as it was. From them will resound songs of praise, the laughter of happy men. I will make them not few, but many; they will not be tiny, for I will glorify them. His sons shall be as of old, his assembly before me shall stand firm; I will punish all his oppressors. His leader shall be one of his own, and his rulers shall come from his kin. When I summon him, he shall approach me; how else should one take the deadly risk of approaching me? says the LORD. You shall be my people, and I will be your God. [JER 30:10-22]

I will punish him and his descendants and his ministers for their wickedness; against them and the citizens of Jerusalem and the men of Judah I will fulfill all the threats of evil which went unheeded. [JER 36:31]

Hence, thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: I have determined evil against you; and I will uproot all Judah. I will take away the remnant of Judah who insisted on coming to dwell in Egypt, so that they shall be wholly destroyed. In the land of Egypt they shall fall by the sword or be consumed by hunger. High and low, they shall die by the sword, or by hunger, and become an example of malediction, a horror, a curse and a reproach. Thus will I punish those who live in Egypt, just as I punished Jerusalem with sword, hunger, and pestilence. None of the remnant of Judah that have come to settle in the land of Egypt shall escape or survive. [JER 44:11-13]

I am watching over them to do evil, not good. All the men of Judah in Egypt shall perish by the sword or famine until they are utterly destroyed. Those who escape the sword to return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah shall be few in number. The whole remnant of Judah who came to settle in Egypt shall know whose word stands, mine or theirs. That you may know how surely my threats of punishment for you shall be fulfilled, this shall be a sign to you, says the LORD, that I will punish you in this place. [JER 44:27-29]

The LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, has said: See! I will punish Amon of Thebes, and Egypt, her gods and her kings, Pharaoh, and those who trust in him. I will hand them over to those who seek their lives, to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and his ministers. But later on Egypt shall be inhabited again, as in times past, says the LORD. But you, my servant Jacob, fear not; be not dismayed, O Israel. Behold, I will deliver you from the far-off land, your descendants, from their land of exile. Jacob shall again find rest, shall be tranquil and undisturbed. You, my servant Jacob, never fear, says the LORD, for I am with you; I will make an end of all the nations to which I have driven you, But of you I will not make an end: I will chastise you as you deserve, I will not let you go unpunished. [JER 46:25-28]

He who flees from the terror falls into the pit; He who climbs from the pit is caught in the trap; For I will bring these things upon Moab in the year of their punishment, says the LORD. [JER 48:44]

Flee, retreat, hide in deep holes, you who live in Dedan: For I will bring destruction upon Esau when I come to punish him. [JER 49:8]

For thus says the LORD: Even those not sentenced to drink the cup must drink it! Shall you then go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished; you shall surely drink it. [JER 49:12]

Therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: I will punish the king of Babylon and his land, as once I punished the king of Assyria [Taken from JER 50:18]

I am against you, man of insolence, says the Lord GOD of hosts; For your day has come, the time for me to punish you. [JER 50:31]

For Israel and Judah are not widowed of their God, the LORD of hosts, And the Chaldean land is full of guilt to be punished by the Holy One of Israel. [JER 51:5]

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]

I will punish Bel in Babylon, and make him disgorge what he swallowed; peoples shall stream to him no more. The wall of Babylon falls! Leave her, my people, let each one save himself from the burning wrath of the LORD. Be not discouraged for fear of rumors spread in the land; this year the rumor comes, then violence in the land, tyrant against tyrant. But behold, the days are coming when I will punish the idols of Babylon; her whole land shall be put to shame, and all her slain shall lie fallen within her. Then heaven, and earth, and everything in them shall shout over Babylon with joy, when the destroyers come against her from the north, says the LORD. Babylon, too, must fall, O slain of Israel, as at the hands of Babylon have fallen the slain of all the earth. You who have escaped the sword, go on, stand not still; Remember the LORD from afar, let Jerusalem come to your minds. We are ashamed because we have heard taunts, confusion covers our faces; strangers have entered the holy places of the house of the LORD. But behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will punish her idols, and in her whole land the wounded will groan. Though Babylon scale the heavens, and make her strong heights inaccessible, destroyers from me shall reach her, says the LORD. [JER 51:44-53]

The roads to Zion mourn for lack of pilgrims going to her feasts; All her gateways are deserted, her priests groan, Her virgins sigh; she is in bitter grief. Her foes are uppermost, her enemies are at ease; The LORD has punished her for her many sins. Her little ones have gone away, captive before the foe. [LAM 1:4-5]

For the Lord's rejection does not last forever; Though he punishes, he takes pity, in the abundance of his mercies; He has no joy in afflicting or grieving the sons of men. [LAM 3:31-33]

The punishment of the daughter of my people is greater than the penalty of Sodom, Which was overthrown in an instant without the turning of a hand. [LAM 4:6]

Your chastisement is completed, O daughter Zion, he will not prolong your exile; But your wickedness, O daughter Edom, he will punish, he will lay bare your sins. [LAM 4:22]

Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have been more rebellious than the nations surrounding you, not living by my statutes nor fulfilling my ordinances, but acting according to the ordinances of the surrounding nations; therefore thus says the Lord GOD: See, I am coming at you! I will inflict punishments in your midst while the nations look on. Because of all your abominations I will do with you what I have never done before, the like of which I will never do again. [EZEK 5:7-9]

I will bring you out of the city, and hand you over to foreigners, and inflict punishments upon you. [EZEK 11:9]

Each shall receive punishment for his sin, the inquirer and the prophet shall be punished alike, so that the house of Israel may no longer stray from me and may no longer be defiled by all their sins. Thus they shall be my people, and I will be their God, says the Lord GOD. [EZEK 14:10-11]

Thus says the Lord GOD: Even though I send Jerusalem my four cruel punishments, the sword, famine, wild beasts, and pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast, still some survivors shall be left in it who will bring out sons and daughters; when they come out to you, you shall see their conduct and their actions and be consoled regarding the evil I have brought on Jerusalem (all that I have brought upon it). They shall console you when you see their conduct and actions, for you shall then know that it was not without reason that I did to it what I did, says the Lord GOD. [EZEK 14:21-23]

They shall burn your apartments with fire and inflict punishments on you while many women look on. Thus I will put an end to your harlotry, and you shall never again give payment. [EZEK 16:41]

They exposed her nakedness, her sons and daughters they took away, and herself they slew with the sword. Thus she became a byword for women, for they punished her grievously. [EZEK 23:10]

But just men shall punish them with the sentence meted out to adulteresses and murderesses, for they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. [EZEK 23:45]

Thus says the Lord GOD: Because the Philistines have acted revengefully, and have taken vengeance with destructive malice in their hearts, with an undying enmity, therefore thus says the Lord GOD: See! I am stretching out my hand against the Philistines; I will cut off the Cherethites and wipe out the remnant on the seacoast. I will execute great acts of vengeance on them, punishing them furiously. Thus they shall know that I am the LORD, when I wreak my vengeance on them. [EZEK 25:15-17]

Thus says the Lord GOD: See! I am coming at you, Sidon; I will be glorified in your midst. Then they shall know that I am the LORD, when I inflict punishments upon it and use it to manifest my holiness. [EZEK 28:22]

Thus says the Lord GOD: When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, then I will manifest my holiness through them in the sight of the nations. Then they shall live on their land which I gave to my servant Jacob; they shall live on it in security, building houses and planting vineyards. They shall dwell secure while I inflict punishments on all their neighbors who despised them; thus they shall know that I, the LORD, am their God. [EZEK 28:25-26]

Thus says the Lord GOD: I will put an end to the great ones of Memphis and the princes of the land of Egypt, that they may be no more. I will cast fear into the land of Egypt, and devastate Pathros. I will set fire to Zoan, and inflict punishments on Thebes. I will pour out my wrath on Pelusium, Egypt's stronghold, and cut down the crowds in Memphis. I will set fire to Egypt; Syene shall writhe in anguish; Thebes shall be breached and its walls shall be demolished. The young men of On and of Pibeseth shall fall by the sword, and the cities themselves shall go into captivity. In Tehaphnehes the day shall be darkened when I break the scepter of Egypt. Her haughty pride shall cease from her, clouds shall cover her, and her daughters shall go into captivity. Thus will I inflict punishments on Egypt, that they may know that I am the LORD. [EZEK 30:13-19]

Then the LORD said to him: Give him the name Jezreel, for in a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the bloodshed at Jezreel And bring to an end the kingdom of the house of Israel; On that day I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel. [HOSEA 1:4-5]

I will punish her for the days of the Baals, for whom she burnt incense While she decked herself out with her rings and her jewels, and, in going after her lovers, forgot me, says the LORD. [HOSEA 2:15]

They have come, the days of punishment! they have come, the days of recompense! Let Israel know it! "The prophet is a fool, the man of the spirit is mad!" Because your iniquity is great, great, too, is your hostility. [HOSEA 9:7]

They have sunk to the depths of corruption, as in the days of Gibeah; He shall remember their iniquity and punish their sins. [HOSEA 9:9]

The LORD has a grievance against Israel: he shall punish Jacob for his conduct, for his deeds he shall repay him. [HOSEA 12:3]

Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the LORD, your God. For gracious and merciful is he, slow to anger, rich in kindness, and relenting in punishment. [JOEL 2:13]

Egypt shall be a waste, and Edom a desert waste, Because of violence done to the people of Judah, because they shed innocent blood in their land. But Judah shall abide forever, and Jerusalem for all generations. I will avenge their blood, and not leave it unpunished. The LORD dwells in Zion. [JOEL 4:19-21]

You alone have I favored, more than all the families of the earth; Therefore I will punish you for all your crimes. [AMOS 3:2]

Hear and bear witness against the house of Jacob, says the Lord GOD, the God of hosts: On the day when I punish Israel for his crimes, I will visit also the altars of Bethel: The horns of the altar shall be broken off and fall to the ground. Then will I strike the winter house and the summer house; The ivory apartments shall be ruined, and their many rooms shall be no more, says the LORD. [AMOS 3:13-15]

But this was greatly displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. "I beseech you, LORD," he prayed, "is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? This is why I fled at first to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and merciful God, slow to anger, rich in clemency, loathe to punish. And now, LORD, please take my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live." [JONAH 4:1-3]

The best of them is like a brier, the most upright like a thorn hedge. The day announced by your watchmen! your punishment has come; now is the time of your confusion. [MICAH 7:4]

A jealous and avenging God is the LORD, an avenger is the LORD, and angry; The LORD brings vengeance on his adversaries, and lays up wrath for his enemies; The LORD is slow to anger, yet great in power, and the LORD never leaves the guilty unpunished. In hurricane and tempest is his path, and clouds are the dust at his feet; He rebukes the sea and leaves it dry, and all the rivers he dries up. Withered are Bashan and Carmel, and the bloom of Lebanon fades; The mountains quake before him, and the hills dissolve; The earth is laid waste before him, the world and all who dwell in it. Before his wrath, who can stand firm, and who can face his blazing anger? His fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are rent asunder before him. [NAHUM 1:2-6]

Are you not from eternity, O LORD, my holy God, immortal? O LORD you have marked him for judgment, O Rock, you have readied him for punishment! [HAB 1:12]

Silence in the presence of the Lord GOD! for near is the day of the LORD, Yes, the LORD has prepared a slaughter feast, he has consecrated his guests. On the day of the LORD'S slaughter feast I will punish the princes, and the king's sons, and all that dress in foreign apparel. I will punish, on that day, all who leap over the threshold, Who fill the house of their master with violence and deceit. [ZEPH 1:7-9]

At that time I will explore Jerusalem with lamps; I will punish the men who thicken on their lees, Who say in their hearts, "Neither good nor evil can the LORD do." [ZEPH 1:12]

My wrath is kindled against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders; For the LORD of hosts will visit his flock, the house of Judah, and make them his stately war horse. [ZECH 10:3]

This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations that do not come up to celebrate the feast of Booths. [ZECH 14:19]

[Jesus said,] "Who, then, is the faithful and prudent servant, whom the master has put in charge of his household to distribute to them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master on his arrival finds doing so. Amen, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property. But if that wicked servant says to himself, 'My master is long delayed,' and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eat and drink with drunkards, the servant's master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth." [Taken from MT 24:45-51]

[Jesus said,] "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.' Then the righteous will answer him and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?' And the king will say to them in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.' Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.' Then they will answer and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?' He will answer them, 'Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.' And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." [Taken from MT 25:31-46]

And the Lord replied, "Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute (the) food allowance at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so. Truly, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property. But if that servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed in coming,' and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, to eat and drink and get drunk, then that servant's master will come on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour and will punish him severely and assign him a place with the unfaithful. That servant who knew his master's will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely; and the servant who was ignorant of his master's will but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating shall be beaten only lightly. Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more." [LK 12:42-48]

[Jesus said,] "When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, know that its desolation is at hand. Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains. Let those within the city escape from it, and let those in the countryside not enter the city, for these days are the time of punishment when all the scriptures are fulfilled. Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days, for a terrible calamity will come upon the earth and a wrathful judgment upon this people. They will fall by the edge of the sword and be taken as captives to all the Gentiles; and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled." [Taken from LK 21:20-24]

After threatening them further, they released them, finding no way to punish them, on account of the people who were all praising God for what had happened. [ACTS 4:21]

I myself once thought that I had to do many things against the name of Jesus the Nazorean, and I did so in Jerusalem. I imprisoned many of the holy ones with the authorization I received from the chief priests, and when they were to be put to death I cast my vote against them. Many times, in synagogue after synagogue, I punished them in an attempt to force them to blaspheme; I was so enraged against them that I pursued them even to foreign cities. [ACTS 26:9-11]

If anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure (not to exaggerate) to all of you. This punishment by the majority is enough for such a person, so that on the contrary you should forgive and encourage him instead, or else the person may be overwhelmed by excessive pain. Therefore, I urge you to reaffirm your love for him. [2COR 2:5-8]

I rejoice now, not because you were saddened, but because you were saddened into repentance; for you were saddened in a godly way, so that you did not suffer loss in anything because of us. For godly sorrow produces a salutary repentance without regret, but worldly sorrow produces death. For behold what earnestness this godly sorrow has produced for you, as well as readiness for a defense, and indignation, and fear, and yearning, and zeal, and punishment. In every way you have shown yourselves to be innocent in the matter. [2COR 7:9-11]

For, although we are in the flesh, we do not battle according to the flesh, for the weapons of our battle are not of flesh but are enormously powerful, capable of destroying fortresses. We destroy arguments and every pretension raising itself against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive in obedience to Christ, and we are ready to punish every disobedience, once your obedience is complete. [2COR 10:3-6]

For it is surely just on God's part to repay with afflictions those who are afflicting you, and to grant rest along with us to you who are undergoing afflictions, at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with his mighty angels, in blazing fire, inflicting punishment on those who do not acknowledge God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of eternal ruin, separated from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power, when he comes to be glorified among his holy ones and to be marveled at on that day among all who have believed, for our testimony to you was believed. [2THES 1:6-10]

[A bishop] should not be a recent convert, so that he may not become conceited and thus incur the devil's punishment. [Taken from 1TM 3:6]

We should not stay away from our assembly, as is the custom of some, but encourage one another, and this all the more as you see the day drawing near. If we sin deliberately after receiving knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains sacrifice for sins but a fearful prospect of judgment and a flaming fire that is going to consume the adversaries. Anyone who rejects the law of Moses is put to death without pity on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Do you not think that a much worse punishment is due the one who has contempt for the Son of God, considers unclean the covenant-blood by which he was consecrated, and insults the spirit of grace? We know the one who said: "Vengeance is mine; I will repay," and again: "The Lord will judge his people." It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. [HEB 10:25-31]

Be subject to every human institution for the Lord's sake, whether it be to the king as supreme or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the approval of those who do good. For it is the will of God that by doing good you may silence the ignorance of foolish people. [1PT 2:13-15]

There were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will introduce destructive heresies and even deny the Master who ransomed them, bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their licentious ways, and because of them the way of truth will be reviled. In their greed they will exploit you with fabrications, but from of old their condemnation has not been idle and their destruction does not sleep. For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but condemned them to the chains of Tartarus and handed them over to be kept for judgment; and if he did not spare the ancient world, even though he preserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, together with seven others, when he brought a flood upon the godless world; and if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (to destruction), reducing them to ashes, making them an example for the godless (people) of what is coming; and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man oppressed by the licentious conduct of unprincipled people (for day after day that righteous man living among them was tormented in his righteous soul at the lawless deeds that he saw and heard), then the Lord knows how to rescue the devout from trial and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, and especially those who follow the flesh with its depraved desire and show contempt for lordship. [Taken from 2PT 2:1-10]

We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us. God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him. In this is love brought to perfection among us, that we have confidence on the day of judgment because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love. We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, "I love God," but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. This is the commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother. [1JN 4:16-21]

I wish to remind you, although you know all things, that (the) Lord who once saved a people from the land of Egypt later destroyed those who did not believe. The angels too, who did not keep to their own domain but deserted their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains, in gloom, for the judgment of the great day. Likewise, Sodom, Gomorrah, and the surrounding towns, which, in the same manner as they, indulged in sexual promiscuity and practiced unnatural vice, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire. [JUDE 1:5-7] 

Also try:

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

disobey / disobedience [D]

wrath [W13a]

afflict / afflicted / affliction [A1]

discipline [D9]

judgment [J3a]

atonement for sin [A]

Hell [H10a] 

purgatory [The final purification, after death, of imperfectly purified souls, before they attain Heaven] [P24]

repent / repentance [R4]

confess / confession of sins [C]

forgive / forgiveness [F10]

mercy / merciful [M3a]

Other resources:

Tough Love in the New Testament

Reflections: A-Z | Categorized

Classic Encyclicals & Other Papal Documents

(Also try: Help, A-Z)

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