|
sin
/ sins / sinned / sinful / sinner /
misdeeds / wrongdoing, continued related
links Note:
There are numerous references to sin in the Bible. Scripture
herein is but a small sampling of relevant passages. |
This
topic continued from previous page - Click here to view
Judas pressed the pursuit vigorously, putting
the sinners to the sword and destroying as many as thirty thousand
men. [2MACC 12:23]
On the following day, since the task had now
become urgent, Judas and his men went to gather up the bodies of
the slain and bury them with their kinsmen in their ancestral
tombs. But under the tunic of each of the dead they found amulets
sacred to the idols of Jamnia, which the law forbids the Jews to
wear. So it was clear to all that this was why these men had been
slain. They all therefore praised the ways of the Lord, the just
judge who brings to light the things that are hidden. Turning to
supplication, they prayed that the sinful deed might be fully
blotted out. The noble Judas warned the soldiers to keep
themselves free from sin, for they had seen with their own eyes
what had happened because of the sin of those who had fallen. He
then took up a collection among all his soldiers, amounting to two
thousand silver drachmas, which he sent to Jerusalem to provide
for an expiatory sacrifice. In doing this he acted in a very
excellent and noble way, inasmuch as he had the resurrection of
the dead in view; for if he were not expecting the fallen to rise
again, it would have been useless and foolish to pray for them in
death. But if he did this with a view to the splendid reward that
awaits those who had gone to rest in godliness, it was a holy and
pious thought. Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might
be freed from this sin. [2MACC 12:39-46]
There is at that place a tower seventy-five feet
high, full of ashes, with a circular rim sloping down steeply on
all sides toward the ashes. A man guilty of sacrilege or notorious
for certain other crimes is brought up there and then hurled down
to destruction. In such a manner was Menelaus, the transgressor of
the law, fated to die; he was deprived even of decent burial. It
was altogether just that he who had committed so many sins against
the altar with its pure fire and ashes should meet his death in
ashes. [2MACC 13:5-8]
When Nicanor learned that Judas and his
companions were in the territory of Samaria, he decided to attack
them in all safety on the day of rest. The Jews who were forced to
follow him pleaded, "Do not massacre them in that way, like a
savage barbarian, but show respect for the day which the
All-seeing has exalted with holiness above all other days."
At this the thrice-sinful wretch asked if there was a ruler in
heaven who prescribed the keeping of the sabbath day. When they
replied that there was indeed such a ruler in heaven, the living
LORD himself, who commanded the observance of the sabbath day, he
said, "I, on my part, am ruler on earth, and my orders are
that you take up arms and carry out the king's business."
Nevertheless he did not succeed in carrying out his cruel plan. [2MACC
15:1-5]
Then Job began to tear his cloak and cut off his hair. He cast himself prostrate upon the ground, and said,
"Naked I came forth from my mother's womb, and naked shall I go back again.
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD!"
In all this Job did not sin, nor did he say anything disrespectful of God.
[Taken from JOB 1:20-22]
And the LORD said to Satan, "Have you
noticed my servant Job, and that there is no one on earth like
him, faultless and upright, fearing God and avoiding evil? He
still holds fast to his innocence although you incited me against
him to ruin him without cause." And Satan answered the LORD
and said, "Skin for skin! All that a man has will he give for
his life. But now put forth your hand and touch his bone and his
flesh, and surely he will blaspheme you to your face." And
the LORD said to Satan, "He is in your power; only spare his
life." So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD and
smote Job with severe boils from the soles of his feet to the
crown of his head. And he took a potsherd to scrape himself, as he
sat among the ashes. Then his wife said to him, "Are you
still holding to your innocence? Curse God and die." But he
said to her, "Are even you going to speak as senseless women
do? We accept good things from God; and should we not accept
evil?" Through all this, Job said nothing sinful. [JOB 2:3-10]
What is man, that you make much of him, or pay
him any heed? You observe him with each new day and try him at
every moment! How long will it be before you look away from me,
and let me alone long enough to swallow my spittle? Though I have
sinned, what can I do to you, O watcher of men? Why do you not
pardon my offense, or take away my guilt? For soon I shall lie
down in the dust; and should you seek me I shall then be gone. [Taken
from JOB 7:17-21]
What are my faults and my sins? My misdeeds and
my sins make known to me! [JOB 13:23]
Oh, that you would hide me in the nether world
and keep me sheltered till your wrath is past; would fix a time
for me, and then remember me! When a man has died, were he to live
again, all the days of my drudgery I would wait, until my relief
should come. You would call, and I would answer you; you would
esteem the work of your hands. Surely then you would count my
steps, and not keep watch for sin in me. My misdeeds would be
sealed up in a pouch, and you would cover over my guilt. But as a
mountain falls at last and its rock is moved from its place, As
waters wear away the stones and floods wash away the soil of the
land, so you destroy the hope of man. You prevail once for all
against him and he passes on; with changed appearance you send him
away. [JOB 14:13-20]
He shall sing before men and say, "I sinned and did wrong, yet he has not punished me accordingly. He delivered my soul from passing to the pit, and I behold the light of life." [JOB
33:27-28]
Happy those who do not follow the counsel of
the wicked, Nor go the way of sinners, nor sit in company with
scoffers. [PS 1:1]
Therefore the wicked will not survive judgment, nor will sinners in the assembly of the just. The LORD watches over the way of the just, but the way of the wicked leads to ruin.
[PS 1:5-6]
Tremble and do not sin; upon your beds ponder in
silence. [PS 4:5]
Declare them guilty, God; make them fall by
their own devices. Drive them out for their many sins; they have
rebelled against you. [PS 5:11]
If sinners do not repent, God sharpens his sword, strings and readies the bow, Prepares his deadly shafts, makes arrows blazing thunderbolts. [PS
7:13-14]
Sinners conceive iniquity; pregnant with mischief, they give birth to failure. They open a hole and dig it deep, but fall into the pit
they have dug. Their mischief comes back upon themselves; their violence falls on their own heads.
[PS
7:15-17]
The LORD acknowledged my
righteousness, rewarded my clean hands. For I kept the ways
of the LORD; I was not disloyal to my God. His laws were all
before me, his decrees I did not cast aside. I was honest
toward him; I was on guard against sin. So the LORD rewarded
my righteousness, the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
Toward the faithful you are faithful; to the honest you are
honest; Toward the sincere, sincere; but to the perverse you
are devious. Humble people you save; haughty eyes you bring
low. [PS 18:21-28]
Who can detect heedless failings? Cleanse me from my unknown faults.
But from willful sins keep your servant; let them never control me. Then shall I be blameless, innocent of grave sin.
[PS 19:13-14]
Remember no more the sins of my youth; remember
me only in light of your love. [PS 25:7]
Good and upright is the LORD, who shows
sinners the way, guides the humble rightly, and teaches the
humble the way. All the paths of the LORD are faithful
love toward those who honor the covenant demands. [PS 25:8-10]
Look upon me, have pity on me, for I am
alone and afflicted. Relieve the troubles of my heart; bring
me out of my distress. Put an end to my affliction and
suffering; take away all my sins. [PS 25:16-18]
Do not take me away with sinners, nor my
life with the violent. [PS 26:9]
Happy the sinner whose
fault is removed, whose sin is forgiven. [PS 32:1]
As long as I kept silent, my bones wasted
away; I groaned all the day. For day and night your hand was
heavy upon me; my strength withered as in dry summer heat.
Then I declared my sin to you; my guilt I did not
hide. I said, "I confess my faults to the
LORD," and you took away the guilt of my sin. Thus
should all your faithful pray in time of
distress. Though flood waters threaten, they will never
reach them. You are my shelter; from distress you keep
me; with safety you ring me round. [Taken from PS 32:3-7]
Sin directs the heart of the wicked; their eyes are closed to the fear of God.
For they live with the delusion: their guilt will not be known and hated.
[PS 36:2-3]
Observe the honest, mark the upright; those at peace with God have a future.
But all sinners will be destroyed; the future of the wicked will be cut off.
[PS 37:37-38]
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]
I acknowledge my guilt and grieve over my sin.
[PS 38:19]
I said, "I will watch my
ways, lest I sin with my tongue; I will set a curb on my
mouth." Dumb and silent before the wicked, I refrained
from any speech. But my sorrow increased; my heart smoldered
within me. In my thoughts a fire blazed up, and I broke
into speech [Taken from PS 39:2-4]
And now, Lord, what future do I have? You are my only hope.
From all my sins deliver me; let me not be the taunt of fools.
[PS 39:8-9]
LORD, do not withhold your compassion from me; may your enduring kindness ever preserve me.
For all about me are evils beyond count; my sins so overcome me I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head; my courage fails me. [PS 40:12-13]
Once I prayed, "LORD, have mercy on
me; heal me, I have sinned against you. My enemies say the
worst of me: 'When will that one die and be forgotten?' When
people come to visit me, they speak without
sincerity. Their hearts store up malice; they leave and
spread their vicious lies. My foes all whisper against
me; they imagine the worst about me: I have a deadly disease,
they say; I will never rise from my sickbed. Even the friend
who had my trust, who shared my table, has scorned me. But
you, LORD, have mercy and raise me up that I may repay them
as they deserve." [PS 41:5-11]
You love justice and hate wrongdoing; therefore God, your God,
has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellow kings.
[PS 45:8]
Have mercy on me, God, in your goodness; in
your abundant compassion blot out my offense. Wash away all my
guilt; from my sin cleanse me. For I know my offense; my
sin is always before me. Against you alone have I sinned; I
have done such evil in your sight That you are just in your
sentence, blameless when you condemn. True, I was born
guilty, a sinner, even as my mother conceived me. Still, you
insist on sincerity of heart; in my inmost being teach me
wisdom. Cleanse me with hyssop, that I may be pure; wash me,
make me whiter than snow. Let me hear sounds of joy and
gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Turn
away your face from my sins; blot out all my guilt. A clean
heart create for me, God; renew in me a steadfast spirit. Do
not drive me from your presence, nor take from me your holy
spirit. Restore my joy in your salvation; sustain in me a
willing spirit. I will teach the wicked your ways, that
sinners may return to you. [PS 51:3-15]
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! [PS 59:2-5]
May God go before me, and show me my
fallen foes. Slay them, God, lest they deceive my
people. Shake them by your power; Lord, our shield,
bring them down. For the sinful words of their mouths and
lips let them be caught in their pride. For the lies
they have told under oath destroy them in anger, destroy till
they are no more. Then people will know God rules over
Jacob, yes, even to the ends of the earth. [Taken from PS 59:12-14]
To you we owe our hymn of praise, O God on
Zion; To you our vows must be fulfilled, you who hear our
prayers. To you all flesh must come with its burden of wicked
deeds. We are overcome by our sins; only you can pardon
them. Happy the chosen ones you bring to dwell in your
courts. May we be filled with the good things of your
house, the blessings of your holy temple! [PS 65:2-5]
God will crush the skulls of the enemy, the
hairy heads of those who walk in sin. [PS 68:22]
But, as for me, I lost my balance; my feet
all but slipped, Because I was envious of the arrogant when I
saw the prosperity of the wicked. For they suffer no
pain; their bodies are healthy and sleek. They are free of
the burdens of life; they are not afflicted like others. Thus
pride adorns them as a necklace; violence clothes them as a
robe. Out of their stupidity comes sin; evil thoughts flood
their hearts. They scoff and spout their malice; from on high
they utter threats. They set their mouths against the
heavens, their tongues roam the earth. So my people turn to
them and drink deeply of their words. They say, "Does
God really know?" "Does the Most High have any
knowledge?" Such, then, are the wicked, always carefree,
increasing their wealth. Is it in vain that I have kept my
heart clean, washed my hands in innocence? For I am afflicted
day after day, chastised every morning. Had I thought,
"I will speak as they do," I would have betrayed
your people. Though I tried to understand all this, it was
too difficult for me, Till I entered the sanctuary of God and
came to understand their end. You set them, indeed, on a
slippery road; you hurl them down to ruin. How suddenly they
are devastated; undone by disasters forever! [PS 73:2-19]
But they went on sinning against him, rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
They tested God in their hearts, demanding the food they craved.
[Taken from PS 78:17-18]
The LORD heard and grew angry; fire blazed
up against Jacob; anger flared up against Israel. For they
did not believe in God, did not trust in his saving power. So
he commanded the skies above; the doors of heaven he opened.
God rained manna upon them for food; bread from heaven he
gave them. All ate a meal fit for heroes; food he sent in
abundance... They ate and were well filled; he gave them what
they had craved. But while they still wanted more, and the
food was still in their mouths, God's anger attacked
them, killed their best warriors, laid low the youth of
Israel. In spite of all this they went on sinning, they did
not believe in his wonders. [Taken from PS 78:21-25,29-32]
God ended their days abruptly, their years
in sudden death. When he slew them, they began to seek
him; they again inquired of their God. They remembered that
God was their rock, God Most High, their redeemer. But they
deceived him with their mouths, lied to him with their
tongues. Their hearts were not constant toward him; they were
not faithful to his covenant. But God is merciful and forgave
their sin; he did not utterly destroy them. Time and
again he turned back his anger, unwilling to unleash all his
rage. He was mindful that they were flesh, a breath that
passes and does not return. [PS 78:33-39]
Do not hold past iniquities against us; may
your compassion come quickly, for we have been brought very
low. Help us, God our savior, for the glory of your
name. Deliver us, pardon our sins for your name's sake.
Why should the nations say, "Where is their
God?" Before our eyes make clear to the
nations that you avenge the blood of your servants. [PS 79:8-10]
You once favored, LORD, your
land, restored the good fortune of Jacob. You forgave the
guilt of your people, pardoned all their sins. You withdrew
all your wrath, turned back your burning anger. Restore us
once more, God our savior; abandon your wrath against us.
Will you be angry with us forever, drag out your anger for
all generations? Please give us life again, that your people
may rejoice in you. Show us, LORD, your love; grant us your
salvation. [Taken from PS 85:2-8]
Truly we are consumed by your
anger, filled with terror by your wrath. You have kept our
faults before you, our hidden sins exposed to your sight. Our
life ebbs away under your wrath; our years end like a sigh.
Seventy is the sum of our years, or eighty, if we are
strong; Most of them are sorrow and toil; they pass
quickly, we are all but gone. Who comprehends your terrible
anger? Your wrath matches the fear it inspires. Teach us to
count our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Relent, O LORD! How long? Have pity on your servants! Fill us
at daybreak with your love, that all our days we may sing for
joy. Make us glad as many days as you humbled us, for as many
years as we have seen trouble. [PS 90:7-15]
How great are your works, LORD! How
profound your purpose! A senseless person cannot know this; a
fool cannot comprehend. Though the wicked flourish like
grass and all sinners thrive, They are destined for
eternal destruction; for you, LORD, are forever on high. Indeed
your enemies, LORD, indeed your enemies shall
perish; all sinners shall be scattered. [PS 92:6-10]
Bless the LORD, my soul; all my being,
bless his holy name! Bless the LORD, my soul; do not forget
all the gifts of God, Who pardons all your sins, heals all
your ills, Delivers your life from the pit, surrounds you
with love and compassion, Fills your days with good
things; your youth is renewed like the eagle's. [PS 103:1-5]
Merciful and gracious is the LORD, slow to
anger, abounding in kindness. God does not always
rebuke, nurses no lasting anger, Has not dealt with us as our
sins merit, nor requited us as our deeds deserve. As the
heavens tower over the earth, so God's love towers over the
faithful. As far as the east is from the west, so far have
our sins been removed from us. As a father has compassion on his
children, so the LORD has compassion on the faithful. [PS 103:8-13]
May sinners vanish from the earth, and the
wicked be no more. Bless the LORD, my soul! Hallelujah! [PS
104:35]
We have sinned like our ancestors; we have done
wrong and are guilty. [PS 106:6]
Some fell sick from their wicked
ways, afflicted because of their sins. They loathed all
manner of food; they were at the gates of death. In their
distress they cried to the LORD, who saved them in their
peril, Sent forth the word to heal them, snatched them from
the grave. Let them thank the LORD for such kindness, such
wondrous deeds for mere mortals. [Taken from PS 107:17-21]
They repay me evil for good, hatred for my
love. My enemies say of me: "Find a lying
witness, an accuser to stand by his right hand, That he may
be judged and found guilty, that his plea may be in vain. May
his days be few; may another take his office. May his
children be fatherless, his wife, a widow. May his children
be vagrant beggars, driven from their hovels. May the usurer
snare all he owns, strangers plunder all he earns. May no one
treat him kindly or pity his fatherless children. May his
posterity be destroyed, his name cease in the next
generation. May the LORD remember his fathers' guilt; his
mother's sin not be canceled. May their guilt be always before the
LORD, till their memory is banished from the earth, For he
did not remember to show kindness, but hounded the wretched
poor and brought death to the brokenhearted. He loved
cursing; may it come upon him; he hated blessing; may none
come to him. May cursing clothe him like a robe; may it enter
his belly like water, seep into his bones like oil. May it be
near as the clothes he wears, as the belt always around
him." May the LORD bring all this upon my accusers, upon
those who speak evil against me. [PS 109:5-20]
How can the young walk without fault? Only
by keeping your words. With all my heart I seek you; do not
let me stray from your commands. In my heart I treasure your
promise, that I may not sin against you. Blessed are you, O
LORD; teach me your laws. With my lips I recite all the
edicts you have spoken. I find joy in the way of your
decrees more than in all riches. [PS 119:9-14]
Salvation is far from sinners because they do
not cherish your laws. [PS 119:155]
Out of the depths I call to you, LORD; Lord,
hear my cry! May your ears be attentive to my cry for
mercy. If you, LORD, mark our sins, Lord, who can stand? But
with you is forgiveness and so you are revered. [PS 130:1-4]
More than sentinels for daybreak, let Israel
look for the LORD, For with the LORD is kindness, with
him is full redemption, And God will redeem Israel from all
their sins. [Taken from PS 130:6-8]
Do not let my heart incline to evil, or yield to
any sin. I will never feast upon the fine food of evildoers. [PS
141:4]
My son, should sinners entice you, and
say, "Come along with us! Let us lie in wait for
the honest man, let us, unprovoked, set a trap for the
innocent; Let us swallow them up, as the nether world does,
alive, in the prime of life, like those who go down to the
pit! All kinds of precious wealth shall we gain, we shall
fill our houses with booty; Cast in your lot with us, we
shall all have one purse!" - My son, walk not in the way with
them, hold back your foot from their path! [PROV 1:10-15]
For each man's ways are plain to the LORD'S
sight; all their paths he surveys; By his own iniquities the
wicked man will be caught, in the meshes of his own sin he
will be held fast; He will die from lack of
discipline, through the greatness of his folly he will be
lost. [PROV 5:21-23]
The just man's recompense leads to life, the
gains of the wicked, to sin. [PROV 10:16]
Where words are many, sin is not wanting; but he
who restrains his lips does well. [PROV 10:19]
If the just man is punished on earth, how much
more the wicked and the sinner! [PROV 11:31]
In the sin of his lips the evil man is ensnared,
but the just comes free of trouble. [PROV 12:13]
Virtue guards one who walks honestly, but the
downfall of the wicked is sin. [PROV 13:6]
Misfortune pursues sinners, but the just shall
be recompensed with good. [PROV 13:21]
The good man leaves an inheritance to his
children's children, but the wealth of the sinner is stored up for
the just. [PROV 13:22]
He sins who despises the hungry; but happy is he
who is kind to the poor! [PROV 14:21]
Virtue exalts a nation, but sin is a people's
disgrace. [PROV 14:34]
Kings have a horror of wrongdoing, for by righteousness the
throne endures. [PROV 16:12]
He who covers up a misdeed fosters friendship, but he who gossips
about it separates friends. [PROV 17:9]
Who can say, "I have made my heart clean, I
am cleansed of my sin"? [PROV 20:9]
Haughty eyes and a proud heart - the tillage of
the wicked is sin. [PROV 21:4]
Let not your heart emulate sinners, but be zealous for the fear of the LORD always;
For you will surely have a future, and your hope will not be cut off.
[PROV 23:17-18]
Beyond intrigue and folly and sin, it is
arrogance that men find abominable. [PROV 24:9]
He who conceals his sins prospers not, but he
who confesses and forsakes them obtains mercy. [PROV 28:13]
He who defrauds father or mother and calls it no
sin, is a partner of the brigand. [PROV 28:24]
An ill-tempered man stirs up disputes, and a
hotheaded man is the cause of many sins. [PROV 29:22]
For to whatever man he sees fit he gives wisdom
and knowledge and joy; but to the sinner he gives the task of
gathering possessions to be given to whatever man God sees fit.
This also is vanity and a chase after wind. [ECCL 2:26]
Wisdom is a better defense for the wise man than would be ten princes in the city,
yet there is no man on earth so just as to do good and never sin. [ECCL 7:19-20]
He who is pleasing to God will escape her, but the sinner
will be entrapped by her. [Taken from ECCL 7:26]
Because the sentence against evildoers is not
promptly executed, therefore the hearts of men are filled with the
desire to commit evil - because the sinner does evil a hundred
times and survives. Though indeed I know that it shall be well
with those who fear God, for their reverence toward him; and that
it shall not be well with the wicked man, and he shall not prolong
his shadowy days, for his lack of reverence toward God. [ECCL 8:11-13]
Because into a soul that plots evil wisdom
enters not, nor dwells she in a body under debt of sin. [WISDOM
1:4]
Yes, blessed is she who, childless and undefiled, knew not
transgression of the marriage bed; she shall bear fruit at
the visitation of souls. So also the eunuch whose hand wrought no
misdeed, who held no wicked thoughts against the
LORD- For he shall be given fidelity's choice reward and
a more gratifying heritage in the LORD'S temple. [WISDOM 3:13-14]
He who pleased God was loved; he who lived
among sinners was transported - Snatched away, lest wickedness
pervert his mind or deceit beguile his soul; For the witchery
of paltry things obscures what is right and the whirl of
desire transforms the innocent mind. Having become perfect in a
short while, he reached the fullness of a long career; for
his soul was pleasing to the LORD, therefore he sped him out
of the midst of wickedness. But the people saw and did not
understand, nor did they take this into account. Yes, the
just man dead condemns the sinful who live, and youth swiftly
completed condemns the many years of the wicked man grown
old. [WISDOM 4:10-16]
Fearful shall they come, at the counting up of
their sins, and their lawless deeds shall convict them to their
face. [WISDOM 4:20]
To you, therefore, O princes, are my words
addressed that you may learn wisdom and that you may not sin.
[WISDOM 6:9]
But Wisdom delivered from tribulations those who
served her. She, when the just man fled from his brother's
anger, guided him in direct ways, Showed him the kingdom
of God and gave him knowledge of holy things; She
prospered him in his labors and made abundant the fruit of
his works, Stood by him against the greed of his
defrauders, and enriched him; She preserved him from
foes, and secured him against ambush, And she gave him
the prize for his stern struggle that he might know that
devotion to God is mightier than all else. She did not
abandon the just man when he was sold, but delivered him from
sin. She went down with him into the dungeon, and did not
desert him in his bonds, Until she brought him the scepter of
royalty and authority over his oppressors, showed those
who had defamed him false, and gave him eternal glory. [WISDOM 10:9-14]
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]
But you have mercy on all, because you can do
all things; and you overlook the sins of men that they may
repent. For you love all things that are and loathe nothing
that you have made; for what you hated, you would not have
fashioned. And how could a thing remain, unless you willed
it; or be preserved, had it not been called forth by you? But
you spare all things, because they are yours, O LORD and
lover of souls, for your imperishable spirit is in all things!
Therefore you rebuke offenders little by little, warn them,
and remind them of the sins they are committing, that they
may abandon their wickedness and believe in you, O LORD! [WISDOM 11:23-26, 12:1-2]
But even these, as they were men, you
spared, and sent wasps as forerunners of your army that
they might exterminate them by degrees. Not that you were without
power to have the wicked vanquished in battle by the
just, or wiped out at once by terrible beasts or by one
decisive word; But condemning them bit by bit, you gave them
space for repentance. You were not unaware that their
race was wicked and their malice ingrained, And that
their dispositions would never change; for they were a race
accursed from the beginning. Neither out of fear for
anyone did you grant amnesty for their sins. 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. [WISDOM 12:8-19]
For not the might of those that are sworn by but
the retribution of sinners ever follows upon the transgression of
the wicked. [WISDOM 14:31]
But you, our God, are good and true, slow
to anger, and governing all with mercy. For even if we sin, we are
yours, and know your might; but we will not sin, knowing that
we belong to you. For to know you well is complete
justice, and to know your might is the root of immortality. [WISDOM 15:1-3]
For this man more than any knows that he is
sinning, when out of earthen stuff he creates fragile vessels and
idols alike. [WISDOM 15:13]
For they who supposed their secret sins were hid
under the dark veil of oblivion were scattered in fearful
trembling, terrified by apparitions. [WISDOM 17:3]
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. [WISDOM 19:13]
Among wisdom's treasures is the paragon of
prudence; but fear of the LORD is an abomination to the sinner. [SIRACH
1:22]
Compassionate and merciful is the LORD; he
forgives sins, he saves in time of trouble. [SIRACH 2:11]
Woe to craven hearts and drooping hands, to the
sinner who treads a double path! [SIRACH 2:12]
He who honors his father atones for sins; he stores up riches who reveres his mother.
[SIRACH 3:3-4]
My son, take care of your father when he is
old; grieve him not as long as he lives. Even if his mind
fail, be considerate with him; revile him not in the fullness
of your strength. For kindness to a father will not be
forgotten, it will serve as a sin offering - it will take
lasting root. In time of tribulation it will be recalled to your
advantage, like warmth upon frost it will melt away your
sins. A blasphemer is he who despises his father; accursed of
his Creator, he who angers his mother. [SIRACH 3:12-16]
A stubborn man will be burdened with sorrow; a
sinner will heap sin upon sin. [SIRACH 3:26]
Water quenches a flaming fire, and alms atone
for sins. [SIRACH 3:29]
Rely not on your wealth; say not: "I
have the power." 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. Say not:
"I have sinned, yet what has befallen me?" for the
LORD bides his time. Of forgiveness be not
overconfident, adding sin upon sin. Say not: "Great is
his mercy; my many sins he will forgive." For mercy and
anger alike are with him; upon the wicked alights his wrath.
Delay not your conversion to the LORD, put it not off from
day to day; For suddenly his wrath flames forth; at the time
of vengeance, you will be destroyed. [SIRACH 5:1-9]
Do not plot to repeat a sin; not even for one
will you go unpunished. [SIRACH 7:8]
In whatever you do, remember your last days, and
you will never sin. [SIRACH 7:36]
Shame not a repentant sinner; remember, we all
are guilty. [SIRACH 8:5]
Kindle not the coals of a sinner, lest you be
consumed in his flaming fire. [SIRACH 8:10]
Envy not a sinner's fame, for you know not what
disaster awaits him. [SIRACH 9:11]
Odious to the LORD and to men is arrogance, and
the sin of oppression they both hate. [SIRACH 10:7]
The beginning of pride is man's stubbornness in withdrawing his heart from his Maker;
For pride is the reservoir of sin, a source which runs over with vice; Because of it God sends unheard-of afflictions and brings men to utter ruin.
[SIRACH 10:12-13]
It is not just to despise a man who is wise but
poor, nor proper to honor any sinner. [SIRACH 10:22]
Error and darkness were formed with sinners from
their birth, and evil grows old with evildoers. [SIRACH 11:16]
Admire not how sinners live, but trust in the
LORD and wait for his light; For it is easy with the LORD
suddenly, in an instant, to make a poor man rich. [SIRACH 11:21]
Give to the good man, refuse the sinner; refresh
the downtrodden, give nothing to the proud man. [SIRACH 12:4]
The Most High himself hates sinners, and upon
the wicked he takes vengeance. [SIRACH 12:7]
Never trust your enemy, for his wickedness
is like corrosion in bronze. Even though he acts humbly and
peaceably toward you, take care to be on your guard against
him. Rub him as one polishes a brazen mirror, and you
will find that there is still corrosion. Let him not stand near
you, lest he oust you and take your place. Let him not
sit at your right hand, lest he then demand your
seat, And in the end you appreciate my advice, when you
groan with regret, as I warned you. Who pities a snake charmer
when he is bitten, or anyone who goes near a wild beast? So
is it with the companion of the proud man, who is involved in
his sins: While you stand firm, he makes no bold move; but if
you slip, he cannot hold back. With his lips an enemy speaks
sweetly, but in his heart he schemes to plunge you into the
abyss. Though your enemy has tears in his eyes, if given
the chance, he will never have enough of your blood. If evil comes
upon you, you will find him at hand; feigning to help, he
will trip you up, Then he will nod his head and clap his hands and hiss repeatedly, and show his true face. [SIRACH 12:10-18]
Every living thing loves its own
kind, every man a man like himself. Every being is drawn to
its own kind; with his own kind every man associates. Is a
wolf ever allied with a lamb? So it is with the sinner and
the just. Can there be peace between the hyena and the
dog? Or between the rich and the poor can there be peace? [SIRACH 13:14-17]
Wealth is good when there is no sin; but poverty
is evil by the standards of the proud. [SIRACH 13:23]
Happy the man whose mouth brings him no grief, who is not stung by remorse for sin.
Happy the man whose conscience does not reproach him, who has not lost hope.
[SIRACH 14:1-2]
Unseemly is praise on a sinner's lips, for it is
not accorded to him by God. [SIRACH 15:9]
The eyes of God see all he has made; he understands man's every deed.
No man does he command to sin, to none does he give strength for lies.
[SIRACH 15:19-20]
Against a sinful band fire is
enkindled, upon a godless people wrath flames out. He forgave
not the leaders of old who rebelled long ago in their might;
He spared not the neighbors of Lot whom he detested for their
pride; Nor did he spare the doomed people who were uprooted
because of their sin; Nor the six hundred thousand foot
soldiers who perished for the impiety of their hearts. And
had there been but one stiffnecked 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. Great as his mercy is his punishment; he
judges men, each according to his deeds. A criminal does not
escape with his plunder; a just man's hope God does not leave
unfulfilled. Whoever does good has his reward, which each
receives according to his deeds. Say not: "I am hidden from
God; in heaven who remembers me? Among so many people I
cannot be known; what am I in the world of spirits? Behold,
the heavens, the heaven of heavens, the earth and the abyss
tremble at his visitation; The roots of the mountains, the earth's
foundations, at his mere glance, quiver and quake. Of me,
therefore, he will take no thought; with my ways who will
concern himself? If I sin, no eye will see me; if all in
secret I am disloyal, who is to know? Who tells him of just
deeds and what could I expect for doing my duty?" Such
are the thoughts of senseless men, which only the foolish
knave will think. [SIRACH 16:6-21]
All their actions are clear as the sun to
him, his eyes are ever upon their ways. Their wickedness
cannot be hidden from him; all of their sins are before the
LORD. A man's goodness God cherishes like a signet ring, a
man's virtue, like the apple of his eye. Later he will rise up and
repay them, and requite each one of them as they deserve. [SIRACH 17:15-18]
Return to the LORD and give up sin, pray to him and make your offenses few.
Turn again to the Most High and away from sin, hate intensely what he loathes [Taken from SIRACH 17:20-21]
Before you are judged, seek merit for
yourself, and at the time of visitation you will have a
ransom. Before you have fallen, humble yourself; when you
have sinned, show repentance. Delay not to forsake
sins, neglect it not till you are in distress. [SIRACH 18:19-21]
A wise man is circumspect in all things; when
sin is rife he keeps himself from wrongdoing. [SIRACH 18:27]
Wine and women make the mind giddy, and the companion of harlots becomes reckless.
He who lightly trusts in them has no sense, and he who strays after them sins against his own life.
[SIRACH 19:2,4]
Then, too, a man can slip and not mean it; who
has not sinned with his tongue? [SIRACH 19:15]
The knowledge of wickedness is not wisdom, nor
is there prudence in the counsel of sinners. [SIRACH 19:18]
There is a shrewdness that is detestable, while the simple man may be free from sin.
There are those with little understanding who fear God, and those of great intelligence who violate the law. [SIRACH 19:19-20]
There is the wicked man who is bowed in grief, but is full of guile within;
He bows his head and feigns not to hear, but when not observed, he will take advantage of you:
Even though his lack of strength keeps him from sinning, when he finds the opportunity, he will do harm.
[SIRACH 19:22-24]
A man through want may be unable to sin, yet in
this tranquility he cannot rest. [SIRACH 20:20]
My son, if you have sinned, do so no
more, and for your past sins pray to be forgiven. Flee from
sin as from a serpent that will bite you if you go near
it; Its teeth are lion's teeth, destroying the souls of
men. Every offense is a two-edged sword; when it cuts, there
can be no healing. Violence and arrogance wipe out wealth; so
too a proud man's home is destroyed. Prayer from a poor man's lips
is heard at once, and justice is quickly granted him. He who
hates correction walks the sinner's path, but he who fears
the LORD repents in his heart. [SIRACH 21:1-6]
The path of sinners is smooth stones that end in
the depths of the nether world. [SIRACH 21:10]
LORD, Father and Master of my life, permit
me not to fall by them! Who will apply the lash to my
thoughts, to my mind the rod of discipline, That my
failings may not be spared, nor the sins of my heart
overlooked; Lest my failings increase, and my sins be
multiplied; Lest I succumb to my foes, and my enemy
rejoice over me? LORD, Father and God of my life, abandon me
not into their control! A brazen look allow me not; ward off
passion from my heart, Let not the lustful cravings of the flesh
master me, surrender me not to shameless desires. [SIRACH 23:1-6]
Through his lips is the sinner
ensnared; the railer and the arrogant man fall thereby. Let
not your mouth form the habit of swearing, or becoming too
familiar with the Holy Name. Just as a slave that is constantly
under scrutiny will not be without welts, So one who
swears continually by the Holy Name will not remain free from
sin. [SIRACH 23:8-10]
A man who often swears heaps up obligations; the
scourge will never be far from his house. If he swears in error,
he incurs guilt; if he neglects his obligation, his sin is doubly
great. If he swears without reason he cannot be found just, and
all his house will suffer affliction. [SIRACH 23:11]
There are words which merit death; may they
never be heard among Jacob's heirs. For all such words are foreign
to the devout, who do not wallow in sin. [SIRACH 23:12]
Let not your mouth become used to coarse talk,
for in it lies sinful matter. [SIRACH 23:13]
Two types of men multiply sins, a third
draws down wrath; For burning passion is a blazing
fire, not to be quenched till it burns itself out: A man
given to sins of the flesh, who never stops until the fire
breaks forth; The rake to whom all bread is sweet and who is
never through till he dies; 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. [SIRACH 23:16-21]
Happy is he who dwells with a sensible wife, and
he who plows not like a donkey yoked with an ox. Happy is he who
sins not with his tongue, and he who serves not his inferior. [SIRACH
25:8]
With a dragon or a lion I would rather
dwell than live with an evil woman. Wickedness changes a
woman's looks, and makes her sullen as a female bear. When
her husband sits among his neighbors, a bitter sigh escapes
him unawares. There is scarce any evil like that in a
woman; may she fall to the lot of the sinner! [SIRACH 25:15-18]
In woman was sin's beginning, and because of her we all die.
Allow water no outlet, and be not indulgent to an erring wife. [SIRACH 25:23-24]
These two bring grief to my heart, and the third
arouses my horror: A wealthy man reduced to want; illustrious men
held in contempt; And the man who passes from justice to sin, for
whom the LORD makes ready the sword. [SIRACH 26:19]
A merchant can hardly remain upright, nor a
shopkeeper free from sin; For the sake of profit many sin, and the struggle for wealth blinds the eyes.
Like a peg driven between fitted stones, between buying and selling sin is wedged in.
[SIRACH 26:20, 27:1-2]
Wrath and anger are hateful things, yet the
sinner hugs them tight. [SIRACH 27:30]
The vengeful will suffer the LORD'S vengeance,
for he remembers their sins in detail. Forgive your neighbor's
injustice; then when you pray, your own sins will be
forgiven. Should a man nourish anger against his fellows and
expect healing from the LORD? Should a man refuse mercy to his
fellows, yet seek pardon for his own sins? If he who is but
flesh cherishes wrath, who will forgive his sins? [SIRACH 28:1-5]
Remember your last days, set enmity aside;
remember death and decay, and cease from sin! [SIRACH 28:6]
Avoid strife and your sins will be
fewer, for a quarrelsome man kindles disputes, Commits the
sin of disrupting friendship and sows discord among those at
peace. The more wood, the greater the fire, the more
underlying it, the fiercer the fight; The greater a man's
strength, the sterner his anger, the greater his power, the
greater his wrath. Pitch and resin make fires flare up, and
insistent quarrels provoke bloodshed. [SIRACH 28:8-11]
The wicked turn a pledge on their behalf into
misfortune, and the ingrate abandons his protector; Going
surety has ruined many prosperous men and tossed them about
like waves of the sea, Has exiled men of prominence and sent
them wandering through foreign lands. The sinner through surety
comes to grief, and he who undertakes too much falls into
lawsuits. Go surety for your neighbor according to your
means, but take care lest you fall thereby. [SIRACH 29:16-20]
The lover of gold will not be free from sin, for he who pursues wealth is led astray by it.
Many have been ensnared by gold, though destruction lay before their eyes; It is a stumbling block to those who are avid for it, a snare for every fool.
[SIRACH 31:5-7]
Happy the rich man found without fault, who
turns not aside after gain! Who is he, that we may praise
him? he, of all his kindred, has done wonders, For he has
been tested by gold and come off safe, and this remains his
glory; He could have sinned but did not, could have done
evil but would not, So that his possessions are secure, and
the assembly recounts his praises. [SIRACH 31:8-11]
Young man, speak only when necessary, when
they have asked you more than once; Be brief, but say much in
those few words, be like the wise man, taciturn. When among
your elders be not forward, and with officials be not too
insistent. Like the lightning that flashes before a storm is
the esteem that shines on modesty. When it is time to leave, tarry
not; be off for home! There take your ease, And there enjoy
doing as you wish, but without sin or words of pride. Above
all, give praise to your Creator, who showers his favors upon
you. [SIRACH 32:7-13]
The sinner turns aside reproof and distorts the
law to suit his purpose. [SIRACH 32:17]
As evil contrasts with good, and death with life, so are sinners in contrast with the just;
See now all the works of the Most High: they come in pairs, the one the opposite of the other. [SIRACH 33:14-15]
Tainted his gifts who offers in sacrifice
ill-gotten goods! Mock presents from the lawless win not
God's favor. The Most High approves not the gifts of the
godless, nor for their many sacrifices does he forgive their
sins. Like the man who slays a son in his father's
presence is he who offers sacrifice from the possessions of
the poor. [SIRACH 34:18-20]
If a man again touches a corpse after he has bathed, what did he gain by the purification?
So with a man who fasts for his sins, but then goes and commits them again: Who will hear his prayer, and what has he gained by his mortification?
[SIRACH 34:25-26]
My son, when you are ill, delay not, but
pray to God, who will heal you: Flee wickedness; let your hands be
just, cleanse your heart of every sin; Offer your
sweet-smelling oblation and petition, a rich offering
according to your means. [SIRACH 38:9-11]
He who is a sinner toward his Maker will be
defiant toward the doctor. [SIRACH 38:15]
How different the man who devotes
himself to the study of the law of the Most High! He
explores the wisdom of the men of old and occupies himself
with the prophecies; He treasures the discourses of famous
men, and goes to the heart of involved sayings; He studies
obscure parables, and is busied with the hidden meanings of
the sages. He is in attendance on the great, and has entrance
to the ruler. He travels among the peoples of foreign
lands to learn what is good and evil among men. His care is
to seek the LORD, his Maker, to petition the Most
High, To open his lips in prayer, to ask pardon for his
sins. Then, if it pleases the LORD Almighty, he will be
filled with the spirit of understanding; He will pour forth
his words of wisdom and in prayer give thanks to the LORD,
Who will direct his knowledge and his counsel, as he
meditates upon his mysteries. He will show the wisdom of what he
has learned and glory in the law of the LORD'S covenant. Many
will praise his understanding; his fame can never be
effaced; Unfading will be his memory, through all
generations his name will live; Peoples will speak of his
wisdom, and in assembly sing his praises. While he lives he
is one out of a thousand, and when he dies his renown will
not cease. [SIRACH 39:1-11]
A great anxiety has God allotted, and a
heavy yoke, to the sons of men; From the day one leaves his
mother's womb to the day he returns to the mother of all the
living, His thoughts, the fear in his heart, and his troubled
forebodings till the day he dies - Whether he sits on a lofty
throne or grovels in dust and ashes, Whether he bears a
splendid crown or is wrapped in the coarsest of cloaks - Are
of wrath and envy, trouble and dread, terror of death, fury
and strife. Even when he lies on his bed to rest, his
cares at night disturb his sleep. So short is his rest it seems
like none, till in his dreams he struggles as he did by
day, Terrified by what his mind's eye sees, like a
fugitive being pursued; As he reaches safety, he wakes
up astonished that there was nothing to fear. So it is with
all flesh, with man and with beast, but for sinners seven
times more. [SIRACH 40:1-8]
A reprobate line are the children of
sinners, and witless offspring are in the homes of the
wicked. Their dominion is lost to sinners' children, and
reproach abides with their descendants. Children curse their
wicked father, for they suffer disgrace through him. 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. Whatever is of nought
returns to nought, so too the godless from void to void.
Man's body is a fleeting thing, but a virtuous name will
never be annihilated. Have a care for your name, for it will stand
by you better than precious treasures in the thousands; The
boon of life is for limited days, but a good name, for days
without number. [SIRACH 41:5-13]
But of these things be not ashamed, lest
you sin through human respect: Of the law of the Most High and his
precepts, or of the sentence to be passed upon the sinful; Of
sharing the expenses of a business or a journey, or of
dividing an inheritance or property [Taken from SIRACH 42:1-3]
The LORD forgave [David] his sins and exalted his
strength forever; He conferred on him the rights of royalty and
established his throne in Israel. [Taken from SIRACH 47:11]
Solomon finally slept with his fathers, and
left behind him one of his sons, Expansive in folly, limited
in sense, Rehoboam, who by his policy made the people
rebel; Until one arose who should not be remembered, the
sinner who led Israel into sin, Who brought ruin to Ephraim
and caused them to be exiled from their land. Their sinfulness
grew more and more, and they lent themselves to every evil [Taken from SIRACH 47:23-25]
O Elijah, enveloped in the whirlwind! Then
Elisha, filled with a twofold portion of his spirit, wrought
many marvels by his mere word. During his lifetime he feared
no one, nor was any man able to intimidate his will. Nothing
was beyond his power; beneath him flesh was brought back into
life. In life he performed wonders, and after death,
marvelous deeds. Despite all this the people did not
repent, nor did they give up their sins, Until they were
rooted out of their land and scattered all over the
earth. But Judah remained, a tiny people, with its
rulers from the house of David. Some of these did what was
right, but others were extremely sinful. [SIRACH 48:12-16]
Ah! sinful nation, people laden with wickedness,
evil race, corrupt children! They have forsaken the LORD, spurned
the Holy One of Israel, apostatized. [ISA 1:4]
Wash yourselves clean! Put away your
misdeeds from before my eyes; cease doing evil; learn to do
good. Make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear
the orphan's plea, defend the widow. Come now, let us set things
right, says the LORD: Though your sins be like
scarlet, they may become white as snow; Though they be
crimson red, they may become white as wool. If you are
willing, and obey, you shall eat the good things of the land;
But if you refuse and resist, the sword shall consume
you: for the mouth of the LORD has spoken! [ISA 1:16-20]
Zion shall be redeemed by judgment, and her repentant ones by justice.
Rebels and sinners alike shall be crushed, those who desert the LORD shall be consumed. [ISA 1:27-28]
Jerusalem is crumbling, Judah is
falling; for their speech and their deeds are before the
LORD, a provocation in the sight of his majesty. Their very
look bears witness against them; their sin like Sodom they
vaunt, They hide it not. Woe to them! they deal out evil
to themselves. Happy the just, for it will be well with
them, the fruit of their works they will eat. Woe to the
wicked man! All goes ill, with the work of his hands he will
be repaid. [ISA 3:8-11]
Woe to those who tug at guilt with cords of
perversity, and at sin as if with cart ropes! [ISA 5:18]
In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord
seated on a high and lofty throne, with the train of his garment
filling the temple. Seraphim were stationed above; each of them
had six wings: with two they veiled their faces, with two they
veiled their feet, and with two they hovered aloft. "Holy,
holy, holy is the LORD of hosts!" they cried one to the
other. "All the earth is filled with his glory!" At the
sound of that cry, the frame of the door shook and the house was
filled with smoke. Then I said, "Woe is me, I am doomed! For
I am a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips;
yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!" Then one
of the seraphim flew to me, holding an ember which he had taken
with tongs from the altar. He touched my mouth with it.
"See," he said, "now that this has touched your
lips, your wickedness is removed, your sin purged." [ISA 6:1-7]
The leaders of this people mislead them and
those to be led are engulfed. For this reason, the Lord does not
spare their young men, and their orphans and widows he does
not pity; They are wholly profaned and sinful, and every
mouth gives vent to folly. For all this, his wrath is not
turned back, his hand is still outstretched! For wickedness
burns like fire, devouring brier and thorn; It kindles
the forest thickets, which go up in columns of smoke. [ISA 9:15-17]
Lo, the day of the LORD comes, cruel, with wrath
and burning anger; To lay waste the land and destroy the sinners
within it! [ISA 13:9]
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. [ISA 27:9]
Woe to the rebellious children, says the LORD,
Who carry out plans that are not mine, who weave webs that are not
inspired by me, adding sin upon sin. [ISA 30:1]
On that day each one of you shall spurn his
sinful idols of silver and gold, which he made with his hands.
[ISA 31:7]
On Zion sinners are in dread, trembling grips
the impious: "Who of us can live with the consuming fire? who
of us can live with the everlasting flames?" [ISA 33:14]
Those live whom the LORD
protects; yours...the life of my spirit. You have given
me health and life; thus is my bitterness transformed into
peace. You have preserved my life from the pit of
destruction, When you cast behind your back all my sins.
[ISA 38:16-17]
Comfort, give comfort to my people, says
your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to
her that her service is at an end, her guilt is
expiated; Indeed, she has received from the hand of the
LORD double for all her sins. [ISA 40:1-2]
Who was it that gave Jacob to be
plundered, Israel to the despoilers? Was it not the
LORD, against whom we have sinned? In his ways they refused
to walk, his law they disobeyed. So he poured out wrath upon
them, his anger, and the fury of battle; It blazed round
about them, yet they did not realize, it burned them, but
they took it not to heart. [ISA 42:24-25]
You burdened me with your sins, and wearied
me with your crimes. It is I, I, who wipe out, for my own
sake, your offenses; your sins I remember no more. Would you
have me remember, have us come to trial? Speak up, prove your
innocence! Your first father sinned; your spokesmen rebelled
against me Till I repudiated the holy gates, put Jacob under
the ban, and exposed Israel to scorn. [Taken from ISA 43:24-28]
Remember this, O Jacob, you, O Israel, who
are my servant! I formed you to be a servant to me; O
Israel, by me you shall never be forgotten: I have brushed away
your offenses like a cloud, your sins like a
mist; return to me, for I have redeemed you. [ISA 44:21-22]
Thus says the LORD: Where is the bill of divorce
with which I dismissed your mother? Or to which of my creditors
have I sold you? It was for your sins that you were sold, for your
crimes that your mother was dismissed. [ISA 50:1]
Who would believe what we have heard? To
whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? He grew up like a
sapling before him, like a shoot from the parched earth... He
was spurned and avoided by men, a man of suffering,
accustomed to infirmity, One of those from whom men hide
their faces, spurned, and we held him in no esteem. Yet it
was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he
endured, While we thought of him as stricken, as one
smitten by God and afflicted. But he was pierced for our
offenses, crushed for our sins, Upon him was the
chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were
healed. We had all gone astray like sheep, each following his
own way; But the LORD laid upon him the guilt of us all.
Though he was harshly treated, he submitted and opened not
his mouth... Oppressed and condemned, he was taken away, and
who would have thought any more of his destiny? When he was
cut off from the land of the living, and smitten for the sin
of his people, A grave was assigned him among the wicked and
a burial place with evildoers, Though he had done no
wrong nor spoken any falsehood. (But the LORD was
pleased to crush him in infirmity.) If he gives his life
as an offering for sin, he shall see his descendants in a
long life, and the will of the LORD shall be accomplished
through him. Because of his affliction he shall see the light
in fullness of days; Through his suffering, my servant shall
justify many, and their guilt he shall bear. Therefore I will
give him his portion among the great, and he shall divide the
spoils with the mighty, Because he surrendered himself to
death and was counted among the wicked; And he shall
take away the sins of many, and win pardon for their
offenses. [Taken from ISA 53:1-12]
Though worn out by your many misdeeds, you never said,
"It is hopeless"; New strength you found, and
so you did not weaken. Of whom were you afraid? Whom did you
fear, that you became false And did not remember
me or give me any thought? Was I to remain silent and
unseeing, so that you would not have me to fear? I will
expose your justice and your works; They shall not help you
when you cry out, nor save you in your distress. All
these the wind shall carry off, the breeze shall bear
away; But he who takes refuge in me shall inherit the
land, and possess my holy mountain. [Taken from ISA 57:10-13]
Cry out full-throated and unsparingly, lift up
your voice like a trumpet blast; Tell my people their wickedness,
and the house of Jacob their sins. [Taken from ISA 58:1]
Lo, the hand of the LORD is not too short to
save, nor his ear too dull to hear. Rather, it is your
crimes that separate you from your God, It is your sins
that make him hide his face so that he will not hear you. For
your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with
guilt; Your lips speak falsehood, and your tongue utters
deceit. [Taken from ISA 59:1-3]
We all growl like bears, like doves we moan
without ceasing. We look for right, but it is not
there; for salvation, and it is far from us. For our offenses
before you are many, our sins bear witness against
us. Yes, our offenses are present to us, and our crimes
we know: Transgressing, and denying the LORD, turning back
from following our God, Threatening outrage, and
apostasy, uttering words of falsehood the heart has
conceived. Right is repelled, and justice stands far
off; For truth stumbles in the public
square, uprightness cannot enter. Honesty is
lacking, and the man who turns from evil is
despoiled. The LORD saw this, and was aggrieved that
right did not exist. He saw that there was no one, and was
appalled that there was none to intervene; So his own arm
brought about the victory, and his justice lent him its
support. He put on justice as his breastplate, salvation, as
the helmet on his head; He clothed himself with garments of
vengeance, wrapped himself in a mantle of zeal. He repays his
enemies their deserts, and requites his foes with wrath.
Those in the west shall fear the name of the LORD, and those
in the east, his glory; For it shall come like a pent-up
river which the breath of the LORD drives on. He shall come
to Zion a redeemer to those of Jacob who turn from sin, says
the LORD. [ISA 59:11-20]
Would that you might meet us doing
right, that we were mindful of you in our ways! Behold,
you are angry, and we are sinful; all of us have become like
unclean men, all our good deeds are like polluted
rags; We have all withered like leaves, and our guilt
carries us away like the wind. There is none who calls upon your
name, who rouses himself to cling to you; For you have
hidden your face from us and have delivered us up to our
guilt. Yet, O LORD, you are our father; we are the clay and
you the potter: we are all the work of your hands. Be not so
very angry, LORD, keep not our guilt forever in
mind; look upon us, who are all your people. [ISA 64:4-8]
Yet withal you say, "I am innocent; at
least, his anger is turned away from me." Behold, I will
judge you on that word of yours, "I have not sinned." [JER
2:35]
If a man sends away his wife and, after leaving
him, she marries another man, Does the first husband come back to
her? Would not the land be wholly defiled? But you have sinned
with many lovers, and yet you would return to me! says the LORD. [JER
3:1]
The LORD said to me in the days of King Josiah:
See now what rebellious Israel has done! She has gone up every
high mountain, and under every green tree she has played the
harlot. And I thought, after she has done all this she will return
to me. But she did not return. Then, even though her traitor
sister Judah saw that for all the adulteries rebellious Israel had
committed, I put her away and gave her a bill of divorce,
nevertheless her traitor sister Judah was not frightened; she too
went off and played the harlot. Eager to sin, she polluted the
land, committing adultery with stone and wood. With all this, the
traitor sister Judah did not return to me wholeheartedly, but
insincerely, says the LORD. [JER 3:6-10]
"Let us lie down in our shame, let our disgrace
cover us, for we have sinned against the LORD, our God, From our
youth to this day, we and our fathers also; we listened not to the
voice of the LORD, our God." [JER 3:25]
"Make this known to the nations, announce it to
Jerusalem: The besiegers are coming from the distant
land, shouting their war cry against the cities of
Judah." Like watchmen of the fields they surround
her, for she has rebelled against me, says the LORD. Your
conduct, your misdeeds, have done this to you; how bitter is
this disaster of yours, how it reaches to your very heart!
[JER 4:16-18]
Should you not fear me, says the
LORD, should you not tremble before me? I made the sandy
shore the sea's limit, which by eternal decree it may not
overstep. Toss though it may, it is to no avail; though
its billows roar, they cannot pass. But this people's heart is
stubborn and rebellious; they turn and go away, And say not
in their hearts, "Let us fear the LORD, our
God, Who gives us rain early and late, in its
time; Who watches for us over the appointed weeks of
harvest." Your crimes have prevented these things, your
sins have turned back these blessings from you. [JER 5:22-25]
You may go to Shiloh, which I made the dwelling place of my
name in the beginning. See what I did to it because of the
wickedness of my people Israel. And now, because you have
committed all these misdeeds, says the LORD, because you did not
listen, though I spoke to you untiringly; because you did not
answer, though I called you, I will do to this house named after
me, in which you trust, and to this place which I gave to you and
your fathers, just as I did to Shiloh. I will cast you away from
me, as I cast away all your brethren, all the offspring of
Ephraim. [JER 7:12-15]
Why do we remain here? Let us form ranks and
enter the walled cities, to perish there; For the LORD has wrought
our destruction, he has given us poison to drink, because we have
sinned against the LORD. [JER 8:14]
Even though our crimes bear witness against us,
take action, O LORD, for the honor of your name - Even though our
rebellions are many, though we have sinned against you. [JER 14:7]
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]
We recognize, O LORD, our wickedness, the
guilt of our fathers; that we have sinned against you. For
your name's sake spurn us not, disgrace not the throne of
your glory; remember your covenant with us, and break it not.
[JER 14:20-21]
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. [JER 16:10-13]
For my eyes are upon all their ways; they are not hidden from me, nor does their guilt escape my view. I will at once repay them double for their crime and their sin of profaning my land with their detestable corpses of idols, and filling my heritage with their abominations.
[JER 16:17-18]
The sin of Judah is written with an iron
stylus, Engraved with a diamond point upon the tablets
of their hearts... Your wealth and all your treasures I will
give as spoil. In recompense for all your
sins throughout your borders, You will relinquish your hold
on your heritage which I have given you. I will enslave
you to your enemies in a land that you know not: For a
fire has been kindled by my wrath that will burn forever. [Taken from JER 17:1-4]
May cries be heard from their homes, when suddenly you send
plunderers against them. For they have dug a pit to capture me,
they have hid snares for my feet; But you, O LORD, know all their plans to slay me. Forgive not their crime, blot not out their sin in your sight! Let them go down before you, proceed against them in the time of your anger.
[JER 18:22-23]
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. [JER 30:15]
The days are coming, says the LORD, when I will
make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of
Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers
the day I took them by the hand to lead them forth from the land
of Egypt; for they broke my covenant and I had to show myself
their master, says the LORD. But this is the covenant which I will
make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD. I
will place my law within them, and write it upon their hearts; I
will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer will
they have need to teach their friends and kinsmen how to know the
LORD. All, from least to greatest, shall know me, says the LORD,
for I will forgive their evildoing and remember their sin no more.
[JER 31:31-34]
This
topic continued on next page - Click here to view
more
alphabetical scripture | more
categorized scripture | top |
