Category
159 Controversial Bible Verses
If you ever find yourself needing wisdom, know that you can ask God, and He will generously give it to you, no questions asked. It's easy to get caught up in arguments, you know? Life's full of people with different viewpoints. But understand this: God doesn't want you getting into fights or constantly arguing with those around you.
He wants you to be humble and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal His will to you. Steer clear of arguments and heated discussions. Even if you don't fully grasp God's word right now, you can always ask the Father for wisdom, and He'll lovingly illuminate your understanding.
He'll guide you toward truth, and His peace—that peace that surpasses all understanding—will surround you. Right here, right now, open your heart to Jesus. Don't rely on your own understanding. Remember, it's not your job to convert or convince others. That's the Holy Spirit's work.
And God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
And Jehovah God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for him.
and they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men that came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.
But if any harm follow, then thou shalt give life for life,eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
Go not forth hastily to strive,\par\tab Lest {\i thou know not} what to do in the end thereof,\par\tab When thy neighbor hath put thee to shame.Debate thy cause with thy neighbor {\i himself},\par\tab And disclose not the secret of another;
And if a man lie with mankind, as with womankind, both of them have committed abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with the sinners and publicans, said unto his disciples, {\i How is it} that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?
And the Pharisees said unto him, Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not lawful?And he said unto them, {\cf6 Did ye never read what David did, when he had need, and was hungry, he, and they that were with him?
Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.But all the women-children, that have not known man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.
The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest witness of thyself; thy witness is not true.
But of the cities of these peoples, that Jehovah thy God giveth thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth;but thou shalt utterly destroy them: the Hittite, and the Amorite, the Canaanite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite; as Jehovah thy God hath commanded thee;
And when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and questioning with them, {\i the brethren} appointed that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.
And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him,
A woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment; for whosoever doeth these things is an abomination unto Jehovah thy God.
If any man take a wife, and go in unto her, and hate her,and lay shameful things to her charge, and bring up an evil name upon her, and say, I took this woman, and when I came nigh to her, I found not in her the tokens of virginity;then shall the father of the damsel, and her mother, take and bring forth the tokens of the damsel's virginity unto the elders of the city in the gate;and the damsel's father shall say unto the elders, I gave my daughter unto this man to wife, and he hateth her;and, lo, he hath laid shameful things to her charge, saying, I found not in thy daughter the tokens of virginity; and yet these are the tokens of my daughter's virginity. And they shall spread the garment before the elders of the city.And the elders of that city shall take the man and chastise him;and they shall fine him a hundred shekels of silver, and give them unto the father of the damsel, because he hath brought up an evil name upon a virgin of Israel: and she shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days.But if this thing be true, that the tokens of virginity were not found in the damsel;then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death with stones, because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the harlot in her father's house: so shalt thou put away the evil from the midst of thee.
He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the assembly of Jehovah.
When men strive together one with another, and the wife of the one draweth near to deliver her husband out of the hand of him that smiteth him, and putteth forth her hand, and taketh him by the secrets;then thou shalt cut off her hand, thine eye shall have no pity.
Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
Thus saith Jehovah, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house; and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbor, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against Jehovah. And Nathan said unto David, Jehovah also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of Jehovah to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.
Withhold not correction from the child;\par\tab {\i For} if thou beat him with the rod, he will not die.Thou shalt beat him with the rod,\par\tab And shalt deliver his soul from Sheol.
For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven:a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;a time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.
I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil. I am Jehovah, that doeth all these things.\par
And I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters; and they shall eat every one the flesh of his friend, in the siege and in the distress, wherewith their enemies, and they that seek their life, shall distress them.\par
Moreover also I gave them statutes that were not good, and ordinances wherein they should not live;and I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to pass through {\i the fire} all that openeth the womb, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am Jehovah.\par
Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego: {\i therefore} he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace seven times more than it was wont to be heated.And he commanded certain mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, {\i and} to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.Then these men were bound in their hosen, their tunics, and their mantles, and their {\i other} garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.Therefore because the king's commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego.And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.\parThen Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste: he spake and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the aspect of the fourth is like a son of the gods.Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace: he spake and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, ye servants of the Most High God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came forth out of the midst of the fire.And the satraps, the deputies, and the governors, and the king's counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, that the fire had no power upon their bodies, nor was the hair of their head singed, neither were their hosen changed, nor had the smell of fire passed on them.\parNebuchadnezzar spake and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king's word, and have yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.Therefore I make a decree, that every people, nation, and language, which speak anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill; because there is no other god that is able to deliver after this sort.Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego in the province of Babylon.\par
Shall the trumpet be blown in a city, and the people not be afraid? shall evil befall a city, and Jehovah hath not done it?
but Esau I hated, and made his mountains a desolation, and {\i gave} his heritage to the jackals of the wilderness.
Think not that I came to destroy the law or the prophets: I came not to destroy, but to fulfil.For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass away from the law, till all things be accomplished.Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
{\cf6 Judge not, that ye be not judged.For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured unto you.And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me cast out the mote out of thine eye; and lo, the beam is in thine own eye?Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.\par
But he answered and said, {\cf6 I was not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.}
And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery.}
And call no man your father on the earth: for one is your Father, the heavenly {\i one}.
Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit:teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.}\par
But from the beginning of the creation, {\b Male and female made he them.}{\b For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother;}{\b and the two shall become one flesh}: so that they are no more two, but one flesh.What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.}
The law and the prophets {\i were} until John: from that time the gospel of the kingdom of God is preached, and every man entereth violently into it.But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one tittle of the law to fall.\par
He that believeth on the Son hath eternal life; but he that obeyeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.\par
Jesus therefore said unto them, {\cf6 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, ye have not life in yourselves.
Jesus saith unto him, {\cf6 I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no one cometh unto the Father, but by me.
And they gave lots for them; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.\par
And Peter {\i said} unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
and he made of one every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, having determined {\i their} appointed seasons, and the bounds of their habitation;that they should seek God, if haply they might feel after him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us:
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hinder the truth in unrighteousness;because that which is known of God is manifest in them; for God manifested it unto them.For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, {\i even} his everlasting power and divinity; that they may be without excuse:because that, knowing God, they glorified him not as God, neither gave thanks; but became vain in their reasonings, and their senseless heart was darkened.Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,and changed the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things.\parWherefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts unto uncleanness, that their bodies should be dishonored among themselves:for that they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.\parFor this cause God gave them up unto vile passions: for their women changed the natural use into that which is against nature:and likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another, men with men working unseemliness, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was due.\parAnd even as they refused to have God in {\i their} knowledge, God gave them up unto a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not fitting;being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malignity; whisperers,backbiters, hateful to God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,without understanding, covenant-breakers, without natural affection, unmerciful:who, knowing the ordinance of God, that they that practise such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but also consent with them that practise them.\par
who {\b will render to every man according to his works}:to them that by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and incorruption, eternal life:but unto them that are factious, and obey not the truth, but obey unrighteousness, {\i shall be} wrath and indignation,tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that worketh evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Greek;but glory and honor and peace to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek:for there is no respect of persons with God.
What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Howbeit, I had not known sin, except through the law: for I had not known coveting, except the law had said, {\b Thou shalt not covet}:but sin, finding occasion, wrought in me through the commandment all manner of coveting: for apart from the law sin {\i is} dead.
Avenge not yourselves, beloved, but give place unto the wrath {\i of God}: for it is written, {\b Vengeance belongeth unto me; I will recompense,} saith the Lord.
to deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
But every woman praying or prophesying with her head unveiled dishonoreth her head; for it is one and the same thing as if she were shaven.For if a woman is not veiled, let her also be shorn: but if it is a shame to a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be veiled.
let the women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but let them be in subjection, as also saith the law.And if they would learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home: for it is shameful for a woman to speak in the church.
There can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither bond nor free, there can be no male and female; for ye all are one {\i man} in Christ Jesus.
Wives, {\i be in subjection} unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, {\i being} himself the saviour of the body.But as the church is subject to Christ, so {\i let} the wives also {\i be} to their husbands in everything.
So then, my beloved, even as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;
Servants, obey in all things them that are your masters according to the flesh; not with eye-service, as men-pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing the Lord:whatsoever ye do, work heartily, as unto the Lord, and not unto men;knowing that from the Lord ye shall receive the recompense of the inheritance: ye serve the Lord Christ.
For this is the will of God, {\i even} your sanctification, that ye abstain from fornication;that each one of you know how to possess himself of his own vessel in sanctification and honor,not in the passion of lust, even as the Gentiles who know not God;
In like manner, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefastness and sobriety; not with braided hair, and gold or pearls or costly raiment;but (which becometh women professing godliness) through good works.Let a woman learn in quietness with all subjection.But I permit not a woman to teach, nor to have dominion over a man, but to be in quietness.For Adam was first formed, then Eve;and Adam was not beguiled, but the woman being beguiled hath fallen into transgression:but she shall be saved through her child-bearing, if they continue in faith and love and sanctification with sobriety.\par
Be no longer a drinker of water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and thine often infirmities.
For the time will come when they will not endure the sound doctrine; but, having itching ears, will heap to themselves teachers after their own lusts;and will turn away their ears from the truth, and turn aside unto fables.
For there are many unruly men, vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision,whose mouths must be stopped; men who overthrow whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake.One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said, Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, idle gluttons.This testimony is true. For which cause reprove them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith,not giving heed to Jewish fables, and commandments of men who turn away from the truth.
For as touching those who were once enlightened and tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Spirit,and tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the age to come,and {\i then} fell away, it is impossible to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.
For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more a sacrifice for sins,but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and {\b a fierceness of fire which shall devour the adversaries.}
What doth it profit, my brethren, if a man say he hath faith, but have not works? can that faith save him?If a brother or sister be naked and in lack of daily food,and one of you say unto them, Go in peace, be ye warmed and filled; and yet ye give them not the things needful to the body; what doth it profit?Even so faith, if it have not works, is dead in itself.Yea, a man will say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith apart from the works, and I by my works will show thee the faith.Thou believest that God is one; thou doest well: the demons also believe, and shudder.But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith apart from works is barren?Was not Abraham our father justified by works, in that he offered up Isaac his son upon the altar?Thou seest that faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect;and the scripture was fulfilled which saith, {\b And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned unto him for righteousness}; and he was called the friend of God.Ye see that by works a man is justified, and not only by faith.And in like manner was not also Rahab the harlot justified by works, in that she received the messengers, and sent them out another way?For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead.\par
In like manner, wives, {\i be} in subjection to your own husbands; that, even if any obey not the word, they shall without the word be gained by the behavior of their wives;beholding your chaste behavior {\i coupled} with fear.
For the time {\i is come} for judgment to begin at the house of God: and if {\i it begin} first at us, what {\i shall be} the end of them that obey not the gospel of God?
Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the vainglory of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.\par
Whosoever is begotten of God doeth no sin, because his seed abideth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is begotten of God.
If any man see his brother sinning a sin not unto death, he shall ask, and {\i God} will give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: not concerning this do I say that he should make request.All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death.\par
And I gave her time that she should repent; and she willeth not to repent of her fornication.Behold, I cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of her works.And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he that searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto each one of you according to your works.
So because thou art lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spew thee out of my mouth.
Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy pain and thy conception; in pain thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
And the swine, because he parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, but cheweth not the cud, he is unclean unto you.Of their flesh ye shall not eat, and their carcasses ye shall not touch; they are unclean unto you.
Notwithstanding, no devoted thing, that a man shall devote unto Jehovah of all that he hath, whether of man or beast, or of the field of his possession, shall be sold or redeemed: every devoted thing is most holy unto Jehovah.No one devoted, that shall be devoted from among men, shall be ransomed; he shall surely be put to death.
And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man's wife go aside, and commit a trespass against him,and a man lie with her carnally, and it be hid from the eyes of her husband, and be kept close, and she be defiled, and there be no witness against her, and she be not taken in the act;and the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be not defiled:then shall the man bring his wife unto the priest, and shall bring her oblation for her, the tenth part of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil upon it, nor put frankincense thereon; for it is a meal-offering of jealousy, a meal-offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to remembrance.And the priest shall bring her near, and set her before Jehovah:and the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel; and of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle the priest shall take, and put it into the water.And the priest shall set the woman before Jehovah, and let the hair of the woman's head go loose, and put the meal-offering of memorial in her hands, which is the meal-offering of jealousy: and the priest shall have in his hand the water of bitterness that causeth the curse.And the priest shall cause her to swear, and shall say unto the woman, If no man have lain with thee, and if thou have not gone aside to uncleanness, being under thy husband, be thou free from this water of bitterness that causeth the curse.But if thou have gone aside, being under thy husband, and if thou be defiled, and some man have lain with thee besides thy husband:then the priest shall cause the woman to swear with the oath of cursing, and the priest shall say unto the woman, Jehovah make thee a curse and an oath among thy people, when Jehovah doth make thy thigh to fall away, and thy body to swell;and this water that causeth the curse shall go into thy bowels, and make thy body to swell, and thy thigh to fall away. And the woman shall say, Amen, Amen.And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot them out into the water of bitterness:and he shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that causeth the curse; and the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her and become bitter.And the priest shall take the meal-offering of jealousy out of the woman's hand, and shall wave the meal-offering before Jehovah, and bring it unto the altar:and the priest shall take a handful of the meal-offering, as the memorial thereof, and burn it upon the altar, and afterward shall make the woman drink the water.And when he hath made her drink the water, then it shall come to pass, if she be defiled, and have committed a trespass against her husband, that the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her and become bitter, and her body shall swell, and her thigh shall fall away: and the woman shall be a curse among her people.And if the woman be not defiled, but be clean; then she shall be free, and shall conceive seed.This is the law of jealousy, when a wife, being under her husband, goeth aside, and is defiled;or when the spirit of jealousy cometh upon a man, and he is jealous of his wife; then shall he set the woman before Jehovah, and the priest shall execute upon her all this law.And the man shall be free from iniquity, and that woman shall bear her iniquity.
If brethren dwell together, and one of them die, and have no son, the wife of the dead shall not be married without unto a stranger: her husband's brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife, and perform the duty of a husband's brother unto her.And it shall be, that the first-born that she beareth shall succeed in the name of his brother that is dead, that his name be not blotted out of Israel.
As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain base fellows, beset the house round about, beating at the door; and they spake to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into thy house, that we may know him.And the man, the master of the house, went out unto them, and said unto them, Nay, my brethren, I pray you, do not so wickedly; seeing that this man is come into my house, do not this folly.Behold, here is my daughter a virgin, and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble ye them, and do with them what seemeth good unto you: but unto this man do not any such folly.But the men would not hearken to him: so the man laid hold on his concubine, and brought her forth unto them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go.Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man's house where her lord was, till it was light.And her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way; and, behold, the woman his concubine was fallen down at the door of the house, with her hands upon the threshold.And he said unto her, Up, and let us be going; but none answered: then he took her up upon the ass; and the man rose up, and gat him unto his place.And when he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, limb by limb, into twelve pieces, and sent her throughout all the borders of Israel.And it was so, that all that saw it said, There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt unto this day: consider it, take counsel, and speak.
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, I have marked that which Amalek did to Israel, how he set himself against him in the way, when he came up out of Egypt.Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass.
So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel.And Elijah came near unto all the people, and said, How long go ye limping between the two sides? if Jehovah be God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, am left a prophet of Jehovah; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men.Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, and put no fire under; and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on the wood, and put no fire under.And call ye on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of Jehovah; and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken.And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under.And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped about the altar which was made.And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud; for he is a god: either he is musing, or he is gone aside, or he is on a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth and must be awaked.And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lances, till the blood gushed out upon them.And it was so, when midday was past, that they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening oblation; but there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded.And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me; and all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of Jehovah that was thrown down.And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of Jehovah came, saying, Israel shall be thy name.And with the stones he built an altar in the name of Jehovah; and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed.And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid it on the wood. And he said, Fill four jars with water, and pour it on the burnt-offering, and on the wood.And he said, Do it the second time; and they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time; and they did it the third time.And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water.And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening oblation, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, O Jehovah, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.Hear me, O Jehovah, hear me, that this people may know that thou, Jehovah, art God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.Then the fire of Jehovah fell, and consumed the burnt-offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, Jehovah, he is God; Jehovah, he is God.And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them; and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.
And he went up from thence unto Beth-el; and as he was going up by the way, there came forth young lads out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou baldhead; go up, thou baldhead.And he looked behind him and saw them, and cursed them in the name of Jehovah. And there came forth two she-bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two lads of them.
And it was so, because the children of Israel had sinned against Jehovah their God, who brought them up out of the land of Egypt from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods,and walked in the statutes of the nations, whom Jehovah cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they made.And the children of Israel did secretly things that were not right against Jehovah their God: and they built them high places in all their cities, from the tower of the watchmen to the fortified city;and they set them up pillars and Asherim upon every high hill, and under every green tree;and there they burnt incense in all the high places, as did the nations whom Jehovah carried away before them; and they wrought wicked things to provoke Jehovah to anger;and they served idols, whereof Jehovah had said unto them, Ye shall not do this thing.Yet Jehovah testified unto Israel, and unto Judah, by every prophet, and every seer, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets.Notwithstanding, they would not hear, but hardened their neck, like to the neck of their fathers, who believed not in Jehovah their God.And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified unto them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the nations that were round about them, concerning whom Jehovah had charged them that they should not do like them.And they forsook all the commandments of Jehovah their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made an Asherah, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal.And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do that which was evil in the sight of Jehovah, to provoke him to anger.Therefore Jehovah was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only.Also Judah kept not the commandments of Jehovah their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made.And Jehovah rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight.For he rent Israel from the house of David; and they made Jeroboam the son of Nebat king: and Jeroboam drove Israel from following Jehovah, and made them sin a great sin.And the children of Israel walked in all the sins of Jeroboam which he did; they departed not from them;until Jehovah removed Israel out of his sight, as he spake by all his servants the prophets. So Israel was carried away out of their own land to Assyria unto this day.
and that whosoever would not seek Jehovah, the God of Israel, should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman.And they sware unto Jehovah with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets.And all Judah rejoiced at the oath; for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found of them: and Jehovah gave them rest round about.\par
Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still hold fast thine integrity? renounce God, and die.But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.\par
Let them be blotted out of the book of life,\par\tab And not be written with the righteous.
Do not I hate them, O Jehovah, that hate thee?\par\tab And am not I grieved with those that rise up against thee?I hate them with perfect hatred:\par\tab They are become mine enemies.
There are six things which Jehovah hateth;\par\tab Yea, seven which are an abomination unto him:Haughty eyes, a lying tongue,\par\tab And hands that shed innocent blood;A heart that deviseth wicked purposes,\par\tab Feet that are swift in running to mischief,A false witness that uttereth lies,\par\tab And he that soweth discord among brethren.
Stripes that wound cleanse away evil;\par\tab And strokes {\i reach} the innermost parts.\par
A {\i good} name is better than precious oil; and the day of death, than the day of one's birth.It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.Sorrow is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made glad.The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.\par
Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and to the writers that write perverseness;to turn aside the needy from justice, and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their prey!
And the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw nigh {\i unto me}, and with their mouth and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment of men which hath been taught {\i them};
Yet it pleased Jehovah to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see {\i his} seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of Jehovah shall prosper in his hand.
Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.
Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked? saith the Lord Jehovah; and not rather that he should return from his way, and live?
I hate, I despise your feasts, and I will take no delight in your solemn assemblies.Yea, though ye offer me your burnt-offerings and meal-offerings, I will not accept them; neither will I regard the peace-offerings of your fat beasts.Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols.
And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against the false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the sojourner {\i from his right}, and fear not me, saith Jehovah of hosts.
but I say unto you, that every one that looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal:but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth consume, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:for where thy treasure is, there will thy heart be also.
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven.Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by thy name, and by thy name cast out demons, and by thy name do many mighty works?And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: {\b depart from me, ye that work iniquity.}\par
But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father who is in heaven.\par
Think ye that I am come to give peace in the earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:for there shall be from henceforth five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three.They shall be divided, father against son, and son against father; mother against daughter, and daughter against her mother; mother in law against her daughter in law, and daughter in law against her mother in law.}\par
Ye are of {\i your} father the devil, and the lusts of your father it is your will to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and standeth not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father thereof.
And in none other is there salvation: for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, wherein we must be saved.\par
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?God forbid. We who died to sin, how shall we any longer live therein?
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.\par
each man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it is revealed in fire; and the fire itself shall prove each man's work of what sort it is.
Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.There hath no temptation taken you but such as man can bear: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation make also the way of escape, that ye may be able to endure it.\par
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are {\i these}: fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousies, wraths, factions, divisions, parties,envyings, drunkenness, revellings, and such like; of which I forewarn you, even as I did forewarn you, that they who practise such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as becometh saints;nor filthiness, nor foolish talking, or jesting, which are not befitting: but rather giving of thanks.For this ye know of a surety, that no fornicator, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
For many walk, of whom I told you often, and now tell you even weeping, {\i that they are} the enemies of the cross of Christ:whose end is perdition, whose god is the belly, and {\i whose} glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.
If ye died with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, do ye subject yourselves to ordinances,Handle not, nor taste, nor touch(all which things are to perish with the using), after the precepts and doctrines of men?Which things have indeed a show of wisdom in will-worship, and humility, and severity to the body; {\i but are} not of any value against the indulgence of the flesh.\par
When they are saying, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall in no wise escape.But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief:for ye are all sons of light, and sons of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness;
But the Spirit saith expressly, that in later times some shall fall away from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons,through the hypocrisy of men that speak lies, branded in their own conscience as with a hot iron;
But know this, that in the last days grievous times shall come.For men shall be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, haughty, railers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,without natural affection, implacable, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, no lovers of good,traitors, headstrong, puffed up, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God;holding a form of godliness, but having denied the power thereof: from these also turn away.
They profess that they know God; but by their works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.\par
lest {\i there be} any fornication, or profane person, as Esau, who for one mess of meat sold his own birthright.For ye know that even when he afterward desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected; for he found no place for a change of mind {\i in his father}, though he sought it diligently with tears.\par
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deluding your own selves.For if any one is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a mirror:for he beholdeth himself, and goeth away, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.But he that looketh into the perfect law, the {\i law} of liberty, and {\i so} continueth, being not a hearer that forgetteth but a doer that worketh, this man shall be blessed in his doing.
Be not many {\i of you} teachers, my brethren, knowing that we shall receive heavier judgment.For in many things we all stumble. If any stumbleth not in word, the same is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body also.
But ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for {\i God's} own possession, that ye may show forth the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:who in time past were {\b no people,} but now are {\b the people of God}: who had {\b not obtained mercy,} but now have {\b obtained mercy.}\par
wherein they think it strange that ye run not with {\i them} into the same excess of riot, speaking evil of {\i you}:
Beloved, believe not every spirit, but prove the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, {\i which is} your spiritual service.And be not fashioned according to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.\par
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.For he that soweth unto his own flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth unto the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap eternal life.
This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye no longer walk as the Gentiles also walk, in the vanity of their mind,being darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of their heart;who being past feeling gave themselves up to lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.
Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ: that, whether I come and see you or be absent, I may hear of your state, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one soul striving for the faith of the gospel;
If then ye were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God.Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are upon the earth.
as knowing this, that law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and unruly, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,for fornicators, for abusers of themselves with men, for menstealers, for liars, for false swearers, and if there be any other thing contrary to the sound doctrine;
Little children, it is the last hour: and as ye heard that antichrist cometh, even now have there arisen many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last hour.They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us: but {\i they went out}, that they might be made manifest that they all are not of us.
But take heed to yourselves, lest haply your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day come on you suddenly as a snare:for {\i so} shall it come upon all them that dwell on the face of all the earth.But watch ye at every season, making supplication, that ye may prevail to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.}\par
And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil.For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, and cometh not to the light, lest his works should be reproved.But he that doeth the truth cometh to the light, that his works may be made manifest, that they have been wrought in God.\par
If the world hateth you, ye know that it hath hated me before {\i it hated} you.If ye were of the world, the world would love its own: but because ye are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
but unto them that are factious, and obey not the truth, but obey unrighteousness, {\i shall be} wrath and indignation,tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that worketh evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Greek;
Know ye not that they that run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? Even so run; that ye may attain.And every man that striveth in the games exerciseth self-control in all things. Now they {\i do it} to receive a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.I therefore so run, as not uncertainly; so fight I, as not beating the air:but I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage: lest by any means, after that I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected.\par
But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve in his craftiness, your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity and the purity that is toward Christ.For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we did not preach, or {\i if} ye receive a different spirit, which ye did not receive, or a different gospel, which ye did not accept, ye do well to bear with {\i him}.
I marvel that ye are so quickly removing from him that called you in the grace of Christ unto a different gospel;which is not another {\i gospel}: only there are some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.But though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach unto you any gospel other than that which we preached unto you, let him be anathema.As we have said before, so say I now again, If any man preacheth unto you any gospel other than that which ye received, let him be anathema.
Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the concision:for we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God, and glory in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh:
And you, being in time past alienated and enemies in your mind in your evil works,yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and without blemish and unreproveable before him:if so be that ye continue in the faith, grounded and stedfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel which ye heard, which was preached in all creation under heaven; whereof I Paul was made a minister.
For they themselves report concerning us what manner of entering in we had unto you; and how ye turned unto God from idols, to serve a living and true God,and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, {\i even} Jesus, who delivereth us from the wrath to come.\par
Take heed, brethren, lest haply there shall be in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief, in falling away from the living God:but exhort one another day by day, so long as it is called {\b To-day}; lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin:
Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he hath been approved, he shall receive the crown of life, which {\i the Lord} promised to them that love him.
But even if ye should suffer for righteousness' sake, blessed {\i are ye}: {\b and fear not their fear, neither be troubled};but sanctify in your hearts Christ as Lord: {\i being} ready always to give answer to every man that asketh you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, yet with meekness and fear:
Be sober, be watchful: your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour,whom withstand stedfast in your faith, knowing that the same sufferings are accomplished in your brethren who are in {\i the} world.
Remember therefore whence thou art fallen, and repent and do the first works; or else I come to thee, and will move thy candlestick out of its place, except thou repent.
{\cf6 And to the angel of the church in Sardis write:\par\tab These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars: I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and thou art dead.Be thou watchful, and establish the things that remain, which were ready to die: for I have found no works of thine perfected before my God.Remember therefore how thou hast received and didst hear; and keep {\i it}, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.
I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto them, God shall add unto him the plagues which are written in this book:and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, which are written in this book.\par
And Jehovah saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed: for in the image of God made he man.
keeping lovingkindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin; and that will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, upon the third and upon the fourth generation.
Ye have heard that it was said, {\b An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth}:but I say unto you, Resist not him that is evil: but whosoever smiteth thee on {\i thy} right cheek, turn to him the other also.And if any man would go to law with thee, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak also.And whosoever shall compel thee to go one mile, go with him two.Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.\par
Let every soul be in subjection to the higher powers: for there is no power but of God; and the {\i powers} that be are ordained of God.Therefore he that resisteth the power, withstandeth the ordinance of God: and they that withstand shall receive to themselves judgment.For rulers are not a terror to the good work, but to the evil. And wouldest thou have no fear of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise from the same:for he is a minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is a minister of God, an avenger for wrath to him that doeth evil.Wherefore {\i ye} must needs be in subjection, not only because of the wrath, but also for conscience' sake.
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that disbelieveth shall be condemned.
{\cf6 If any man cometh unto me, and hateth not his own father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
Think not that I came to send peace on the earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.For I came to {\b set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law}:and {\b a man's foes {\i shall be} they of his own household.}
How narrow is the gate, and straitened the way, that leadeth unto life, and few are they that find it!\par