Do not show partiality when deciding a case; listen to small and great alike. Do not be intimidated by anyone, for judgement belongs to God. Bring me any case too difficult for you, and I will hear it.
He replied, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord God of Armies, but the Israelites have abandoned your covenant, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are looking for me to take my life.’
But if it doesn’t please you to worship the Lord, choose for yourselves today: Which will you worship #– #the gods your ancestors worshipped beyond the River Euphrates or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living? As for me and my family, we will worship the Lord.’
‘My lord the king, these men have been evil in all they have done to the prophet Jeremiah. They have dropped him into the cistern, where he will die from hunger, because there is no more bread in the city.’
So King Zedekiah gave orders, and Jeremiah was placed in the guard’s courtyard. He was given a loaf of bread each day from the bakers’ street until all the bread was gone from the city. So Jeremiah remained in the guard’s courtyard.
Although they know God’s just sentence #– #that those who practise such things deserve to die , #– #they not only do them, but even applaud , others who practise them.
He answered me, ‘The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is extremely great; the land is full of bloodshed, and the city full of perversity. For they say, “The Lord has abandoned the land; he does not see.”
Saul and the troops spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, goats, cattle, and choice animals, as well as the young rams and the best of everything else. They were not willing to destroy them, but they did destroy all the worthless and unwanted things.