G a b e גבריאל: Sola scriptura in general isn't a very useful position
Daniel: oh?
G a b e גבריאל: @Daniel Yes. You wouldn't even be able to read the Tanakh if not for Oral Torah.
Daniel: how do you figure
G a b e גבריאל: Because ancient Hebrew dosn't write vowel markings.
G a b e גבריאל: We preserved the pronunciations of the words orally. Without it, you can't even read the most basic text of the Tanakh itself, since writing in consonants looks like this effectively: "N H bggng Gd crtd h hvns nd h rth". No vowels means problems like this.
Darwin: It's problematic for someone who doesn't know Hebrew. Modern Hebrew doesn't use vowels either.
Darwin: Moreover, God preserves His Word (Psalm 12:7; Matthew 5:18). He even uses wicked people to do so. "Those who handle the law did not know Me". (Jeremiah 2:8).
Scripture: Psalm 12:7 - New King James Version (NKJV)<7> You shall keep them, O Lord, You shall preserve them from this generation forever.
Scripture: Matthew 5:18 - New King James Version (NKJV)
<18> For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.
Scripture: Jeremiah 2:8 - New King James Version (NKJV)
<8> The priests did not say, 'Where is the Lord?' And those who handle the law did not know Me; The rulers also transgressed against Me; The prophets prophesied by Baal, And walked after things that do not profit.
Doug:
He even uses wicked people to do so. "Those who handle the law did not know Me". (Jeremiah 2:8).
Jeremiah 2:1-8
Scripture: Jeremiah 2:8 - King James Version (KJV)<8> The priests said not, Where is the Lord? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.
Scripture: Jeremiah 2:1-8 - King James Version (KJV)
<1> Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, <2> Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown. <3> Israel was holiness unto the Lord, and the firstfruits of his increase: all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the Lord. <4> Hear ye the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel: <5> Thus saith the Lord, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain? <6> Neither said they, Where is the Lord that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man man passed through, and where no man dwelt? <7> And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination. <8> The priests said not, Where is the Lord? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.
Doug: that verse doesnt work the way you said it worked...
Daniel: how's that?
Darwin: Jeremiah simply says what is true for most of Israel's history. They were given the Scriptures (Psalm 147:19-20; Romans 3:1-2). Yet, throughout most of their history they were wicked.
Scripture: Psalm 147:19-20 - New King James Version (NKJV)<19> He declares His word to Jacob, His statutes and His judgments to Israel. <20> He has not dealt thus with any nation; And as for His judgments, they have not known them. Praise the Lord!
Scripture: Romans 3:1-2 - New King James Version (NKJV)
God’s Judgment Defended
<1> What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision? <2> Much in every way! Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of God.
Doug: the statement Darwin made seemed like he was saying people who weren't Jewish preserved the word of God which was the first thing I thought.
it just wasn't very precise, and rather broad. but the scripture and story is more talking about how israel is going through a season of wickedness and how people who don't know him are handling his law.
its no where near a statement about how God uses the wicked to preserve his Word.
Daniel: how are people in "a season of wickedness" not wicked people?
Daniel: are you saying that Jews/Israelites cannot possibly be wicked? Or that wicked is some sort of synonym for gentiles? Scripture clearly says that the Jews were wicked. That doesn't mean they aren't also His chosen people.
Doug: again, it just seemed like when he said "God used the wicked to preserve his word" it implied gentiles. and again its not an assurance or a statement that God uses the wicked to preserve his Word, its a statement that wicked people were handling his law, not really a promise that God would use the wicked to preserve it. also the very implication of wicked people handling God's law usually follows a perversion of it, not a preservation of itand no, a large part of what you said is not what I'm saying
Daniel: It’s not a promise; it’s a matter of fact.
Doug: its not really a matter of fact then
Daniel: Scripture says it is.
Doug: nah, it says that priests who did not know him handled the law
Doug: thats not a statement on preservation, or God's use of wicked people to preserve his word, thats just a footnote on the state of Israel at the time
Daniel: “those who handled the law did not know me”
Doug: yeah, thats strangely not saying how God uses the wicked to preserve his word but what ever...
Daniel: it literally says exactly that
Daniel: the handlers of the law were the ones who preserved it, and they were (at times) wicked
Doug: handling something doesn't mean preserving it
Daniel: what's it talking about then; what is handling in this context?
Doug: and when you're wicked you tend to not preserve things but destroy it, they were in violation of the law, not preservation of it. handling just means handling it, they were responsible for it, they had it, and ultimately were wicked against God and didn't know him
Daniel:
they were responsible for it
Okay.. so then they... preserved it!
Doug: i could have handled a bird, but i could either hold it in my hand gently to preserve its life, or i could crush it in my fist, I was responsible for the birds life, but i didn't preserve it because i was wicked. but i still handled it
Daniel: you're adding to the word in your assumption that the wicked can't be used by God to preserve His Word; it says He does just that
Daniel: and you are appealing to "philosophy and empty deceit" (Colossians 2:8)
Scripture: Colossians 2:8 - New King James Version (NKJV)<8> Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.
Doug: nah, what was said was added to the word. it doesn't say that and to say that adds to it. i just removed what was added and am sticking to what it says. God doesn't use wicked people to preserve his word.
i just used a metaphor to describe what handling is, and what a righteous person does when handling something vs what a wicked person does when handling something since you asked.
handling does not mean preservation, it just means control over
https://biblehub.com/hebrew/8610.htm
not only that, the hebrew word for handling or "those who handle" doesn't imply preservation in way shape or form, its a word more closely related to "taking, capturing, seizing" and etc
Daniel: Romans 3:9
Scripture: Romans 3:9 - New King James Version (NKJV)<9> What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin.
Doug: well, that had nothing to do with this
Daniel: Psalm 14:1
Scripture: Psalm 14:1 - New King James Version (NKJV)<1> The fool has said in his heart,"There is no God."They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good.
Daniel: Everybody is wicked. Even whoever was in charge of protecting Scripture
Doug: i guess Job, and Daniel were wicked people too
Daniel: they were, and yet God showed them mercy
Doug: Job is probably the only person in the bible where it remarks him as having "never sinned with this mouth" Job 1:1 and as far as I know is the only other man apart from Jesus to be described as Blameless and upright
Scripture: Job 1:1 - King James Version (KJV)<1> There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.
Daniel: Romans 5:12
Scripture: Romans 5:12 - New King James Version (NKJV)<12> Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned—
Daniel: you are saying Romans 5 is a lie? That not all sinned?
Doug: i wonder where Job sinned then, because if he did so, the bible wouldn't call him morally pure
Daniel: Scripture doesn't need to say specifically what he did wrong; you need to simply believe that all have sinned.
Doug: sinning doesn't make you inherently wicked in the first place, Daniel was a righteous man as as he and his friends were willing to die to keep God's ways. he still confessed his sins and the sins of his nation
Genesis 7:1
romans 3:10
Scripture: Genesis 7:1 - King James Version (KJV)<1> And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.
Scripture: Romans 3:10 - King James Version (KJV)
<10> As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
Daniel: it is God given faith that saves these otherwise wicked men
Doug: but God called Noah righteous
Daniel: Genesis 15:6
Scripture: Genesis 15:6 - New King James Version (NKJV)<6> And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.
Doug: and Paul quotes a scripture where it says "there is none righteous, no not one. how do you reconcile that.
so is it safe to say believing in God makes you righteous? so maybe Daniel and Job aren't really wicked people but righteous men before God
personally I have a hard time with referring to these guys as wicked
Daniel: they are righteous because of their faith, not because of some inherent quality in themselves
Doug: so then they aren't wicked, so then God doesn't use the wicked to preserve his word as historically wicked people destroy God's Word. and the people from that jeremiah chapter didn't preserve God's law they just had "handled" it, which in hebrew doesn't indicate preservation
Daniel: God's Word can't be destroyed as God's Word is literally God..
Daniel: You have picked out a few men which I would agree with you are righteous, but there have been many more who were not righteous and who were the ones in charge of keeping the Scriptures
Doug: destroying God's Word is a reference to the historical burning of the torah in old testament history, and the bible through recent history, not the actual destruction of God's Word
Daniel: to burn a physical copy of if is not to destroy it..
Doug: i can't tell if thats splitting hairs or a straw man, it might even be both
Doug: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VI1yRTC6kGEYouTube
NathanH83
Were the Pyramids Built Before the Flood? (Masoretic Text vs. Orig...Doug: well fun fact, the jews changed the genealogies in genesis and made Melchizidek into Shem in an effort to debunk hebrews when it says Christ is a high priest after Melchizidek. infact the hebrews have a history of changing the word to deny Christ, not preserving it
Daniel: that's.. kinda the point? And yet despite that the Word is preserved
Doug: not to deny that they aren't the chosen people of God, they still are.
if its been changed in some pretty major historical ways, that means it hasn't been preserved, it means its been changed, and it means wicked people did it with an agenda
Doug: yeah, most of its been preserved, and even better so in the LXX than the masoretic (and dead sea scrolls) but the jews have changed certain things to keep themselves in the dark and deny Christ
Daniel: it's all been preserved in one way or another. I have access to all of it.
Doug: and not by wicked people
Daniel: everyone is wicked..
Doug: thats just not true
Darwin: Job spoke of the "iniquities of my youth" in Job 13:26
Scripture: Job 13:26 - New King James Version (NKJV)<26> For You write bitter things against me, And make me inherit the iniquities of my youth.
Darwin: Ecclesiastes 7:20
Scripture: Ecclesiastes 7:20 - New King James Version (NKJV)<20> For there is not a just man on earth who does goodAnd does not sin.
Doug: 2 Kings 18:3
Scripture: 2 Kings 18:3 - King James Version (KJV)<3> And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, according to all that David his father did.
Doug: proverbs 24:16
by your logic this verse has never applied to anyone in history
Scripture: Proverbs 24:16 - King James Version (KJV)<16> For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.
Darwin: What logic? I quoted Scripture.
Darwin: What do you think my logic is?
Darwin: That "there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin"?
Darwin: That's God's logic.
Darwin: Proverbs 24:16 illustrates Ecclesiastes 7:20. The "just man falls seven times" i.e. he sins.
Scripture: Proverbs 24:16 - New King James Version (NKJV)<16> For a righteous man may fall seven timesAnd rise again, But the wicked shall fall by calamity.
Scripture: Ecclesiastes 7:20 - New King James Version (NKJV)
<20> For there is not a just man on earth who does good
And does not sin.Doug: someone sinning doesn't make a man righteous or wicked, just or unjust, it just means that he sinned
Darwin: Indeed, faith in God's Word is what makes a man righteous and just.
Darwin: At the same time, there is none righteous, not one. Psalm 53:2-3.
Scripture: Psalm 53:2-3 - New King James Version (NKJV)<2> God looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who seek God. <3> Every one of them has turned aside; They have together become corrupt; There is none who does good, No, not one.
Darwin: Romans 3:10
Scripture: Romans 3:10 - New King James Version (NKJV)<10> As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one;
Doug: romans 4:5
God does not use the wicked to preserve his word.
only righteous people with faith in God preserve his word, wicked people change the word to empower themselves and enslave others like the Nicolaitans
Scripture: Romans 4:5 - King James Version (KJV)<5> But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
Darwin: Where does Scripture teach He doesn't use wicked people?
Doug: he uses wicked people all the time, he doesn't do it to preserve his word, the scripture in jeremiah doesn't give that notion in english or hebrew
Darwin: Where does Scripture teach He doesn't use wicked people to preserve His Word?
Doug: Jeremiah 2:8
Scripture: Jeremiah 2:8 - King James Version (KJV)<8> The priests said not, Where is the Lord? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.
Doug: your scripture doesn't teach it
Doug: it doesn't say he doesn't, and it doesn't say he does. but knowing wicked and evil people, its safe to say they haven't been used to preserve God's Word because its not in the interest of wicked and evil people to do so, only people who are faithful and righteous before God are interested in doing so.
Darwin: It's never safe to claim what Scripture does not. Proverbs 30:5-6.
Scripture: Proverbs 30:5-6 - New King James Version (NKJV)<5> Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. <6> Do not add to His words, Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.
Doug: look man, go look at Jeremiah 2:8 in the hebrew, handling does not mean preserve, nor does it imply it. handling can mean preservation or destruction, but handling in wicked hand leans on destruction, and again, I haven't added to anything, you've added something that wasn't there and I took away from it because its not how its worked historically, wicked people have always been interested in either destroying, or changing the word of God, and there isn't a single example of a wicked person transcribing the torah letter for letter, and burning the entire copy he's transcribing because he made 1 mistake, thats only the action of a person who has faith and believes in God
Scripture: Jeremiah 2:8 - King James Version (KJV)<8> The priests said not, Where is the Lord? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.
Doug: infact, handling here in hebrew leans more on abuse than preservation
Darwin: OK, thank you. I stand corrected. You are right. It doesn't say He uses wicked people to preserve His Word. I should have used that verse as an illustration of the wicked handling the Word. You should acknowledge your error as well
Darwin: You claim He doesn't use wicked people to preserve His Word. The Bible doesn't teach that.
Doug: you're right, the bible doesn't teach that, but history does
Darwin: History is not what my faith is in
Doug: i infact never said the bible doesn't teach that God doesn't use wicked people to preserve his Word, i did infact state that historically, gentile pagan kings, have gone out of their way to destroy jewish culture and literature, and scriptures, have used their influence to introduce foreign gods and idols, and past Christ's time, have done everything in their power to keep the Word of God, (bible) from the hands of the people by burning the books, and people alive together
Doug: in roman times, if you were a christian found with something even remotely related to jesus, the book you had was burned, and you were used as a street lamp (burned alive) quite frankly the wicked don't preserve the Word, they burn it
Doug: frankly, its irrelevant if you don't put your faith in history or not, enough of history is fact and is true regardless of whether you believe it or not (though i do admit there are some insane revisions)
Darwin: How do you prove the history is true, if it is solely based on the writing of men?
Darwin: You also cannot prove, Biblically or historically, that God doesn't use wicked people to preserve His Word.
Darwin: Your claim is not provable
Doug: ok, then no one was martyred in the name of Christ historically th en
Doug: actually really thinking about it, one of the things the beast tries to do is change the times and the laws i believe meaning God's times, and His Laws 7:25.i'm pretty sure it can be showed that the wicked have no interest in keeping God's Law, or Words
proverbs 11:28 Proverbs 12:5-7 proverbs 12:21 among other verses.while the bible might not teach that God doesn't use the wicked to preserve his Word, the Bible does teach who the wicked are, and what they do with their lives, and how God uses that but none of that includes preserving his word
Scripture: Proverbs 11:28 - King James Version (KJV)<28> He that trusteth in his riches shall fall; but the righteous shall flourish as a branch.
Scripture: Proverbs 12:5-7 - King James Version (KJV)
<5> The thoughts of the righteous are right: but the counsels of the wicked are deceit. <6> The words of the wicked are to lie in wait for blood: but the mouth of the upright shall deliver them. <7> The wicked are overthrown, and are not: but the house of the righteous shall stand.
Darwin: It does include proclaiming His Word. Balaam, a false prophet (wicked), proclaimed His Word for (Numbers 23-24 i).
Darwin: Faithfully
Darwin: Jehu was wicked, and he purposely fulfilled God's Word, and did what was right in God's sight. 2 Kings 10:30
Scripture: 2 Kings 10:30 - New King James Version (NKJV)<30> And the Lord said to Jehu, "Because you have done well in doing what is right in My sight, and have done to the house of Ahab all that was in My heart, your sons shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation."
Darwin: Judas (Judah), who was a devil, proclaimed God's Word and did miracles via the Holy Spirit.
Doug: Balaam was an actual prophet, not a false one. he had actual power to curse and bless according to God's power. which is why God forbade him to speak curses over Israel and was only able to speak blessings, Balaam might have spoken blessings over Israel through the mouth of God, but he did not preserve his Word, not only that he knew God, enough to know how to get Israel to curse themselves through sin in fornication and convinced the nation that hired to send them women for that purpose. ultimately he used God's law against Israel because he knew it, he didn't preserve it, but he knew it.i don't really know why Jehu is wicked, and fulfilling God's Word and preserving God's Word are two different things. you also literally can't be wicked and do whats right in God's Eyes.
as far as Judas, meh, I lean more on the side that he did what he did to fulfill the scriptures. when Jesus taught the crucifixion and resurrection privately to the apostles they all denied it, but I tend to think that Judas was listening and understood it had to be done, without the betrayal there would be no crucifixion or resurrection. Judas ultimately obeyed the scriptures, it wasn't much about proclaiming, or preserving, but rather fulfilling, which is not preserving.
again, God is very clear on what the wicked do, and how he uses them, and the preservation of his Word is literally never part of it.
Darwin: In that last post I said nothing about preservation. My point was, God has used the wicked to do good in relation to His Word (e.g. Balaam, Jehu, Judas). You said, "Balaam was an actual prophet, not a false one." Forgive me, if I used the wrong term. The point is, Balaam was wicked. As it is written, "They [false teachers] have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam . . . , who loved the wages of unrighteousness" (2 Pet. 2:15 NKJ ii). Jehu was wicked, "But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart; for he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, who had made Israel sin" (2 Ki. 10:31 NKJ iii). The "sins of Jeroboam" was idolatry (1 Ki. 12:28f iv). Judas was a devil (wicked). "Jesus answered them, 'Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you IS a devil?' He spoke of Judas Iscariot" (Jn. 6:70-71 NKJ v). Finally, as I already addressed, you make a claim about God that is the fantasy of your own mind. You expect me to believe you (Pro 14:15 vi), when nothing in the Word and man-made history teaches God doesn't use the wicked to preserve His Word? It's very hard, and in this case impossible, to prove a negative (without God revealing it). For all you know, God may have done so without revealing it. But, you talk like you are God Himself, knowing all pertinent history (which no man knows). I proved via Scripture, that God has used the wicked to proclaim His Word, to do Holy Spirit good miracles, and to fulfill His Word and do what is right in His eyes. It's not a far stretch to consider He might have done likewise in the preservation of Scripture. The scribes in Christ's time were wicked (Matthew 23 vii). Were they not the ones tranSCRIBING His Word? If not they, who?
- Numbers 23:
1 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars for me here, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.”
2 And Balak did just as Balaam had spoken, and Balak and Balaam offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 3 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stand by your burnt offering, and I will go; perhaps the Lord will come to meet me, and whatever He shows me I will tell you.” So he went to a desolate height. 4 And God met Balaam, and he said to Him, “I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.”
5 Then the Lord put a word in Balaam’s mouth, and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” 6 So he returned to him, and there he was, standing by his burnt offering, he and all the princes of Moab.
7 And he took up his oracle and said:
“Balak the king of Moab has brought me from Aram,
From the mountains of the east.
‘Come, curse Jacob for me,
And come, denounce Israel!’8 “How shall I curse whom God has not cursed?
And how shall I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced?
9 For from the top of the rocks I see him,
And from the hills I behold him;
There! A people dwelling alone,
Not reckoning itself among the nations.10 “Who can count the dust of Jacob,
Or number one-fourth of Israel?
Let me die the death of the righteous,
And let my end be like his!”11 Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and look, you have blessed them bountifully!”
12 So he answered and said, “Must I not take heed to speak what the Lord has put in my mouth?”
13 Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place from which you may see them; you shall see only the outer part of them, and shall not see them all; curse them for me from there.” 14 So he brought him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
15 And he said to Balak, “Stand here by your burnt offering while I meet the Lord over there.”
16 Then the Lord met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, “Go back to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” 17 So he came to him, and there he was, standing by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab were with him. And Balak said to him, “What has the Lord spoken?”
18 Then he took up his oracle and said:
“Rise up, Balak, and hear!
Listen to me, son of Zippor!19 “God is not a man, that He should lie,
Nor a son of man, that He should repent.
Has He said, and will He not do?
Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?
20 Behold, I have received a command to bless;
He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it.21 “He has not observed iniquity in Jacob,
Nor has He seen wickedness in Israel.
The Lord his God is with him,
And the shout of a King is among them.
22 God brings them out of Egypt;
He has strength like a wild ox.23 “For there is no sorcery against Jacob,
Nor any divination against Israel.
It now must be said of Jacob
And of Israel, ‘Oh, what God has done!’
24 Look, a people rises like a lioness,
And lifts itself up like a lion;
It shall not lie down until it devours the prey,
And drinks the blood of the slain.”25 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all!”
26 So Balaam answered and said to Balak, “Did I not tell you, saying, ‘All that the Lord speaks, that I must do’?”
27 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Please come, I will take you to another place; perhaps it will please God that you may curse them for me from there.” 28 So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, that overlooks the wasteland. 29 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me here seven altars, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” 30 And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on every altar.
Numbers 24:
1 Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go as at other times, to seek to use sorcery, but he set his face toward the wilderness. 2 And Balaam raised his eyes, and saw Israel encamped according to their tribes; and the Spirit of God came upon him.
3 Then he took up his oracle and said:
“The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor,
The utterance of the man whose eyes are opened,
4 The utterance of him who hears the words of God,
Who sees the vision of the Almighty,
Who falls down, with eyes wide open:5 “How lovely are your tents, O Jacob!
Your dwellings, O Israel!
6 Like valleys that stretch out,
Like gardens by the riverside,
Like aloes planted by the Lord,
Like cedars beside the waters.
7 He shall pour water from his buckets,
And his seed shall be in many waters.“His king shall be higher than Agag,
And his kingdom shall be exalted.8 “God brings him out of Egypt;
He has strength like a wild ox;
He shall consume the nations, his enemies;
He shall break their bones
And pierce them with his arrows.
9 ‘He bows down, he lies down as a lion;
And as a lion, who shall rouse him?’“Blessed is he who blesses you,
And cursed is he who curses you.”10 Then Balak’s anger was aroused against Balaam, and he struck his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, and look, you have bountifully blessed them these three times! 11 Now therefore, flee to your place. I said I would greatly honor you, but in fact, the Lord has kept you back from honor.”
12 So Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not also speak to your messengers whom you sent to me, saying, 13 ‘If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the Lord, to do good or bad of my own will. What the Lord says, that I must speak’? 14 And now, indeed, I am going to my people. Come, I will advise you what this people will do to your people in the latter days.”
15 So he took up his oracle and said:
“The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor,
And the utterance of the man whose eyes are opened;
16 The utterance of him who hears the words of God,
And has the knowledge of the Most High,
Who sees the vision of the Almighty,
Who falls down, with eyes wide open:17 “I see Him, but not now;
I behold Him, but not near;
A Star shall come out of Jacob;
A Scepter shall rise out of Israel,
And batter the brow of Moab,
And destroy all the sons of tumult.18 “And Edom shall be a possession;
Seir also, his enemies, shall be a possession,
While Israel does valiantly.
19 Out of Jacob One shall have dominion,
And destroy the remains of the city.”20 Then he looked on Amalek, and he took up his oracle and said:
“Amalek was first among the nations,
But shall be last until he perishes.”21 Then he looked on the Kenites, and he took up his oracle and said:
“Firm is your dwelling place,
And your nest is set in the rock;
22 Nevertheless Kain shall be burned.
How long until Asshur carries you away captive?”23 Then he took up his oracle and said:
“Alas! Who shall live when God does this?
24 But ships shall come from the coasts of Cyprus,
And they shall afflict Asshur and afflict Eber,
And so shall Amalek, until he perishes.”25 So Balaam rose and departed and returned to his place; Balak also went his way.
- 2 Peter 2:
15 They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
- 2 Kings 10:
31 But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel with all his heart; for he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, who had made Israel sin.
- 1 Kings 12:
28 Therefore the king asked advice, made two calves of gold, and said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!”
- John 6:
70 Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?” 71 He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray Him, being one of the twelve.
- Proverbs 14:
15 The simple believes every word,
But the prudent considers well his steps. - Matthew 23:
1 Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, 2 saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. 4 For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. 5 But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. 6 They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, 7 greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi.’ 8 But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. 9 Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. 10 And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ. 11 But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. 14 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.
15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.
16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.’ 17 Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold? 18 And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.’ 19 Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift? 20 Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it. 21 He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells in it. 22 And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it.
23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. 24 Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.
27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30 and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’
31 “Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt. 33 Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell? 34 Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, 35 that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.
37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! 38 See! Your house is left to you desolate; 39 for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”
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