Thematic Bible: Religious zeal


Thematic Bible



They zealously seek you, not commendably, but they want to exclude you, in order that you may seek them [zealously]. Verse ConceptsExcommunicationmotives

For you have heard about my former way of life in Judaism, that to an extraordinary degree I was persecuting the church of God, and trying to destroy it, and was progressing in Judaism beyond many contemporaries in my nation, [because] I was a far more zealous adherent of the traditions handed down by my forefathers.

For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For ignoring the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.


And [when] they heard [this], they began to glorify God. And they said to him, "You see, brother, how many ten thousands there are among the Jews who have believed, and they are all zealous adherents of the law. Verse ConceptsZealMany In The ChurchSalvation For IsraelSpecific Praising Of GodTaking The Law To Heartzealots


And a scribe approached [and] said to him, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go!" And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky [have] nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."

And [as] they were traveling on the road, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go!" And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky [have] nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay [his] head."

Some even because of envy and strife preach Christ, but some also because of good will. The latter [do so] from love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, thinking to raise up affliction in my imprisonment. read more.
{What is the result?} Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice. But also I will rejoice,

Then they sent [word] to the king, and he gathered all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. And the king went up to the house of Yahweh with all the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with the priests and the Levites--all the people from great to small--and they read in their ears all the words of the scroll of the covenant that was found in the house of Yahweh. And the king stood at his position. And he made the covenant before Yahweh, to walk after Yahweh and to keep his commands and statutes and regulations with all his heart and with all his soul, to do the words of the covenant that [were] written on this scroll. read more.
Then he obligated all who were found in Jerusalem and in Benjamin, that the inhabitants of Jerusalem would do according to the covenant of God, the God of their ancestors. And Josiah removed all the detestable things from the whole land that belonged to the {Israelites} and obligated all who were found in Israel to serve Yahweh their God. All his days they did not turn aside from following Yahweh, the God of their ancestors.

In the eighth year of his reign, while he [was] still a boy, he began to seek the God of David his ancestor. And in the twelfth year he began to cleanse Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherahs, the idols, and the images. And he destroyed before him the altars for the Baals, and he cut down the incense stands above them. And the Asherahs, the idols, and the images he smashed. And he ground [them] to powder and sprinkled [the dust] over the burial sites of those who sacrificed to them. And he burned the bones of the priests on the altars and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. read more.
And in the cities of Manasseh, Ephraim, Simeon, and as far as Naphtali, in their ruins all around, he broke down the altars and the Asherahs and crushed the idols, grinding [them] to dust, and he cut down all the incense stands in all the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.

And they also struck the tents of the herdsmen and carried away many sheep and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.

Asa did right in the eyes of Yahweh, like David his ancestor. He put away the male shrine prostitutes from the land, and he removed all of the idols that his ancestors made. Also, he had Maacah his mother removed from the office of queen mother, [as] she had made a repulsive image for the Asherah. Asa also cut down her repulsive image and burned it in the Wadi Kidron. read more.
But the high places he did not remove. Nevertheless, the heart of Asa was completely with Yahweh all of his days. He brought the holy objects of his father and his [own] holy objects to the house of Yahweh, silver and gold and utensils.

And Abijah slept with his ancestors, and they buried him in the city of David. And Asa his son became king in his place. In his days the land was at rest ten years. Asa did that which [was] good and right in the eyes of Yahweh his God. He removed the foreign altars and high places, broke down the stone pillars, and cut down the Asherahs. read more.
And he commanded Judah to seek Yahweh, the God of their ancestors, and to keep the law and the commandment. And he removed the high places and the incense stands from all the cities of Judah, and the kingdom had rest under him.

And Joshua tore his clothes and fell to the ground on his face before the ark of Yahweh until the evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust on their heads. Verse ConceptsTearing Of ClothesArk Of The Covenant, FunctionEveningClothing, Tearing OfHeadsProstrationSprinklingHumility, Examples OfDust On The HeadThose Who Tore Clothes

So a boy ran and told Moses and said, "Eldad and Medad [are] prophesying in the camp." And Joshua son of Nun, the assistant of Moses from time of his youth, answered, "Moses, my lord, stop them." But Moses said to him, "Are you jealous for my sake? Would that he give all Yahweh's people prophets, that Yahweh put his spirit on them!"

So Joshua burned Ai and made it an everlasting heap of rubbish, a desolate place until this day. Verse ConceptsArchaeologyBurning CitiesPlaces To This Day

"Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, turned away my anger from among the {Israelites} when he was jealous with my jealousy in their midst, and I did not destroy the {Israelites} with my jealousy. Therefore say, 'Behold, I [am] giving to him my covenant of peace, and it will be for him and his {offspring} after him a covenant of an eternal priesthood because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the {Israelites}.'"

Then Phinehas stood up and intervened, and [so] the plague was stopped, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness {throughout all generations}.


Then Yahweh said to Samuel, "{How long} will you mourn about Saul? I have rejected him from being king over Israel! Fill up your horn [with] oil and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have chosen a king for myself among his sons." Verse ConceptsCivil authoritiesHornsLeaders, PoliticalMissionaries, Task OfRejection Of God, Results OfHorns Of AnimalsAnointing KingsGod Abandoning IndividualsBefore People ActMourning In RegretSaul And DavidRejectionLeadership Qualitiesgrievingsaul

Samuel {did not see Saul again} until the day of his death, but Samuel mourned over Saul, and Yahweh regretted that he made Saul king over Israel. Verse ConceptsNot Seeing PeopleMourning In RegretRegrettingsaul

Also, as for me, far be it from me {that I should sin} against Yahweh by ceasing to pray for you! I will instruct you in the good and righteous way. Verse ConceptsGod's WaysPrayerlessnessRevenge, Examples OfReward, HumanWatchfulness, Of LeadersUnceasingAlways PrayingI Pray For YouTeaching The Way Of GodCauses of failure inPraying For OthersPraying

But in the seventh year Jehoiada sent and took the commanders of the hundreds of the Carites and the runners, and he brought them to himself to the temple of Yahweh. Then he {made} a covenant with them and made them swear in the house of Yahweh and showed them the son of the king. He commanded them, saying, "This [is] the thing which you must do: one third of you {who go off duty on the Sabbath}, the keepers of the guard in the house of the king, and another third at the gate of Sur, and a third at the gate behind the runners, shall guard the post of the palace alternately. read more.
Two of the units among you, all {who go on duty on the Sabbath}, guard the post of the temple of Yahweh for the king. You must surround the king all about, each with his weapon in his hand; whoever comes to the ranks must be killed. Be with the king {wherever he goes}." So the commanders of hundreds did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded, and each took his men {who went off duty on the Sabbath} and those {who came on duty on the Sabbath}, and they came to Jehoiada the priest. Then the priest gave to the commanders of the hundreds spears and small round shields which [were] King David's, which [were] in the temple of Yahweh. So the royal runners stood, each [with] his weapons in his hand, from the side of the temple to the south up to the side of the temple on the north, around the altar and around the temple, about the king all around. Then he brought out the son of the king, put the crown on him with the testimony, and they made him king, anointed him, clapped [their] hands, and said, "[Long] live the king!" When Athaliah heard the sound of the runners of the people, she came to the people at the temple of Yahweh. She looked, and there was the king standing by the pillar according to the custom. The commanders and the trumpeters [were] by the king, and all of the people of the land were rejoicing and blowing on the trumpets. Athaliah tore her clothes and she called, "Treason, treason!" Then Jehoiada the priest commanded the commanders of the hundreds, the appointed of the army, and he said to them, "Bring her out to the house of the ranks! The one coming after her [should] kill her with the sword," for the priest had said, "Let her not be killed in the temple of Yahweh." So {they grabbed her} as she went [by] the entranceway of the horses to the palace of the king, and she was killed there. Then Jehoiada {made} a covenant between Yahweh and the king and the people, that the people should be as a people for Yahweh, and [also a covenant] between the king and the people.

And in the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened himself and took with him into a covenant [relationship] the commanders of hundreds: Azariah the son of Jeroham, Ishmael the son of Jehohanan, Azariah the son of Obed, Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat the son of Zicri. And they went around in Judah and gathered the Levites from all the cities of Judah, and the heads of the {families} of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem. And all the assembly {made} a covenant with the king in the house of God. And he said to them, "Behold, the son of the king shall reign as Yahweh has spoken concerning the sons of David. read more.
This is the thing that you must do: one third of you priests and Levites {coming off duty on the Sabbath} [shall be] gatekeepers at the entrances and one third at the house of the king, and one third at the Gate of the Foundation. And all the people [shall be] in the courtyards of the house of Yahweh. Let no one enter into the house of Yahweh except the priests and the ministering Levites. They themselves may enter, for they [are] holy, but all the people shall keep the requirements of Yahweh. And the Levites shall surround the king all around, each with his weapons in his hand. And whoever comes into the house shall be put to death. You shall be with the king when he comes in and when he goes out." And the Levites and all Judah did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded. And they each took his men [who were] {coming off duty on the Sabbath} with {the ones going out to duty on the Sabbath}, for Jehoiada the priest did not dismiss the working groups. And Jehoiada the priest gave the spears and small shields that had belonged to King David that [were in] the house of God to the commanders of hundreds. And he appointed all the people, each [with] his weapon in his hand from the south side of the house to the north side of the house around the altar and the house. Then they brought out the son of the king and set upon him the crown and [gave him] the statute and made him king. And Jehoiada and his sons anointed him and said, "{Long live the king}!" When Athaliah heard the sound of the people running and praising the king, she came to the people [at] the house of Yahweh. And she looked and, behold, the king was standing by his column at the entrance, and the commanders and trumpeters beside the king, along with all the people of the land, rejoicing and blowing with trumpets, and the singers with the instruments of song leading the praise. And Athaliah tore her garments and cried, "Conspiracy! Conspiracy!" Then Jehoiada the priest brought out the commanders of the hundreds appointed over the troops, and he said to them, "Bring her out between the ranks, and whoever goes after her shall be put to death with the sword." For the priest had said, "You must not kill her in the house of Yahweh. And they laid hands on her, and she went into the entrance of the Horse Gate of the house of the king, and they killed her there. And Jehoiada {made} a covenant between himself and all the people and the king, that they should be Yahweh's people. Then all the people went to the house of Baal and broke it down. And they smashed his altars and his images, and they killed Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars.

Do not cover their guilt, and do not let their sin be blotted out from before you. They have {provoked the builders to anger}. Verse ConceptsCoveringUnforgivenessGod Not ForgivingGuiltAnger And Forgiveness

So I came to Jerusalem. And I came to learn of the wrong that Eliashib had done for Tobiah by making him a room in the courtyard of the house of God. It was very displeasing for me, and I threw all of the objects from the house of Tobiah outside of the chamber. And I spoke [in order], and they cleansed the chambers. Then I returned the objects of the house of God--the grain offering and the frankincense.

In those days I saw in Judah [people] treading the wine press on the Sabbath, bringing in heaps [of grain] and loading them on donkeys along with wine, grapes and figs, and every kind of burden and bringing [it all] to Jerusalem on the day of the Sabbath. And I warned them at that time against selling food. Tyrian men who lived in [Jerusalem] brought fish and every kind of merchandise and sold [it] on the Sabbath to the descendants of Judah and in Jerusalem. So I quarreled with the nobles of Judah and said to them, "What is this evil thing that you are doing, profaning the day of the Sabbath? read more.
Did not your ancestors do this also, and our God brought on us all of this disaster and on this city [too]? Now you are adding fierce wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath!" So when it became dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I commanded that the doors be shut and said that they should not be opened until after the Sabbath. And I appointed some of my young men over the gates [to prevent] any {goods} being brought in on the day of the Sabbath. So the merchants and the sellers of merchandise spent the night outside of Jerusalem once or twice. But I warned them and said to them, "Why are you spending the night opposite the wall? If you do [it again], I will lay hands against you." From that time on they did not come on the Sabbath. And then I told two Levites that they must purify themselves and come to guard the gates in order to consecrate the day of the Sabbath. Remember this also, my God, and take pity on me according to the greatness of your loyal love. Also in those days I saw Jews who had married women of Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. Half of their children spoke Ashdodite and could not speak Judean, but [only] the tongues of other nations. So I quarreled with them and cursed them and beat some of their men and pulled out their hair. I made them take an oath by God: "Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons or for yourselves. Did not King Solomon of Israel sin in this way? And among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Yet the foreign women made even him sin. Should we listen to you all and do this great evil, acting unfaithfully against our God by marrying foreign women?" One from the sons of Jehoiada, son of the high priest Eliashib, [who was] the son-in-law of Sanballat the Horonote [was there]. I chased him away from me.

And all of these your servants will come down to me and bow to me, saying, 'Go out, you and all the people who [are] at your feet.' And afterward I will go out." And he went out from Pharaoh {in great anger}. Verse ConceptsBowingAnger, HumanHeatAnger, Justified ExamplesAnger Of Man, CauseLeaving EgyptNamed People Angry With Others

And he turned here and there, and he saw no one, and he struck the Egyptian, and he hid him in the sand. Verse ConceptsSandInadequate BurialsUnseenLooking And SeeingSand And Gravel

{And} as he came near to the camp, he saw the bull calf and dancing, and {Moses became angry}, and he threw the tablets from his hand, and he broke them under the mountain. And he took the bull calf that they had made, and he burned [it] with the fire, and he crushed [it] until it became fine, and he scattered [it] on the surface of the water, and he made the {Israelites} drink.

{And the report came to the attention} of the church that was in Jerusalem about them, and they sent out Barnabas as far as Antioch, who, [when he] arrived and saw the grace of God, rejoiced and encouraged [them] all to remain true to the Lord with {devoted hearts}, because he was a good man and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a large number were added to the Lord. read more.
So he departed for Tarsus to look for Saul. And [when he] found [him], he brought [him] to Antioch. And it happened to them also [that they] met together [for] a whole year with the church and taught a large number [of people]. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.

But [when] the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard about [it], they tore their clothing [and] rushed out into the crowd, shouting and saying, "Men, why are you doing these [things]? We also are men with the same nature as you, proclaiming the good news [that] you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all the things [that are] in them--

When Phinehas son of Eleazar son of Aaron the priest saw, he got up from the midst of the community and took a spear in his hand. He went after the man of Israel into the woman's section of the tent, and he drove the two of them, the man of Israel and the woman, into her belly. And the plague among the {Israelites} stopped. The ones who died in the plague were twenty-four thousand. read more.
Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, "Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, turned away my anger from among the {Israelites} when he was jealous with my jealousy in their midst, and I did not destroy the {Israelites} with my jealousy. Therefore say, 'Behold, I [am] giving to him my covenant of peace, and it will be for him and his {offspring} after him a covenant of an eternal priesthood because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the {Israelites}.'"

Then Phinehas stood up and intervened, and [so] the plague was stopped, Verse ConceptsCessationThings Stopping

and their kinsmen, heads of the house of their fathers, one thousand seven hundred and sixty mighty men [for] the work of the service of the house of God. Verse ConceptsGiving, Of TalentsThousands

I sent them to Iddo, the head of the place called Casiphia, and I placed in their mouths what words to say to Iddo and his brothers the temple servants in Casiphia, to send to us ministers for the house of our God. With the good hand of our God before us, they brought us a man of understanding from the sons of Mahli, son of Levi, son of Israel--Sherebiah and his sons and brothers, eighteen [in total].

And the {Israelites} heard [it] said that the descendants of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh had built an altar next to the land of Canaan, in the region of the Jordan, on the side [belonging to] the {Israelites}. When the {Israelites} heard [of it], the whole congregation of the {Israelites} gathered [at] Shiloh to go up against them for battle. And the {Israelites} sent to the descendants of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, Phinehas the priest son of Eleazar, read more.
and ten leaders with him, {one leader for each} {family} from each of the tribes of Israel; and each one [was] the head of {his family} among the clans of Israel. They came to the descendants of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, and they spoke with them, saying, "Thus says all the congregation of Yahweh: 'What [is] this treachery that you have committed against the God of Israel by turning away today from following Yahweh, by building for yourselves an altar to rebel today against Yahweh? [Is] not the sin of Peor {enough for us}, from which we have not cleansed ourselves today, and for which a plague came to the congregation of Yahweh, that you must turn today from following Yahweh? [If] you rebel today against Yahweh, tomorrow he will be angry with all of the congregation of Israel; if, however, the land of your property [is] unclean, cross [over] to the land of Yahweh's property, where Yahweh's tabernacle resides, and take possession among us. But you must not rebel against Yahweh or against us by building for yourselves an altar other than the altar of Yahweh our God. Did not Achan son of Zerah commit treachery with devoted things, and wrath fell on all the congregation of Israel? {And he alone} did not perish because of his iniquity.'"

King David dedicated them also to Yahweh [along] with the silver and the gold that he had dedicated from all of the nations which he had subdued; from Aram and from Moab and from the {Ammonites} and from [the] Philistines and from Amalek and from the plunder of Hadadezer the son of Rehob, the king of Zobah.

And the king said to Nathan the prophet, "Look, please, I [am] living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God [is] staying in the middle of the tent." Verse ConceptsArk Of The Covenant, FunctionCedarProperty, HousesTentsBuilding God's DwellingRoyal HousesThe Ark Moved AroundCedar WoodNamed Prophets Of The Lord

And [when he] saw [it], Peter replied to the people, "Men [and] Israelites, why are you astonished at this? Or why are you staring at us, as [if] by our own power or godliness we have made him walk? The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus, whom you handed over and denied in the presence of Pilate, [after] he had decided to release [him]. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One and demanded [that] a man--a murderer--be granted to you. read more.
And you killed the originator of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses! And on the basis of faith in his name, his name has made this man strong, whom you see and know, and the faith [that is] through him has given him this perfect health in the presence of you all. And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also. But [the things] which God foretold through the mouth of all the prophets, [that] his Christ would suffer, he has fulfilled in this way. Therefore repent and turn back, so that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and he may send the Christ appointed for you--Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the times of the restoration of all [things], about which God spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from earliest times. Moses said, 'The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You will listen to him in everything that he says to you. And it will be [that] every soul who does not listen to that prophet will be destroyed utterly from the people.' And indeed, all the prophets from Samuel and all those who followed [him] have spoken [about] and proclaimed these days. You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God ordained with your fathers, saying to Abraham, 'And in your offspring all the nations of the earth will be blessed.' God, [after he] had raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning each [of you] back from your wickedness!"

But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them, "Judean men, and all those who live [in] Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and pay attention to my words! For these [men] are not drunk, as you assume, because it is the third hour of the day. But this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: read more.
'And it will be in the last days,' God says, 'I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters will prophesy, and your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. And even on my male slaves and on my female slaves I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. And I will cause wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun will be changed to darkness and the moon to blood, before the great and glorious day of the Lord comes. And it will be [that] everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.' "Israelite men, listen to these words! Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, just as [you] yourselves know-- this man, delivered up by the determined plan and foreknowledge of God, you executed [by] nailing to [a cross] through the hand of lawless men. God raised {him} up, having brought to an end the pains of death, because it was not possible [for] him to be held by it. For David says with reference to him, 'I saw the Lord before me {continually}, for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken. For this [reason] my heart was glad and my tongue rejoiced greatly, furthermore also my flesh will live in hope, because you will not abandon my soul in Hades, nor will you permit your Holy One to experience decay. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with gladness with your presence.' "Men [and] brothers, it is possible to speak with confidence to you about the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us until this day. Therefore, [because he] was a prophet and knew that God had sworn to him with an oath to seat {one of his descendants} on his throne, [by] having foreseen [this], he spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was he abandoned in Hades nor did his flesh experience decay. This Jesus God raised up, of which we all are witnesses. Therefore, having been exalted to the right hand of God and having received the promise of the Holy Spirit from the Father, he has poured out this that you see and hear. For David did not ascend into heaven, but he himself says, 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet." ' Therefore let all the house of Israel know beyond a doubt, that God has made him both Lord and Christ--this Jesus whom you crucified!" Now [when they] heard [this], they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "What should we do, men [and] brothers?" And Peter [said] to them, "Repent and be baptized, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all those [who are] far away, as many as the Lord our God calls to himself." And with many other words he solemnly urged and exhorted them, saying, "Be saved from this crooked generation!"

And Jephthah made a vow to Yahweh, and he said, "If indeed you will give the {Ammonites} into my hand, whatever comes out from the doors of my house to meet me when I return safely from the {Ammonites} will be Yahweh's, and I will offer it [as] a burnt offering."

Jephthah came to Mizpah, to his house, and behold his daughter came out to meet him with tambourines and dancing. She [was] his only child; he did not have a son or daughter except her. And the moment he saw her, he tore his clothes and said, "Ah! My daughter, you have caused me to bow down, and you have become my trouble. {I made an oath} to Yahweh, and I cannot take [it] back." She said to him, "My father, {you made an oath} to Yahweh. Do to me according to what has gone out from your mouth, since Yahweh gave vengeance to you against your enemies, the {Ammonites}." read more.
And she said to her father, "Let this thing be done for me: grant me two months so that I may go wander on the mountains and lament over my virginity, I and my companions. And he said, "Go." He sent her away [for] two months, and she went with her friends, and she lamented over her virginity on the mountains. At the end of the two months she returned to her father, and he did to her [according to] his vow; and {she did not sleep with a man}. And it became an annual custom in Israel

David said to him, "How [is it that] you [were] not afraid to stretch out your hand to destroy Yahweh's anointed one?" Verse ConceptsThe Lord's AnointedKilling KingsWhy Do You Do This?

Then David answered Recab and Baanah his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and he said to them, "{As Yahweh lives}, who redeemed my soul from all trouble, when the [one] who told me, "Look, Saul [is] dead," {thought that he [was] bringing good news}, I seized him and killed him at Ziklag, which [was] as my giving the news [back] to him. {How much more} when wicked men kill a righteous man in his house, on his bed! So then, shall I not seek his lifeblood from your hand, so that I may destroy you from the earth?" read more.
Then David commanded the young men, and they killed them, and they cut off their hands and their feet, and they hung [them] at the pool at Hebron, but the head of Ish-Bosheth they took and buried in the grave of Abner at Hebron.

For Ezra had set his heart to seek the law of Yahweh, to do [it], and to teach the regulations and judgments in Israel. Verse ConceptsDoctrine, CommunicatedIntelligenceStudyRenewed HeartMan's PurposesStudying The LawTeaching The Way Of GodStudyingstatues

And he took the bull calf that they had made, and he burned [it] with the fire, and he crushed [it] until it became fine, and he scattered [it] on the surface of the water, and he made the {Israelites} drink. Verse ConceptsRepulsive FoodBurning Idolatrous ThingsWaters DividedGrandmothers

And Moses stood at the entrance of the camp, and he said, "Whoever [is] for Yahweh, to me." And all the sons of Levi were gathered to him. And he said to them, "Thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, 'Put each his sword on his side. Go {back and forth} from gate to gate in the camp, and kill, each his brother and each his friend and each his close relative.'" And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses, and from the people on that day about three thousand persons fell. read more.
And Moses said, "{You are ordained} today for Yahweh, because each [has been] against his son and against his brother and so bringing on you today a blessing."

Next he went from there and found Jehonadab the son of Recab to meet him. He greeted him and asked him, "{Is your heart right with me as my heart is with you}?" Then Jehonadab said, "Yes, it is. Give your hand!" And he gave his hand and took him up to him on the chariot. Then he said, "Come with me! Look at my zeal for Yahweh!" So he let him ride in his chariot. Then he came to Samaria and killed all who remained to Ahab in Samaria until he wiped them out according to the word of Yahweh which he had spoken to Elijah. read more.
Then Jehu assembled all of the people and said to them, "Ahab served Baal a little, but Jehu will worship him greatly. So then, summon to me all of the prophets of Baal and all of his servants and his priests; no man should fail to come, for I have a great sacrifice for Baal. Anyone who fails to come shall not live!" Now Jehu was acting with cunning in order to destroy the servants of Baal. Then Jehu said, "Sanctify a [solemn] assembly for Baal!" So they proclaimed [it]. Jehu sent [word] through all of Israel, and all of the servants of Baal came; there did not remain a man who did not come. They came to the house of Baal so that the house of Baal was filled from {wall to wall}. He said to the one who [was] over the wardrobe, "Bring out clothing for all of the servants of Baal." So he brought the clothing out for them. Then Jehu and Jehonadab the son of Recab came [to] the temple of Baal, and he said to the servants of Baal, "Search and see that there is none of the servants of Yahweh here with you; only those who serve Baal." They came to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had stationed for himself eighty men outside, and he said, "The man who lets [anyone] escape from the men who I am {entrusting to you}, {he will pay with his life}!" It happened that when he finished offering the burnt offering, Jehu said to the royal guard and to the officers, "Come and kill them; let no man go free!" So {they put them to the sword}, and the royal guard and the officers threw them out, then they went up to the citadel of the temple of Baal. They brought out the stone pillars of the temple of Baal and burned {them}. So they broke down the stone pillars of Baal and destroyed the temple of Baal and made it into a latrine until this day. So Jehu wiped out Baal from Israel.

Then Saul said, "Come here, all [you] leaders of the people, {so that we find out} what the sin was this day. For as Yahweh lives, who delivers Israel, [I swear] that even if it [is] in Jonathan my son, {he will certainly die}!" But nobody from all the army answered him. Then he said to all Israel, "You will be {on one side}, and I and my son Jonathan will be {on the other}." And the army said to Saul, "Do [what is] good in your eyes." read more.
Then Saul said to Yahweh the God of Israel, "{Render a decision perfectly}." Jonathan and Saul were chosen [by lot] and the people went out. Then Saul said, "Let them cast [the lot] between me and my son Jonathan," and Jonathan was chosen. So Saul said, "Tell me what you have done." So Jonathan told him and said, "I {merely tasted} a little honey with the end of the staff that was in my hand. Here I am, I must die." Then Saul said, "So may God do [to me] and {more}, you will certainly die today, Jonathan!"

This one first found his own brother Simon and said to him, "We have found the Messiah!" (which is translated "Christ"). He brought him to Jesus. Looking at him, Jesus said, "You are Simon the son of John. You will be called Cephas" (which is interpreted "Peter"). On the next day he wanted to depart for Galilee, and he found Philip. And Jesus said to him, "Follow me!" read more.
(Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the town of Andrew and Peter.) Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found [the one] whom Moses wrote [about] in the law, and the prophets wrote [about]--Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth!" And Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see!"

Jehoash did right in the eyes of Yahweh all of his days, because Jehoiada the priest instructed him. Only the high places were not removed; the people [were] still making sacrifices and offering incense on the high places. Jehoash said to the priests, "All of the money for the sacred things that is brought to the temple of Yahweh, {the money taxed at its proper value for each person} [and] all of the money which comes upon the heart of a man to bring to the temple of Yahweh, read more.
let the priests take for themselves, each from his treasurers, and let them repair the breach of the temple for every place where damage is found." It happened in the twenty-third year of King Jehoash that the priests had not repaired the damage in the temple. So King Jehoash summoned Jehoiada the priest and the priests, and he said to them, "Why are you not repairing the damage in the temple? Now, you shall not take money from your treasurers for the damage in the temple. You must provide it." So the priests agreed not to take money from the people and not to repair the damage to the temple. Then Jehoiada the priest took a certain chest and bored a hole in its lid, and he put it beside the altar to the right as a man enters into the temple of Yahweh; then the priests who were keepers of the threshold would put there all of the money brought into the temple. It happened that when they saw a great deal of money in the chest, the secretary of the king and the high priest would come up, put the money in bags, then count the money found in the temple of Yahweh. They placed the money, [which was] weighed out, into the hands of the workers who were appointed over the temple of Yahweh, and they paid [it to] the skilled craftsmen of wood and [to] the builders working on the temple of Yahweh and to the masons and the stonecutters, to buy timber and stones for hewing, in order to repair the damage of the temple of Yahweh, and for all who went to the temple to repair it. Only, for the temple of Yahweh, there were not any silver basins, snuffers, bowls for drinking wine, trumpets, or any vessel of gold or silver from the money being brought [to] the temple of Yahweh. For they gave that to all the workers, and they repaired the temple of Yahweh with it. They did not [have to] settle accounts with the men into whose hands they placed the money to give to the workers, for they [were] dealing honestly. [The] money of [the] guilt offering and [the] money of [the] sin offering was not brought into the temple of Yahweh, but were [each] for the priests.

And their eyes were opened, and Jesus sternly warned them, saying, "See [that] no one finds out." But they went out [and] spread the report about him in that whole region.

And he said to him, "See to it that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and bring for your cleansing [the things] which Moses commanded, for a testimony to them. But he went out [and] began to proclaim [it] freely and to spread abroad the account, so that he was no longer able to enter publicly into a town. But he was staying outside in deserted places, and they were coming to him from all directions.

And [when they] saw [it], they made known the statement that had been told to them about this child. And all who heard [it] were astonished concerning what had been said to them by the shepherds.

But you do have this: that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, [things] which I also hate. Verse ConceptsHatredGod Hating ThingsHating Evil

'I know your works, and your labor and patient endurance, and that you are not able to tolerate evil, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles and are not, and you found them [to be] false. And you have patient endurance, and have endured [many things] because of my name, and have not become weary.

"From [the] thirteenth year of Josiah, the son of Amon, the king of Judah, even up to this day, these twenty-three years the word of Yahweh has come to me, and {I have spoken to you over and over again}, but you have not listened. And [though] Yahweh has sent all his servants the prophets to you {over and over again} you have not listened, and you have not inclined your ear to hear,

Ahab summoned Obadiah who [was] over the house. (Now Obadiah was fearing Yahweh greatly. It had happened that when Jezebel killed the prophets of Yahweh, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them {by fifties} in the cave and sustained them [with] food and water.)

The angel of Yahweh came and sat under the oak that [was] at Ophrah that belonged to Jehoash [the] Abiezrite; and Gideon his son [was] threshing wheat in the winepress to hide [it] from the Midianites. The angel of Yahweh appeared to him and said to him, "Yahweh [is] with you, {you mighty warrior}." Gideon said to him, "Excuse me, my lord. [If] Yahweh is with us, why then has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonderful deeds that our ancestors recounted to us, saying, 'Did not Yahweh bring us up from Egypt?' But now Yahweh has forsaken us; he has given us into the palm of Midian." read more.
And Yahweh turned to him and said, "Go in this your strength, and you will deliver Israel from the palm of Midian. Did I not send you?" He said to him, "Excuse me, my lord. How will I deliver Israel? Look, my clan [is] the weakest in Manasseh, and I [am] the youngest in my father's house." And Yahweh said to him, "But I will be with you, and you will defeat Midian {as if they are one man}." And he said to him, "Please, if I have found favor in your eyes, {show me a sign} that you [are] speaking with me. Please, do not depart from here until I come [back] to you and bring out my gift and set it out before you." And he said, "I will stay until you return." And Gideon went and prepared {a young goat} and unleavened cakes [from] an ephah of flour; he put meat in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and he brought [them] to him under the oak and presented [them]. The angel of God said to him, "Take the meat and the unleavened cakes and put [them] on this rock; pour the broth [over it]." And he did so. Then the angel of Yahweh reached out the tip of the staff that [was] in his hand, and he touched the meat and the unleavened cakes; and fire went up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. And the angel of Yahweh went {from his sight}. And Gideon realized that he [was] the angel of Yahweh; and Gideon said, "Oh, my lord Yahweh! For now I have seen the angel of Yahweh face to face." And Yahweh said to him, "Peace be with you. Do not fear; you will not die." And Gideon built there an altar to Yahweh, and he called it "Yahweh [is] peace." To this day it is still in Ophrah [of the] Abiezrites. Now on that same night Yahweh said to him, "Take the bull of the cattle that belongs to your father, and a second bull seven years old, and pull down the altar of Baal that belongs to your father, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it; and build an altar to Yahweh your God on the top of this stronghold in the proper arrangement, and take a second bull and offer [it as] a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah that you will cut down. Gideon took ten men from his servants, and he did just as Yahweh told him; and because he was too afraid of his {father's family} and the men of the city to do [it during] the day, he did [it during] night. When the men of the city got up early in the morning, look, the altar of Baal and the Asherah that [was] beside it [were] cut down, and the second bull was offered on the altar that had been built. {And they said to one another}, "Who did this thing?" So they searched and inquired, and they said, "Gideon son of Jehoash did this thing." And the men of the city said to Jehoash, "Bring out your son so that he may die, for he has pulled down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah that [was] beside it." But Jehoash said to all who stood against him, "Will you contend for Baal? Will you rescue him? Whoever contends for him will be put to death by the morning. If he [is] a god, let him contend for himself because {his altar has been pulled down}." Thus, on that day he was called Jerub-Baal, {which means}, "Let Baal contend against him," because he had pulled down his altar.

Then all the people of the land went to the temple of Baal and tore it down, and its altars and its images they broke completely into pieces. Mattan the priest of Baal they killed in front of the altars. Then the priest put guards over the house of Yahweh. Verse ConceptsFalse GodsDestruction Of Satan's WorksKilling Priests

Then Elijah said to them, "Seize the prophets of Baal; don't let any man of them escape!" So they seized them, and Elijah brought them down to the wadi of Kishon and killed them there. Verse ConceptsCommands, in OTRivers And StreamsKilling ProphetsRiver KishonProphets Of Other GodsBrooks

Samuel said, "Just as your sword bereaved women, so will your mother be bereaved among women!" Then Samuel hacked Agag to pieces in the presence of Yahweh at Gilgal. Verse ConceptsDeath penaltySwordsPeople Cut In PiecesReasons For BarrennessKilling Kings

Then he slaughtered all of the priests of the high places who [were] there, on the altars, and he burned the bones of the humans on them. Then he returned [to] Jerusalem. Verse ConceptsCremationHigh PlacesKilling PriestsBones

Then he said, "I have been very zealous for Yahweh the God of hosts, for the {Israelites} have forsaken your covenant. They have demolished your altars, and they have killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left over, and they seek to take my life. Verse ConceptsFriendlessnessFaithfulness, Examples OfForsaking GodExaggerationsdoubtersDepression, SymptomsGod, Zeal OfLonelinessMartyrdom, Examples OfOpposition, To Sin And EvilRejection Of GodSelfishnessSelf PitySoldiersEvil TimesDestruction Of The TempleKilling ProphetsForsaking God's ThingsSole SurvivorsOnly One PersonBreaking The Covenant

Now I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who is also a servant of the church in Cenchrea, in order that you may welcome her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever task she may have need from you, for she herself also has been a helper of many, even me myself.

And Peter took him aside [and] began to rebuke him, saying, {God forbid}, Lord! This will never happen to you!" Verse ConceptsInsightPeter, The DiscipleRebukeLack Of InsightNeverContradictingPassionroadblockspeter

And he ordered them that they should say nothing, but as much as he ordered them [not to], they proclaimed [it] even more instead. Verse ConceptsUnwise ZealGrowth In ProclamationChrist Concealing ThingsSpreading StoriesChrist's Orders

And at [that] same hour she approached [and] began to give thanks to God, and to speak about him to all those who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem. Verse ConceptsMessianic HopeTelling Of JesusThanks For Christ