12 Bible Verses about Heathen

This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should not walk from now on as other nations walk, in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart. For they, being past feeling, have given themselves up to lust, to work all uncleanness with greediness.

For the time of life which is past is enough for us to have worked out the will of the nations, having gone on in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, parties, carousings, and abominable idolatries.

Why do the nations rage, and the peoples meditate on a vain thing?

And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the nations through faith, preached the gospel before to Abraham, saying, "In you shall all nations be blessed."

And the sons of Israel ate, all who had come again out of captivity, and all such as had separated themselves to them from the uncleanness of the nations of the land, in order to seek Jehovah, the God of Israel.

But he walked in the way of the kings of Israel. Yes, and he made his son to pass through the fire, according to the abominations of the nations whom Jehovah cast out from before the sons of Israel.

But when you pray, do not babble vain words, as the nations. For they think that in their much speaking they shall be heard.

The nations have sunk down in the pit that they made; their foot is caught in the net which they hid.

Why do the nations rage, and the peoples meditate on a vain thing?

He also cast out the nations before them, and divided them an inheritance by line, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents.

and gave them the lands of the nations; and they inherited the labor of the people,

and gave their land as an inheritance, an inheritance to Israel His people.

and gave their land for an inheritance; for His mercy endures forever; an inheritance to Israel His servant; for His mercy endures forever.

Rejoice, O unfruitful one that never bore; break out a song and shout, you who never travailed. For more are the sons of the desolate than the sons of the married woman, says Jehovah. Make the place of your tent larger, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings. Do not spare, lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes; for you shall break out on the right hand and on the left. And your seed shall inherit the nations, and people will inhabit ruined cities.

So says Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth have been given to me by Jehovah God. And He has commanded me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is among you of all His people? May Jehovah his God be with him, and let him go up.

And in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, so that the Word of Jehovah by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, Jehovah stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also in writing, saying, So says Cyrus king of Persia, Jehovah, the God of Heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all His people? Let his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of Jehovah, the God of Israel (He is God) which is in Jerusalem. read more.
And whoever remains in any place where he resides, let the men of his place help him with silver and with gold and with goods and with animals, besides the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.

Do not defile yourselves in any of these things. For in all these the nations are defiled, which I cast out before you. And the land is defiled. Therefore I visit its wickedness on it, and the land itself vomits out those who live in it.

You drove out the nations with Your hand, and planted them; You brought evil on peoples and cast them out.

And when Jesus had entered into Capernaum, a centurion came to him, beseeching Him, and saying, Lord, my son lies at home paralyzed and grievously tormented. And Jesus says to him, I will come and heal him. read more.
The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my boy will be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, Go! And he goes; and to another, Come! And he comes; and to my servant, Do this! And he does it. When Jesus heard, He marvelled and said to those who followed, Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say to you that many shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of Heaven. But the sons of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said to the centurion, Go. And as you have believed, so let it be to you. And his boy was healed in that hour.

And a certain servant of a centurion who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die. And when he heard of Jesus, he sent the elders of the Jews to Him, begging Him that He would come and heal his servant. And coming to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that he was worthy, he for whom You give this; read more.
for, they said, He loves our nation, and he has built us a synagogue. Then Jesus went with them. But He being yet not far off from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, Lord, do not trouble Yourself. For I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. Therefore neither did I think myself worthy to come to You; but say a word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers. And I say to one, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my servant, Do this, and he does it. And hearing these things, Jesus marveled at him. And turning to the crowd following Him, He said, I say to you, I have not found such faith, no, not in Israel.

And when Jesus had entered into Capernaum, a centurion came to him, beseeching Him, and saying, Lord, my son lies at home paralyzed and grievously tormented. And Jesus says to him, I will come and heal him. read more.
The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that You should come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my boy will be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to this one, Go! And he goes; and to another, Come! And he comes; and to my servant, Do this! And he does it. When Jesus heard, He marvelled and said to those who followed, Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say to you that many shall come from the east and the west, and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of Heaven. But the sons of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said to the centurion, Go. And as you have believed, so let it be to you. And his boy was healed in that hour.

And a certain servant of a centurion who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die. And when he heard of Jesus, he sent the elders of the Jews to Him, begging Him that He would come and heal his servant. And coming to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that he was worthy, he for whom You give this; read more.
for, they said, He loves our nation, and he has built us a synagogue. Then Jesus went with them. But He being yet not far off from the house, the centurion sent friends to Him, saying to Him, Lord, do not trouble Yourself. For I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof. Therefore neither did I think myself worthy to come to You; but say a word, and my servant will be healed. For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers. And I say to one, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my servant, Do this, and he does it. And hearing these things, Jesus marveled at him. And turning to the crowd following Him, He said, I say to you, I have not found such faith, no, not in Israel.

who say, Keep to yourself, do not come near me; for I am holier than you. These are a smoke in My nose, a fire that burns all the day.

but in every nation he who fears Him and works righteousness is accepted with Him.

At that moment fingers of a man's hand came out and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace across from the lampstand. And the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.

Then the part of the hand was sent from Him. And this writing was written. And this is the writing that was written, A MINA, A MINA, A SHEKEL, AND HALF-MINAS. This is the meaning of the thing: A MINA, God has numbered your kingdom and finished it. read more.
A SHEKEL, You are weighed in the balances and found wanting. HALF-MINAS, Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians. Then Belshazzar commanded, and they clothed Daniel with scarlet and a golden chain around his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.

And Melchizedek the king of Salem brought forth bread and wine. And he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of Heaven and earth. And blessed be the most high God, who has delivered your enemies into your hand. And he gave him tithes of all.

And it happened at the end of two years of days, Pharaoh dreamed. And behold, he stood by the river. And behold! There came up out of the river seven cows beautiful of form, and fat of flesh. And they fed in the reeds! And behold! Seven other cows came up after them out of the river, evil in appearance, and lean of flesh! And they stood by the other cows on the river bank. read more.
And the evil-appearing and lean-fleshed cows ate up the seven beautifully formed and fat cows. So Pharaoh awoke. And he slept and dreamed the second time. And behold! Seven ears of grain came up on one stock, fat and good! And behold! Seven thin ears, and blasted with the east wind, sprang up after them! And the seven thin ears devoured the seven fat and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream. And it happened in the morning that his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men of it. And Pharaoh told them his dream, but there was none who could interpret them to Pharaoh. Then the chief cupbearer spoke to Pharaoh, saying, I remember my sin this day. Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and put me under guard in the chief of the executioner's house, me and the chief baker. And we dreamed a dream one night, he and I. We dreamed each man according to the interpretation of his dream. And there was there with us a young man, a Hebrew, a slave to the chief of the executioners. And we told him, and he interpreted our dreams to us. He interpreted to each man according to his dream. And it happened, as he interpreted to us, so it was. He restored me to my office, and he hanged him. Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph. And they hurried him out of the dungeon. And he shaved and changed his clothing, and came in to Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said to Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and none can interpret it. And I have heard it about you, saying, you can understand a dream to interpret it. And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, Not I. God shall answer the welfare of Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said to Joseph, In my dream, behold! I stood upon the bank of the river. And behold, there came up out of the river seven cows, beautiful in appearance and fat of flesh. And they fed in the reeds. And behold, seven other cows came up after them, poor and evil of appearance, and lean of flesh, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for badness. And the lean and the evil-appearing cows ate up the first seven fat cows. And when they had eaten them up, it could not be seen that they had eaten them; but they were still evil of appearance, as at the beginning. And I awoke. And I saw in my dream, and behold, seven ears came up in one stock, full and good. And behold, seven ears, withered, thin, blasted by the east wind, sprang up after them. And the thin ears devoured the seven good ears. And I spoke to the magicians, but there was none that could open it to me. And Joseph said to Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one. God has shown Pharaoh what He is about to do. The seven good cows are seven years. And the seven good ears are seven years. The dream is one. And the seven thin and evil-appearing cows that came up after them are seven years. And the seven empty ears blasted with the east wind shall be seven years of famine. This is the thing which God has spoken to Pharaoh; what God is about to do, He shows to Pharaoh.

And the people of Nineveh believed God. And they called a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. For word came to the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne. And he laid his robe from him, and covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he cried out and said in Nineveh by the decree of the king and his great ones, saying, Do not let man or beast, herd or flock taste anything; do not let them feed, nor drink water. read more.
But let man and animal be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily to God. And let them each one turn from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands. Who knows? He may repent, and God may have pity and turn away from the glow of His anger, so that we do not perish. And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way. And God was compassionate over the evil that He had said to do to them, and He did not do it.

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men came from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is He who is born king of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east and have come to worship Him. But when Herod the king heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. read more.
And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said to him, In Bethlehem of Judea. For so it is written by the prophet, "And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the governors of Judah. For out of you shall come a Governor who shall rule My people Israel." Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, inquired of them exactly what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child. And when you have found him, bring me word again so that I may come and worship him also. When they had heard the king, they departed. And lo, the star which they saw in the east went before them until it came and stood over where the child was. And seeing the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And coming into the house, they saw the child with Mary His mother. And they fell down and worshiped Him. And opening their treasures, they presented gifts to Him, gold and frankincense and myrrh.

Nebuchadnezzar the king, to all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to you. It seemed good before me to declare the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done with me. How great are His signs! And how mighty are His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His rule is from generation to generation. read more.
I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at rest in my house and flourishing in my palace. I saw a dream and it terrified me, and the thoughts on my bed and the visions of my head troubled me. So I made a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known to me the meaning of the dream. Then the horoscopists, the conjurers, the Chaldeans, and the fortune-tellers came in. And I told the dream before them, but they did not make its meaning known to me. But at last Daniel came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods. And I told the dream before him, saying, O Belteshazzar, master of the horoscopists, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, and no secret troubles you, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and its meaning. As to the visions of my head on my bed: I saw, and behold a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great. The tree grew and was strong, and its height reached to the heavens; and the sight of it reached to the end of all the earth. Its leaves were beautiful, and its fruit plentiful, and in it was food for all. The animals of the field sought shade under it, and the birds of the heavens lived in its boughs, and all flesh was fed by it. I saw in the visions of my head on my bed, and behold, a watcher and a holy one came down from Heaven. He cried aloud and said this, Cut down the tree, and cut off its branches; shake off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the animals get away from under it, and the birds from its branches. But leave the stump of its roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field. And let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let its portion be with the animals in the grass of the earth. Let his heart be changed from man's, and let the heart of an animal be given to him. And let seven times pass over him. This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones, so that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He will, and sets up over it the lowest of men. I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen this dream. Now you, O Belteshazzar, declare its meaning, because all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make the meaning known to me. But you are able, for the spirit of the holy gods is in you.

And a certain man named Cornelius was in Caesarea, a centurion of the Italian cohort, one devout and fearing God, with all his household, both doing many merciful deeds to the people, and praying continually to God. About the ninth hour of the day he saw plainly in a vision an angel of God coming to him and saying to him, Cornelius! read more.
And he was gazing at him, and becoming terrified, he said, What is it, lord? And he said to him, Your prayers and your merciful deeds have come up for a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa and call for Simon, whose last name is Peter. He is staying with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the seaside. He will tell you what you must do. And when the angel who spoke to Cornelius departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from those who waited on him continually.

But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, you are about to die, for the woman whom you have taken; for she is a man's wife. But Abimelech had not come near her. And he said, Lord, will You also kill a righteous nation? Did he not say to me, She is my sister? And she, even she herself said, He is my brother. In the sincerity of my heart and innocency of my hands I have done this. read more.
And God said to him in a dream, Yes, I know that you did this in the sincerity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against Me. Therefore I did not allow you to touch her. Now therefore, restore his wife to the man. For he is a prophet, and he shall pray for you, and you shall live. And if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you, and all that are yours.

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men came from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is He who is born king of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east and have come to worship Him. But when Herod the king heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. read more.
And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. And they said to him, In Bethlehem of Judea. For so it is written by the prophet, "And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the governors of Judah. For out of you shall come a Governor who shall rule My people Israel." Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, inquired of them exactly what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child. And when you have found him, bring me word again so that I may come and worship him also. When they had heard the king, they departed. And lo, the star which they saw in the east went before them until it came and stood over where the child was. And seeing the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And coming into the house, they saw the child with Mary His mother. And they fell down and worshiped Him. And opening their treasures, they presented gifts to Him, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

And in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, so that the Word of Jehovah by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, Jehovah stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also in writing, saying, So says Cyrus king of Persia, Jehovah, the God of Heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all His people? Let his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of Jehovah, the God of Israel (He is God) which is in Jerusalem.

The enemy has spread out his hand upon all her desirable things; for she has seen the nations enter her holy place, whom You commanded that they should not enter into Your congregation.