Jeremiah 4:22 “What fools my people are! They have no idea who I am. A company of half-wits, dopes and donkeys all! Experts at evil but klutzes at good.”

4:22 MSG

逐节对照

The Message - “What fools my people are! They have no idea who I am. A company of half-wits, dopes and donkeys all! Experts at evil but klutzes at good.”
新标点和合本 - 耶和华说：“我的百姓愚顽，不认识我；他们是愚昧无知的儿女，有智慧行恶，没有知识行善。”
和合本2010（上帝版-简体） - “我的百姓愚顽，不认识我；他们是愚昧无知的儿女，有智慧行恶，没有知识行善。”
和合本2010（神版-简体） - “我的百姓愚顽，不认识我；他们是愚昧无知的儿女，有智慧行恶，没有知识行善。”
当代译本 - 耶和华说：“我的子民愚顽，不认识我，是蒙昧无知的儿女，善于行恶，不知行善。”
圣经新译本 - “我的子民愚妄，他们连我都不认识，是无知的儿女，没有悟性；他们有智慧行恶，却没有知识行善。”
现代标点和合本 - 耶和华说：“我的百姓愚顽，不认识我。他们是愚昧无知的儿女，有智慧行恶，没有知识行善。”
和合本（拼音版） - 耶和华说：“我的百姓愚顽，不认识我，他们是愚昧无知的儿女，有智慧行恶，没有知识行善。”
New International Version - “My people are fools; they do not know me. They are senseless children; they have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil; they know not how to do good.”
New International Reader's Version - The Lord says, “My people are foolish. They do not know me. They are children who do not have any sense. They have no understanding at all. They are skilled in doing what is evil. They do not know how to do what is good.”
English Standard Version - “For my people are foolish; they know me not; they are stupid children; they have no understanding. They are ‘wise’—in doing evil! But how to do good they know not.”
New Living Translation - “My people are foolish and do not know me,” says the Lord. “They are stupid children who have no understanding. They are clever enough at doing wrong, but they have no idea how to do right!”
Christian Standard Bible - “For my people are fools; they do not know me. They are foolish children, without understanding. They are skilled in doing what is evil, but they do not know how to do what is good.”
New American Standard Bible - “For My people are foolish, They do not know Me; They are foolish children And have no understanding. They are skillful at doing evil, But they do not know how to do good.”
New King James Version - “For My people are foolish, They have not known Me. They are silly children, And they have no understanding. They are wise to do evil, But to do good they have no knowledge.”
Amplified Bible - “For My people are stupid and foolish,” [says the Lord to Jeremiah]; “They do not know Me; They are foolish children And have no understanding. They are shrewd [enough] to do evil, But they do not know [how] to do good.”
American Standard Version - For my people are foolish, they know me not; they are sottish children, and they have no understanding; they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.
King James Version - For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.
New English Translation - The Lord answered, “This will happen because my people are foolish. They do not know me. They are like children who have no sense. They have no understanding. They are skilled at doing evil. They do not know how to do good.”
World English Bible - “For my people are foolish. They don’t know me. They are foolish children, and they have no understanding. They are skillful in doing evil, but they don’t know how to do good.”
新標點和合本 - 耶和華說：我的百姓愚頑，不認識我；他們是愚昧無知的兒女，有智慧行惡，沒有知識行善。
和合本2010（上帝版-繁體） - 「我的百姓愚頑，不認識我；他們是愚昧無知的兒女，有智慧行惡，沒有知識行善。」
和合本2010（神版-繁體） - 「我的百姓愚頑，不認識我；他們是愚昧無知的兒女，有智慧行惡，沒有知識行善。」
當代譯本 - 耶和華說：「我的子民愚頑，不認識我，是蒙昧無知的兒女，善於行惡，不知行善。」
聖經新譯本 - “我的子民愚妄，他們連我都不認識，是無知的兒女，沒有悟性；他們有智慧行惡，卻沒有知識行善。”
呂振中譯本 - 『因為我的人民愚妄，連我、他們也不認識；愚頑的兒女啊、他們！無知啊、他們！他們有智巧去作壞事，要怎樣行善、卻不曉得。』
現代標點和合本 - 耶和華說：「我的百姓愚頑，不認識我。他們是愚昧無知的兒女，有智慧行惡，沒有知識行善。」
文理和合譯本 - 我民蒙昧、而不我識、愚蠢之子、罔有聰慧、行惡有智、行善無智、○
文理委辦譯本 - 耶和華曰、我民愚昧、俱不知我、不明孰甚、作惡則智、為善則愚。
施約瑟淺文理新舊約聖經 - 主曰、我民愚拙、俱不知我、蒙昧之子、毫無明哲、惟巧於行惡、不知行善、
Nueva Versión Internacional - «Mi pueblo es necio, no me conoce; son hijos insensatos que no tienen entendimiento. Son hábiles para hacer el mal; no saben hacer el bien».
현대인의 성경 - “내 백성은 미련하여 나를 알지 못하며 지각 없는 자식과 같아서 그들에게는 총명함이 없구나. 그들이 악을 행하는 데는 약삭빠르면서도 선을 행하는 데는 무지하다.”
Новый Русский Перевод - – Бестолков Мой народ: Меня он не знает. Глупые они дети; нет у них разума. Они мастера совершать зло, а делать добро не умеют.
Восточный перевод - – Бестолков Мой народ, Меня он не знает. Мой народ – глупые дети; нет у моих детей разума. Они мастера совершать зло, а делать добро не умеют.
Восточный перевод, версия с «Аллахом» - – Бестолков Мой народ, Меня он не знает. Мой народ – глупые дети; нет у моих детей разума. Они мастера совершать зло, а делать добро не умеют.
Восточный перевод, версия для Таджикистана - – Бестолков Мой народ, Меня он не знает. Мой народ – глупые дети; нет у моих детей разума. Они мастера совершать зло, а делать добро не умеют.
La Bible du Semeur 2015 - Ah ! Mon peuple est stupide ! Il ne me connaît pas, ce sont des enfants insensés qui ne comprennent rien. Ils n’ont d’habileté ╵que pour faire du mal, mais ils ne savent pas ╵faire ce qui est bien.
リビングバイブル - 「わたしの民が愚かなことをやめるまでだ。彼らは、わたしの言うことを聞こうとしない。理解力のない子で、判断力がない。悪いことをするとなると素早いが、正しいことをする才能など、まるで持ち合わせていない。」
Nova Versão Internacional - “O meu povo é tolo, eles não me conhecem. São crianças insensatas que nada compreendem. São hábeis para praticar o mal, mas não sabem fazer o bem.”
Hoffnung für alle - Der Herr spricht: »Mein Volk ist töricht und verbohrt, sie wollen mich nicht kennen. Sie sind wie unverständige und dumme Kinder. Böses zu tun, damit kennen sie sich aus, aber wie man Gutes tut, das wissen sie nicht!«
Kinh Thánh Hiện Đại - “Dân Ta thật là điên dại, chẳng nhìn biết Ta,” Chúa Hằng Hữu phán. “Chúng ngu muội như trẻ con không có trí khôn. Chúng chỉ đủ khôn ngoan để làm ác chứ chẳng biết cách làm lành!”
พระคริสตธรรมคัมภีร์ไทย ฉบับอมตธรรมร่วมสมัย - “ประชากรของเราโง่เขลา พวกเขาไม่รู้จักเรา พวกเขาเป็นเด็กเหลวไหล ไม่มีความเข้าใจ พวกเขาช่ำชองในการทำชั่ว ทำดีไม่เป็นเลย”
พระคัมภีร์ ฉบับแปลใหม่ - “ด้วยว่า ชนชาติของเราโง่เขลา พวกเขาไม่รู้จักเรา เขาเป็นเด็กโง่ ไม่มีความเข้าใจ พวกเขาชำนาญในการกระทำความชั่ว และไม่รู้ว่ากระทำความดีได้อย่างไร”

交叉引用

Deuteronomy 32:6 - Don’t you realize it is God you are treating like this? This is crazy; don’t you have any sense of reverence? Isn’t this your father who created you, who made you and gave you a place on Earth? Read up on what happened before you were born; dig into the past, understand your roots. Ask your parents what it was like before you were born; ask the old-ones, they’ll tell you a thing or two.
Matthew 23:16 - “You’re hopeless! What arrogant stupidity! You say, ‘If someone makes a promise with his fingers crossed, that’s nothing; but if he swears with his hand on the Bible, that’s serious.’ What ignorance! Does the leather on the Bible carry more weight than the skin on your hands? And what about this piece of trivia: ‘If you shake hands on a promise, that’s nothing; but if you raise your hand that God is your witness, that’s serious’? What ridiculous hairsplitting! What difference does it make whether you shake hands or raise hands? A promise is a promise. What difference does it make if you make your promise inside or outside a house of worship? A promise is a promise. God is present, watching and holding you to account regardless.
Matthew 23:23 - “You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You keep meticulous account books, tithing on every nickel and dime you get, but on the meat of God’s Law, things like fairness and compassion and commitment—the absolute basics!—you carelessly take it or leave it. Careful bookkeeping is commendable, but the basics are required. Do you have any idea how silly you look, writing a life story that’s wrong from start to finish, nitpicking over commas and semicolons?
Matthew 23:25 - “You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You buff the surface of your cups and bowls so they sparkle in the sun, while the insides are maggoty with your greed and gluttony. Stupid Pharisee! Scour the insides, and then the gleaming surface will mean something.
Isaiah 29:11 - What you’ve been shown here is somewhat like a letter in a sealed envelope. If you give it to someone who can read and tell her, “Read this,” she’ll say, “I can’t. The envelope is sealed.” And if you give it to someone who can’t read and tell him, “Read this,” he’ll say, “I can’t read.” * * *
Luke 16:8 - “Now here’s a surprise: The master praised the crooked manager! And why? Because he knew how to look after himself. Streetwise people are smarter in this regard than law-abiding citizens. They are on constant alert, looking for angles, surviving by their wits. I want you to be smart in the same way—but for what is right—using every adversity to stimulate you to creative survival, to concentrate your attention on the bare essentials, so you’ll live, really live, and not complacently just get by on good behavior.”
Hosea 4:1 - Attention all Israelites! God’s Message! God indicts the whole population: “No one is faithful. No one loves. No one knows the first thing about God. All this cussing and lying and killing, theft and loose sex, sheer anarchy, one murder after another! And because of all this, the very land itself weeps and everything in it is grief-stricken— animals in the fields and birds on the wing, even the fish in the sea are listless, lifeless. * * *
Jeremiah 8:8 - “‘How can you say, “We know the score. We’re the proud owners of God’s revelation”? Look where it’s gotten you—stuck in illusion. Your religion experts have taken you for a ride! Your know-it-alls will be unmasked, caught and shown up for what they are. Look at them! They know everything but God’s Word. Do you call that “knowing”?
2 Samuel 16:21 - Ahithophel told Absalom, “Go and sleep with your father’s concubines, the ones he left to tend to the palace. Everyone will hear that you have openly disgraced your father, and the morale of everyone on your side will be strengthened.” So Absalom pitched a tent up on the roof in public view, and went in and slept with his father’s concubines.
2 Samuel 16:23 - The counsel that Ahithophel gave in those days was treated as if God himself had spoken. That was the reputation of Ahithophel’s counsel to David; it was the same with Absalom.
Psalms 14:1 - Bilious and bloated, they gas, “God is gone.” Their words are poison gas, fouling the air; they poison Rivers and skies; thistles are their cash crop.
Psalms 14:2 - God sticks his head out of heaven. He looks around. He’s looking for someone not stupid— one man, even, God-expectant, just one God-ready woman.
Psalms 14:3 - He comes up empty. A string of zeros. Useless, unshepherded Sheep, taking turns pretending to be Shepherd. The ninety and nine follow their fellow.
Psalms 14:4 - Don’t they know anything, all these predators? Don’t they know they can’t get away with this— Treating people like a fast-food meal over which they’re too busy to pray?
Isaiah 6:9 - He said, “Go and tell this people: “‘Listen hard, but you aren’t going to get it; look hard, but you won’t catch on.’ Make these people blockheads, with fingers in their ears and blindfolds on their eyes, So they won’t see a thing, won’t hear a word, So they won’t have a clue about what’s going on and, yes, so they won’t turn around and be made whole.”
Romans 1:28 - Since they didn’t bother to acknowledge God, God quit bothering them and let them run loose. And then all hell broke loose: rampant evil, grabbing and grasping, vicious backstabbing. They made life hell on earth with their envy, wanton killing, bickering, and cheating. Look at them: mean-spirited, venomous, fork-tongued God-bashers. Bullies, swaggerers, insufferable windbags! They keep inventing new ways of wrecking lives. They ditch their parents when they get in the way. Stupid, slimy, cruel, cold-blooded. And it’s not as if they don’t know better. They know perfectly well they’re spitting in God’s face. And they don’t care—worse, they hand out prizes to those who do the worst things best!
Jeremiah 13:23 - Can an African change skin? Can a leopard get rid of its spots? So what are the odds on you doing good, you who are so long-practiced in evil?
Deuteronomy 32:28 - They are a nation of idiots, they don’t know enough to come in out of the rain. If they had any sense at all, they’d know this; they would see what’s coming down the road. How could one soldier chase a thousand enemies off, or two men run off two thousand, Unless their Rock had sold them, unless God had given them away? For their rock is nothing compared to our Rock; even our enemies say that. They’re a vine that comes right out of Sodom, who they are is rooted in Gomorrah; Their grapes are poison grapes, their grape-clusters bitter. Their wine is rattlesnake venom, mixed with lethal cobra poison.
Micah 2:1 - Doom to those who plot evil, who go to bed dreaming up crimes! As soon as it’s morning, they’re off, full of energy, doing what they’ve planned. They covet fields and grab them, find homes and take them. They bully the neighbor and his family, see people only for what they can get out of them. God has had enough. He says, “I have some plans of my own: Disaster because of this interbreeding evil! Your necks are on the line. You’re not walking away from this. It’s doomsday for you. Mocking ballads will be sung of you, and you yourselves will sing the blues: ‘Our lives are ruined, our homes and lands auctioned off. They take everything, leave us nothing! All is sold to the highest bidder.’” And there’ll be no one to stand up for you, no one to speak for you before God and his jury. * * *
Romans 16:19 - And so while there has never been any question about your honesty in these matters—I couldn’t be more proud of you!—I want you also to be smart, making sure every “good” thing is the real thing. Don’t be gullible in regard to smooth-talking evil. Stay alert like this, and before you know it the God of peace will come down on Satan with both feet, stomping him into the dirt. Enjoy the best of Jesus!
1 Corinthians 14:20 - To be perfectly frank, I’m getting exasperated with your childish thinking. How long before you grow up and use your head—your adult head? It’s all right to have a childlike unfamiliarity with evil; a simple no is all that’s needed there. But there’s far more to saying yes to something. Only mature and well-exercised intelligence can save you from falling into gullibility. It’s written in Scripture that God said, In strange tongues and from the mouths of strangers I will preach to this people, but they’ll neither listen nor believe. So where does it get you, all this speaking in tongues no one understands? It doesn’t help believers, and it only gives unbelievers something to gawk at. Plain truth-speaking, on the other hand, goes straight to the heart of believers and doesn’t get in the way of unbelievers. If you come together as a congregation and some unbelieving outsiders walk in on you as you’re all praying in tongues, unintelligible to each other and to them, won’t they assume you’ve taken leave of your senses and get out of there as fast as they can? But if some unbelieving outsiders walk in on a service where people are speaking out God’s truth, the plain words will bring them up against the truth and probe their hearts. Before you know it, they’re going to be on their faces before God, recognizing that God is among you.

逐节对照

交叉引用

The Message - “What fools my people are! They have no idea who I am. A company of half-wits, dopes and donkeys all! Experts at evil but klutzes at good.”
新标点和合本 - 耶和华说：“我的百姓愚顽，不认识我；他们是愚昧无知的儿女，有智慧行恶，没有知识行善。”
和合本2010（上帝版-简体） - “我的百姓愚顽，不认识我；他们是愚昧无知的儿女，有智慧行恶，没有知识行善。”
和合本2010（神版-简体） - “我的百姓愚顽，不认识我；他们是愚昧无知的儿女，有智慧行恶，没有知识行善。”
当代译本 - 耶和华说：“我的子民愚顽，不认识我，是蒙昧无知的儿女，善于行恶，不知行善。”
圣经新译本 - “我的子民愚妄，他们连我都不认识，是无知的儿女，没有悟性；他们有智慧行恶，却没有知识行善。”
现代标点和合本 - 耶和华说：“我的百姓愚顽，不认识我。他们是愚昧无知的儿女，有智慧行恶，没有知识行善。”
和合本（拼音版） - 耶和华说：“我的百姓愚顽，不认识我，他们是愚昧无知的儿女，有智慧行恶，没有知识行善。”
New International Version - “My people are fools; they do not know me. They are senseless children; they have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil; they know not how to do good.”
New International Reader's Version - The Lord says, “My people are foolish. They do not know me. They are children who do not have any sense. They have no understanding at all. They are skilled in doing what is evil. They do not know how to do what is good.”
English Standard Version - “For my people are foolish; they know me not; they are stupid children; they have no understanding. They are ‘wise’—in doing evil! But how to do good they know not.”
New Living Translation - “My people are foolish and do not know me,” says the Lord. “They are stupid children who have no understanding. They are clever enough at doing wrong, but they have no idea how to do right!”
Christian Standard Bible - “For my people are fools; they do not know me. They are foolish children, without understanding. They are skilled in doing what is evil, but they do not know how to do what is good.”
New American Standard Bible - “For My people are foolish, They do not know Me; They are foolish children And have no understanding. They are skillful at doing evil, But they do not know how to do good.”
New King James Version - “For My people are foolish, They have not known Me. They are silly children, And they have no understanding. They are wise to do evil, But to do good they have no knowledge.”
Amplified Bible - “For My people are stupid and foolish,” [says the Lord to Jeremiah]; “They do not know Me; They are foolish children And have no understanding. They are shrewd [enough] to do evil, But they do not know [how] to do good.”
American Standard Version - For my people are foolish, they know me not; they are sottish children, and they have no understanding; they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.
King James Version - For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.
New English Translation - The Lord answered, “This will happen because my people are foolish. They do not know me. They are like children who have no sense. They have no understanding. They are skilled at doing evil. They do not know how to do good.”
World English Bible - “For my people are foolish. They don’t know me. They are foolish children, and they have no understanding. They are skillful in doing evil, but they don’t know how to do good.”
新標點和合本 - 耶和華說：我的百姓愚頑，不認識我；他們是愚昧無知的兒女，有智慧行惡，沒有知識行善。
和合本2010（上帝版-繁體） - 「我的百姓愚頑，不認識我；他們是愚昧無知的兒女，有智慧行惡，沒有知識行善。」
和合本2010（神版-繁體） - 「我的百姓愚頑，不認識我；他們是愚昧無知的兒女，有智慧行惡，沒有知識行善。」
當代譯本 - 耶和華說：「我的子民愚頑，不認識我，是蒙昧無知的兒女，善於行惡，不知行善。」
聖經新譯本 - “我的子民愚妄，他們連我都不認識，是無知的兒女，沒有悟性；他們有智慧行惡，卻沒有知識行善。”
呂振中譯本 - 『因為我的人民愚妄，連我、他們也不認識；愚頑的兒女啊、他們！無知啊、他們！他們有智巧去作壞事，要怎樣行善、卻不曉得。』
現代標點和合本 - 耶和華說：「我的百姓愚頑，不認識我。他們是愚昧無知的兒女，有智慧行惡，沒有知識行善。」
文理和合譯本 - 我民蒙昧、而不我識、愚蠢之子、罔有聰慧、行惡有智、行善無智、○
文理委辦譯本 - 耶和華曰、我民愚昧、俱不知我、不明孰甚、作惡則智、為善則愚。
施約瑟淺文理新舊約聖經 - 主曰、我民愚拙、俱不知我、蒙昧之子、毫無明哲、惟巧於行惡、不知行善、
Nueva Versión Internacional - «Mi pueblo es necio, no me conoce; son hijos insensatos que no tienen entendimiento. Son hábiles para hacer el mal; no saben hacer el bien».
현대인의 성경 - “내 백성은 미련하여 나를 알지 못하며 지각 없는 자식과 같아서 그들에게는 총명함이 없구나. 그들이 악을 행하는 데는 약삭빠르면서도 선을 행하는 데는 무지하다.”
Новый Русский Перевод - – Бестолков Мой народ: Меня он не знает. Глупые они дети; нет у них разума. Они мастера совершать зло, а делать добро не умеют.
Восточный перевод - – Бестолков Мой народ, Меня он не знает. Мой народ – глупые дети; нет у моих детей разума. Они мастера совершать зло, а делать добро не умеют.
Восточный перевод, версия с «Аллахом» - – Бестолков Мой народ, Меня он не знает. Мой народ – глупые дети; нет у моих детей разума. Они мастера совершать зло, а делать добро не умеют.
Восточный перевод, версия для Таджикистана - – Бестолков Мой народ, Меня он не знает. Мой народ – глупые дети; нет у моих детей разума. Они мастера совершать зло, а делать добро не умеют.
La Bible du Semeur 2015 - Ah ! Mon peuple est stupide ! Il ne me connaît pas, ce sont des enfants insensés qui ne comprennent rien. Ils n’ont d’habileté ╵que pour faire du mal, mais ils ne savent pas ╵faire ce qui est bien.
リビングバイブル - 「わたしの民が愚かなことをやめるまでだ。彼らは、わたしの言うことを聞こうとしない。理解力のない子で、判断力がない。悪いことをするとなると素早いが、正しいことをする才能など、まるで持ち合わせていない。」
Nova Versão Internacional - “O meu povo é tolo, eles não me conhecem. São crianças insensatas que nada compreendem. São hábeis para praticar o mal, mas não sabem fazer o bem.”
Hoffnung für alle - Der Herr spricht: »Mein Volk ist töricht und verbohrt, sie wollen mich nicht kennen. Sie sind wie unverständige und dumme Kinder. Böses zu tun, damit kennen sie sich aus, aber wie man Gutes tut, das wissen sie nicht!«
Kinh Thánh Hiện Đại - “Dân Ta thật là điên dại, chẳng nhìn biết Ta,” Chúa Hằng Hữu phán. “Chúng ngu muội như trẻ con không có trí khôn. Chúng chỉ đủ khôn ngoan để làm ác chứ chẳng biết cách làm lành!”
พระคริสตธรรมคัมภีร์ไทย ฉบับอมตธรรมร่วมสมัย - “ประชากรของเราโง่เขลา พวกเขาไม่รู้จักเรา พวกเขาเป็นเด็กเหลวไหล ไม่มีความเข้าใจ พวกเขาช่ำชองในการทำชั่ว ทำดีไม่เป็นเลย”
พระคัมภีร์ ฉบับแปลใหม่ - “ด้วยว่า ชนชาติของเราโง่เขลา พวกเขาไม่รู้จักเรา เขาเป็นเด็กโง่ ไม่มีความเข้าใจ พวกเขาชำนาญในการกระทำความชั่ว และไม่รู้ว่ากระทำความดีได้อย่างไร”

Deuteronomy 32:6 - Don’t you realize it is God you are treating like this? This is crazy; don’t you have any sense of reverence? Isn’t this your father who created you, who made you and gave you a place on Earth? Read up on what happened before you were born; dig into the past, understand your roots. Ask your parents what it was like before you were born; ask the old-ones, they’ll tell you a thing or two.
Matthew 23:16 - “You’re hopeless! What arrogant stupidity! You say, ‘If someone makes a promise with his fingers crossed, that’s nothing; but if he swears with his hand on the Bible, that’s serious.’ What ignorance! Does the leather on the Bible carry more weight than the skin on your hands? And what about this piece of trivia: ‘If you shake hands on a promise, that’s nothing; but if you raise your hand that God is your witness, that’s serious’? What ridiculous hairsplitting! What difference does it make whether you shake hands or raise hands? A promise is a promise. What difference does it make if you make your promise inside or outside a house of worship? A promise is a promise. God is present, watching and holding you to account regardless.
Matthew 23:23 - “You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You keep meticulous account books, tithing on every nickel and dime you get, but on the meat of God’s Law, things like fairness and compassion and commitment—the absolute basics!—you carelessly take it or leave it. Careful bookkeeping is commendable, but the basics are required. Do you have any idea how silly you look, writing a life story that’s wrong from start to finish, nitpicking over commas and semicolons?
Matthew 23:25 - “You’re hopeless, you religion scholars and Pharisees! Frauds! You buff the surface of your cups and bowls so they sparkle in the sun, while the insides are maggoty with your greed and gluttony. Stupid Pharisee! Scour the insides, and then the gleaming surface will mean something.
Isaiah 29:11 - What you’ve been shown here is somewhat like a letter in a sealed envelope. If you give it to someone who can read and tell her, “Read this,” she’ll say, “I can’t. The envelope is sealed.” And if you give it to someone who can’t read and tell him, “Read this,” he’ll say, “I can’t read.” * * *
Luke 16:8 - “Now here’s a surprise: The master praised the crooked manager! And why? Because he knew how to look after himself. Streetwise people are smarter in this regard than law-abiding citizens. They are on constant alert, looking for angles, surviving by their wits. I want you to be smart in the same way—but for what is right—using every adversity to stimulate you to creative survival, to concentrate your attention on the bare essentials, so you’ll live, really live, and not complacently just get by on good behavior.”
Hosea 4:1 - Attention all Israelites! God’s Message! God indicts the whole population: “No one is faithful. No one loves. No one knows the first thing about God. All this cussing and lying and killing, theft and loose sex, sheer anarchy, one murder after another! And because of all this, the very land itself weeps and everything in it is grief-stricken— animals in the fields and birds on the wing, even the fish in the sea are listless, lifeless. * * *
Jeremiah 8:8 - “‘How can you say, “We know the score. We’re the proud owners of God’s revelation”? Look where it’s gotten you—stuck in illusion. Your religion experts have taken you for a ride! Your know-it-alls will be unmasked, caught and shown up for what they are. Look at them! They know everything but God’s Word. Do you call that “knowing”?
2 Samuel 16:21 - Ahithophel told Absalom, “Go and sleep with your father’s concubines, the ones he left to tend to the palace. Everyone will hear that you have openly disgraced your father, and the morale of everyone on your side will be strengthened.” So Absalom pitched a tent up on the roof in public view, and went in and slept with his father’s concubines.
2 Samuel 16:23 - The counsel that Ahithophel gave in those days was treated as if God himself had spoken. That was the reputation of Ahithophel’s counsel to David; it was the same with Absalom.
Psalms 14:1 - Bilious and bloated, they gas, “God is gone.” Their words are poison gas, fouling the air; they poison Rivers and skies; thistles are their cash crop.
Psalms 14:2 - God sticks his head out of heaven. He looks around. He’s looking for someone not stupid— one man, even, God-expectant, just one God-ready woman.
Psalms 14:3 - He comes up empty. A string of zeros. Useless, unshepherded Sheep, taking turns pretending to be Shepherd. The ninety and nine follow their fellow.
Psalms 14:4 - Don’t they know anything, all these predators? Don’t they know they can’t get away with this— Treating people like a fast-food meal over which they’re too busy to pray?
Isaiah 6:9 - He said, “Go and tell this people: “‘Listen hard, but you aren’t going to get it; look hard, but you won’t catch on.’ Make these people blockheads, with fingers in their ears and blindfolds on their eyes, So they won’t see a thing, won’t hear a word, So they won’t have a clue about what’s going on and, yes, so they won’t turn around and be made whole.”
Romans 1:28 - Since they didn’t bother to acknowledge God, God quit bothering them and let them run loose. And then all hell broke loose: rampant evil, grabbing and grasping, vicious backstabbing. They made life hell on earth with their envy, wanton killing, bickering, and cheating. Look at them: mean-spirited, venomous, fork-tongued God-bashers. Bullies, swaggerers, insufferable windbags! They keep inventing new ways of wrecking lives. They ditch their parents when they get in the way. Stupid, slimy, cruel, cold-blooded. And it’s not as if they don’t know better. They know perfectly well they’re spitting in God’s face. And they don’t care—worse, they hand out prizes to those who do the worst things best!
Jeremiah 13:23 - Can an African change skin? Can a leopard get rid of its spots? So what are the odds on you doing good, you who are so long-practiced in evil?
Deuteronomy 32:28 - They are a nation of idiots, they don’t know enough to come in out of the rain. If they had any sense at all, they’d know this; they would see what’s coming down the road. How could one soldier chase a thousand enemies off, or two men run off two thousand, Unless their Rock had sold them, unless God had given them away? For their rock is nothing compared to our Rock; even our enemies say that. They’re a vine that comes right out of Sodom, who they are is rooted in Gomorrah; Their grapes are poison grapes, their grape-clusters bitter. Their wine is rattlesnake venom, mixed with lethal cobra poison.
Micah 2:1 - Doom to those who plot evil, who go to bed dreaming up crimes! As soon as it’s morning, they’re off, full of energy, doing what they’ve planned. They covet fields and grab them, find homes and take them. They bully the neighbor and his family, see people only for what they can get out of them. God has had enough. He says, “I have some plans of my own: Disaster because of this interbreeding evil! Your necks are on the line. You’re not walking away from this. It’s doomsday for you. Mocking ballads will be sung of you, and you yourselves will sing the blues: ‘Our lives are ruined, our homes and lands auctioned off. They take everything, leave us nothing! All is sold to the highest bidder.’” And there’ll be no one to stand up for you, no one to speak for you before God and his jury. * * *
Romans 16:19 - And so while there has never been any question about your honesty in these matters—I couldn’t be more proud of you!—I want you also to be smart, making sure every “good” thing is the real thing. Don’t be gullible in regard to smooth-talking evil. Stay alert like this, and before you know it the God of peace will come down on Satan with both feet, stomping him into the dirt. Enjoy the best of Jesus!
1 Corinthians 14:20 - To be perfectly frank, I’m getting exasperated with your childish thinking. How long before you grow up and use your head—your adult head? It’s all right to have a childlike unfamiliarity with evil; a simple no is all that’s needed there. But there’s far more to saying yes to something. Only mature and well-exercised intelligence can save you from falling into gullibility. It’s written in Scripture that God said, In strange tongues and from the mouths of strangers I will preach to this people, but they’ll neither listen nor believe. So where does it get you, all this speaking in tongues no one understands? It doesn’t help believers, and it only gives unbelievers something to gawk at. Plain truth-speaking, on the other hand, goes straight to the heart of believers and doesn’t get in the way of unbelievers. If you come together as a congregation and some unbelieving outsiders walk in on you as you’re all praying in tongues, unintelligible to each other and to them, won’t they assume you’ve taken leave of your senses and get out of there as fast as they can? But if some unbelieving outsiders walk in on a service where people are speaking out God’s truth, the plain words will bring them up against the truth and probe their hearts. Before you know it, they’re going to be on their faces before God, recognizing that God is among you.