Genesis 19:1 When the two angels came to Sodom that evening, Lot was sitting at the city gate. As soon as he saw them, he got up and went to meet them. He bowed down before them
2 and said, "Sirs, I am here to serve you. Please come to my house. You can wash your feet and stay the night. In the morning you can get up early and go on your way." But they answered, "No, we will spend the night here in the city square."
3 He kept on urging them, and finally they went with him to his house. Lot ordered his servants to bake some bread and prepare a fine meal for the guests. When it was ready, they ate it.
4 Before the guests went to bed, the men of Sodom surrounded the house. All the men of the city, both young and old, were there.
5 They called out to Lot and asked, "Where are the men who came to stay with you tonight? Bring them out to us!" The men of Sodom wanted to have sex with them.
6 Lot went outside and closed the door behind him.
7 He said to them, "Friends, I beg you, don't do such a wicked thing!
8 Look, I have two daughters who are still virgins. Let me bring them out to you, and you can do whatever you want with them. But don't do anything to these men; they are guests in my house, and I must protect them."
9 But they said, "Get out of our way, you foreigner! Who are you to tell us what to do? Out of our way, or we will treat you worse than them." They pushed Lot back and moved up to break down the door.
10 But the two men inside reached out, pulled Lot back into the house, and shut the door.
11 Then they struck the men outside with blindness, so that they couldn't find the door.
12 The two men said to Lot, "If you have anyone else here — sons, daughters, sons-in-law, or any other relatives living in the city — get them out of here,
13 because we are going to destroy this place. The LORD has heard the terrible accusations against these people and has sent us to destroy Sodom."
14 Then Lot went to the men that his daughters were going to marry, and said, "Hurry up and get out of here; the LORD is going to destroy this place." But they thought he was joking.
15 At dawn the angels tried to make Lot hurry. "Quick!" they said. "Take you wife and your two daughters and get out, so that you will not lose your lives when the city is destroyed."
16 Lot hesitated. The men took him, his wife, and his two daughters by the hand and led them out of the city.
17 Then one of the angels said, "Run for your lives! Don't look back and don't stop in the valley. Run to the hills, so that you won't be killed."
18 But Lot answered, "No, please don't make us do that, sir.
19 You have done me a great favour and saved my life. But the hills are too far away; the disaster will overtake me, and I will die before I get there.
20 Do you see that little town? It is near enough. Let me go over there — you can see it is just a small place — and I will be safe."
21 He answered, "All right, I agree. I won't destroy that town.
22 Hurry! Run! I can't do anything until you get there." Because Lot called it small, the town was named Zoar.
23 The sun was rising when Lot reached Zoar.
24 Suddenly the LORD rained burning sulphur on the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and destroyed them and the whole valley, along with all the people there and everything that grew on the land. (GNT)
2 Chronicles 20:1 It came to pass after this also, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle.
2 Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazazontamar, which is Engedi.
3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
4 And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the LORD: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.
5 And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court,
6 And said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee?
7 Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever?
8 And they dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name, saying,
9 If, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in thy presence, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help.
10 And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them, and destroyed them not;
11 Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit.
12 O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.
13 And all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.
14 Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the LORD in the midst of the congregation;
15 And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's.
16 To morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel.
17 Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you.
18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the LORD, worshipping the LORD.
19 And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with a loud voice on high.
20 And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.
21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever.
22 And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.
23 For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another [NCV™: The Ammonites and Moabites attacked the Edomites, destroying them completely. After they had killed the Edomites, they killed each other].
24 And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped.
Job 38:1 Then the LORD answered Job from the storm. He said:
2 "Who is this that makes my purpose unclear by saying things that are not true?
3 Be strong like a man! I will ask you questions, and you must answer me.
Job 38:12 Have you ever ordered the morning to begin, or shown the dawn where its place was
13 in order to take hold of the earth by its edges and shake evil people out of it?
14 At dawn the earth changes like clay being pressed by a seal; the hills and valleys stand out like folds in a coat.
15 Light is not given to evil people; their arm is raised to do harm, but it is broken." (NCV™)
Isaiah 47:1 "Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans! For you shall no more be called tender and delicate.
Isaiah 47:8 Listen to this, you lover of pleasure, you that think you are safe and secure. You claim you are as great as God — that there is no one else like you. You thought that you would never be a widow or suffer the loss of your children.
9 Two things will happen to you suddenly, in a single day. You will lose your children and your husband. These things will truly happen to you, in spite of all your magic, in spite of your powerful tricks.
10 For you [Babylon] have trusted in your wickedness; you have said, No one sees me. Your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray, and you said in your heart and mind, I am, and there is no one besides me.
11 Therefore evil shall come upon you in the early morning, and you shall not know from whence it rises [Strong's: dawn(s)]; and mischief shall fall upon you and you shall not be able to put it off; and desolation shall come upon you suddenly, which you shall not know [NIV: foresee].
12 Keep on, then, with your magic spells and with your many sorceries, which you have labored at since childhood. Perhaps you will succeed, perhaps you will cause terror." (NKJV 47:1; GNT 47:8; NCV™ 47:9; AMP 47:10; Lamsa 47:11; NIV 47:12)
Ezekiel 8:1 On the fifth day of the sixth month of the sixth year of our exile, the leaders of the exiles from Judah were sitting in my house with me. Suddenly the power of the Sovereign LORD came on me.
2 I looked up and saw a vision of a fiery human form. From the waist down his body looked like fire, and from the waist up he was shining like polished bronze.
3 He stretched out what seemed to be a hand and seized me by the hair. Then in this vision God's spirit lifted me high in the air and took me to Jerusalem. He took me to the inner entrance of the north gate of the Temple, where there was an idol that was an outrage to God.
4 There I saw the dazzling light that shows the presence of Israel's God, just as I had seen it when I was by the River Chebar.
5 God said to me, "Mortal man, look towards the north." I looked, and there near the altar by the entrance of the gateway I saw the idol that was an outrage to God.
6 God said to me, "Mortal man do you see what is happening? Look at the disgusting things the people of Israel are doing here, driving me farther and farther away from my holy place. You will see even more disgraceful things than this."
7 He took me to the entrance of the outer courtyard and showed me a hole in the wall.
8 He said, "Mortal man, break through the wall here." I broke through it and found a door.
9 He said to me, "Go in and look at the evil, disgusting things they are doing there."
10 So I went in and looked. The walls were covered with drawings of snakes and other unclean animals, and of the other things which the Israelites were worshipping.
11 Seventy Israelite leaders were there, including Jaazniah son of Shaphan. Each one was holding an incense-burner, and smoke was rising from the incense.
12 God asked me, "Mortal man, do you see what the Israelite leaders are doing in secret? They are all worshipping in a room full of images. Their excuse is: 'The LORD doesn't see us! He has abandoned the country.'"
13 Then the LORD said to me, "You are going to see them do even more disgusting things than that."
14 So he took me to the north gate of the Temple and showed me women weeping over the death of the god Tammuz.
15 He asked, "Mortal man, do you see that? You will see even more disgusting things."
16 So he took me to the inner courtyard of the Temple. There near the entrance of the sanctuary, between the altar and the passage, were about twenty-five men. They had turned their backs to the sanctuary and were bowing low towards the east, worshipping the rising sun. [Catholic Encyclopedia: "Easter ... The English term ... relates to Estre, a Teutonic goddess of the rising light of day and spring."]
17 The LORD said to me, "Mortal man, do you see that? These people of Judah are not satisfied with merely doing all the disgusting things you have seen here and with spreading violence throughout the country. No, they must come and do them here in the Temple itself and make me even more angry. Look how they insult me in the most offensive way possible!
18 They will feel all the force of my anger. I will not spare them or show them any mercy. They will shout prayers to me as loud as they can, but I will not listen to them.
9:1 Then I heard God shout, "Come here, you men who are going to punish the city. Bring your weapons with you."
2 At once six men came from the outer north gate of the Temple, each one carrying a weapon. With them was a man dressed in linen clothes, carrying something to write with. They all came and stood by the bronze altar.
3 Then the dazzling light of the presence of the God of Israel rose up from the winged creatures, where it had been, and moved to the entrance of the Temple. The LORD called to the man dressed in linen,
4 "Go through the whole city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the forehead of everyone who is distressed and troubled because of all the disgusting things being done in the city."
5 And I heard God say to the other men, "Follow him through the city, and kill. Spare no one; have mercy on no one.
6 Kill the old men, young men, young women, mothers, and children. But don't touch anyone who has the mark on his forehead. Start here at my Temple." So they began with the leaders who were standing there at the Temple.
7 God said to them, "Defile the Temple. Fill its courtyards with corpses. Get to work!" So they began to kill the people in the city.
8 While the killing was going on, I was there alone. I threw myself face downwards on the ground and shouted, "Sovereign LORD, are you so angry with Jerusalem that you are going to kill everyone left in Israel?"
9 God answered, "The people of Israel and Judah are guilty of terrible sins. They have committed murder all over the land and filled Jerusalem with crime. They say that I, the LORD, have abandoned their country and that I don't see them.
10 But I will not have pity on them; I will do to them what they have done to others."
11 Then the man wearing linen clothes returned and reported to the LORD, "I have carried out your orders."
10:1 I looked at the dome over the heads of the winged animals and above them was something that seems to be a throne made of sapphire.
2 God said to the man wearing linen clothes, "Go between the wheels under the animals and fill your hands with burning coals. Then scatter the coals over the city." (GNT)
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