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iniquity
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"You shall not repeat a false report. Do
not join the wicked in putting your hand, as an unjust witness,
upon anyone. Neither shall you allege the example of the many as
an excuse for doing wrong, nor shall you, when testifying in a
lawsuit, side with the many in perverting justice." [Taken
from EX 23:1-2]
"If someone commits
a sin of dishonesty against the LORD by denying his neighbor a
deposit or a pledge for a stolen article, or by otherwise
retaining his neighbor's goods unjustly, or if, having found a
lost article, he denies the fact and swears falsely about it with
any of the sinful oaths that men make in such cases, he shall
therefore... restore the
thing that was stolen or unjustly retained by him or the deposit
left with him or the lost article he found or whatever else he
swore falsely about... he shall
make full restitution of the thing itself, and in addition, give
the owner one fifth of its value." [Taken from LEV 5:21-24]
Laying both hands on its head, he shall confess
over it all the sinful faults and transgressions of the
Israelites, and so put them on the goat's head. He shall then have
it led into the desert by an attendant. Since the goat is to carry
off their iniquities to an isolated region, it must be sent away
into the desert. [Taken from LEV 16:21-22]
"If an unjust witness takes the stand
against a man to accuse him of a defection from the law, the two
parties in the dispute shall appear before the LORD in the
presence of the priests or judges in office at that time; and if
after a thorough investigation the judges find that the witness is
a false witness and has accused his kinsman falsely, you shall do
to him as he planned to do to his kinsman. Thus shall you purge
the evil from your midst. The rest, on hearing of it, shall fear,
and never again do a thing so evil among you." [Taken from DEUT
19:16-20]
Jehoshaphat dwelt in Jerusalem; but he went out
again among the people from Beer-sheba to the highlands of Ephraim
and brought them back to the LORD, the God of their fathers. He
appointed judges in the land, in all the fortified cities of
Judah, city by city, and he said to them: "Take care what you
do, for you are judging, not on behalf of man, but on behalf of
the LORD; he judges with you. And now, let the fear of the LORD be
upon you. Act carefully, for with the LORD, our God there is no
injustice, no partiality, no bribe-taking." [2CHRON 19:4-7]
Then Tobit composed this joyful
prayer: Blessed be God who lives forever, because his
kingdom lasts for all ages. For he scourges and then has
mercy; he casts down to the depths of the nether
world, and he brings up from the great abyss. No one can
escape his hand. Praise him, you Israelites, before the
Gentiles, for though he has scattered you among them, he has
shown you his greatness even there. Exalt him before every
living being, because he is the Lord our God, our Father
and God forever. He scourged you for your iniquities, but
will again have mercy on you all. He will gather you from all
the Gentiles among whom you have been scattered. When you
turn back to him with all your heart, to do what is right
before him, then he will turn back to you, and no longer
hide his face from you. [Taken from TOBIT 13:1-6]
All the people, therefore, including youths,
women, and children, went in a crowd to Uzziah and the rulers of
the city. They set up a great clamor and said before the elders:
"God judge between you and us! You have done us grave
injustice in not making peace with the Assyrians. There is no help
for us now! Instead, God has sold us into their power by laying us
prostrate before them in thirst and utter exhaustion." [Taken
from JDTH 7:23-25]
Many hurried out after them, and having caught
up with them, camped opposite and prepared to attack them on the
sabbath. "Enough of this!" the pursuers said to them.
"Come out and obey the king's command, and your lives will be
spared." But they replied, "We will not come out, nor
will we obey the king's command to profane the sabbath." Then
the enemy attacked them at once; but they did not retaliate; they
neither threw stones, nor blocked up their own hiding places. They
said, "Let us all die without reproach; heaven and earth are
our witnesses that you destroy us unjustly." [1MACC 2:32-37]
So Athenobius, the king's Friend, came to
Jerusalem and on seeing the splendor of Simon's court, the gold
and silver plate on the sideboard, and the rest of his rich
display, he was amazed. When he gave him the king's message, Simon
said to him in reply: "We have not seized any foreign land;
what we took is not the property of others, but our ancestral
heritage which for a time had been unjustly held by our enemies.
Now that we have the opportunity, we are holding on to the
heritage of our ancestors. As for Joppa and Gazara, which you
demand, the men of these cities were doing great harm to our
people and laying waste our country; however, we are willing to
pay you a hundred talents for these cities." Athenobius made
no reply, but returned to the king in anger. When he told him of
Simon's words, of his splendor, and of all he had seen, the king
fell into a violent rage. [1MACC 15:32-36]
Then Menelaus, thinking this a good opportunity,
stole some gold vessels from the temple and presented them to
Andronicus; he had already sold some other vessels in Tyre and in
the neighboring cities. When Onias had clear evidence of the
facts, he made a public protest, after withdrawing to the
inviolable sanctuary at Daphne, near Antioch. Thereupon Menelaus
approached Andronicus privately and asked him to lay hands on
Onias. So Andronicus went to Onias, and by treacherously
reassuring him through sworn pledges with right hands joined,
persuaded him, in spite of his suspicions, to leave the sanctuary.
Then, without any regard for justice, he immediately put him to
death. As a result, not only the Jews, but many people of other
nations as well, were indignant and angry over the unjust murder
of the man. [2MACC 4:32-35]
Charges about this affair were brought against
Menelaus. When the king came to Tyre, three men sent by the senate
presented to him the justice of their cause. But Menelaus, seeing
himself on the losing side, promised Ptolemy, son of Dorymenes, a
substantial sum of money if he would win the king over. So Ptolemy
retired with the king under a colonnade, as if to get some fresh
air, and persuaded him to change his mind. Menelaus, who was the
cause of all the trouble, the king acquitted of the charges, while
he condemned to death those poor men who would have been declared
innocent even if they had pleaded their case before Scythians.
Thus, those who had prosecuted the case for the city, for the
people, and for the sacred vessels, quickly suffered unjust
punishment. For this reason, even some Tyrians were indignant over
the crime and provided sumptuously for their burial. But Menelaus,
thanks to the covetousness of the men in power, remained in
office, where he grew in wickedness and became the chief plotter
against his fellow citizens. [2MACC 4:43-50]
When Judas learned of Nicanor's advance and
informed his companions about the approach of the army, the
cowardly and those who lacked faith in God's justice deserted and
got away. But the others sold everything they had left, and at the
same time besought the Lord to deliver those whom the ungodly
Nicanor had sold before even meeting them. They begged the Lord to
do this, if not for their sake, at least for the sake of the
covenants made with their forefathers, and because they themselves
bore his holy, glorious name. Maccabeus assembled his men, six
thousand strong, and exhorted them not to be panic-stricken before
the enemy, nor to fear the large number of the Gentiles attacking
them unjustly, but to fight courageously, keeping before their
eyes the lawless outrage perpetrated by the Gentiles against the
holy Place and the affliction of the humiliated city, as well as
the subversion of their ancestral way of life. [2MACC 8:12-17]
Ptolemy, surnamed Macron, had taken the lead in
treating the Jews fairly because of the previous injustice that
had been done them, and he endeavored to have peaceful relations
with them. As a result, he was accused before Eupator by the
King's Friends. In fact, on all sides he heard himself called a
traitor for having abandoned Cyprus, which Philometor had
entrusted to him, and for having gone over to Antiochus Epiphanes. [Taken from 2MACC
10:12-13]
He frustrates the plans of the cunning, so
that their hands achieve no success; He catches the wise in their
own ruses, and the designs of the crafty are routed. They
meet with darkness in the daytime, and at noonday they grope
as though it were night. But the poor from the edge of the
sword and from the hand of the mighty, he saves. Thus the
unfortunate have hope, and iniquity closes her mouth. [Taken from JOB
5:12-16]
Come, now, give me your attention; surely I
will not lie to your face. Think it over; let there be no
injustice. Think it over; I still am right. Is there
insincerity on my tongue, or cannot my taste discern
falsehood? [JOB 6:28-30]
If you set your heart
aright and stretch out your hands toward him, If you remove
all iniquity from your conduct, and let not injustice dwell
in your tent, surely then you may lift up your face in
innocence; you may stand firm and unafraid. For then you
shall forget your misery, or recall it like waters that have
ebbed away. [Taken from JOB 11:13-16]
What is a man that he should be blameless, one born of woman
that he should be righteous? If in his holy ones God places no
confidence, and if the heavens are not clean in his sight,
How much less so is the abominable, the corrupt: man, who
drinks in iniquity like water! [JOB 15:14-16]
If I cry out "Injustice!" I am not heard. I cry for
help, but there is no redress. He has barred my way and I cannot
pass; he has veiled my path in darkness; He has stripped me
of my glory, and taken the diadem from my brow. He breaks me
down on every side, and I am gone; my hope he has uprooted
like a tree. His wrath he has kindled against me; he counts
me among his enemies.
[Taken from JOB 19:7-11]
Receive instruction from his mouth, and lay
up his words in your heart. If you return to the Almighty, you
will be restored; if you put iniquity far from your tent, and
treat raw gold like dust, and the fine gold of Ophir as
pebbles from the brook, Then the Almighty himself shall be your
gold and your sparkling silver. For then you shall delight in
the Almighty and you shall lift up your face toward God. You
shall entreat him and he will hear you, and your vows you
shall fulfill. When you make a decision, it shall succeed for
you, and upon your ways the light shall shine. For he brings
down the pride of the haughty, but the man of humble mien he
saves. God delivers him who is innocent; you shall be
delivered through cleanness of hands. [JOB 22:22-30]
Let my
enemy be as the wicked and my adversary as the unjust! For
what can the impious man expect when he is cut off, when God
requires his life? Will God then attend to his cry when
calamity comes upon him? Will he then delight in the
Almighty and call upon him constantly? [JOB 27:7-10]
Sinners conceive iniquity; pregnant
with mischief, they give birth to failure. They open a hole
and dig it deep, but fall into the pit they have dug. Their
mischief comes back upon themselves; their violence falls on
their own heads. [PS 7:15-17]
Turn from evil and do good, that you may
inhabit the land forever. For the LORD loves justice and does
not abandon the faithful. When the unjust are
destroyed, and the children of the wicked cut off, the just
will possess the land and live in it forever. [PS 37:27-29]
LORD, punish me no more in your anger; in
your wrath do not chastise me! Your arrows have sunk deep in
me; your hand has come down upon me. My flesh is afflicted
because of your anger; my frame aches because of my sin. My
iniquities overwhelm me, a burden beyond my
strength. Foul and festering are my sores because of my
folly. I am stooped and deeply bowed; all day I go about
mourning. [PS 38:2-7]
Grant me justice, God; defend me from a
faithless people; from the deceitful and unjust rescue me. [PS
43:1]
How long, LORD? Will you be angry
forever? Will your rage keep burning like fire? Pour out your
wrath on nations that reject you, on kingdoms that do not
call on your name, for they have devoured Jacob, laid waste
his home. Do not hold past iniquities against us; may your
compassion come quickly, for we have been brought very
low. Help us, God our savior, for the glory of your
name. Deliver us, pardon our sins for your name's sake.
[PS 79:5-9]
"How long will you judge unjustly and favor the cause of
the wicked? Defend the lowly and fatherless; render justice
to the afflicted and needy. Rescue the lowly and
poor; deliver them from the hand of the wicked."
[Taken from PS 82:2-4]
Can unjust judges be your allies, those who
create burdens in the name of law, Those who conspire against the
just and condemn the innocent to death? No, the LORD is my
secure height, my God, the rock where I find refuge, who will
turn back their evil upon them and destroy them for their
wickedness. Surely the LORD our God will destroy them! [PS
94:20-23]
Help me, LORD, my God; save me in your kindness. Make them
know this is your hand, that you, LORD, have acted. Though
they curse, may you bless; shame my foes, that your servant
may rejoice. Clothe my accusers with disgrace; make them wear
shame like a mantle. I will give fervent thanks to the
LORD; before all I will praise my God. For God stands at the
right hand of the poor to defend them against unjust
accusers. [PS 109:26-31]
LORD, teach me the way of your laws; I
shall observe them with care. Give me insight to observe your
teaching, to keep it with all my heart. Lead me in the path
of your commands, for that is my delight. Direct my heart
toward your decrees and away from unjust gain. Avert my eyes
from what is worthless; by your way give me life. [Taken from PS 119:33-37]
Show me compassion that I may live, for
your teaching is my delight. Shame the proud for oppressing me
unjustly, that I may study your precepts. Let those who fear
you turn to me, those who acknowledge your decrees. May I be
wholehearted toward your laws, that I may not be put to
shame. [PS 119:77-80]
Steady my feet in accord with your promise; do not let iniquity lead me. [PS 119:133]
Why then, my son, should you go astray for
another's wife and accept the embraces of an adulteress? For
each man's ways are plain to the LORD'S sight; all their
paths he surveys; By his own iniquities the wicked man will be
caught, in the meshes of his own sin he will be held fast; He
will die from lack of discipline, through the greatness of
his folly he will be lost. [PROV 5:20-23]
Better a little with virtue, than a large income
with injustice. [PROV 16:8]
An unprincipled witness perverts justice, and
the mouth of the wicked pours out iniquity. [PROV 19:28]
He who sows iniquity reaps calamity, and the rod
destroys his labors. [PROV 22:8]
And still under the sun in the judgment place I
saw wickedness, and in the seat of justice, iniquity. And I said
to myself, both the just and the wicked God will judge, since
there is a time for every affair and on every work a
judgment. [ECCL 3:16-17]
Love justice, you who judge the
earth; think of the LORD in goodness, and seek him in
integrity of heart; Because he is found by those who test him
not, and he manifests himself to those who do not disbelieve
him. For perverse counsels separate a man from God, and his
power, put to the proof, rebukes the foolhardy; Because into a
soul that plots evil wisdom enters not, nor dwells she in a
body under debt of sin. For the holy spirit of discipline flees
deceit and withdraws from senseless counsels; and when
injustice occurs it is rebuked. For wisdom is a kindly
spirit, yet she acquits not the blasphemer of his guilty
lips; Because God is the witness of his inmost self and
the sure observer of his heart and the listener to his
tongue. For the spirit of the LORD fills the world, is
all-embracing, and knows what man says. Therefore no one who
utters wicked things can go unnoticed, nor will chastising
condemnation pass him by. For the devices of the wicked man shall
be scrutinized, and the sound of his words shall reach the
LORD, for the chastisement of his transgressions; Because a
jealous ear hearkens to everything, and discordant grumblings
are no secret. Therefore guard against profitless
grumbling, and from calumny withhold your tongues; For a
stealthy utterance does not go unpunished, and a lying mouth
slays the soul. [WISDOM 1:1-11]
She preserved the first-formed father of the
world when he alone had been created; And she raised him
up from his fall, and gave him power to rule all things. But when
the unjust man withdrew from her in his anger, he perished
through his fratricidal wrath. When on his account the earth was
flooded, Wisdom again saved it, piloting the just man on
frailest wood. [WISDOM 10:1-4]
For who can say to you, "What have you
done?" or who can oppose your decree? Or when
peoples perish, who can challenge you, their maker; or who
can come into your presence as vindicator of unjust men? For
neither is there any god besides you who have the care
of all, that you need show you have not unjustly condemned;
Nor can any king or prince confront you on behalf of
those you have punished. But as you are just, you govern all
things justly; you regard it as unworthy of your
power to punish one who has incurred no blame. For your might
is the source of justice; your mastery over all things makes
you lenient to all. [WISDOM 12:12-16]
Hence those unjust also, who lived a life of folly, you
tormented through their own abominations [Taken from WISDOM
12:23]
One cannot justify unjust anger; anger plunges a man to his downfall.
[SIRACH 1:19]
Do no evil, and evil will not overtake you;
avoid wickedness, and it will turn aside from you. Sow not in the
furrows of injustice, lest you harvest it sevenfold. [SIRACH
7:1-3]
Forgive your neighbor's injustice; then when you pray, your
own sins will be forgiven. Should a man nourish anger against his
fellows and expect healing from the LORD? Should a man refuse
mercy to his fellows, yet seek pardon for his own sins? If he
who is but flesh cherishes wrath, who will forgive his sins?
Remember your last days, set enmity aside; remember death and
decay, and cease from sin! [Taken from SIRACH 28:2-6]
But never lord it over any human being, and do
nothing unjust. [Taken from SIRACH 33:30]
To refrain from evil pleases the LORD, and to avoid injustice is an atonement.
[SIRACH 35:3]
All that comes from bribes or injustice will be wiped out, but loyalty remains for ages. [SIRACH 40:12]
Woe to those who enact unjust statutes and who write oppressive decrees
[Taken from ISA 10:1]
Is this the manner of fasting I wish, of
keeping a day of penance: That a man bow his head like a
reed, and lie in sackcloth and ashes? Do you call this a
fast, a day acceptable to the LORD? This, rather, is the
fasting that I wish: releasing those bound
unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; Setting free
the oppressed, breaking every yoke; Sharing your bread with
the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the
homeless; Clothing the naked when you see them, and not
turning your back on your own. Then your light shall break forth
like the dawn, and your wound shall quickly be
healed; Your vindication shall go before you, and the
glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call,
and the LORD will answer, you shall cry for help, and he will
say: Here I am! If you remove from your midst
oppression, false accusation and malicious speech; If you
bestow your bread on the hungry and satisfy the
afflicted; Then light shall rise for you in the
darkness, and the gloom shall become for you like midday;
Then the LORD will guide you always and give you plenty even
on the parched land. He will renew your strength, and
you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring whose water
never fails. [Taken from ISA 58:5-11]
Since their shame was double and disgrace
and spittle were their portion, They shall have a double
inheritance in their land, everlasting joy shall be theirs.
For I, the LORD, love what is right, I hate robbery and
injustice; I will give them their recompense
faithfully, a lasting covenant I will make with them. Their
descendants shall be renowned among the nations, and their
offspring among the peoples; All who see them shall
acknowledge them as a race the LORD has blessed. [ISA
61:7-9]
Woe to him who builds his house on
wrong, his terraces on injustice; Who works his neighbor
without pay, and gives him no wages. Who says, "I will
build myself a spacious house, with airy
rooms," Who cuts out windows for it, panels it with
cedar, and paints it with vermilion. Must you prove your
rank among kings by competing with them in cedar? Did
not your father eat and drink? He did what was right and
just, and it went well with him. Because he dispensed justice
to the weak and the poor, it went well with him. Is this
not true knowledge of me? says the LORD. [JER 22:13-16]
How then can one not know that these are
no-gods, which do not save themselves either from war or from
disaster? They are wooden, gilded and silvered; they will later be
known for frauds. To all peoples and kings it will be clear that
they are not gods, but human handiwork; and that God's work is not
in them. Who does not know that they are not gods? They set no
king over the land, nor do they give men rain. They neither
vindicate their own rights, nor do they recover what is unjustly
taken, for they are unable [Taken from BARUCH 6:49-53]
You say, "The LORD'S way is not fair!"
Hear now, house of Israel: Is it my way that is unfair, or rather,
are not your ways unfair? When a virtuous man turns away from
virtue to commit iniquity, and dies, it is because of the iniquity
he committed that he must die. But if a wicked man, turning from
the wickedness he has committed, does what is right and just, he
shall preserve his life; since he has turned away from all the
sins which he committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
And yet the house of Israel says, "The LORD'S way is not
fair!" Is it my way that is not fair, house of Israel, or
rather, is it not that your ways are not fair? Therefore I will
judge you, house of Israel, each one according to his ways, says
the Lord GOD. Turn and be converted from all your crimes, that
they may be no cause of guilt for you. Cast away from you all the
crimes you have committed, and make for yourselves a new heart and
a new spirit. Why should you die, O house of Israel? For I have no
pleasure in the death of anyone who dies, says the Lord GOD.
Return and live! [EZEK 18:25-32]
See, I am brushing one hand against the other because of the
unjust profits you have made and because of the blood shed in your
midst. Can your heart remain firm, will your hands be strong, in
the days when I deal with you? I, the LORD, have spoken, and I
will act.
[Taken from EZEK 22:13-14]
Your commandments we have not heeded or
observed, nor have we done as you ordered us for our good.
Therefore all you have brought upon us, all you have done to
us, you have done by a proper judgment. You have handed us
over to our enemies, lawless and hateful rebels; to an
unjust king, the worst in all the world. Now we cannot open our
mouths; we, your servants, who revere you, have become a
shame and a reproach. For you name's sake, do not deliver us up
forever, or make void your covenant. Do not take away your
mercy from us, for the sake of Abraham, your
beloved, Isaac your servant, and Israel your holy one, to
whom you promised to multiply their offspring like the stars
of heaven, or the sand on the shores of the sea. For we are
reduced, O Lord, beyond any other nation, brought low
everywhere in the world this day because of our sins. [Taken from DAN
3:30-37]
After they were separated one from the other, he
called one of them and said: "How you have grown evil with
age! Now have your past sins come to term: passing unjust
sentences, condemning the innocent, and freeing the guilty,
although the Lord says, 'The innocent and the just you shall
not put to death.' [Taken from DAN 13:52-53]
They have come, the days of punishment! they have come, the days of recompense! Let Israel know it! "The prophet is a fool, the man of the spirit is mad!" Because your iniquity is great, great, too, is your hostility.
[Taken from HOSEA 9:7]
They have sunk to the depths of corruption, as
in the days of Gibeah; He shall remember their iniquity and punish
their sins. [HOSEA 9:9]
Woe to those who plan iniquity, and work
out evil on their couches; In the morning light they
accomplish it when it lies within their power. They covet
fields, and seize them; houses, and they take them; They
cheat an owner of his house, a man of his inheritance.
Therefore thus says the LORD: Behold, I am planning against
this race an evil from which you shall not withdraw your
necks; Nor shall you walk with head high, for it will be
a time of evil. On that day a satire shall be sung over
you, and there shall be a plaintive chant: "Our
ruin is complete, our fields are portioned out among our
captors, the fields of my people are measured out, and
no one can get them back!" [MICAH 2:1-4]
And you say, "Why is
it?" - Because the LORD is witness between you and
the wife of your youth, with whom you have broken
faith though she is your companion, your betrothed wife. Did
he not make one being, with flesh and spirit: and what does
that one require but godly offspring? You must then safeguard
life that is your own, and not break faith with the wife of
your youth. For I hate divorce, says the LORD, the God of
Israel, and covering one's garment with injustice, says
the LORD of hosts; You must then safeguard life that is your
own, and not break faith. You have wearied the LORD with your
words, yet you say, "How have we wearied
him?" By your saying, "Every evildoer is good
in the sight of the LORD, and he is pleased with
him"; or else, "Where is the just God?" [MAL
2:14-17]
"You have heard that it was said, 'You
shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you,
love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you
may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise
on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and
the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense
will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you
greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the
pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is
perfect." [MT 5:43-48]
During those days Peter stood up in the midst of
the brothers (there was a group of about one hundred and twenty
persons in the one place). He said, "My brothers, the
scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke
beforehand through the mouth of David, concerning Judas, who was
the guide for those who arrested Jesus. He was numbered among us
and was allotted a share in this ministry. He bought a parcel of
land with the wages of his iniquity... This
became known to everyone who lived in Jerusalem, so that the
parcel of land was called in their language 'Akeldama,' that is,
Field of Blood. For it is written in the Book of Psalms: 'Let
his encampment become desolate, and may no one dwell in it.'
And: 'May another take his office.' Therefore, it is necessary
that one of the men who accompanied us the whole time the Lord
Jesus came and went among us, beginning from the baptism of John
until the day on which he was taken up from us, become with us a
witness to his resurrection." So they proposed two, Joseph
called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus, and Matthias. Then
they prayed, "You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show
which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this
apostolic ministry from which Judas turned away to go to his own
place." Then they gave lots to them, and the lot fell upon
Matthias, and he was counted with the eleven apostles. [Taken from
ACTS 1:15-26]
"Moses was educated (in) all the wisdom of the
Egyptians and was powerful in his words and deeds. When he
was forty years old, he decided to visit his kinsfolk, the
Israelites. When he saw one of them treated unjustly, he defended
and avenged the oppressed man by striking down the Egyptian. He
assumed (his) kinsfolk would understand that God was offering them
deliverance through him, but they did not understand. The next day
he appeared to them as they were fighting and tried to reconcile
them peacefully, saying, 'Men, you are brothers. Why are you
harming one another?' Then the one who was harming his neighbor
pushed him aside, saying, 'Who appointed you ruler and judge over
us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian
yesterday?' Moses fled when he heard this and settled as an alien
in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons."
[Taken from ACTS 7:22-29]
When Simon saw that the Spirit was conferred by
the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money and
said, "Give me this power too, so that anyone upon whom I lay
my hands may receive the Holy Spirit." But Peter said to him,
"May your money perish with you, because you thought that you
could buy the gift of God with money. You have no share or lot in
this matter, for your heart is not upright before God. Repent of
this wickedness of yours and pray to the Lord that, if possible,
your intention may be forgiven. For I see that you are filled with
bitter gall and are in the bonds of iniquity." Simon said in
reply, "Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you
have said may come upon me."
[ACTS 8:18-24]
What advantage is there then in being a Jew? Or
what is the value of circumcision? Much, in every respect. (For)
in the first place, they were entrusted with the utterances of
God. What if some were unfaithful? Will their infidelity nullify
the fidelity of God? Of course not! God must be true, though every
human being is a liar, as it is written: "That you
may be justified in your words, and conquer when you are
judged." But if our wickedness provides proof of God's righteousness, what can we say? Is God unjust, humanly speaking,
to inflict his wrath? Of course not! For how else is God to judge
the world? [Taken from ROM 3:1-6]
What then can we say that Abraham found, our
ancestor according to the flesh? Indeed, if Abraham was justified
on the basis of his works, he has reason to boast; but this was
not so in the sight of God. For what does the scripture say?
"Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as
righteousness." A worker's wage is credited not as a gift,
but as something due. But when one does not work, yet believes in
the one who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as
righteousness. So also David declares the blessedness of the
person to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
"Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven and
whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does
not record." Does this blessedness apply only to the
circumcised, or to the uncircumcised as well? Now we assert that
"faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness." Under
what circumstances was it credited? Was he circumcised or not? He
was not circumcised, but uncircumcised. And he received the sign
of circumcision as a seal on the righteousness received through
faith while he was uncircumcised. Thus he was to be the father of
all the uncircumcised who believe, so that to them (also)
righteousness might be credited, as well as the father of the
circumcised who not only are circumcised, but also follow the path
of faith that our father Abraham walked while still uncircumcised.
[ROM 4:1-12]
But it is not that the word of God has failed.
For not all who are of Israel are Israel, nor are they all
children of Abraham because they are his descendants; but "It
is through Isaac that descendants shall bear your name." This
means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the
children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as
descendants. For this is the wording of the promise, "About
this time I shall return and Sarah will have a son." And not
only that, but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one
husband, our father Isaac - before they had yet been born or had
done anything, good or bad, in order that God's elective plan
might continue, not by works but by his call - she was told,
"The older shall serve the younger." As it is
written: "I loved Jacob but hated Esau." What
then are we to say? Is there injustice on the part of God? Of
course not! For he says to Moses: "I will show mercy to
whom I will, I will take pity on whom I will." So it
depends not upon a person's will or exertion, but upon God, who
shows mercy. For the scripture says to Pharaoh, "This is why
I have raised you up, to show my power through you that my name
may be proclaimed throughout the earth." Consequently, he has
mercy upon whom he wills, and he hardens whom he wills. You will
say to me then, "Why (then) does he still find fault? For who
can oppose his will?" But who indeed are you, a human being,
to talk back to God? Will what is made say to its maker, "Why
have you created me so?" Or does not the potter have a right
over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for a noble
purpose and another for an ignoble one? What if God, wishing to
show his wrath and make known his power, has endured with much
patience the vessels of wrath made for destruction? This was to
make known the riches of his glory to the vessels of mercy, which
he has prepared previously for glory, namely, us whom he has
called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles. [ROM 9:6-24]
How can any one of you with a case against
another dare to bring it to the unjust for judgment instead of to
the holy ones? Do you not know that the holy ones will judge the
world? If the world is to be judged by you, are you unqualified
for the lowest law courts? Do you not know that we will judge
angels? Then why not everyday matters? If, therefore, you have
courts for everyday matters, do you seat as judges people of no
standing in the church? I say this to shame you. Can it be that
there is not one among you wise enough to be able to settle a case
between brothers? But rather brother goes to court against
brother, and that before unbelievers? Now indeed (then) it is, in
any case, a failure on your part that you have lawsuits against
one another. Why not rather put up with injustice? Why not rather
let yourselves be cheated? Instead, you inflict injustice and
cheat, and this to brothers. Do you not know that the unjust will
not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither
fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor boy prostitutes nor
practicing homosexuals nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards
nor slanderers nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God. That
is what some of you used to be; but now you have had yourselves
washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the
Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. [1COR 6:1-11]
I urge you on behalf of my child Onesimus, whose
father I have become in my imprisonment, who was once useless to
you but is now useful to (both) you and me. I am sending him, that
is, my own heart, back to you. I should have liked to retain him
for myself, so that he might serve me on your behalf in my
imprisonment for the gospel, but I did not want to do anything
without your consent, so that the good you do might not be forced
but voluntary. Perhaps this is why he was away from you for a
while, that you might have him back forever, no longer as a slave
but more than a slave, a brother, beloved especially to me, but
even more so to you, as a man and in the Lord. So if you regard me
as a partner, welcome him as you would me. And if he has done you
any injustice or owes you anything, charge it to me. I, Paul,
write this in my own hand: I will pay. [Taken from PHLM 1:10-19]
For it is impossible in the case of those who
have once been enlightened and tasted the heavenly gift and shared
in the Holy Spirit and tasted the good word of God and the powers
of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to bring them to
repentance again, since they are recrucifying the Son of God for
themselves and holding him up to contempt. Ground that has
absorbed the rain falling upon it repeatedly and brings forth
crops useful to those for whom it is cultivated receives a
blessing from God. But if it produces thorns and thistles, it is
rejected; it will soon be cursed and finally burned. But we are
sure in your regard, beloved, of better things related to
salvation, even though we speak in this way. For God is not unjust
so as to overlook your work and the love you have demonstrated for
his name by having served and continuing to serve the holy ones.
We earnestly desire each of you to demonstrate the same eagerness
for the fulfillment of hope until the end, so that you may not
become sluggish, but imitators of those who, through faith and
patience, are inheriting the promises. [HEB 6:4-12]
For whenever anyone bears the pain of unjust
suffering because of consciousness of God, that is a grace. But
what credit is there if you are patient when beaten for doing
wrong? But if you are patient when you suffer for doing what is
good, this is a grace before God. For to this you have been
called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an
example that you should follow in his footsteps. "He
committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth."
When he was insulted, he returned no insult; when he suffered, he
did not threaten; instead, he handed himself over to the one who
judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body upon the
cross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness. By
his wounds you have been healed. For you had gone astray like
sheep, but you have now returned to the shepherd and guardian of
your souls. [1PT 2:19-25]
Also try:
unfair
/ unfairly [U]
wrong
/ wrongdoing [W14]
oppress
/ oppressor / oppression [O2]
injury
/ injuries [I]
persecute
/ persecutor [P6]
tribulation
/ trials [T9]
sin
/ sins / sinned / sinful / sinner [S18a]
forgive
/ forgiveness [F10]
repent
/ repentance [R4]
justice
[J5]
mercy
/ merciful [M3a]
Other
resources:
Tough
Love in the New Testament
Reflections: A-Z
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Encyclicals & Other Papal Documents
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try: Help, A-Z)
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