The Skeptics Annotated Bible (637 page)

26
When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die.

(18.26)
“When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die.”

27 Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.

(18.27)
“When the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness … and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul.”
304 Is salvation by faith alone?

28 Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.

29 Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal?

30 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.

31 Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.

(19.1-9) A lamentable lion lament

19
Moreover
take thou up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,

(19.1)
“Take thou up a lamentation for the princes of Israel,”

2
And say, What is thy mother? A lioness: she lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps among young lions.

(19.2)
“And say, What is thy mother? A lioness: she lay down among lions, she nourished her whelps among young lions.”

3 And she brought up one of her whelps: it became a young lion, and it learned to catch the prey; it devoured men.

4 The nations also heard of him; he was taken in their pit, and they brought him with chains unto the land of Egypt.

5 Now when she saw that she had waited, and her hope was lost, then she took another of her whelps, and made him a young lion.

6 And he went up and down among the lions, he became a young lion, and learned to catch the prey, and devoured men.

7 And he knew their desolate palaces, and he laid waste their cities; and the land was desolate, and the fulness thereof, by the noise of his roaring.

8 Then the nations set against him on every side from the provinces, and spread their net over him: he was taken in their pit.

9 And they put him in ward in chains, and brought him to the king of Babylon: they brought him into holds, that his voice should no more be heard upon the mountains of Israel.

10
Thy mother is like a vine in thy blood
, planted by the waters: she was fruitful and full of branches by reason of many waters.

11 And she had strong rods for the sceptres of them that bare rule, and her stature was exalted among the thick branches, and she appeared in her height with the multitude of her branches.

12 But she was plucked up in fury, she was cast down to the ground, and the east wind dried up her fruit: her strong rods were broken and withered; the fire consumed them.

13 And now she is planted in the wilderness, in a dry and thirsty ground.

14 And fire is gone out of a rod of her branches, which hath devoured her fruit, so that she hath no strong rod to be a sceptre to rule.
This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation
.

(19.10-14)
“Thy mother is like a vine in thy blood … This is a lamentation, and shall be for a lamentation.”

20
And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, the tenth day of the month
, that certain of the elders of Israel came to enquire of the LORD, and sat before me.

(20.1) “And it came to pass in the seventh year, in the fifth month, in the tenth day of the month.”

2 Then came the word of the LORD unto me, saying,

3 Son of man, speak unto the elders of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Are ye come to enquire of me?
As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be enquired of by you.

(20.3) “As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I will not be enquired of by you.”
176 Does God help in times of need?

4 Wilt thou judge them, son of man, wilt thou judge them? cause them to know the abominations of their fathers:

5 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day when I chose Israel, and lifted up mine hand unto the seed of the house of Jacob, and made myself known unto them in the land of Egypt, when I lifted up mine hand unto them, saying, I am the LORD your God;

6 In the day that I lifted up mine hand unto them, to bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands:

7 Then said I unto them, Cast ye away every man the abominations of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

(20.8-22) God threatens three times to kill all the Israelites for disobeying him, but after thinking about what the neighbors would think about it, he decided not to.

8 But they rebelled against me, and would not hearken unto me: they did not every man cast away the abominations of their eyes,
neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt: then I said, I will pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them
in the midst of the land of Egypt.

(20.8)
“Neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt: then I said, I will pour out my fury upon them, to accomplish my anger against them.”

9 But I wrought for my name’s sake, that it should not be polluted before the heathen, among whom they were, in whose sight I made myself known unto them, in bringing them forth out of the land of Egypt.

10 Wherefore I caused them to go forth out of the land of Egypt, and brought them into the wilderness.

11 And I gave them my statutes, and shewed them my judgments, which if a man do, he shall even live in them.