mocking god

⁷Do not choose to wander astray. God is not to be ridiculed.

¹Blessed is the man who has not followed the counsel of the impious, and has not remained in the way of sinners, and has not sat in the chair of pestilence. ²But his will is with the law of the Lord, and he will meditate on his law, day and night. ³And he will be like a tree that has been planted beside running waters, which will provide its fruit in its time, and its leaf will not fall away, and all things whatsoever that he does will prosper. ⁴Not so the impious, not so. For they are like the dust that the wind casts along the face of the earth. ⁵Therefore, the impious will not prevail again in judgment, nor sinners in the council of the just. ⁶For the Lord knows the way of the just. And the path of the impious will pass away.

⁶For he will render to each one according to his works: ⁷To those who, in accord with patient good works, seek glory and honor and incorruption, certainly, he will render eternal life. ⁸But to those who are contentious and who do not acquiesce to the truth, but instead trust in iniquity, he will render wrath and indignation.

¹¹Blessed are you when they have slandered you, and persecuted you, and spoken all kinds of evil against you, falsely, for my sake:

¹²And there is no salvation in any other. For there is no other name under heaven given to men, by which it is necessary for us to be saved.”

¹Blessed is the man who has not followed the counsel of the impious, and has not remained in the way of sinners, and has not sat in the chair of pestilence.

¹Unto the end. A Psalm of David. The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They were corrupted, and they have become abominable in their studies. There is no one who does good; there is not even one. ²The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men, to see if there were any who were considering or seeking God. ³They have all gone astray; together they have become useless. There is no one who does good; there is not even one. Their throat is an open sepulcher. With their tongues, they have been acting deceitfully; the venom of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood. Grief and unhappiness are in their ways; and the way of peace, they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes. ⁴Will they never learn: all those who work iniquity, who devour my people like a meal of bread?

³Know this first: that in the last days there will arrive deceitful mockers, walking according to their own desires,

¹The vision of Isaiah, the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah, Joatham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. ²Listen, O heavens, and pay attention, O earth, for the Lord has spoken. I have nurtured and raised children, but they have spurned me. ³An ox knows his owner, and a donkey knows the manger of his lord, but Israel has not known me, and my people have not understood. ⁴Woe to a sinful nation, a people burdened by iniquity, a wicked offspring, accursed children. They have abandoned the Lord. They have blasphemed the Holy One of Israel. They been taken away backwards. ⁵For what reason shall I continue to strike you, as you increase transgressions? The entire head is feeble, and the entire heart is grieving. ⁶From the sole of the foot, even to the top of the head, there is no soundness within. Wounds and bruises and swelling sores: these are not bandaged, nor treated with medicine, nor soothed with oil.

¹⁰And so, I beg you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that every one of you speak in the same way, and that there be no schisms among you. So may you become perfect, with the same mind and with the same judgment.

¹The hand of the Lord was set upon me, and he led me away in the Spirit of the Lord, and he released me in the midst of a plain which was full of bones. ²And he led me around, through them, on every side. Now they were very many upon the face of the plain, and they were exceedingly dry. ³And he said to me, “Son of man, do you think that these bones will live?” And I said, “O Lord God, you know.” ⁴And he said to me, “Prophesy about these bones. And you shall say to them: Dry bones, listen to the word of the Lord! ⁵Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will send spirit into you, and you shall live. ⁶And I will set sinews upon you, and I will cause flesh to grow over you, and I will extend skin over you. And I will give you spirit, and you shall live. And you shall know that I am the Lord.”