11 Her leaders judge for a bribe,(A)
    her priests teach for a price,(B)
    and her prophets tell fortunes for money.(C)
Yet they look(D) for the Lord’s support and say,
    “Is not the Lord among us?
    No disaster will come upon us.”(E)

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13 “From the least to the greatest,
    all(A) are greedy for gain;(B)
prophets and priests alike,
    all practice deceit.(C)

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23 Your rulers are rebels,(A)
    partners with thieves;(B)
they all love bribes(C)
    and chase after gifts.
They do not defend the cause of the fatherless;
    the widow’s case does not come before them.(D)

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This is what the Lord says:

“As for the prophets
    who lead my people astray,(A)
they proclaim ‘peace’(B)
    if they have something to eat,
but prepare to wage war against anyone
    who refuses to feed them.

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Do not trust(A) in deceptive(B) words and say, “This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!”

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Be shepherds of God’s flock(A) that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be;(B) not pursuing dishonest gain,(C) but eager to serve;

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11 They must be silenced, because they are disrupting whole households(A) by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain.

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18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money 19 and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

20 Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!(A)

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Both hands are skilled in doing evil;(A)
    the ruler demands gifts,
the judge accepts bribes,(B)
    the powerful dictate what they desire—
    they all conspire together.

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you who call yourselves citizens of the holy city(A)
    and claim to rely(B) on the God of Israel—
    the Lord Almighty is his name:(C)

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10 Therefore I will give their wives to other men
    and their fields to new owners.(A)
From the least to the greatest,
    all are greedy for gain;(B)
prophets(C) and priests alike,
    all practice deceit.(D)

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Here I stand. Testify against me in the presence of the Lord and his anointed.(A) Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey(B) have I taken? Whom have I cheated? Whom have I oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe(C) to make me shut my eyes? If I have done(D) any of these things, I will make it right.”(E)

“You have not cheated or oppressed us,” they replied. “You have not taken anything from anyone’s hand.”

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But his sons(A) did not follow his ways. They turned aside(B) after dishonest gain and accepted bribes(C) and perverted(D) justice.

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15 Then Moses became very angry(A) and said to the Lord, “Do not accept their offering. I have not taken so much as a donkey(B) from them, nor have I wronged any of them.”

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11 Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain;(A) they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error;(B) they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion.(C)

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14 With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce(A) the unstable;(B) they are experts in greed(C)—an accursed brood!(D) 15 They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam(E) son of Bezer,[a] who loved the wages of wickedness.

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Footnotes

  1. 2 Peter 2:15 Greek Bosor

False Teachers and Their Destruction

But there were also false prophets(A) among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you.(B) They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord(C) who bought them(D)—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved conduct(E) and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed(F) these teachers will exploit you(G) with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.

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not given to drunkenness,(A) not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome,(B) not a lover of money.(C)

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10 All the sinners among my people
    will die by the sword,(A)
all those who say,
    ‘Disaster will not overtake or meet us.’(B)

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18 Even when their drinks are gone,
    they continue their prostitution;
    their rulers dearly love shameful ways.

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11 They are dogs with mighty appetites;
    they never have enough.
They are shepherds(A) who lack understanding;(B)
    they all turn to their own way,(C)
    they seek their own gain.(D)

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When the soldiers returned to camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why(A) did the Lord bring defeat on us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark(B) of the Lord’s covenant from Shiloh,(C) so that he may go with us(D) and save us from the hand of our enemies.”

So the people sent men to Shiloh, and they brought back the ark of the covenant of the Lord Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim.(E) And Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

When the ark of the Lord’s covenant came into the camp, all Israel raised such a great shout(F) that the ground shook. Hearing the uproar, the Philistines asked, “What’s all this shouting in the Hebrew(G) camp?”

When they learned that the ark of the Lord had come into the camp,

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The Jews and the Law

17 Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God;(A) 18 if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; 19 if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— 21 you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal?(B) 22 You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?(C) 23 You who boast in the law,(D) do you dishonor God by breaking the law? 24 As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”[a](E)

25 Circumcision has value if you observe the law,(F) but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised.(G) 26 So then, if those who are not circumcised keep the law’s requirements,(H) will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised?(I) 27 The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you(J) who, even though you have the[b] written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.

28 A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly,(K) nor is circumcision merely outward and physical.(L) 29 No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart,(M) by the Spirit,(N) not by the written code.(O) Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.(P)

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Footnotes

  1. Romans 2:24 Isaiah 52:5 (see Septuagint); Ezek. 36:20,22
  2. Romans 2:27 Or who, by means of a

And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’(A) I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.

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10 “Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors,(A) so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased(B) with you,” says the Lord Almighty, “and I will accept(C) no offering(D) from your hands.

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