They are darkened in their understanding and alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their hearts.

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you as My priests. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children.

Although God overlooked the ignorance of earlier times, He now commands all people everywhere to repent.

The prudent see danger and take cover, but the simple keep going and suffer the consequences.

Even zeal is no good without knowledge, and he who hurries his footsteps misses the mark.

Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

O simple ones, learn to be shrewd; O fools, gain understanding.

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up His garments by casting lots.

But if the watchman sees the sword coming and fails to blow the horn to warn the people, and the sword comes and takes away a life, then that one will be taken away in his iniquity, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood.’

And now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders.

I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent man; yet because I had acted in ignorance and unbelief, I was shown mercy.

Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’

Therefore prepare your minds for action. Be sober-minded. Set your hope fully on the grace to be given you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not conform to the passions of your former ignorance. But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do, for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

For as I walked around and examined your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore what you worship as something unknown, I now proclaim to you.

He who trusts in himself is a fool, but one who walks in wisdom will be safe.

Because they were ignorant of God’s righteousness and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.

The prudent see danger and take cover; but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.

You must do the same thing on the seventh day of the month for anyone who strays unintentionally or in ignorance. In this way you will make atonement for the temple.

For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorance of foolish men.

But a witless man can no more become wise than the colt of a wild donkey can be born a man!

No man can know its value, nor is it found in the land of the living.

If I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ but you do not speak out to dissuade him from his way, then that wicked man will die in his iniquity, yet I will hold you accountable for his blood.

He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and misguided, since he himself is beset by weakness.

Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.

For we were born yesterday and know nothing; our days on earth are but a shadow.

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: After you enter the land that I am giving you as a home and you present an offering made by fire to the LORD from the herd or flock to produce a pleasing aroma to the LORD—either a burnt offering or a sacrifice, for a special vow or freewill offering or appointed feast— then the one presenting his offering to the LORD shall also present a grain offering of a tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a quarter hin of olive oil. With the burnt offering or sacrifice of each lamb, you are to prepare a quarter hin of wine as a drink offering. . . .

As soon as night had fallen, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now the Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true.

“For My people are fools; they have not known Me. They are foolish children, without understanding. They are skilled in doing evil, but they know not how to do good.”

Teach me, O LORD, the way of Your statutes, and I will keep them to the end. Give me understanding that I may obey Your law, and follow it with all my heart.

For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness.”

For surely no man knows his time: Like fish caught in a cruel net or birds trapped in a snare, so men are ensnared in an evil time that suddenly falls upon them.

But he must ask in faith, without doubting, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.

How then can they call on the One in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” But not all of them welcomed the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” Consequently, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.

For with much wisdom comes much sorrow, and as knowledge grows, grief increases.

As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the bones are formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.

If you say, “Behold, we did not know about this,” does not He who weighs hearts consider it? Does not the One who guards your life know? Will He not repay a man according to his deeds?

We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the hardships we encountered in the province of Asia. We were under a burden far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life.

He humbled you, and in your hunger He gave you manna to eat, which neither you nor your fathers had known, so that you might understand that man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.

That servant who knows his master’s will but does not get ready or follow his instructions will be beaten with many blows. But the one who unknowingly does things worthy of punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and from him who has been entrusted with much, even more will be demanded.

Jesus answered, “You are mistaken because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.

and if it was done unintentionally without the knowledge of the congregation, then the whole congregation is to prepare one young bull as a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD, with its grain offering and drink offering according to the regulation, and one male goat as a sin offering.

A man’s steps are from the LORD, so how can anyone understand his own way?

Where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the Law.

All this I tested by wisdom, saying, “I resolve to be wise.” But it was beyond me.

that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in your knowledge of Him. I ask that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know the hope of His calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and the surpassing greatness of His power to us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of His mighty strength, which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. . . .

If anyone eats a sacred offering in error, he must add a fifth to its value and give the sacred offering to the priest.

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites to do as follows with one who sins unintentionally against any of the LORD’s commandments and does what is forbidden by them: If the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people, he must bring to the LORD a young bull without blemish as a sin offering for the sin he has committed. He must bring the bull to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before the LORD, lay his hand on the bull’s head, and slaughter it before the LORD. Then the anointed priest shall take some of the bull’s blood and bring it into the Tent of Meeting. . . .

He who answers a matter before he hears it—this is folly and disgrace to him.

But I have this against you: You have abandoned your first love. Therefore, keep in mind how far you have fallen. Repent and perform the deeds you did at first. But if you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

Therefore, being offspring of God, we should not think that the Divine Being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by man’s skill and imagination. Although God overlooked the ignorance of earlier times, He now commands all people everywhere to repent.

Now there were some itinerant Jewish exorcists who tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those with evil spirits. They would say, “I bind you by Jesus, whom Paul proclaims.” Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. Eventually, one of the evil spirits answered them, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” Then the man with the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. The attack was so violent that they ran out of the house naked and wounded. This became known to all the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, and fear came over all of them. So the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. . . .

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men, yet they cannot fathom the work that God has done from beginning to end.

how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? This salvation was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, and was affirmed by God through signs, wonders, various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will. For it is not to angels that He has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. But somewhere it is testified in these words: “What is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You care for him? You made him a little lower than the angels; You crowned him with glory and honor . . .

Then, as the LORD had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and urged me, ‘Please buy my field in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for you own the right of inheritance and redemption. Buy it for yourself.’” Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD. So I bought the field in Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel, and I weighed out seventeen shekels of silver. I signed and sealed the deed, called in witnesses, and weighed out the silver on the scales. Then I took the deed of purchase—the sealed copy with its terms and conditions, as well as the open copy— and I gave this deed to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the sight of my cousin Hanamel and the witnesses who were signing the purchase agreement and all the Jews sitting in the courtyard of the guard. . . .

Yet they say to God: ‘Leave us alone! For we have no desire to know Your ways.

The backslider in heart receives the fill of his own ways, but a good man is rewarded for his ways. The simple man believes every word, but the prudent man watches his steps. A wise man fears and turns from evil, but a fool is careless and reckless. A quick-tempered man acts foolishly, and a devious man is hated. The simple inherit folly, but the prudent are crowned with knowledge. . . .

No, we speak of the mysterious and hidden wisdom of God, which He destined for our glory before time began. None of the rulers of this age understood it. For if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. Rather, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.” But God has revealed it to us by the Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of man except his own spirit within him? So too, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. . . .

First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be offered for everyone— for kings and all those in authority—so that we may lead tranquil and quiet lives in all godliness and dignity. This is good and pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, . . .

who gave Himself as a ransom for all—the testimony that was given at just the right time. For this reason I was appointed as a preacher, an apostle, and a faithful and true teacher of the Gentiles. I am telling the truth; I am not lying about anything. Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands, without anger or dissension.

How great You are, O Lord GOD! For there is none like You, and there is no God but You, according to everything we have heard with our own ears. And who is like Your people Israel—the one nation on earth whom God went out to redeem as a people for Himself and to make a name for Himself? You performed great and awesome wonders by driving out nations and their gods from before Your people, whom You redeemed for Yourself from Egypt. For You have established Your people Israel as Your very own forever, and You, O LORD, have become their God. And now, O LORD God, confirm forever the word You have spoken concerning Your servant and his house. Do as You have promised, so that Your name will be magnified forever when it is said, ‘The LORD of Hosts is God over Israel.’ And the house of Your servant David will be established before You. . . .

Jesus replied, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by His own authority.

You rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you.

So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardness of their hearts. Having lost all sense of shame, they have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity, with a craving for more. But this is not the way you came to know Christ. Surely you heard of Him and were taught in Him—in keeping with the truth that is in Jesus— . . .

If I say to the wicked man, ‘You will surely die,’ but you do not warn him or speak out to warn him from his wicked way to save his life, that wicked man will die in his iniquity, and I will hold you responsible for his blood.

And no one considers in his heart, no one has the knowledge or insight to say, “I burned half of it in the fire, and I baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and I ate. Shall I make something detestable with the rest of it? Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”

Then the LORD said to me, “Do not pray for the well-being of this people. Although they may fast, I will not listen to their cry; although they may offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Instead, I will finish them off by sword and famine and plague.” “Ah, Lord GOD!” I replied, “Look, the prophets are telling them, ‘You will not see the sword or suffer famine, but I will give you lasting peace in this place.’” “The prophets are prophesying lies in My name,” replied the LORD. “I did not send them or appoint them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a false vision, a worthless divination, the futility and delusion of their own minds. Therefore this is what the LORD says about the prophets who prophesy in My name: I did not send them, yet they say, ‘No sword or famine will touch this land.’ By sword and famine these very prophets will meet their end! . . .

Indeed, God is great—beyond our knowledge; the number of His years is unsearchable. For He draws up drops of water which distill the rain from the mist, which the clouds pour out and shower abundantly on mankind. Furthermore, who can understand how the clouds spread out, how the thunder roars from His pavilion? See how He scatters His lightning around Him and covers the depths of the sea. . . .

A despairing man should have the kindness of his friend, even if he forsakes the fear of the Almighty. But my brothers are as faithless as wadis, as seasonal streams that overflow, darkened because of the ice and the inflow of melting snow, but ceasing in the dry season and vanishing from their channels in the heat. Caravans turn aside from their routes; they go into the wasteland and perish. . . .

Then Jesus declared, “For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind may see and those who see may become blind.” Some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard this, and they asked Him, “Are we blind too?” “If you were blind,” Jesus replied, “you would not be guilty of sin. But since you claim you can see, your guilt remains.”

Say to God, “How awesome are Your deeds! So great is Your power that Your enemies cower before You. All the earth bows down to You; they sing praise to You; they sing praise to Your name.” Selah Come and see the works of God; how awesome are His deeds toward mankind. He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the waters on foot; there we rejoiced in Him. He rules forever by His power; His eyes watch the nations. Do not let the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah . . .

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness. For what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship, so that men are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools, . . .

to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. Therefore I exult in Christ Jesus in my service to God. I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obedience by word and deed, by the power of signs and wonders, and by the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ. In this way I have aspired to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation. . . .

For sin was in the world before the law was given; but sin is not taken into account when there is no law.

For in this hope we were saved; but hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he can already see? But if we hope for what we do not yet see, we wait for it patiently. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how we ought to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words.

Brothers, consider the time of your calling: Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were powerful; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly and despised things of the world, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast in His presence. It is because of Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God: our righteousness, holiness, and redemption. . . .

Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed.

For God is not a God of disorder, but of peace—as in all the churches of the saints.

In this confident boasting of mine, I am not speaking as the Lord would, but as a fool. Since many are boasting according to the flesh, I too will boast. For you gladly tolerate fools, since you are so wise. In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or exalts himself or strikes you in the face. To my shame I concede that we were too weak for that! Speaking as a fool, however, I can match what anyone else dares to boast about. . . .

in order that Satan should not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes. Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and a door stood open for me in the Lord, I had no peace in my spirit, because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said goodbye to them and went on to Macedonia. But thanks be to God, who always leads us triumphantly as captives in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. For we are to God the sweet aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. . . .

These men are like irrational animals, creatures of instinct, born to be captured and destroyed. They blaspheme in matters they do not understand, and like such creatures, they too will be destroyed. The harm they will suffer is the wages of their wickedness. They consider it a pleasure to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their deception as they feast with you. Their eyes are full of adultery; their desire for sin is never satisfied; they seduce the unstable. They are accursed children with hearts trained in greed. They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness. But he was rebuked for his transgression by a donkey, otherwise without speech, that spoke with a man’s voice and restrained the prophet’s madness. . . .

in blazing fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

Hear this, you who trample the needy, who do away with the poor of the land, asking, “When will the New Moon be over, that we may sell grain? When will the Sabbath end, that we may market wheat? Let us reduce the ephah and increase the shekel; let us cheat with dishonest scales. Let us buy the poor with silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, selling even the chaff with the wheat!” The LORD has sworn by the Pride of Jacob: “I will never forget any of their deeds. Will not the land quake for this, and all its dwellers mourn? All of it will swell like the Nile; it will surge and then subside like the Nile in Egypt. . . .

To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding in every kind of literature and wisdom. And Daniel had insight into all kinds of visions and dreams.

The wise man has eyes in his head, but the fool walks in darkness. Yet I also came to realize that one fate overcomes them both.

For the youth has come from the prison to the kingship, though he was born poor in his own kingdom. I saw that all who lived and walked under the sun followed this second one, the youth who succeeded the king. There is no limit to all the people who were before them. Yet the successor will not be celebrated by those who come even later. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind. Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. Do not be quick to speak, and do not be hasty in your heart to utter a word before God. After all, God is in heaven and you are on earth. So let your words be few. . . .

But only the high priest entered the second room, and then only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. By this arrangement the Holy Spirit was showing that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still standing. It is an illustration for the present time, because the gifts and sacrifices being offered were unable to cleanse the conscience of the worshiper. They consist only in food and drink and special washings—external regulations imposed until the time of reform. But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come, He went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made by hands and is not a part of this creation. . . .

And there will be a highway called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not travel it—only those who walk in the Way—and fools will not stray onto it. No lion will be there, and no vicious beast will go up on it. Such will not be found there, but the redeemed will walk upon it. So the redeemed of the LORD will return and enter Zion with singing, crowned with everlasting joy. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee. In the fourteenth year of Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked and captured all the fortified cities of Judah. And the king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh, with a great army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. And he stopped by the aqueduct of the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field. . . .

A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land. The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own authority. My people love it so, but what will you do in the end?

Do you understand how the clouds float, those wonders of Him who is perfect in knowledge? You whose clothes get hot when the land lies hushed under the south wind, can you, like Him, spread out the skies to reflect the heat like a mirror of bronze? Teach us what we should say to Him; we cannot draw up our case when our faces are in darkness. Should He be told that I want to speak? Would a man ask to be swallowed up? . . .

“I already told you,” Jesus replied, “but you did not believe. The works I do in My Father’s name testify on My behalf. But because you are not My sheep, you refuse to believe. My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand. My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all. No one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand. . . .

For they loved praise from men more than praise from God. Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in Me does not believe in Me alone, but in the One who sent Me. And whoever sees Me sees the One who sent Me. I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in Me should remain in darkness. As for anyone who hears My words and does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I have not come to judge the world, but to save the world. . . .

But they will treat you like this because of My name, since they do not know the One who sent Me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates Me hates My Father as well. If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have seen and hated both Me and My Father. But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated Me without reason.’ . . .

“Sir,” the woman said, “I see that You are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews say that the place where one must worship is in Jerusalem.” “Believe Me, woman,” Jesus replied, “a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. But a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such as these to worship Him. . . .

And if anyone takes away from the words of this book of prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and the holy city, which are described in this book.

Therefore I urge you, brothers, on account of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

God presented Him as the atoning sacrifice through faith in His blood, in order to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance He had passed over the sins committed beforehand. He did this to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and to justify the one who has faith in Jesus. Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of works? No, but on that of faith. For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, . . .

Who is like the wise man? Who knows the interpretation of a matter? A man’s wisdom brightens his face, and the sternness of his face is changed. Keep the king’s command, I say, because of your oath before God. Do not hasten to leave his presence, and do not persist in a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases. For the king’s word is supreme, and who can say to him, “What are you doing?” Whoever keeps his command will come to no harm, and a wise heart knows the right time and procedure. . . .