DIVINATION

Voir les versets relatifs

Comme un aveugle perdu dans la forêt prête l'oreille aux bruits extérieurs dans l'espoir de retrouver son chemin, l'humanité déchue, privée de révélation directe, s'est efforcée, par tous les moyens, de percevoir les directions célestes. De tous ces moyens, le plus répandu et le plus populaire fut, dans l'antiquité, la mantique ou divination. Cet art de découvrir les choses cachées se retrouve chez tous les peuples, et il était pratiqué sous les formes les plus variées parmi les nations qui entouraient Israël : Cananéens, Syriens, Caldéens, Égyptiens, etc. La Bible, surtout l'A.T., nous présente la divination sous de nombreux aspects. En voici trois réunis dans le même texte : (Eze 21:28) « Le roi de Babylone s'est arrêté au carrefour où se partage la route, pour faire de la divination. Il agite les flèches ; il interroge les théraphim ; il examine le foie. »

Les flèches.

Ce procédé consiste à mettre des flèches dans un carquois, après avoir écrit dessus des noms ou y avoir marqué des signes. On agite ensuite les flèches, puis, après avoir invoqué son dieu, on retourne le carquois. La première flèche qui tombe est celle qui fixe le sort. Dans l'exemple de Eze 21, la première flèche qui tomba portait « Jérusalem ». Le roi devait donc d'abord mettre le siège devant la capitale de Judée. Os 4:12 montre qu'Israël s'adonnait aussi à ce genre de divination. Quand les apôtres, avant que la Pentecôte leur eût donné l'esprit de discernement, tirent au sort pour savoir qui doit remplacer Judas (Ac 1:26), ils agissent dans la simplicité de leur coeur après avoir prié Dieu de les diriger. Il n'en demeure pas moins qu'ils font entrer dans les moeurs chrétiennes un usage qui remonte à la plus lointaine divination.

Le foie.

L'hépatoscopie donnait lieu chez les Babyloniens à toute une science (voir Foie). Les aruspices, qui examinent le foie ou les entrailles (voir ce mot), et de façon générale tous les devins étaient tenus en grand mépris par les prophètes d'Israël, d'abord parce que leurs prédictions étaient vagues et trompeuses (Jer 14:14 27:9 29:8, Mic 3:7) ; ensuite parce qu'avec leur fausse science, ceux-ci battaient monnaie effrontément. Michée accuse les faux prophètes de trafic avec la divination (Mic 3:5-11, cf. No 22:7).

Les théraphim.

L'usage des théraphim ou dieux pénates dans la pratique divinatoire paraît fort ancien. Aben-Esra suppose que Rachel déroba à Laban ses théraphim afin que celui-ci fût privé du moyen de connaître dans quelle direction ses filles avaient fui avec Jacob (Ge 31:19). Dans l'histoire de Mica (Jug 17 à Jug18) les théraphim sont liés à l'éphod et l'on sait que l'éphod était en Israël, avec l'Ourim et le Toummim, un moyen de divination (voir Éphod).

Osée, parlant d'un temps où tout moyen de consulter Dieu sera retiré à Israël, dit : « Les enfants d'Israël resteront longtemps sans éphod et sans théraphim » (Os 3:4). Zacharie déclare : « Les théraphim disent de fausses prophéties, les songes mentent » (Za 10:2). Josias, dans sa réforme, avait détruit du même coup ceux qui invoquaient les esprits, ceux qui prédisaient l'avenir et les théraphim (2Ro 23:24). Nous ne savons pas de quelle manière on faisait parler les théraphim. Il est probable que c'était par un procédé semblable à celui de l'Ourim et Toummim, l'agitation de dés ou d'osselets portant oui et non et qu'on faisait jouer après avoir formulé la question devant la divinité. Les derniers textes cités mettent en cause deux autres procédés de divination : les songes et l'évocation des morts.

Les songes.

Il s'agit ici des hiérogrammates, des scribes sacrés, des sages, des disciples du dieu Thot en Egypte, dont l'action s'était répandue dans tout le Proche Orient asiatique. Ces sages ou devins possédaient toutes les formules d'incantations et les livres magiques dont les recettes étaient destinées tantôt à provoquer des songes et tantôt à les interpréter. Par les songes, le dieu faisait connaître sa volonté et orientait les actions des hommes. La supériorité de Joseph sur les hiérogrammates de son temps était que ceux-ci n'avaient pu expliquer au pharaon ses songes à l'aide de leurs formules, tandis que Joseph, par inspiration directe et sans le secours d'aucun livre, avait tout expliqué au souverain (Ge 41:8-44). Ce fut la même supériorité qui établit l'autorité de Daniel sur les devins de son temps, appelés aussi « Caldéens » (Da 2-4). On sait le rôle que le songe et son interprétation ont joué dans l'histoire profane, on en trouve des exemples frappants dans la littérature classique. La Bible mentionne les songes tantôt comme occasions d'égarement (Jer 23:32 29:8), tantôt comme moyens mis par Dieu au service de sa providence (Ge 20:3 31:24 37:19, Jug 7:13, Job 33:14-18,1 Ro 3:5-15, Mt 1:20,24 2:12,13,19,22 etc.). Voir Songe.

L'évocation des morts.

La nécromancie appartient plutôt à la magie qu'à la divination ; cependant l'évocation des morts, surtout lorsqu'elle est accompagnée de ventriloquie, (cf. Esa 29:4 : « sons étouffés, voix sortant de terre ») n'a guère d'autre but que d'obtenir la révélation de l'avenir ou l'interprétation de faits du passé. C'est ainsi qu'on voit Saül, après avoir chassé les évocateurs de morts, s'adresser à une nécromancienne, « la pythonisse d'Endor ». (cf. 2Ro 21:6, Esa 8:19)

L'ophiomancie.

Le texte de Esa 8:19 fait allusion à un autre procédé de divination : il s'agit ici de l'art de proférer des oracles par le sifflement ou par des soupirs. L'enchantement de Balaam (No 24 ; voir surtout le No 24:4 dont les termes, dans l'hébr., caractérisent la transe), et ceux dont il est parlé dans 2Ro 17:17 relèvent, du moins en partie, de cette sorte de pratique, car le verbe hébreu (au mode piel) employé ici, nâkhach, signifie « faire entendre un chuchotement sourd », « siffler comme le serpent » (rapprocher de ce passage le nebôn-lâkhach, « l'habile enchanteur » de Esa 3:3 et les lekhâchim ou amulettes de Esa 3:20, qui peuvent avoir été des serpents porte-bonheur) ; le même verbe dans Le 19:26,2Ro 21:6 montre qu'en Israël on pratiquait aussi la divination qui consistait à observer les serpents pour en tirer des pronostics. On a voulu voir dans nâkhach l'augure, celui qui pratique la divination en observant le vol des oiseaux. Mais cette pratique, courante chez les Grecs et les Romains, ne paraît pas avoir existé en Orient avant l'invasion des moeurs'helléniques et nous ne la trouvons nulle part mentionnée dans la Bible, où il est seulement question, semble-t-il, du cours des nuages (Le 19:26,2Ro 21:6). Mais ce point est incertain.

On trouve un curieux emploi du terme nâkhach dans l'histoire de Joseph (Ge 44:5-15). Il s'agit dans ce passage de la « culicomancie » ou pratique divinatoire par le moyen d'une coupe (voir ce mot). On jette dans une coupe pleine des fragments de métal ou de pierre précieuse, et les figures produites par ces objets au fond de la coupe servent à révéler les choses cachées. « Consulter la coupe » est encore en usage dans le Proche Orient, en Egypte, en Perse ; il existe même en Chine une pratique analogue.

Notons encore la « lécanomancie » ou divination. au moyen d'un bassin de métal. Dans les premiers siècles du III e millénaire av. J. -C, on connaissait déjà chez les Sumériens la pratique de verser de l'huile sur l'eau pour connaître la volonté des dieux et il fallait payer pour cela sept sicles d'argent au clergé, dont un sicle pour le devin qui dirigeait la cérémonie.

Le délire sacré.

L'ophiomancie et le délire sacré ont une parenté rendue évidente par l'histoire. L'oracle de Delphes était gardé par un serpent gigantesque, le python, qu'Apollon mit à mort ; d'où le nom d'Apollon-Pythien et la faculté pour Apollon d'inspirer la pythie. L'esprit de python est celui qui accorde la divination aux devins, aux nécromanciens, à tous les vaticinants, depuis le ventriloque, assimilé par Plutarque aux pythons, jusqu'aux faux prophètes ou aux prophétesses démoniaques, telle la jeune fille de Ac 16 qui procurait un grand profit à ses maîtres en devinant et qui poursuivit Paul et Silas en clamant : « Ces hommes-là sont des serviteurs du Dieu Très-Haut, ils vous annoncent la voie du salut. » Les faux prophètes avaient aussi un autre moyen de se mettre dans le délire sacré et d'en imposer par l'exaltation visionnaire : c'était non plus les vapeurs capiteuses qui enveloppent le trépied des oracles, mais l'usage des spiritueux, des stupéfiants (voir Dionysos). Quand le cycle dionysiaque eut fait fortune chez les Aryens occidentaux, le terme bacchos servit chez les Grecs pour caractériser la puissance de divination, et le terme baccheueïn désigna le diseur d'oracles, en latin bacchari =se livrer aux transports de l'inspiration :

immanis in antro Bacchatur vates... (Virgile, En., VI, 77.)

Par le délire sacré, les prophètes d'Israël rejoignaient la inantique courante. Comp. Jer 23:9 à propos des faux prophètes ; l'accusation des Juifs lors de la Pentecôte : « Ils sont pleins de vin doux » (Ac 2:13), et les avertissements de saint Paul : « Soyez remplis non de vin, mais d'Esprit saint » (Eph 5:18, cf. Esa 29:9).

L'astrologie.

Dès les temps les plus reculés, les Mésopotamiens attribuèrent la plus grande importance à l'observation des astres. Ils étaient persuadés que la vie d'ici-bas n'était qu'une réplique de la vie dans les étoiles peuplées de dieux. Savoir regarder le ciel, étudier les phénomènes célestes, c'était lever le voile qui couvre le mystère du présent et cache l'avenir au commun des mortels. Celui qui savait voir dans les étoiles était appelé « voyant ». On sait que les prophètes d'Israël portaient à l'origine le nom de « voyants » (1Sa 9:9). L'influence des voyants en Syrie, en Babylonie, fut immense. Les astrologues formaient des corporations puissantes à qui des siècles d'observations, consignées dans des codes, donnaient une autorité incontestée pour interpréter les événements de la vie, pour guérir les maux et pour orienter les rois. Daniel les mentionne à la cour de Caldée (Da 1:20 2:27 4:7 5:7,11).

La loi mosaïque interdisait toutes les pratiques de la divination qui auraient eu pour effet de mettre les Hébreux dans la dépendance religieuse des peuples qui les entouraient et où les devins pullulaient (Le 19:26,31 20:6, De 18:10 et suivant). Israël devait regarder à Jéhovah seul et marcher par la foi : « L'enchantement ne peut rien contre Jacob ni la divination contre Israël ; au temps marqué, il sera dit à Jacob et à Israël ce que Dieu veut accomplir » (No 23:23). Les hommes de Dieu suscités par Jéhovah au sein de son peuple, les vrais « voyants », parce qu'ils ne sont pas livrés aux incertitudes et aux égarements humains, sont là pour découvrir à Israël la volonté divine et pour lui révéler ce qu'il a besoin de savoir. Tout recours aux artifices de la divination vulgaire est une trahison du commandement : « Tu n'auras point d'autres dieux devant ma face. » Esa 8:19 et suivant formule la règle à laquelle Israël doit se tenir sous peine de disparaître : « Si l'on vous dit : Consultez les nécromanciens, les devins, ceux qui poussent des sifflements et qui chuchotent, répondez : Un peuple ne doit-il pas consulter son Dieu ? A la loi et au témoignage ! Sinon pas d'aurore ! »

On pourrait nommer encore bien d'autres procédés secondaires de la divination, apparentés à la magie (à laquelle appartient tout ce qui est de l'ordre des « Jugements de Dieu », ordalie, etc.) ou à la sorcellerie (voir ces mots). La traduction des qualificatifs hébreux est d'ailleurs ici difficile, et nos versions françaises les rendent souvent avec imprécision. Mais nous croyons en avoir assez dit pour montrer qu'il y avait en cette matière ample occasion de profits pour ceux qui, dans le monde antique, s'entendaient à exploiter la crédulité. Toutefois, condamner en bloc la divination comme superstition ou supercherie est bientôt dit. Ceux qui promulguent ce jugement tranchant oublient que nous savons bien peu de chose des ressources du monde spirituel, de ses attaches avec la nature et des possibilités de l'action psychique au sein de l'humanité. En l'état de nos connaissances, le plus prudent et le plus équitable est de reconnaître qu'à côté de procédés mensongers et parfois criminels, la divination antique renferme des éléments qui ont contribué puissamment à tenir le front de l'humanité levé vers les réalités invisibles et à entretenir dans les âmes l'inquiétude de Dieu, portique de la révélation de Dieu. Et pourquoi le Maître de toutes les forces de la nature, Dieu, qui aime tous les hommes, qui récompense tous les efforts sincères et qui parle à chacun sa langue, ne se serait-il jamais servi de la divination pour orienter les peuples non bibliques, alors que nous voyons dans la Bible qu'il n'a point dédaigné de se servir de l'Ourim et Toummim pour parler à Israël, de songes pour soustraire l'enfant Jésus aux vengeances d'Hérode ou pour ouvrir l'Europe à l'action missionnaire, du sort pour élever Matthias, à la dignité d'apôtre et du langage des étoiles pour conduire les mages d'Orient jusqu'à la crèche de Bethléhem ? Alex. W.

Voir Mage, Magie, Étoile, Sorcellerie.

Utilisé avec autorisation de Yves PETRAKIAN

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  Genèse 20
  
  3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream of the night, and said to him, "Behold, you are a dead man, because of the woman whom you have taken. For she is a man's wife."
  
  Genèse 31
  
  19 Now Laban had gone to shear his sheep: and Rachel stole the teraphim that were her father's.
  
  24 God came to Laban, the Syrian, in a dream of the night, and said to him, "Take heed to yourself that you don't speak to Jacob either good or bad."
  
  Genèse 37
  
  19 They said one to another, "Behold, this dreamer comes.
  
  Genèse 41
  
  8 It happened in the morning that his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all of Egypt's magicians and wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them to Pharaoh.
  
  9 Then the chief cupbearer spoke to Pharaoh, saying, "I remember my faults today.
  
  10 Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and put me in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, me and the chief baker.
  
  11 We dreamed a dream in one night, I and he. We dreamed each man according to the interpretation of his dream.
  
  12 There was with us there a young man, a Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard, and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams. To each man according to his dream he interpreted.
  
  13 It happened, as he interpreted to us, so it was: he restored me to my office, and he hanged him."
  
  14 Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon. He shaved himself, changed his clothing, and came in to Pharaoh.
  
  15 Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I have dreamed a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. I have heard it said of you, that when you hear a dream you can interpret it."
  
  16 Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, "It isn't in me. God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace."
  
  17 Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, "In my dream, behold, I stood on the brink of the river:
  
  18 and behold, there came up out of the river seven cattle, fat and sleek. They fed in the marsh grass,
  
  19 and behold, seven other cattle came up after them, poor and very ugly and thin, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for ugliness.
  
  20 The thin and ugly cattle ate up the first seven fat cattle,
  
  21 and when they had eaten them up, it couldn't be known that they had eaten them, but they were still ugly, as at the beginning. So I awoke.
  
  22 I saw in my dream, and behold, seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, full and good:
  
  23 and behold, seven heads of grain, withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them.
  
  24 The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads of grain. I told it to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me."
  
  25 Joseph said to Pharaoh, "The dream of Pharaoh is one. What God is about to do he has declared to Pharaoh.
  
  26 The seven good cattle are seven years; and the seven good heads of grain are seven years. The dream is one.
  
  27 The seven thin and ugly cattle that came up after them are seven years, and also the seven empty heads of grain blasted with the east wind; they will be seven years of famine.
  
  28 That is the thing which I spoke to Pharaoh. What God is about to do he has shown to Pharaoh.
  
  29 Behold, there come seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt.
  
  30 There will arise after them seven years of famine, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will consume the land,
  
  31 and the plenty will not be known in the land by reason of that famine which follows; for it will be very grievous.
  
  32 The dream was doubled to Pharaoh, because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.
  
  33 "Now therefore let Pharaoh look for a discreet and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt.
  
  34 Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint overseers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt's produce in the seven plenteous years.
  
  35 Let them gather all the food of these good years that come, and lay up grain under the hand of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it.
  
  36 The food will be for a store to the land against the seven years of famine, which will be in the land of Egypt; that the land not perish through the famine."
  
  37 The thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants.
  
  38 Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God?"
  
  39 Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Because God has shown you all of this, there is none so discreet and wise as you.
  
  40 You shall be over my house, and according to your word will all my people be ruled. Only in the throne I will be greater than you."
  
  41 Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Behold, I have set you over all the land of Egypt."
  
  42 Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand, and put it on Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in robes of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck,
  
  43 and he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had. They cried before him, "Bow the knee!" He set him over all the land of Egypt.
  
  44 Pharaoh said to Joseph, "I am Pharaoh, and without you shall no man lift up his hand or his foot in all the land of Egypt."
  
  Genèse 44
  
  5 Isn't this that from which my lord drinks, and by which he indeed divines? You have done evil in so doing.'"
  
  6 He overtook them, and he spoke these words to them.
  
  7 They said to him, "Why does my lord speak such words as these? Far be it from your servants that they should do such a thing!
  
  8 Behold, the money, which we found in our sacks' mouths, we brought again to you out of the land of Canaan. How then should we steal silver or gold out of your lord's house?
  
  9 With whomever of your servants it is found, let him die, and we also will be my lord's bondservants."
  
  10 He said, "Now also let it be according to your words: he with whom it is found will be my bondservant; and you will be blameless."
  
  11 Then they hurried, and each man took his sack down to the ground, and each man opened his sack.
  
  12 He searched, beginning with the eldest, and ending at the youngest. The cup was found in Benjamin's sack.
  
  13 Then they tore their clothes, and each man loaded his donkey, and returned to the city.
  
  14 Judah and his brothers came to Joseph's house, and he was still there. They fell on the ground before him.
  
  15 Joseph said to them, "What deed is this that you have done? Don't you know that such a man as I can indeed divine?"
  
  Lévitique 19
  
  2 "Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and tell them, 'You shall be holy; for I Yahweh your God am holy.
  
  26 "'You shall not eat any meat with the blood still in it; neither shall you use enchantments, nor practice sorcery.
  
  31 "'Don't turn to those who are mediums, nor to the wizards. Don't seek them out, to be defiled by them. I am Yahweh your God.
  
  Lévitique 20
  
  6 "'The person that turns to those who are mediums, and to the wizards, to play the prostitute after them, I will even set my face against that person, and will cut him off from among his people.
  
  Nombres 22
  
  7 The elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand; and they came to Balaam, and spoke to him the words of Balak.
  
  Nombres 23
  
  23 Surely there is no enchantment with Jacob; Neither is there any divination with Israel. Now it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What has God done!
  
  Nombres 24
  
  1 When Balaam saw that it pleased Yahweh to bless Israel, he didn't go, as at the other times, to meet with enchantments, but he set his face toward the wilderness.
  
  2 Balaam lifted up his eyes, and he saw Israel dwelling according to their tribes; and the Spirit of God came on him.
  
  3 He took up his parable, and said, "Balaam the son of Beor says, the man whose eye was closed says;
  
  4 he says, who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down, and having his eyes open:
  
  5 How goodly are your tents, Jacob, and your tents, Israel!
  
  6 As valleys they are spread forth, as gardens by the riverside, as aloes which Yahweh has planted, as cedar trees beside the waters.
  
  7 Water shall flow from his buckets. His seed shall be in many waters. His king shall be higher than Agag. His kingdom shall be exalted.
  
  8 God brings him out of Egypt. He has as it were the strength of the wild ox. He shall eat up the nations his adversaries, shall break their bones in pieces, and pierce them with his arrows.
  
  9 He couched, he lay down as a lion, as a lioness; who shall rouse him up? Everyone who blesses you is blessed. Everyone who curses you is cursed."
  
  10 Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he struck his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, "I called you to curse my enemies, and, behold, you have altogether blessed them these three times.
  
  11 Therefore now flee you to your place! I thought to promote you to great honor; but, behold, Yahweh has kept you back from honor."
  
  12 Balaam said to Balak, "Didn't I also tell your messengers who you sent to me, saying,
  
  13 'If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I can't go beyond the word of Yahweh, to do either good or bad of my own mind. I will say what Yahweh says'?
  
  14 Now, behold, I go to my people: come, I will inform you what this people shall do to your people in the latter days."
  
  15 He took up his parable, and said, "Balaam the son of Beor says, the man whose eye was closed says;
  
  16 he says, who hears the words of God, knows the knowledge of the Most High, and who sees the vision of the Almighty, Falling down, and having his eyes open:
  
  17 I see him, but not now. I see him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob. A scepter will rise out of Israel, and shall strike through the corners of Moab, and break down all the sons of Sheth.
  
  18 Edom shall be a possession. Seir, his enemies, also shall be a possession, while Israel does valiantly.
  
  19 Out of Jacob shall one have dominion, and shall destroy the remnant from the city."
  
  20 He looked at Amalek, and took up his parable, and said, "Amalek was the first of the nations, But his latter end shall come to destruction."
  
  21 He looked at the Kenite, and took up his parable, and said, "Your dwelling place is strong. Your nest is set in the rock.
  
  22 Nevertheless Kain shall be wasted, until Asshur carries you away captive."
  
  23 He took up his parable, and said, "Alas, who shall live when God does this?
  
  24 But ships shall come from the coast of Kittim. They shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber. He also shall come to destruction."
  
  25 Balaam rose up, and went and returned to his place; and Balak also went his way.
  
  Juges 7
  
  13 When Gideon had come, behold, there was a man telling a dream to his fellow; and he said, "Behold, I dreamed a dream; and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian, and came to the tent, and struck it so that it fell, and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat."
  
  Juges 17
  
  1 There was a man of the hill country of Ephraim, whose name was Micah.
  
  2 He said to his mother, "The eleven hundred pieces of silver that were taken from you, about which you uttered a curse, and also spoke it in my ears, behold, the silver is with me; I took it." His mother said, "Blessed be my son of Yahweh."
  
  3 He restored the eleven hundred pieces of silver to his mother; and his mother said, "I most certainly dedicate the silver to Yahweh from my hand for my son, to make an engraved image and a molten image. Now therefore I will restore it to you."
  
  4 When he restored the money to his mother, his mother took two hundred pieces of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made of it an engraved image and a molten image: and it was in the house of Micah.
  
  5 The man Micah had a house of gods, and he made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.
  
  6 In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.
  
  7 There was a young man out of Bethlehem Judah, of the family of Judah, who was a Levite; and he lived there.
  
  8 The man departed out of the city, out of Bethlehem Judah, to live where he could find a place, and he came to the hill country of Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he traveled.
  
  9 Micah said to him, "Where did you come from?" He said to him, "I am a Levite of Bethlehem Judah, and I am looking for a place to live."
  
  10 Micah said to him, "Dwell with me, and be to me a father and a priest, and I will give you ten pieces of silver per year, a suit of clothing, and your food." So the Levite went in.
  
  11 The Levite was content to dwell with the man; and the young man was to him as one of his sons.
  
  12 Micah consecrated the Levite, and the young man became his priest, and was in the house of Micah.
  
  13 Then Micah said, "Now know I that Yahweh will do good to me, since I have a Levite to my priest."
  
  Juges 18
  
  1 In those days there was no king in Israel: and in those days the tribe of the Danites sought an inheritance to dwell in; for to that day, their inheritance had not fallen to them among the tribes of Israel.
  
  2 The children of Dan sent of their family five men from their whole number, men of valor, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to spy out the land, and to search it; and they said to them, "Go, explore the land!" They came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and lodged there.
  
  3 When they were by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the young man the Levite; and they turned aside there, and said to him, "Who brought you here? What do you do in this place? What do you have here?"
  
  4 He said to them, "Thus and thus has Micah dealt with me, and he has hired me, and I am become his priest."
  
  5 They said to him, "Please ask counsel of God, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous."
  
  6 The priest said to them, "Go in peace. Your way in which you go is before Yahweh."
  
  7 Then the five men departed, and came to Laish, and saw the people who were therein, how they lived in security, in the way of the Sidonians, quiet and secure; for there was none in the land, possessing authority, that might put them to shame in anything, and they were far from the Sidonians, and had no dealings with any man.
  
  8 They came to their brothers to Zorah and Eshtaol: and their brothers said to them, "What do you say?"
  
  9 They said, "Arise, and let us go up against them; for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good. Do you stand still? Don't be slothful to go and to enter in to possess the land.
  
  10 When you go, you shall come to a secure people, and the land is large; for God has given it into your hand, a place where there is no want of anything that is in the earth."
  
  11 There set forth from there of the family of the Danites, out of Zorah and out of Eshtaol, six hundred men girt with weapons of war.
  
  12 They went up, and encamped in Kiriath Jearim, in Judah: therefore they called that place Mahaneh Dan, to this day; behold, it is behind Kiriath Jearim.
  
  13 They passed there to the hill country of Ephraim, and came to the house of Micah.
  
  14 Then the five men who went to spy out the country of Laish answered, and said to their brothers, "Do you know that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and an engraved image, and a molten image? Now therefore consider what you have to do."
  
  15 They turned aside there, and came to the house of the young man the Levite, even to the house of Micah, and asked him of his welfare.
  
  16 The six hundred men girt with their weapons of war, who were of the children of Dan, stood by the entrance of the gate.
  
  17 The five men who went to spy out the land went up, and came in there, and took the engraved image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image: and the priest stood by the entrance of the gate with the six hundred men girt with weapons of war.
  
  18 When these went into Micah's house, and fetched the engraved image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image, the priest said to them, "What are you doing?"
  
  19 They said to him, "Hold your peace, put your hand on your mouth, and go with us, and be to us a father and a priest. Is it better for you to be priest to the house of one man, or to be priest to a tribe and a family in Israel?"
  
  20 The priest's heart was glad, and he took the ephod, and the teraphim, and the engraved image, and went in the midst of the people.
  
  21 So they turned and departed, and put the little ones and the livestock and the goods before them.
  
  22 When they were a good way from the house of Micah, the men who were in the houses near to Micah's house were gathered together, and overtook the children of Dan.
  
  23 They cried to the children of Dan. They turned their faces, and said to Micah, "What ails you, that you come with such a company?"
  
  24 He said, "You have taken away my gods which I made, and the priest, and have gone away, and what more do I have? How then do you say to me, 'What ails you?'"
  
  25 The children of Dan said to him, "Don't let your voice be heard among us, lest angry fellows fall on you, and you lose your life, with the lives of your household."
  
  26 The children of Dan went their way: and when Micah saw that they were too strong for him, he turned and went back to his house.
  
  27 They took that which Micah had made, and the priest whom he had, and came to Laish, to a people quiet and secure, and struck them with the edge of the sword; and they burnt the city with fire.
  
  28 There was no deliverer, because it was far from Sidon, and they had no dealings with any man; and it was in the valley that lies by Beth Rehob. They built the city, and lived therein.
  
  29 They called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan their father, who was born to Israel: however the name of the city was Laish at the first.
  
  30 The children of Dan set up for themselves the engraved image: and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of the Danites until the day of the captivity of the land.
  
  31 So they set them up Micah's engraved image which he made, all the time that God's house was in Shiloh.
  
  1 Samuel 9
  
  9 (In earlier times in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, thus he said, "Come, and let us go to the seer"; for he who is now called a prophet was before called a Seer.)
  
  Job 33
  
  1 "However, Job, please hear my speech, and listen to all my words.
  
  14 For God speaks once, yes twice, though man pays no attention.
  
  15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men, in slumbering on the bed;
  
  16 Then he opens the ears of men, and seals their instruction,
  
  17 That he may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man.
  
  18 He keeps back his soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword.
  
  Esaïe 3
  
  3 the captain of fifty, the honorable man, the counselor, the skilled craftsman, and the clever enchanter.
  
  20 the headdresses, the ankle chains, the sashes, the perfume bottles, the charms,
  
  Esaïe 8
  
  19 When they tell you, "Consult with those who have familiar spirits and with the wizards, who chirp and who mutter:" shouldn't a people consult with their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living?
  
  Esaïe 29
  
  4 You will be brought down, and will speak out of the ground. Your speech will mumble out of the dust. Your voice will be as of one who has a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and your speech will whisper out of the dust.
  
  9 Pause and wonder! Blind yourselves and be blind! They are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink.
  
  Jérémie 14
  
  14 Then Yahweh said to me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name; I didn't send them, neither have I commanded them, neither spoke I to them: they prophesy to you a lying vision, and divination, and a thing of nothing, and the deceit of their own heart.
  
  Jérémie 23
  
  9 Concerning the prophets. My heart within me is broken, all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine has overcome, because of Yahweh, and because of his holy words.
  
  32 Behold, I am against those who prophesy lying dreams, says Yahweh, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their vain boasting: yet I didn't send them, nor commanded them; neither do they profit this people at all, says Yahweh.
  
  Jérémie 27
  
  9 But as for you, don't you listen to your prophets, nor to your diviners, nor to your dreams, nor to your soothsayers, nor to your sorcerers, who speak to you, saying, You shall not serve the king of Babylon:
  
  Jérémie 29
  
  8 For thus says Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel: Don't let your prophets who are in the midst of you, and your diviners, deceive you; neither listen to your dreams which you cause to be dreamed.
  
  Ezéchiel 21
  
  1 The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,
  
  2 Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem, and drop [your word] toward the sanctuaries, and prophesy against the land of Israel;
  
  3 and tell the land of Israel, Thus says Yahweh: Behold, I am against you, and will draw forth my sword out of its sheath, and will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked.
  
  4 Seeing then that I will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked, therefore shall my sword go forth out of its sheath against all flesh from the south to the north:
  
  5 and all flesh shall know that I, Yahweh, have drawn forth my sword out of its sheath; it shall not return any more.
  
  6 Sigh therefore, you son of man; with the breaking of your thighs and with bitterness you will sigh before their eyes.
  
  7 It shall be, when they tell you, Why do you sigh? that you shall say, Because of the news, for it comes; and every heart shall melt, and all hands shall be feeble, and every spirit shall faint, and all knees shall be weak as water: behold, it comes, and it shall be done, says the Lord Yahweh.
  
  8 The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,
  
  9 Son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says Yahweh: Say, A sword, a sword, it is sharpened, and also furbished;
  
  10 it is sharpened that it may make a slaughter; it is furbished that it may be as lightning: shall we then make mirth? the rod of my son, it condemns every tree.
  
  11 It is given to be furbished, that it may be handled: the sword, it is sharpened, yes, it is furbished, to give it into the hand of the killer.
  
  12 Cry and wail, son of man; for it is on my people, it is on all the princes of Israel: they are delivered over to the sword with my people; strike therefore on your thigh.
  
  13 For there is a trial; and what if even the rod that condemns shall be no more? says the Lord Yahweh.
  
  14 You therefore, son of man, prophesy, and strike your hands together; and let the sword be doubled the third time, the sword of the deadly wounded: it is the sword of the great one who is deadly wounded, which enters into their rooms.
  
  15 I have set the threatening sword against all their gates, that their heart may melt, and their stumblings be multiplied: ah! it is made as lightning, it is pointed for slaughter.
  
  16 Gather yourselves together, go to the right, set yourselves in array, go to the left, wherever your face is set.
  
  17 I will also strike my hands together, and I will cause my wrath to rest: I, Yahweh, have spoken it.
  
  18 The word of Yahweh came to me again, saying,
  
  19 Also, you son of man, appoint two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come; they both shall come forth out of one land: and mark out a place, mark it out at the head of the way to the city.
  
  20 You shall appoint a way for the sword to come to Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and to Judah in Jerusalem the fortified.
  
  21 For the king of Babylon stood at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination: he shook the arrows back and forth, he consulted the teraphim, he looked in the liver.
  
  22 In his right hand was the divination [for] Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to open the mouth in the slaughter, to lift up the voice with shouting, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up mounds, to build forts.
  
  23 It shall be to them as a false divination in their sight, who have sworn oaths to them; but he brings iniquity to memory, that they may be taken.
  
  24 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: Because you have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your doings your sins appear; because you have come to memory, you shall be taken with the hand.
  
  25 You, deadly wounded wicked one, the prince of Israel, whose day has come, in the time of the iniquity of the end,
  
  26 thus says the Lord Yahweh: Remove the turban, and take off the crown; this [shall be] no more the same; exalt that which is low, and abase that which is high.
  
  27 I will overturn, overturn, overturn it: this also shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it [him].
  
  28 You, son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord Yahweh concerning the children of Ammon, and concerning their reproach; and say, A sword, a sword is drawn, for the slaughter it is furbished, to cause it to devour, that it may be as lightning;
  
  29 while they see for you false visions, while they divine lies to you, to lay you on the necks of the wicked who are deadly wounded, whose day has come in the time of the iniquity of the end.
  
  30 Cause it to return into its sheath. In the place where you were created, in the land of your birth, will I judge you.
  
  31 I will pour out my indignation on you; I will blow on you with the fire of my wrath; and I will deliver you into the hand of brutish men, skillful to destroy.
  
  32 You shall be for fuel to the fire; your blood shall be in the midst of the land; you shall be remembered no more: for I, Yahweh, have spoken it.
  
  Daniel 1
  
  20 In every matter of wisdom and understanding, concerning which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters who were in all his realm.
  
  Daniel 2
  
  1 In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams; and his spirit was troubled, and his sleep went from him.
  
  2 Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the enchanters, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king.
  
  3 The king said to them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.
  
  4 Then spoke the Chaldeans to the king in the Syrian language, O king, live forever: tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.
  
  5 The king answered the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if you don't make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.
  
  6 But if you show the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honor: therefore show me the dream and its interpretation.
  
  7 They answered the second time and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.
  
  8 The king answered, I know of a certainty that you would gain time, because you see the thing is gone from me.
  
  9 But if you don't make known to me the dream, there is but one law for you; for you have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, until the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation.
  
  10 The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man on the earth who can show the king's matter, because no king, lord, or ruler, has asked such a thing of any magician, or enchanter, or Chaldean.
  
  11 It is a rare thing that the king requires, and there is no other who can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.
  
  12 For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
  
  13 So the decree went forth, and the wise men were to be slain; and they sought Daniel and his companions to be slain.
  
  14 Then Daniel returned answer with counsel and prudence to Arioch the captain of the king's guard, who was gone forth to kill the wise men of Babylon;
  
  15 he answered Arioch the king's captain, Why is the decree so urgent from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.
  
  16 Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would appoint him a time, and he would show the king the interpretation.
  
  17 Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions:
  
  18 that they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his companions should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
  
  19 Then was the secret revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
  
  20 Daniel answered, Blessed be the name of God forever and ever; for wisdom and might are his.
  
  21 He changes the times and the seasons; he removes kings, and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those who have understanding;
  
  22 he reveals the deep and secret things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.
  
  23 I thank you, and praise you, you God of my fathers, who have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we desired of you; for you have made known to us the king's matter.
  
  24 Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and said thus to him: Don't destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show to the king the interpretation.
  
  25 Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus to him, I have found a man of the children of the captivity of Judah, who will make known to the king the interpretation.
  
  26 The king answered Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen, and its interpretation?
  
  27 Daniel answered before the king, and said, The secret which the king has demanded can neither wise men, enchanters, magicians, nor soothsayers, show to the king;
  
  28 but there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has made known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head on your bed, are these:
  
  29 as for you, O king, your thoughts came [into your mind] on your bed, what should happen hereafter; and he who reveals secrets has made known to you what shall happen.
  
  30 But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but to the intent that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your heart.
  
  31 You, O king, saw, and behold, a great image. This image, which was mighty, and whose brightness was excellent, stood before you; and its aspect was awesome.
  
  32 As for this image, its head was of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of brass,
  
  33 its legs of iron, its feet part of iron, and part of clay.
  
  34 You saw until a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces.
  
  35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken in pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them: and the stone that struck the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
  
  36 This is the dream; and we will tell its interpretation before the king.
  
  37 You, O king, are king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory;
  
  38 and wherever the children of men dwell, the animals of the field and the birds of the sky has he given into your hand, and has made you to rule over them all: you are the head of gold.
  
  39 After you shall arise another kingdom inferior to you; and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.
  
  40 The fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron, because iron breaks in pieces and subdues all things; and as iron that crushes all these, shall it break in pieces and crush.
  
  41 Whereas you saw the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, because you saw the iron mixed with miry clay.
  
  42 As the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.
  
  43 Whereas you saw the iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men; but they shall not cling to one another, even as iron does not mingle with clay.
  
  44 In the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall its sovereignty be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.
  
  45 Because you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God has made known to the king what shall happen hereafter: and the dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.
  
  46 Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, and worshiped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an offering and sweet odors to him.
  
  47 The king answered to Daniel, and said, Of a truth your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you have been able to reveal this secret.
  
  48 Then the king made Daniel great, and gave him many great gifts, and made him to rule over the whole province of Babylon, and to be chief governor over all the wise men of Babylon.
  
  49 Daniel requested of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel was in the gate of the king.
  
  Daniel 3
  
  1 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits, and its breadth six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.
  
  2 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the satraps, the deputies, and the governors, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
  
  3 Then the satraps, the deputies, and the governors, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
  
  4 Then the herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, peoples, nations, and languages,
  
  5 that whenever you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music, you fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up;
  
  6 and whoever doesn't fall down and worship shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
  
  7 Therefore at that time, when all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music, all the peoples, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshiped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
  
  8 Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and brought accusation against the Jews.
  
  9 They answered Nebuchadnezzar the king, O king, live for ever.
  
  10 You, O king, have made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image;
  
  11 and whoever doesn't fall down and worship shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
  
  12 There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O king, have not respected you. They don't serve your gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up.
  
  13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in [his] rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the king.
  
  14 Nebuchadnezzar answered them, Is it on purpose, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you don't serve my god, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?
  
  15 Now if you are ready whenever you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music to fall down and worship the image which I have made, [well]: but if you don't worship, you shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that god that shall deliver you out of my hands?
  
  16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.
  
  17 If it be [so], our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.
  
  18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up.
  
  19 Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his appearance was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: [therefore] he spoke, and commanded that they should heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated.
  
  20 He commanded certain mighty men who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, [and] to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.
  
  21 Then these men were bound in their pants, their tunics, and their mantles, and their [other] garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
  
  22 Therefore because the king's commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
  
  23 These three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
  
  24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste: he spoke and said to his counselors, Didn't we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered the king, True, O king.
  
  25 He answered, Look, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are unharmed; and the aspect of the fourth is like a son of the gods.
  
  26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace: he spoke and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, you servants of the Most High God, come forth, and come here. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came forth out of the midst of the fire.
  
  27 The satraps, the deputies, and the governors, and the king's counselors, being gathered together, saw these men, that the fire had no power on their bodies, nor was the hair of their head singed, neither were their pants changed, nor had the smell of fire passed on them.
  
  28 Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel, and delivered his servants who trusted in him, and have changed the king's word, and have yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.
  
  29 Therefore I make a decree, that every people, nation, and language, which speak anything evil against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill; because there is no other god who is able to deliver after this sort.
  
  30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.
  
  Daniel 4
  
  1 Nebuchadnezzar the king, to all the peoples, nations, and languages, who dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to you.
  
  2 It has seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has worked toward me.
  
  3 How great are his signs! and how mighty are his wonders! his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation.
  
  4 I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at rest in my house, and flourishing in my palace.
  
  5 I saw a dream which made me afraid; and the thoughts on my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.
  
  6 Therefore made I a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream.
  
  7 Then came in the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers; and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known to me its interpretation.
  
  8 But at the last Daniel came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods: and I told the dream before him, [saying],
  
  9 Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, and no secret troubles you, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and its interpretation.
  
  10 Thus were the visions of my head on my bed: I saw, and behold, a tree in the midst of the earth; and its height was great.
  
  11 The tree grew, and was strong, and its height reached to the sky, and its sight to the end of all the earth.
  
  12 The leaves of it were beautiful, and its fruit much, and in it was food for all: the animals of the field had shadow under it, and the birds of the sky lived in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it.
  
  13 I saw in the visions of my head on my bed, and behold, a watcher and a holy one came down from the sky.
  
  14 He cried aloud, and said thus, Cut down the tree, and cut off its branches, shake off its leaves, and scatter its fruit: let the animals get away from under it, and the fowls from its branches.
  
  15 Nevertheless leave the stump of its roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of the sky: and let his portion be with the animals in the grass of the earth:
  
  16 let his heart be changed from man's, and let an animal's heart be given to him; and let seven times pass over him.
  
  17 The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones; to the intent that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever he will, and sets up over it the lowest of men.
  
  18 This dream I, king Nebuchadnezzar, have seen; and you, Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation, because all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation; but you are able; for the spirit of the holy gods is in you.
  
  19 Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was stricken mute for a while, and his thoughts troubled him. The king answered, Belteshazzar, don't let the dream, or the interpretation, trouble you. Belteshazzar answered, My lord, the dream be to those who hate you, and its interpretation to your adversaries.
  
  20 The tree that you saw, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached to the sky, and its sight to all the earth;
  
  21 whose leaves were beautiful, and its fruit much, and in it was food for all; under which the animals of the field lived, and on whose branches the birds of the sky had their habitation:
  
  22 it is you, O king, that are grown and become strong; for your greatness is grown, and reaches to the sky, and your dominion to the end of the earth.
  
  23 Whereas the king saw a watcher and a holy one coming down from the sky, and saying, Cut down the tree, and destroy it; nevertheless leave the stump of its roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field, and let it be wet with the dew of the sky: and let his portion be with the animals of the field, until seven times pass over him;
  
  24 this is the interpretation, O king, and it is the decree of the Most High, which has come on my lord the king:
  
  25 that you shall be driven from men, and your dwelling shall be with the animals of the field, and you shall be made to eat grass as oxen, and shall be wet with the dew of the sky, and seven times shall pass over you; until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever he will.
  
  26 Whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the tree; your kingdom shall be sure to you, after that you shall have known that the heavens do rule.
  
  27 Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you, and break off your sins by righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if there may be a lengthening of your tranquility.
  
  28 All this came on the king Nebuchadnezzar.
  
  29 At the end of twelve months he was walking in the royal palace of Babylon.
  
  30 The king spoke and said, Is not this great Babylon, which I have built for the royal dwelling place, by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?
  
  31 While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from the sky, [saying], O king Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom has departed from you:
  
  32 and you shall be driven from men; and your dwelling shall be with the animals of the field; you shall be made to eat grass as oxen; and seven times shall pass over you; until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever he will.
  
  33 The same hour was the thing fulfilled on Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and ate grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of the sky, until his hair was grown like eagles' [feathers], and his nails like birds' [claws].
  
  34 At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored him who lives forever; for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom from generation to generation.
  
  35 All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; and he does according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand, or ask him, What are you doing?
  
  36 At the same time my understanding returned to me; and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and brightness returned to me; and my counselors and my lords sought to me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent greatness was added to me.
  
  37 Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven; for all his works are truth, and his ways justice; and those who walk in pride he is able to abase.
  
  Daniel 5
  
  7 The king cried aloud to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. The king spoke and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whoever shall read this writing, and show me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.
  
  11 There is a man in your kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of your father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him; and the king Nebuchadnezzar your father, the king, [I say], your father, made him master of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and soothsayers;
  
  Osée 3
  
  4 For the children of Israel shall live many days without king, and without prince, and without sacrifice, and without sacred stone, and without ephod or idols.
  
  Osée 4
  
  12 My people consult with their wooden idol, and answer to a stick of wood. Indeed the spirit of prostitution has led them astray, and they have been unfaithful to their God.
  
  Michée 3
  
  5 Thus says Yahweh concerning the prophets who lead my people astray; for those who feed their teeth, they proclaim, "Peace!" and whoever doesn't provide for their mouths, they prepare war against him:
  
  6 "Therefore night is over you, with no vision, and it is dark to you, that you may not divine; and the sun will go down on the prophets, and the day will be black over them.
  
  7 The seers shall be disappointed, and the diviners confounded. Yes, they shall all cover their lips; for there is no answer from God ."
  
  8 But as for me, I am full of power by the Spirit of Yahweh, and of judgment, and of might, to declare to Jacob his disobedience, and to Israel his sin.
  
  9 Please listen to this, you heads of the house of Jacob, and rulers of the house of Israel, who abhor justice, and pervert all equity.
  
  10 They build up Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity.
  
  11 Her leaders judge for bribes, and her priests teach for a price, and her prophets of it tell fortunes for money: yet they lean on Yahweh, and say, "Isn't Yahweh in the midst of us? No disaster will come on us."
  
  Zacharie 10
  
  2 For the teraphim have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie; and they have told false dreams. They comfort in vain. Therefore they go their way like sheep. They are oppressed, because there is no shepherd.
  
  Matthieu 1
  
  20 But when he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, don't be afraid to take to yourself Mary, your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
  
  24 Joseph arose from his sleep, and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took his wife to himself;
  
  Matthieu 2
  
  12 Being warned in a dream that they shouldn't return to Herod, they went back to their own country another way.
  
  19 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying,
  
  22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in the place of his father, Herod, he was afraid to go there. Being warned in a dream, he withdrew into the region of Galilee,
  
  Actes 1
  
  26 They drew lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.
  
  Actes 2
  
  13 Others, mocking, said, "They are filled with new wine."
  
  Actes 16
  
  1 He came to Derbe and Lystra: and behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewess who believed; but his father was a Greek.
  
  2 The brothers who were at Lystra and Iconium gave a good testimony about him.
  
  3 Paul wanted to have him go out with him, and he took and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts; for they all knew that his father was a Greek.
  
  4 As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered the decrees to them to keep which had been ordained by the apostles and elders who were at Jerusalem.
  
  5 So the assemblies were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.
  
  6 When they had gone through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.
  
  7 When they had come opposite Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit didn't allow them.
  
  8 Passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas.
  
  9 A vision appeared to Paul in the night. There was a man of Macedonia standing, begging him, and saying, "Come over into Macedonia and help us."
  
  10 When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go out to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the Good News to them.
  
  11 Setting sail therefore from Troas, we made a straight course to Samothrace, and the day following to Neapolis;
  
  12 and from there to Philippi, which is a city of Macedonia, the foremost of the district, a Roman colony. We were staying some days in this city.
  
  13 On the Sabbath day we went forth outside of the city by a riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down, and spoke to the women who had come together.
  
  14 A certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, one who worshiped God, heard us; whose heart the Lord opened to listen to the things which were spoken by Paul.
  
  15 When she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and stay." So she persuaded us.
  
  16 It happened, as we were going to prayer, that a certain girl having a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much gain by fortune telling.
  
  17 Following Paul and us, she cried out, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us a way of salvation!"
  
  18 She was doing this for many days. But Paul, becoming greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!" It came out that very hour.
  
  19 But when her masters saw that the hope of their gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas, and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers.
  
  20 When they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, "These men, being Jews, are agitating our city,
  
  21 and set forth customs which it is not lawful for us to accept or to observe, being Romans."
  
  22 The multitude rose up together against them, and the magistrates tore their clothes off of them, and commanded them to be beaten with rods.
  
  23 When they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely,
  
  24 who, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison, and secured their feet in the stocks.
  
  25 But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.
  
  26 Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bonds were loosened.
  
  27 The jailer, being roused out of sleep and seeing the prison doors open, drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped.
  
  28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, "Don't harm yourself, for we are all here!"
  
  29 He called for lights and sprang in, and, fell down trembling before Paul and Silas,
  
  30 and brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
  
  31 They said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household."
  
  32 They spoke the word of the Lord to him, and to all who were in his house.
  
  33 He took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes, and was immediately baptized, he and all his household.
  
  34 He brought them up into his house, and set food before them, and rejoiced greatly, with all his household, having believed in God.
  
  35 But when it was day, the magistrates sent the sergeants, saying, "Let those men go."
  
  36 The jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, "The magistrates have sent to let you go; now therefore come out, and go in peace."
  
  37 But Paul said to them, "They have beaten us publicly, without a trial, men who are Romans, and have cast us into prison! Do they now release us secretly? No, most certainly, but let them come themselves and bring us out!"
  
  38 The sergeants reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Romans,
  
  39 and they came and begged them. When they had brought them out, they asked them to depart from the city.
  
  40 They went out of the prison, and entered into Lydia's house. When they had seen the brothers, they encouraged them, and departed.
  
  Romains 3
  
  5 But if our unrighteousness commends the righteousness of God, what will we say? Is God unrighteous who inflicts wrath? I speak like men do.
  
  6 May it never be! For then how will God judge the world?
  
  7 For if the truth of God through my lie abounded to his glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner?
  
  8 Why not (as we are slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say), "Let us do evil, that good may come?" Those who say so are justly condemned.
  
  9 What then? Are we better than they? No, in no way. For we previously warned both Jews and Greeks, that they are all under sin.
  
  10 As it is written, "There is no one righteous; no, not one.
  
  11 There is no one who understands. There is no one who seeks after God.
  
  12 They have all turned aside. They have together become unprofitable. There is no one who does good, no, not, so much as one."
  
  13 "Their throat is an open tomb. With their tongues they have used deceit." "The poison of vipers is under their lips";
  
  14 "whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness."
  
  15 "Their feet are swift to shed blood.
  
  Ephésiens 5
  
  18 Don't be drunken with wine, in which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,

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