no one understands; no one seeks for God.
The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one. Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers who eat up my people as they eat bread and do not call upon the Lord?
God looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.
For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another.
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.
For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot.
“For my people are foolish; they know me not; they are stupid children; they have no understanding. They are ‘wise’—in doing evil! But how to do good they know not.”
I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, “Here I am, here I am,” to a nation that was not called by my name.
“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near;
Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help and rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult the Lord!
And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.
Claiming to be wise, they became fools,
When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path.
This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: “‘“You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.”
The pride of Israel testifies to his face; yet they do not return to the Lord their God, nor seek him, for all this.
When its boughs are dry, they are broken; women come and make a fire of them. For this is a people without discernment; therefore he who made them will not have compassion on them; he who formed them will show them no favor.
The people did not turn to him who struck them, nor inquire of the Lord of hosts.
Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord, would have none of my counsel and despised all my reproof,
“How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Understand, O dullest of the people! Fools, when will you be wise?
What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? And what profit do we get if we pray to him?’ Behold, is not their prosperity in their hand? The counsel of the wicked is far from me.
Have those who work evil no knowledge, who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call upon God?
Unless otherwise indicated, all content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Contact me: openbibleinfo (at) gmail.com.