Lexicon :: Strong's H2114 - zûr

Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took their respective [ceremonial] censers, put fire in them, placed incense on it and offered [fn]strange (unauthorized, unacceptable) fire before the LORD, [an act] which He had not commanded them to do.

‘No layman [that is, someone outside of Aaron’s family] is to eat the holy gift [which has been offered to God]; a foreigner residing with the priest or a hired man shall not eat the holy thing.

Now those to camp before the tabernacle toward the east, before the Tent of Meeting, toward the sunrise, were to be Moses, and Aaron and his sons, performing the duties of the sanctuary for whatever was required of the Israelites; and the [fn]layman (non-Levite) who approached [the sanctuary] was to be put to death.

“If brothers are living together and one of them dies without a son, the widow of the deceased shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband’s brother shall be intimate with her after taking her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her.

“They provoked Him to jealousy with strange gods [by denying Him the honor and loyalty that is rightfully and uniquely His];

And with repulsive acts they provoked Him to anger.

“I dug wells and drank foreign waters,

And with the sole of my feet I dried up

All the rivers of [the Lower Nile of] Egypt.”

To whom alone the land was given,

And no stranger passed among them [corrupting the truth].

“He has put my brothers far from me,

And my acquaintances are completely estranged from me.

“Those who live [temporarily] in my house and my maids consider me a stranger;

I am a foreigner in their sight.

“My breath is repulsive to my wife,

And I am loathsome to my own brothers.

Whom I, even I, will see for myself,

And my eyes will see Him and not another!

My heart faints within me.

If we had forgotten the name of our God

Or stretched out our hands to a strange god,

For strangers have risen against me

And violent men have sought my life;

They have not set God before them. Selah.

The wicked are estranged from the womb;

These go astray from birth, speaking lies [even twisted partial truths].

I have become estranged from my brothers

And an alien to my mother’s sons.

Before they had satisfied their desire,

And while their food was in their mouths,

“Let there be no strange god among you,

Nor shall you worship any foreign god.

Let the creditor seize all that he has,

And let strangers plunder the product of his labor.

To keep you from the immoral woman;

From the seductress with her flattering words,

For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey [like a honeycomb]

And her speech is smoother than oil;

And strangers will be filled with your strength

And your hard-earned wealth will go to the house of a foreigner [who does not know God];

[Confine yourself to your own wife.] Let your children be yours alone,

And not the children of strangers with you.

Why should you, my son, be exhilarated with an immoral woman

And embrace the bosom of an outsider (pagan)?

My son, if you have become surety (guaranteed a debt or obligation) for your neighbor,

If you have given your pledge for [the debt of] a stranger or another [outside your family],

That they may keep you from the immoral woman,

From the foreigner [who does not observe God’s laws and] who flatters with her [smooth] words.

He who puts up security and guarantees a debt for an outsider will surely suffer [for his foolishness],

But he who hates (declines) being a guarantor is secure [from its penalties].

The heart knows its own bitterness,

And no stranger shares its joy.

[The judge tells the creditor], “Take the clothes of one who is surety for a stranger;

And hold him in pledge [when he guarantees a loan] for foreigners.”

The mouth of an immoral woman is a deep pit [deep and inescapable];

He who is cursed by the LORD [because of his adulterous sin] will fall into it.

Your [drunken] eyes will see strange things

And your mind will utter perverse things [untrue things, twisted things].

Let another praise you, and not your own mouth;

A stranger, and not your own lips.

[The judge tells the creditor,] “Take the garment of one who is surety (guarantees a loan) for a stranger;

And hold him in pledge when he is surety for an immoral woman [for it is unlikely the debt will be repaid].”

Ah, sinful nation,

A people loaded down with wickedness [with sin, with injustice, with wrongdoing],

Offspring of evildoers,

Sons who behave corruptly!

They have abandoned (rejected) the LORD,

They have despised the Holy One of Israel [provoking Him to anger],

They have turned away from Him.

Your land lies desolate [because of your disobedience],

Your cities are burned with fire,

Your fields—strangers are devouring them in your very presence;

It is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.

Because you [Judah] have forgotten the God of your salvation

And have not remembered the Rock of your Stronghold—

Therefore you plant [fn]lovely plants

And set the grounds with vine slips of a strange god,

For You have made a city into a heap [of trash],

A fortified city into a ruin;

A palace of [fn]foreigners is no longer a city,

It will never be rebuilt.

Like heat in a dry land, You will subdue the noise of foreigners [rejoicing over their enemies];

Like heat in the shadow of a cloud, the song of the tyrants is [fn]silenced.