Lexicon :: Strong's H205 - 'āven

A wicked person listens to malicious talk;[fn]

a liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.

A worthless witness mocks justice,

and a wicked mouth swallows iniquity.

Justice executed is a joy to the righteous

but a terror to evildoers.

The one who sows injustice will reap disaster,

and the rod of his fury will be destroyed.

This is the way of an adulteress:

she eats and wipes her mouth

and says, “I’ve done nothing wrong.”

“Stop bringing useless offerings.

Your incense is detestable to me.

New Moons and Sabbaths,

and the calling of solemn assemblies —

I cannot stand iniquity with a festival.

Woe to those enacting crooked statutes

and writing oppressive laws

For the ruthless one will vanish,

the scorner will disappear,

and all those who lie in wait with evil intent

will be killed —

But he also is wise and brings disaster.

He does not go back on what he says;

he will rise up against the house of the wicked

and against the allies of evildoers.

For a fool speaks foolishness

and his mind plots iniquity.

He lives in a godless way

and speaks falsely about the LORD.

He leaves the hungry empty

and deprives the thirsty of drink.

“Look, all of them are a delusion;[fn]

their works are nonexistent;

their images are wind and emptiness.

Let the wicked one abandon his way

and the sinful one his thoughts;

let him return to the LORD,

so he may have compassion on him,

and to our God, for he will freely forgive.

“At that time, when you call, the LORD will answer;

when you cry out, he will say, ‘Here I am.’

If you get rid of the yoke among you,

the finger-pointing and malicious speaking,

No one makes claims justly;

no one pleads honestly.

They trust in empty and worthless words;

they conceive trouble and give birth to iniquity.

One person slaughters an ox, another kills a person;

one person sacrifices a lamb, another breaks a dog’s neck;

one person offers a grain offering, another offers pig’s blood;

one person offers incense, another praises an idol —

all these have chosen their ways

and delight in their abhorrent practices.

Wash the evil from your heart, Jerusalem,

so that you will be delivered.

How long will you harbor

malicious thoughts?

The LORD[fn] said to me, “Son of man, these are the men who plot evil and give wicked advice in this city.

Gilead is a city of evildoers,

tracked with bloody footprints.

They will not pour out

their wine offerings to the LORD,

and their sacrifices will not please him.

Their food will be like the bread of mourners;

all who eat it become defiled.

For their bread will be for their appetites alone;

it will not enter the house of the LORD.

The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel,

will be destroyed;

thorns and thistles will grow over their altars.

They will say to the mountains, “Cover us! ”

and to the hills, “Fall on us! ”

Since Gilead is full of evil,

they will certainly come to nothing.

They sacrifice bulls in Gilgal;

even their altars will be like piles of rocks

on the furrows of a field.

Do not seek Bethel

or go to Gilgal

or journey to Beer-sheba,

for Gilgal will certainly go into exile,

and Bethel will come to nothing.

Woe to those who dream up wickedness

and prepare evil plans on their beds!

At morning light they accomplish it

because the power is in their hands.

Why do you force me to look at injustice?

Why do you tolerate[fn] wrongdoing?

Oppression and violence are right in front of me.

Strife is ongoing, and conflict escalates.

I see the tents of Cushan[fn] in distress;

the tent curtains of the land of Midian tremble.

For the idols speak falsehood,

and the diviners see illusions;

they relate empty dreams

and offer empty comfort.

Therefore the people wander like sheep;

they suffer affliction because there is no shepherd.