The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.
no one understands; no one seeks for God.
The Lord looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man; from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth,
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
that he looked down from his holy height; from heaven the Lord looked at the earth, to hear the groans of the prisoners, to set free those who were doomed to die,
And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.
Many shall purify themselves and make themselves white and be refined, but the wicked shall act wickedly. And none of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise shall understand.
For this people's heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’
Nevertheless, some good is found in you, for you destroyed the Asheroth out of the land, and have set your heart to seek God.”
“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” And to him who lacks sense she says,
They have neither knowledge nor understanding, they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
Look down from heaven and see, from your holy and beautiful habitation. Where are your zeal and your might? The stirring of your inner parts and your compassion are held back from me.
“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.”
“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near;
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.
And when they say to you, “Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the living?
O simple ones, learn prudence; O fools, learn sense.
Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path;
The stupid man cannot know; the fool cannot understand this:
until the Lord from heaven looks down and sees;
“Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” To him who lacks sense she says,
Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.
I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.”
And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built.
Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence—
When the humble see it they will be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive.
who sets his heart to seek God, the Lord, the God of his fathers, even though not according to the sanctuary's rules of cleanness.”
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.