1. Hebrew Bible, Deuteronomy, 4.28 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 4.28. וַעֲבַדְתֶּם־שָׁם אֱלֹהִים מַעֲשֵׂה יְדֵי אָדָם עֵץ וָאֶבֶן אֲשֶׁר לֹא־יִרְאוּן וְלֹא יִשְׁמְעוּן וְלֹא יֹאכְלוּן וְלֹא יְרִיחֻן׃ | 4.28. And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell." |
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2. Hebrew Bible, Psalms, 115.5, 135.15-135.18 (9th cent. BCE - 3rd cent. BCE)
| 115.5. פֶּה־לָהֶם וְלֹא יְדַבֵּרוּ עֵינַיִם לָהֶם וְלֹא יִרְאוּ׃ 135.15. עֲצַבֵּי הַגּוֹיִם כֶּסֶף וְזָהָב מַעֲשֵׂה יְדֵי אָדָם׃ 135.16. פֶּה־לָהֶם וְלֹא יְדַבֵּרוּ עֵינַיִם לָהֶם וְלֹא יִרְאוּ׃ 135.17. אָזְנַיִם לָהֶם וְלֹא יַאֲזִינוּ אַף אֵין־יֶשׁ־רוּחַ בְּפִיהֶם׃ 135.18. כְּמוֹהֶם יִהְיוּ עֹשֵׂיהֶם כֹּל אֲשֶׁר־בֹּטֵחַ בָּהֶם׃ | 115.5. They have mouths, but they speak not; Eyes have they, but they see not;" 135.15. The idols of the nations are silver and gold, The work of men's hands." 135.16. They have mouths, but they speak not; Eyes have they, but they see not;" 135.17. They have ears, but they hear not; Neither is there any breath in their mouths." 135.18. They that make them shall be like unto them; Yea, every one that trusteth in them." |
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3. Hebrew Bible, Isaiah, 46.7, 66.3 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 46.7. יִשָּׂאֻהוּ עַל־כָּתֵף יִסְבְּלֻהוּ וְיַנִּיחֻהוּ תַחְתָּיו וְיַעֲמֹד מִמְּקוֹמוֹ לֹא יָמִישׁ אַף־יִצְעַק אֵלָיו וְלֹא יַעֲנֶה מִצָּרָתוֹ לֹא יוֹשִׁיעֶנּוּ׃ 66.3. שׁוֹחֵט הַשּׁוֹר מַכֵּה־אִישׁ זוֹבֵחַ הַשֶּׂה עֹרֵף כֶּלֶב מַעֲלֵה מִנְחָה דַּם־חֲזִיר מַזְכִּיר לְבֹנָה מְבָרֵךְ אָוֶן גַּם־הֵמָּה בָּחֲרוּ בְּדַרְכֵיהֶם וּבְשִׁקּוּצֵיהֶם נַפְשָׁם חָפֵצָה׃ | 46.7. He is borne upon the shoulder, he is carried, and set in his place, and he standeth, from his place he doth not remove; yea, though one cry unto him, he cannot answer, nor save him out of his trouble." 66.3. He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he broke a dog’s neck; He that offereth a meal-offering, as if he offered swine’s blood; he that maketh a memorial-offering of frankincense, as if he blessed an idol; according as they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations;" |
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4. Hebrew Bible, Jeremiah, 10.5, 10.8, 10.14 (8th cent. BCE - 5th cent. BCE)
| 10.5. כְּתֹמֶר מִקְשָׁה הֵמָּה וְלֹא יְדַבֵּרוּ נָשׂוֹא יִנָּשׂוּא כִּי לֹא יִצְעָדוּ אַל־תִּירְאוּ מֵהֶם כִּי־לֹא יָרֵעוּ וְגַם־הֵיטֵיב אֵין אוֹתָם׃ 10.8. וּבְאַחַת יִבְעֲרוּ וְיִכְסָלוּ מוּסַר הֲבָלִים עֵץ הוּא׃ 10.14. נִבְעַר כָּל־אָדָם מִדַּעַת הֹבִישׁ כָּל־צוֹרֵף מִפָּסֶל כִּי שֶׁקֶר נִסְכּוֹ וְלֹא־רוּחַ בָּם׃ | 10.5. They are like a pillar in a garden of cucumbers, and speak not; They must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, Neither is it in them to do good." 10.8. But they are altogether brutish and foolish: The vanities by which they are instructed are but a stock;" 10.14. Every man is proved to be brutish, without knowledge, Every goldsmith is put to shame by the graven image, His molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them." |
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5. Septuagint, Jeremiah, 2.26, 2.37 (8th cent. BCE - 6th cent. BCE)
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6. Anon., 1 Enoch, 94.7, 97.8, 98.2-98.3, 98.12, 99.2, 99.7-99.9 (3rd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 94.7. Woe to those who build their houses with sin; For from all their foundations shall they be overthrown, And by the sword shall they fall. [And those who acquire gold and silver in judgement suddenly shall perish.] 97.8. Woe to you who acquire silver and gold in unrighteousness and say: ' We have become rich with riches and have possessions; And have acquired everything we have desired. 98.2. For ye men shall put on more adornments than a woman, And coloured garments more than a virgin: In royalty and in grandeur and in power, And in silver and in gold and in purple, And in splendour and in food they shall be poured out as water. 98.3. Therefore they shall be wanting in doctrine and wisdom, And they shall perish thereby together with their possessions; And with all their glory and their splendour, And in shame and in slaughter and in great destitution, Their spirits shall be cast into the furnace of fire. 98.3. off your necks and slay you, and have no mercy upon you. Woe to you who rejoice in the tribulation of the righteous; for no grave shall be dug for you. Woe to you who set at nought the words of 98.12. Woe to you who love the deeds of unrighteousness: wherefore do ye hope for good hap unto yourselves know that ye shall be delivered into the hands of the righteous, and they shall cut 99.2. Woe to them who pervert the words of uprightness, And transgress the eternal law, And transform themselves into what they were not [into sinners]: They shall be trodden under foot upon the earth. 99.7. And again I swear to you, ye sinners, that sin is prepared for a day of unceasing bloodshed. And they who worship stones, and grave images of gold and silver and wood (and stone) and clay, and those who worship impure spirits and demons, and all kinds of idols not according to knowledge, shall get no manner of help from them. 99.8. And they shall become godless by reason of the folly of their hearts, And their eyes shall be blinded through the fear of their hearts And through visions in their dreams. 99.9. Through these they shall become godless and fearful; For they shall have wrought all their work in a lie, And shall have worshiped a stone: Therefore in an instant shall they perish. 7. And all the others together with them took unto themselves wives, and each chose for himself one, and they began to go in unto them and to defile themselves with them, and they taught them charms,and enchantments, and the cutting of roots, and made them acquainted with plants. And they,became pregt, and they bare great giants, whose height was three thousand ells: Who consumed,all the acquisitions of men. And when men could no longer sustain them, the giants turned against,them and devoured mankind. And they began to sin against birds, and beasts, and reptiles, and,fish, and to devour one another's flesh, and drink the blood. Then the earth laid accusation against the lawless ones. |
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7. Anon., Jubilees, 11.16-11.17, 12.1-12.8, 20.7, 22.16-22.23 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 11.16. And in the thirty-seventh jubilee, in the sixth week, in the first year thereof, he took to himself a wife, and her name was ’Îjâskâ, the daughter of Nêstâg of the Chaldees. And she bare him Terah in the seventh year of this week. 11.17. And the prince Mastêmâ sent ravens and birds to devour the seed which was sown in the land, in order to destroy the land, and rob the children of men of their labours. 12.1. And it came to pass in the sixth week, in the seventh year thereof, that Abram said to Terah his father, saying, "Father!" And he said, "Behold, here am I, my son. 12.2. And he said, "What help and profit have we from those idols which thou dost worship, And before which thou dost bow thyself? For there is no spirit in them, For they are dumb forms, and a misleading of the heart. Worship them not: 12.3. Worship the God of heaven, Who causeth the rain and the dew to descend on the earth, And doeth everything upon the earth, And hath created everything by His word, And all life is from before His face. 12.4. Why do ye worship things that have no spirit in them? For they are the work of (men's) hands, And on your shoulders do ye bear them 12.5. And ye have no help from them, But they are a great cause of shame to those who make them, And a misleading of the heart to those who worship them: Worship them not. 12.6. And his father said unto him, "I also know it, my son, but what shall I do with a people who have made me to serve before them? 12.7. And if I tell them the truth, they will slay me; for their soul cleaveth to them to worship them and honour them. Keep silent, my son, lest they slay thee. 12.8. And these words he spake to his two brothers, and they were angry with him and he kept silent. 20.7. and mutual corruption through fornication. br"And guard yourselves from all fornication and uncleanness, And from all pollution of sin, Lest ye make our name a curse, And your whole life a hissing 22.16. May nations serve thee, And all the nations bow themselves before thy seed. 22.17. Be strong in the presence of men, And exercise authority over all the seed of Seth. Then thy ways and the ways of thy sons will be justified, So that they shall become a holy nation. 22.18. May the Most High God give thee all the blessings Wherewith he hath blessed me And wherewith He blessed Noah and Adam; May they rest on the sacred head of thy seed from generation to generation for ever. 22.19. And may He cleanse thee from all unrighteousness and impurity, That thou mayest be forgiven all (thy) transgressions; (and) thy sins of ignorance. 22.20. And may He strengthen thee, And bless thee. And mayest thou inherit the whole earth, brAnd may He renew His covet with thee, That thou mayest be to Him a nation for His inheritance for all the ages 22.21. And that He may be to thee and to thy seed a God in truth and righteousness throughout all the days of the earth. 22.22. And do thou, my son Jacob, remember my words, And observe the commandments of Abraham, thy father: 22.23. Separate thyself from the nations, And eat not with them: And do not according to their works, And become not their associate; For their works are unclean, And all their ways are a pollution and an abomination and uncleanness. |
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8. Anon., Testament of Reuben, 4.6 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. CE)
| 4.6. For a pit unto the soul is the sin of fornication, separating it from God, and bringing it near to idols, because it deceiveth the mind and understanding, and leadeth young men into hades before their time. |
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9. Dead Sea Scrolls, Epistle of Jeremiah, 63 (2nd cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
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10. Septuagint, Wisdom of Solomon, 13.1-13.19, 14.3-14.4, 14.7-14.28, 14.30-14.31, 15.1-15.13, 15.15-15.17 (2nd cent. BCE - 1st cent. BCE)
| 13.1. For all men who were ignorant of God were foolish by nature;and they were unable from the good things that are seen to know him who exists,nor did they recognize the craftsman while paying heed to his works; 13.2. but they supposed that either fire or wind or swift air,or the circle of the stars, or turbulent water,or the luminaries of heaven were the gods that rule the world. 13.3. If through delight in the beauty of these things men assumed them to be gods,let them know how much better than these is their Lord,for the author of beauty created them. 13.4. And if men were amazed at their power and working,let them perceive from them how much more powerful is he who formed them. 13.5. For from the greatness and beauty of created things comes a corresponding perception of their Creator. 13.6. Yet these men are little to be blamed,for perhaps they go astray while seeking God and desiring to find him. 13.7. For as they live among his works they keep searching,and they trust in what they see, because the things that are seen are beautiful. 13.8. Yet again, not even they are to be excused; 13.9. for if they had the power to know so much that they could investigate the world,how did they fail to find sooner the Lord of these things? 13.10. But miserable, with their hopes set on dead things, are the men who give the name "gods" to the works of mens hands,gold and silver fashioned with skill,and likenesses of animals,or a useless stone, the work of an ancient hand. 13.11. A skilled woodcutter may saw down a tree easy to handle and skilfully strip off all its bark,and then with pleasing workmanship make a useful vessel that serves lifes needs 13.12. and burn the castoff pieces of his work to prepare his food, and eat his fill. 13.13. But a castoff piece from among them, useful for nothing,a stick crooked and full of knots,he takes and carves with care in his leisure,and shapes it with skill gained in idleness;he forms it like the image of a man 13.14. or makes it like some worthless animal,giving it a coat of red paint and coloring its surface red and covering every blemish in it with paint; 13.15. then he makes for it a niche that befits it,and sets it in the wall, and fastens it there with iron. 13.16. So he takes thought for it, that it may not fall,because he knows that it cannot help itself,for it is only an image and has need of help. 13.17. When he prays about possessions and his marriage and children,he is not ashamed to address a lifeless thing. 13.18. For health he appeals to a thing that is weak;for life he prays to a thing that is dead;for aid he entreats a thing that is utterly inexperienced;for a prosperous journey, a thing that cannot take a step; 13.19. for money-making and work and success with his hands he asks strength of a thing whose hands have no strength. 14.3. but it is thy providence, O Father, that steers its course,because thou hast given it a path in the sea,and a safe way through the waves 14.4. showing that thou canst save from every danger,so that even if a man lacks skill, he may put to sea. 14.7. For blessed is the wood by which righteousness comes. 14.8. But the idol made with hands is accursed, and so is he who made it;because he did the work, and the perishable thing was named a god. 14.11. Therefore there will be a visitation also upon the heathen idols,because, though part of what God created, they became an abomination,and became traps for the souls of men and a snare to the feet of the foolish. 14.12. For the idea of making idols was the beginning of fornication,and the invention of them was the corruption of life 14.13. for neither have they existed from the beginning nor will they exist for ever. 14.14. For through the vanity of men they entered the world,and therefore their speedy end has been planned. 14.15. For a father, consumed with grief at an untimely bereavement,made an image of his child, who had been suddenly taken from him;and he now honored as a god what was once a dead human being,and handed on to his dependents secret rites and initiations. 14.16. Then the ungodly custom, grown strong with time, was kept as a law,and at the command of monarchs graven images were worshiped. 14.17. When men could not honor monarchs in their presence, since they lived at a distance,they imagined their appearance far away,and made a visible image of the king whom they honored,so that by their zeal they might flatter the absent one as though present. 14.18. Then the ambition of the craftsman impelled even those who did not know the king to intensify their worship. 14.19. For he, perhaps wishing to please his ruler,skilfully forced the likeness to take more beautiful form 14.20. and the multitude, attracted by the charm of his work,now regarded as an object of worship the one whom shortly before they had honored as a man. 14.21. And this became a hidden trap for mankind,because men, in bondage to misfortune or to royal authority,bestowed on objects of stone or wood the name that ought not to be shared. 14.22. Afterward it was not enough for them to err about the knowledge of God,but they live in great strife due to ignorance,and they call such great evils peace. 14.23. For whether they kill children in their initiations,or celebrate secret mysteries,or hold frenzied revels with strange customs 14.24. they no longer keep either their lives or their marriages pure,but they either treacherously kill one another,or grieve one another by adultery 14.25. and all is a raging riot of blood and murder,theft and deceit, corruption, faithlessness, tumult, perjury 14.26. confusion over what is good, forgetfulness of favors,pollution of souls, sex perversion,disorder in marriage, adultery, and debauchery. 14.27. For the worship of idols not to be named is the beginning and cause and end of every evil. 14.28. For their worshipers either rave in exultation,or prophesy lies,or live unrighteously, or readily commit perjury; 14.30. But just penalties will overtake them on two counts:because they thought wickedly of God in devoting themselves to idols,and because in deceit they swore unrighteously through contempt for holiness. 14.31. For it is not the power of the things by which men swear,but the just penalty for those who sin,that always pursues the transgression of the unrighteous. 15.1. But thou, our God, art kind and true,patient, and ruling all things in mercy. 15.2. For even if we sin we are thine, knowing thy power;but we will not sin, because we know that we are accounted thine. 15.3. For to know thee is complete righteousness,and to know thy power is the root of immortality. 15.4. For neither has the evil intent of human art misled us,nor the fruitless toil of painters,a figure stained with varied colors 15.5. whose appearance arouses yearning in fools,so that they desire the lifeless form of a dead image. 15.6. Lovers of evil things and fit for such objects of hope are those who either make or desire or worship them. 15.7. For when a potter kneads the soft earth and laboriously molds each vessel for our service,he fashions out of the same clay both the vessels that serve clean uses and those for contrary uses, making all in like manner;but which shall be the use of each of these the worker in clay decides. 15.8. With misspent toil, he forms a futile god from the same clay -- this man who was made of earth a short time before and after a little while goes to the earth from which he was taken,when he is required to return the soul that was lent him. 15.9. But he is not concerned that he is destined to die or that his life is brief,but he competes with workers in gold and silver,and imitates workers in copper;and he counts it his glory that he molds counterfeit gods. 15.10. His heart is ashes, his hope is cheaper than dirt,and his life is of less worth than clay 15.11. because he failed to know the one who formed him and inspired him with an active soul and breathed into him a living spirit. 15.12. But he considered our existence an idle game,and life a festival held for profit,for he says one must get money however one can, even by base means. 15.13. For this man, more than all others, knows that he sins when he makes from earthy matter fragile vessels and graven images. 15.15. For they thought that all their heathen idols were gods,though these have neither the use of their eyes to see with,nor nostrils with which to draw breath,nor ears with which to hear,nor fingers to feel with,and their feet are of no use for walking. 15.16. For a man made them,and one whose spirit is borrowed formed them;for no man can form a god which is like himself. 15.17. He is mortal, and what he makes with lawless hands is dead,for he is better than the objects he worships,since he has life, but they never have. |
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11. Septuagint, 3 Maccabees, 4.16 (2nd cent. BCE - 2nd cent. BCE)
| 4.16. The king was greatly and continually filled with joy, organizing feasts in honor of all his idols, with a mind alienated from truth and with a profane mouth, praising speechless things that are not able even to communicate or to come to one's help, and uttering improper words against the supreme God. |
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12. Anon., Sibylline Oracles, 3.30, 3.105-3.161, 8.359, 8.366, 8.375-8.399, 8.402 (1st cent. BCE - 5th cent. CE)
| 3.30. 30 This is the God who formed four-lettered Adam 3.30. As foolish men go seeking day by day 3.105. 105 Creation itself together and pick out 3.106. What is pure. No more laughing spheres of light 3.107. Nor night, nor dawn, nor many days of care 3.108. Nor spring, nor winter, nor the summer-time 3.109. Nor autumn. And then of the mighty God 3.110. 110 The judgment midway in a mighty age 3.111. Shall come, when all these things shall come to pass. 3.112. O navigable waters and each land 3.113. of the Orient and of the Occident 3.114. Subject shall all things be to him who come 3.115. 115 Into the world again, and therefore he 3.116. Himself became first conscious of his power. 3.117. But when the threatenings of the mighty God 3.118. Are fulfilled, which he threatened mortals once 3.119. When in Assyrian land they built a tower;– 3.120. 120 (And they all spoke one language, and resolved 3.121. To mount aloft into the starry heaven; 3.122. But on the air the Immortal straightway put 3.123. A mighty force; and then winds from above 3.124. Cast down the great tower and stirred mortals up 3.125. 125 To wrangling with each other; therefore men 3.126. Gave to that city the name of Babylon);– 3.127. Now when the tower fell and the tongues of men 3.128. Turned to all sorts of sounds, straightway all earth 3.129. Was filled with men and kingdoms were divided; 3.130. 130 And then the generation tenth appeared 3.131. of mortal men, from the time when the flood 3.132. Came upon earlier men. And Cronos reigned 3.133. And Titan and Iapetus; and men called them 3.134. Best offspring of Gaia and of Uranus 3.135. 135 Giving to them names both of earth and heaven 3.136. Since they were very first of mortal men. 3.137. So there were three divisions of the earth 3.138. According to the allotment of each man 3.139. And each one having his own portion reigned 3.140. 140 And fought not; for a father's oaths were there 3.141. And equal were their portions. But the time 3.142. Complete of old age on the father came 3.143. And he died; and the sons infringing oath 3.144. Stirred up against each other bitter strife 3.145. 145 Which one should have the royal rank and rule 3.146. Over all mortals; and against each other 3.147. Cronos and Titan fought. But Rhea and Gaia 3.148. And Aphrodite fond of crowns, Demeter 3.149. And Hestia and Dione of fair lock 3.150. 150 Brought them to friendship, and together called 3.151. All who were kings, both brothers and near kin 3.152. And others of the same ancestral blood 3.153. And they judged Cronos should reign king of all 3.154. For he was oldest and of noblest form. 3.155. 155 But Titan laid on Cronos mighty oath 3.156. To rear no male posterity, that he 3.157. Himself might reign when age and fate should come 3.158. To Cronos. And whenever Rhea bore 3.159. Beside her sat the Titans, and all male 3.160. 160 In pieces tore, but let the females live 3.161. To be reared by the mother. But When now 8.359. Bringing the likeness antitypical 8.366. And a fish of the sea live thousand men 8.375. 375 Shall search the heart and bare it to conviction; 8.376. For of all things is he himself the ear 8.377. And mind and sight, and Word that maketh form 8.378. To whom all things submit, and he preserve 8.379. Them that are dead and every sickness heals. 8.380. 380 Into the hands of lawless men, at last 8.381. And faithless he shall come, and they will give 8.382. To God rude buffetings with impure hand 8.383. And poisonous spittle with polluted mouths. 8.384. And he to whips will openly give then 8.385. 385 His holy back; [for he unto the world 8.386. A holy virgin shall himself commit.] 8.387. And silent he will be when buffeted 8.388. Lest anyone should know whose son he i 8.389. Or whence he came, that he may talk to the dead. 8.390. 390 And he shall also wear a crown of thorns; 8.391. For of thorns is the crown an ornament 8.392. Elect, eternal. They shall pierce his side 8.393. With a reed that they may fulfill their law; 8.394. For of reeds shaken by another spirit 8.395. 395 Were nourished inclinations of the soul 8.396. of anger and revenge. But when these thing 8.397. Shall be accomplished, of the which I spoke 8.398. Then unto him shall every law be loosed 8.399. Which from the first by the decrees of men 8.402. But gall for food and vinegar to drink |
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13. Philo of Alexandria, On The Preliminary Studies, 65 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 65. But still what advantage is derived from all that is said? For men, instead of attending, turn their mind in other directions, some to marine and mercantile affairs, others to rents and agriculture; some to public honours and affairs of state, some to the gains to be derived from each different profession and art, others to revenging themselves upon their enemies, others again to the enjoyments to be derived from the indulgence of the amorous appetites, and in short every body is under the influence of some distracting idea or other; so that, as far as the subjects of the discussion are concerned, they are completely deaf, and are present with their bodies only, but are at a distance as to their minds, being in no particular different from images or statues. |
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14. Philo of Alexandria, On The Decalogue, 67-76, 66 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
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15. Philo of Alexandria, On The Special Laws, 1.20, 1.313 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 1.20. So that, transcending all visible essence by means of our reason, let us press forward to the honour of that everlasting and invisible Being who can be comprehended and appreciated by the mind alone; who is not only the God of all gods, whether appreciable only by the intellect or visible to the outward senses, but is also the creator of them all. And if any one gives up the service due to the everlasting and uncreated God, transferring it to any more modern and created being, let him be set down as mad and as liable to the charge of the greatest impiety.IV. 1.313. For they are not become so perfectly savage in their natures as to endure in time of peace to treat their nearest and dearest relatives as they would scarcely treat their irreconcilable enemies in time of war. But that they do in reality inflame and corrupt the souls of the children of whom they are the parents from the very moment that they are out of their swaddling clothes; not imprinting on their minds, while they are still tender, any true opinions respecting the one only and truly living God. Let us not then be overcome by, and fall down before, and yield to their good fortune as if they had prevailed by reason of their piety. |
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16. Philo of Alexandria, Against Flaccus, 96 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 96. and then, when it was found that they were of another race, they were dismissed; for they apprehended many women as Jewesses who were not so, from want of making any careful or accurate investigation. And if they appeared to belong to our nation, then those who, instead of spectators, became tyrants and masters, laid cruel commands on them, bringing them swine's flesh, and enjoining them to eat it. Accordingly, all who were wrought on by fear of punishment to eat it were released without suffering any ill treatment; but those who were more obstinate were given up to the tormentors to suffer intolerable tortures, which is the clearest of all possible proofs that they had committed no offence whatever beyond what I have mentioned. XII. |
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17. Philo of Alexandria, On The Embassy To Gaius, 101-116, 12, 19, 21, 39, 53, 68, 75-100 (1st cent. BCE - 1st cent. CE)
| 100. Again, he takes with him his caduceus or herald's wand, as a token of reconciliation and peace, for wars receive their respites and terminations by means of heralds, who restore peace; and wars which have no heralds to terminate them cause endless calamities to both parties, both to those who invade their neighbours and to those who are endeavouring to repel the invasion. |
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18. Josephus Flavius, Against Apion, 2.252-2.253 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 2.252. The painters also, and statuaries of Greece, had herein great power, as each of them could contrive a shape [proper for a god]; the one to be formed out of clay, and the other by making a bare picture of such a one; but those workmen that were principally admired, had the use of ivory and of gold as the constant materials for their new statues; 2.253. [whereby it comes to pass that some temples are quite deserted, while others are in great esteem, and adorned with all the rites of all kinds of purification]. Besides this, the first gods, who have long flourished in the honors done them, are now grown old [while those that flourished after them are come in their room as a second rank, that I may speak the most honorably of them that I can]: |
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19. New Testament, 1 Corinthians, 8.4, 12.2 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 8.4. Therefore concerning the eating of things sacrificed to idols, we knowthat no idol is anything in the world, and that there is no other Godbut one. 12.2. You know that when you were heathen, you were ledaway to those mute idols, however you might be led. |
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20. New Testament, Acts, 15.20, 15.29, 21.25 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
| 15.20. but that we write to them that they abstain from the pollution of idols, from sexual immorality, from what is strangled, and from blood. 15.29. that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality, from which if you keep yourselves, it will be well with you. Farewell. 21.25. But concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written our decision that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from food offered to idols, from blood, from strangled things, and from sexual immorality. |
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21. New Testament, Apocalypse, 2.14, 2.20, 9.20-9.21 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 2.14. But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to throw a stumbling block before the children of Israel , to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. 2.20. But I have this against you, that you tolerate your woman, Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. She teaches and seduces my servants to commit sexual immorality, and to eat things sacrificed to idols. 9.20. The rest of mankind, who were not killed with these plagues, didn't repent of the works of their hands, that they wouldn't worship demons, and the idols of gold, and of silver, and of brass, and of stone, and of wood; which can neither see, nor hear, nor walk. 9.21. They didn't repent of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their sexual immorality, nor of their thefts. |
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22. New Testament, Colossians, 3.5 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 3.5. Put to death therefore your members which are on the earth: sexual immorality, uncleanness, depraved passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry; |
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23. New Testament, Romans, 1.18-1.32, 2.22, 6.4-6.5, 8.1-8.9, 8.11 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 1.18. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness 1.19. because that which is known of God is revealed in them, for God revealed it to them. 1.20. For the invisible things of him since the creation of the world are clearly seen, being perceived through the things that are made, even his everlasting power and divinity; that they may be without excuse. 1.21. Because, knowing God, they didn't glorify him as God, neither gave thanks, but became vain in their reasoning, and their senseless heart was darkened. 1.22. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools 1.23. and traded the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds, and four-footed animals, and creeping things. 1.24. Therefore God also gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to uncleanness, that their bodies should be dishonored among themselves 1.25. who exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. 1.26. For this reason, God gave them up to vile passions. For their women changed the natural function into that which is against nature. 1.27. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural function of the woman, burned in their lust toward one another, men doing what is inappropriate with men, and receiving in themselves the due penalty of their error. 1.28. Even as they refused to have God in their knowledge, God gave them up to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not fitting; 1.29. being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil habits, secret slanderers 1.30. backbiters, hateful to God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents 1.31. without understanding, covet-breakers, without natural affection, unforgiving, unmerciful; 1.32. who, knowing the ordice of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but also approve of those who practice them. 2.22. You who say a man shouldn't commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 6.4. We were buried therefore with him through baptism to death, that just like Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life. 6.5. For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we will also be part of his resurrection; 8.1. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who don't walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 8.2. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death. 8.3. For what the law couldn't do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God did, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh; 8.4. that the ordice of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 8.5. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 8.6. For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace; 8.7. because the mind of the flesh is hostile towards God; for it is not subject to God's law, neither indeed can it be. 8.8. Those who are in the flesh can't please God. 8.9. But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if it is so that the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if any man doesn't have the Spirit of Christ, he is not his. 8.11. But if the Spirit of him who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. |
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24. New Testament, Matthew, 25.46 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 25.46. These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. |
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25. Ps.-Philo, Biblical Antiquities, 18.13-18.14, 44.7 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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26. Anon., 2 Enoch, 34.2
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27. Anon., Joseph And Aseneth, 8.6
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