2182 verses about Discernment

then you shall inquire, and make search, and ask diligently. Behold, if it is true, and the thing certain, that such abomination was done among you,

You shall not pervert justice. You shall not show partiality. You shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise, and perverts the words of the righteous.

and you are told, and you have heard of it, then you shall inquire diligently. Behold, if it is true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is done in Israel,

If there arises a matter too hard for you in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, being matters of controversy within your gates; then you shall arise, and go up to the place which Yahweh your God chooses.

You shall come to the priests who are Levites, and to the judge who shall be in those days. You shall inquire, and they shall give you the verdict.

You shall do according to the decisions of the verdict which they shall give you from that place which Yahweh chooses. You shall observe to do according to all that they shall teach you:

according to the decisions of the law which they shall teach you, and according to the judgment which they shall tell you, you shall do. You shall not turn away from the sentence which they shall show you, to the right hand, nor to the left.

There shall not be found with you anyone who makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices sorcery, or an enchanter, or a sorcerer,

For these nations that you shall dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery and to diviners; but as for you, Yahweh your God has not allowed you so to do.

But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.”

You may say in your heart, “How shall we know the word which Yahweh has not spoken?”

When a prophet speaks in Yahweh’s name, if the thing doesn’t follow, nor happen, that is the thing which Yahweh has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You shall not be afraid of him.

and the judges shall make diligent inquisition: and behold, if the witness is a false witness, and has testified falsely against his brother;

When you shall besiege a city a long time, in making war against it to take it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an ax against them; for you may eat of them. You shall not cut them down; for is the tree of the field man, that it should be besieged by you?

But Yahweh has not given you a heart to know, eyes to see, and ears to hear, to this day.

For they are a nation void of counsel. There is no understanding in them.

About Levi he said, “Your Thummim and your Urim are with your godly one, whom you proved at Massah, with whom you contended at the waters of Meribah.

They answered Joshua, saying, “All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go.

Joshua the son of Nun secretly sent two men out of Shittim as spies, saying, “Go, view the land, including Jericho.” They went and came into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab, and slept there.

Jericho’s king sent to Rahab, saying, “Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered into your house; for they have come to spy out all the land.”

When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man stood in front of him with his sword drawn in his hand. Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our enemies?”

Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Beth Aven, on the east side of Bethel, and spoke to them, saying, “Go up and spy out the land.” The men went up and spied out Ai.

Yahweh said to Joshua, “Get up! Why have you fallen on your face like that?

He commanded them, saying, “Behold, you shall lie in ambush against the city, behind the city. Don’t go very far from the city, but all of you be ready.

When the king of Ai saw it, they hurried and rose up early, and the men of the city went out against Israel to battle, he and all his people, at the time appointed, before the Arabah; but he didn’t know that there was an ambush against him behind the city.

Joshua and all Israel made as if they were beaten before them, and fled by the way of the wilderness.

When Joshua and all Israel saw that the ambush had taken the city, and that the smoke of the city ascended, then they turned again, and killed the men of Ai.

The men of Israel said to the Hivites, “What if you live among us? How could we make a covenant with you?”

They said to Joshua, “We are your servants.” Joshua said to them, “Who are you? Where do you come from?”

The men sampled their provisions, and didn’t ask counsel from Yahweh’s mouth.

At the end of three days after they had made a covenant with them, they heard that they were their neighbors, and that they lived among them.

Joshua said, “Roll large stones to cover the cave’s entrance, and set men by it to guard them;

The children of Israel also killed Balaam the son of Beor, the soothsayer, with the sword, among the rest of their slain.

Joshua called for all Israel, for their elders and for their heads, and for their judges and for their officers, and said to them, “I am old and well advanced in years.

After the death of Joshua, the children of Israel asked of Yahweh, saying, “Who should go up for us first against the Canaanites, to fight against them?”

The house of Joseph sent to spy out Bethel. (The name of the city before that was Luz.)

The watchers saw a man come out of the city, and they said to him, “Please show us the entrance into the city, and we will deal kindly with you.”

But he himself turned back from the stone idols that were by Gilgal, and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” The king said, “Keep silence!” All who stood by him left him.

Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, judged Israel at that time.

She lived under Deborah’s palm tree between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.

She said, “I will surely go with you. Nevertheless, the journey that you take won’t be for your honor; for Yahweh will sell Sisera into a woman’s hand.” Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.

They told Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was gone up to Mount Tabor.

Behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you seek.” He came to her; and behold, Sisera lay dead, and the tent peg was in his temples.

The princes of Issachar were with Deborah. As was Issachar, so was Barak. They rushed into the valley at his feet. By the watercourses of Reuben, there were great resolves of heart.

He said to him, “If now I have found favor in your sight, then show me a sign that it is you who talk with me.

They said to one another, “Who has done this thing?” When they inquired and asked, they said, “Gideon the son of Joash has done this thing.”

behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing floor; if there is dew on the fleece only, and it is dry on all the ground, then shall I know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have spoken.”

Then Jerubbaal, who is Gideon, and all the people who were with him, rose up early, and encamped beside the spring of Harod. Midian’s camp was on the north side of them, by the hill of Moreh, in the valley.

Yahweh said to Gideon, “There are still too many people. Bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. It shall be, that those whom I tell you, ‘This shall go with you,’ the same shall go with you; and whoever I tell you, ‘This shall not go with you,’ the same shall not go.”

So he brought down the people to the water; and Yahweh said to Gideon, “Everyone who laps of the water with his tongue, like a dog laps, you shall set him by himself; likewise everyone who bows down on his knees to drink.”

The number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was three hundred men; but all the rest of the people bowed down on their knees to drink water.

So the people took food in their hand, and their trumpets; and he sent all the men of Israel every man to his tent, but retained the three hundred men; and the camp of Midian was beneath him in the valley.

You will hear what they say; and afterward your hands will be strengthened to go down into the camp.” Then went he down with Purah his servant to the outermost part of the armed men who were in the camp.

His fellow answered, “This is nothing other than the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel. God has delivered Midian into his hand, with all the army.”

It was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and its interpretation, that he worshiped. Then he returned into the camp of Israel, and said, “Arise; for Yahweh has delivered the army of Midian into your hand!”

He said to them, “Watch me, and do likewise. Behold, when I come to the outermost part of the camp, it shall be that, as I do, so you shall do.

When Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, “Behold, people are coming down from the tops of the mountains.” Zebul said to him, “You see the shadow of the mountains as if they were men.”

Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, “A man of God came to me, and his face was like the face of the angel of God, very awesome. I didn’t ask him where he was from, neither did he tell me his name;

Manoah arose, and followed his wife, and came to the man, and said to him, “Are you the man who spoke to my wife?” He said, “I am.”

Yahweh’s angel said to Manoah, “Though you detain me, I won’t eat your bread. If you will prepare a burnt offering, you must offer it to Yahweh.” For Manoah didn’t know that he was Yahweh’s angel.

But Yahweh’s angel didn’t appear to Manoah or to his wife any more. Then Manoah knew that he was Yahweh’s angel.

But his wife said to him, “If Yahweh were pleased to kill us, he wouldn’t have received a burnt offering and a meal offering at our hand, and he wouldn’t have shown us all these things, nor would he have told us such things as these at this time.”

She said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” He awoke out of his sleep, and said, “I will go out as at other times, and shake myself free.” But he didn’t know that Yahweh had departed from him.

When they were by the house of Micah, they knew the voice of the young man the Levite; so they went over there, and said to him, “Who brought you here? What do you do in this place? What do you have here?”

They said to him, “Please ask counsel of God, that we may know whether our way which we go shall be prosperous.”

They said, “Arise, and let us go up against them; for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good. Do you stand still? Don’t be slothful to go and to enter in to possess the land.

Then the five men who went to spy out the country of Laish answered, and said to their brothers, “Do you know that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and a carved image, and a molten image? Now therefore consider what you have to do.”

Behold, you children of Israel, all of you, give here your advice and counsel.”

Now the appointed sign between the men of Israel and the ambushers was that they should make a great cloud of smoke rise up out of the city.

Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his maidens, and that they not meet you in any other field.”

She lay at his feet until the morning, then she rose up before one could discern another. For he said, “Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.”

As she continued praying before Yahweh, Eli saw her mouth.

Now Hannah spoke in her heart. Only her lips moved, but her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli thought she was drunk.

Eli said to her, “How long will you be drunk? Get rid of your wine!”

At that time, when Eli was laid down in his place (now his eyes had begun to grow dim, so that he could not see),

Yahweh called Samuel; and he said, “Here I am.”

He ran to Eli, and said, “Here I am; for you called me.” He said, “I didn’t call. Lie down again.” He went and lay down.

Yahweh called yet again, “Samuel!” Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am; for you called me.” He answered, “I didn’t call, my son. Lie down again.”

Now Samuel didn’t yet know Yahweh, neither was Yahweh’s word yet revealed to him.

Yahweh called Samuel again the third time. He arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am; for you called me.” Eli perceived that Yahweh had called the child.

Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down. It shall be, if he calls you, that you shall say, ‘Speak, Yahweh; for your servant hears.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

Yahweh came, and stood, and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak; for your servant hears.”

Yahweh said to Samuel, “Behold, I will do a thing in Israel, at which both the ears of everyone who hears it will tingle.

Samuel lay until the morning, and opened the doors of Yahweh’s house. Samuel feared to show Eli the vision.

Then Eli called Samuel, and said, “Samuel, my son!” He said, “Here I am.”

He said, “What is the thing that he has spoken to you? Please don’t hide it from me. God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the things that he spoke to you.”

Samuel told him every bit, and hid nothing from him. He said, “It is Yahweh. Let him do what seems good to him.”

Samuel grew, and Yahweh was with him, and let none of his words fall to the ground.

All Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a prophet of Yahweh.

Yahweh appeared again in Shiloh; for Yahweh revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by Yahweh’s word.

When Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said, “What does the noise of this tumult mean?” The man hurried, and came and told Eli.

The Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying, “What shall we do with Yahweh’s ark? Show us how we should send it to its place.”

Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together and came to Samuel to Ramah.

But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” Samuel prayed to Yahweh.

The servant said to him, “Behold now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is a man who is held in honor. All that he says surely happens. Now let us go there. Perhaps he can tell us which way to go.”

The servant answered Saul again, and said, “Behold, I have in my hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver. I will give that to the man of God, to tell us our way.”

(In earlier times in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, he said, “Come, and let us go to the seer”; for he who is now called a prophet was before called a seer.)

Then Saul said to his servant, “Well said. Come, let us go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was.

As they went up the ascent to the city, they found young maidens going out to draw water, and said to them, “Is the seer here?”

They answered them, and said, “He is. Behold, he is before you. Hurry now, for he has come today into the city; for the people have a sacrifice today in the high place.