Sunday, October 29, 2023

Iniquity

Iniquity is a word that is sometimes used synonymously with sin but the more prevalent use of the word is set in the context of the collective sins of a people, most often in reference to the sins of the people of God when they turn away from him and abominations and wickedness becomes widespread within the nation.

Most passages containing the collective meaning of inquiry, the people have ripened in sin unto destruction and the judgements of God have come upon them. The descriptions of a people in the state of iniquity are ones of widespread sexual sin and violence.


Scripture Passages that Teach About Iniquity

“…For as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity…” — Romans 6-19

“And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies’ lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them. If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me; and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity: Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.” — Leviticus 26: 39-42

“They shall accept of the punishment of their iniquity: because, even because they despised my judgments, and because their soul abhorred my statutes.” — Leviticus 26:43

“None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity... their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands... Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in their paths. The way of peace they know not; and there is no judgment in their goings: they have made them crooked paths: whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace.” — Isaiah 59:3, 6-8

“And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities... Be not wroth very sore, O Lord, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people.” — Isaiah 64:7,9

“Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies…” — Hosea 10:13

“For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity… so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.“ — Ezekiel 4:5

“For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, that was overthrown as in a moment, and no hands stayed on her.” — Lamentation 4:6

“For the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests, that have shed the blood of the just in the midst of her…” — Lamentation 4:13

“He shall bring upon them their own iniquity, and shall cut them off in their own wickedness; yea, the Lord our God shall cut them off.” — Psalm 94:23

“When the wicked spring as the grass, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish; it is that they shall be destroyed for ever.” — Psalm 92:7

“Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil, and to confusion of face, as it is this day.” — Ezra 9:7

“Thus saith the Lord unto this people, Thus have they loved to wander, they have not refrained their feet, therefore the Lord doth not accept them; he will now remember their iniquity, and visit their sins.” — Jeremiah 14:10

“Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? hath thy soul lothed Zion? why hast thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? we looked for peace, and there is no good; and for the time of healing, and behold trouble! We acknowledge, O Lord, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee. Do not abhor us, for thy name’s sake, do not disgrace the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us.” — Jeremiah 14:19-21

“And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this; Should we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? wouldest not thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping?” — Ezra 9:13-14

“…I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.” — Zechariah 3:9

“…these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumbling-block of their iniquity before their face…” — Ezekiel 14:3

“And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him; That the house of Israel may go no more astray from me, neither be polluted any more with all their transgressions; but that they may be my people, and I may be their God, saith the Lord God.” — Ezekiel 14:10-11

“And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity; Judah also shall fall with them.” — Hosea 5:5

“Yea, and we may see at the very time when he doth prosper his people… then is the time that they do harden their hearts, and do forget the Lord their God, and do trample under their feet the Holy One—yea, and this because of their ease, and their exceedingly great prosperity. And thus we see that except the Lord doth chasten his people with many afflictions… they will not remember him. O how foolish, and how vain, and how evil, and devilish, and how quick to do iniquity, and how slow to do good, are the children of men; yea, how quick to hearken unto the words of the evil one, and to set their hearts upon the vain things of the world! Yea, how quick to be lifted up in pride; yea, how quick to boast, and do all manner of that which is iniquity; and how slow are they to remember the Lord their God, and to give ear unto his counsels, yea, how slow to walk in wisdom’s paths! Behold, they do not desire that the Lord their God, who hath created them, should rule and reign over them; notwithstanding his great goodness and his mercy towards them, they do set at naught his counsels, and they will not that he should be their guide.” — Helaman 12:2-6, Book of Mormon

“Yea, wo be unto this generation! And the Lord said unto me: Stretch forth thy hand and prophesy, saying: Thus saith the Lord, it shall come to pass that this generation, because of their iniquities, shall be brought into bondage, and shall be smitten on the cheek; yea, and shall be driven by men, and shall be slain; and the vultures of the air, and the dogs, yea, and the wild beasts, shall devour their flesh.” — Mosiah 12:2, Book of Mormon

“Ye do not remember the Lord your God in the things with which he hath blessed you, but ye do always remember your riches, not to thank the Lord your God for them; yea, your hearts are not drawn out unto the Lord, but they do swell with great pride, unto boasting, and unto great swelling, envyings, strifes, malice, persecutions, and murders, and all manner of iniquities. For this cause hath the Lord God caused that a curse should come upon the land, and also upon your riches, and this because of your iniquities.” — Helaman 13:22-23, Book of Mormon

“Yea, wo unto this people, because of this time which has arrived, that ye do cast out the prophets, and do mock them, and cast stones at them, and do slay them, and do all manner of iniquity unto them, even as they did of old time.” — Helaman 13:24, Book of Mormon

“The anger of the Lord is already kindled against you; behold, he hath cursed the land because of your iniquity.” — Helaman 13:30, Book of Mormon

“But behold, your days of probation are past; ye have procrastinated the day of your salvation until it is everlastingly too late, and your destruction is made sure; yea, for ye have sought all the days of your lives for that which ye could not obtain; and ye have sought for happiness in doing iniquity, which thing is contrary to the nature of that righteousness which is in our great and Eternal Head.” — Helaman 12:38, Book of Mormon

“For behold, how much iniquity doth one wicked king cause to be committed, yea, and what great destruction!” — Mosiah 29:17, Book of Mormon

“And if the time comes that the voice of the people doth choose iniquity, then is the time that the judgments of God will come upon you; yea, then is the time he will visit you with great destruction even as he has hitherto visited this land.” — Mosiah 29:27, Book of Mormon

“The sins of many people have been caused by the iniquities of their kings; therefore their iniquities are answered upon the heads of their kings.” — Mosiah 29:31, Book of Mormon

“Yea, all his iniquities and abominations, and all the wars, and contentions, and bloodshed, and the stealing, and the plundering, and the committing of whoredoms, and all manner of iniquities which cannot be enumerated—telling them that these things ought not to be, that they were expressly repugnant to the commandments of God.” — Mosiah 29:36, Book of Mormon

“And it came to pass that in the days of Ethem there came many prophets, and prophesied again unto the people; yea, they did prophesy that the Lord would utterly destroy them from off the face of the earth except they repented of their iniquities.” — Either 11:12, Book of Mormon

“And the people began to repent of their iniquity; and inasmuch as they did the Lord did have mercy on them.” — Either 11:8, Book of Mormon

“Now the cause of this iniquity of the people was this—Satan had great power, unto the stirring up of the people to do all manner of iniquity, and to the puffing them up with pride, tempting them to seek for power, and authority, and riches, and the vain things of the world. And thus Satan did lead away the hearts of the people to do all manner of iniquity.” — 3 Nephi 6:15-16, Book of Mormon

“And thus, the people having been carried about by the temptations of the devil whithersoever he desired to carry them, and to do whatsoever iniquity he desired they should—and thus they were in a state of awful wickedness. Now they did not sin ignorantly, for they knew the will of God concerning them, for it had been taught unto them; therefore they did wilfully rebel against God.”

— 3 Nephi 8:17-18, Book of Mormon

“Now this great iniquity had come upon the Nephites, in the space of not many years…” — Helaman 7:6, Book of Mormon

“Oh, that I could have had my days in the days when my father…that I could have joyed with him in the promised land; then were his people easy to be entreated, firm to keep the commandments of God, and slow to be led to do iniquity; and they were quick to hearken unto the words of the Lord.” — Helaman 7:7, Book of Mormon

“And they were strict to observe that there should be no iniquity among them; and whoso was found to commit iniquity, and three witnesses of the church did condemn them before the elders, and if they repented not, and confessed not, their names were blotted out, and they were not numbered among the people of Christ. But as oft as they repented and sought forgiveness, with real intent, they were forgiven.” — Moroni 6:7-8, Book of Mormon

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