The Serpent

and the great dragon was cast forth--the old serpent, who is called `Devil,' and `the Adversary,' who is leading astray the whole world--he was cast forth to the earth, and his messengers were cast forth with him.

And the serpent hath been subtile above every beast of the field which Jehovah God hath made, and he saith unto the woman, `Is it true that God hath said, Ye do not eat of every tree of the garden?'

and he laid hold on the dragon, the old serpent, who is Devil and Adversary, and did bind him a thousand years,

and I fear, lest, as the serpent did beguile Eve in his subtilty, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that <FI>is<Fi> in the Christ;

And the serpent hath been subtile above every beast of the field which Jehovah God hath made, and he saith unto the woman, `Is it true that God hath said, Ye do not eat of every tree of the garden?' — read the full passage →

And Jehovah God saith unto the serpent, `Because thou hast done this, cursed <FI>art<Fi> thou above all the cattle, and above every beast of the field: on thy belly dost thou go, and dust thou dost eat, all days of thy life;

`Ye are of a father--the devil, and the desires of your father ye will to do; he was a man-slayer from the beginning, and in the truth he hath not stood, because there is no truth in him; when one may speak the falsehood, of his own he speaketh, because he is a liar--also his father.

`Lo, I do send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves, be ye therefore wise as the serpents, and simple as the doves.

`And as Moses did lift up the serpent in the wilderness, so it behoveth the Son of Man to be lifted up, — read the full passage →

and enmity I put between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; he doth bruise thee--the head, and thou dost bruise him--the heel.'

And there came war in the heaven; Michael and his messengers did war against the dragon, and the dragon did war, and his messengers, — read the full passage →

Be sober, vigilant, because your opponent the devil, as a roaring lion, doth walk about, seeking whom he may swallow up,

And I saw a messenger coming down out of the heaven, having the key of the abyss, and a great chain over his hand, — read the full passage →

In that day lay a charge doth Jehovah, With his sword--the sharp, and the great, and the strong, On leviathan--a fleeing serpent, And on leviathan--a crooked serpent, And He hath slain the dragon that <FI>is<Fi> in the sea.

How hast thou fallen from the heavens, O shining one, son of the dawn! Thou hast been cut down to earth, O weakener of nations.

Its latter end--as a serpent it biteth, And as a basilisk it stingeth.

Dan is a serpent by the way, An adder by the path, Which is biting the horse's heels, And its rider falleth backward.

Seeing, then, the children have partaken of flesh and blood, he himself also in like manner did take part of the same, that through death he might destroy him having the power of death--that is, the devil--

Wolf and lamb do feed as one, And a lion as an ox eateth straw, As to the serpent--dust <FI>is<Fi> its food, They do no evil, nor destroy, In all My holy mountain, said Jehovah!

messengers also, those who did not keep their own principality, but did leave their proper dwelling, to a judgment of a great day, in bonds everlasting, under darkness He hath kept,

and no wonder--for even the Adversary doth transform himself into a messenger of light;

he who is doing the sin, of the devil he is, because from the beginning the devil doth sin; for this was the Son of God manifested, that he may break up the works of the devil;

because we have not the wrestling with blood and flesh, but with the principalities, with the authorities, with the world-rulers of the darkness of this age, with the spiritual things of the evil in the heavenly places;

They lick dust as a serpent, as fearful things of earth, They tremble from their enclosures, Of Jehovah our God they are afraid, Yea, they are afraid of Thee.

`Serpents! brood of vipers! how may ye escape from the judgment of the gehenna?

They sharpened their tongue as a serpent, Poison of an adder <FI>is<Fi> under their lips. Selah.

And they journey from mount Hor, the way of the Red Sea, to compass the land of Edom, and the soul of the people is short in the way, — read the full passage →

And having seen many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming about his baptism, he said to them, `Brood of vipers! who did shew you to flee from the coming wrath?

And if they be hid in the top of Carmel, From thence I search out, and have taken them, And if they be hid from Mine eyes in the bottom of the sea, From thence I command the serpent, And it hath bitten them.

Rejoice not thou, Philistia, all of thee, That broken hath been the rod of thy smiter, For from the root of a serpent cometh out a viper, And its fruit <FI>is<Fi> a flying saraph.

On lion and asp thou treadest, Thou trampest young lion and dragon.

And Jehovah God saith to the woman, `What <FI>is<Fi> this thou hast done?' and the woman saith, `The serpent hath caused me to forget--and I do eat.'

and the Devil, who is leading them astray, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where <FI>are<Fi> the beast and the false prophet, and they shall be tormented day and night--to the ages of the ages.

and the God of the peace shall bruise the Adversary under your feet quickly; the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ <FI>be<Fi> with you. Amen!

`And as Moses did lift up the serpent in the wilderness, so it behoveth the Son of Man to be lifted up,

lo, I give to you the authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and on all the power of the enemy, and nothing by any means shall hurt you;

`Brood of vipers! how are ye able to speak good things--being evil? for out of the abundance of the heart doth the mouth speak.

Their poison <FI>is<Fi> as poison of a serpent, As a deaf asp shutting its ear,

By His Spirit the heavens He beautified, Formed hath His hand the fleeing serpent.

And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Make for thee a burning <FI>serpent<Fi> , and set it on an ensign; and it hath been, every one who is bitten and hath seen it--he hath lived.

and there were given to the woman two wings of the great eagle, that she may fly to the wilderness, to her place, where she is nourished a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent;

And a great sign was seen in the heaven, a woman arrayed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars, — read the full passage →

put on the whole armour of God, for your being able to stand against the wiles of the devil,

Then shall he say also to those on the left hand, Go ye from me, the cursed, to the fire, the age-during, that hath been prepared for the Devil and his messengers;

Then Jesus was led up to the wilderness by the Spirit, to be tempted by the Devil,

Devoured us, crushed us, hath Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, He hath set us <FI>as<Fi> an empty vessel, He hath swallowed us as a dragon, He hath filled his belly with my dainties, He hath driven us away.

Only--unto Sheol thou art brought down, Unto the sides of the pit.

A sepulchre opened <FI>is<Fi> their throat; with their tongues they used deceit; poison of asps <FI>is<Fi> under their lips.

And the Tempter having come to him said, `If Son thou art of God--speak that these stones may become loaves.'

As <FI>when<Fi> one fleeth from the face of the lion, And the bear hath met him, And he hath come in to the house, And hath leant his hand on the wall, And the serpent hath bitten him.

Its voice as a serpent goeth on, For with a force they go, And with axes they have come in to her, As hewers of trees.

The burden of the beasts of the south. Into a land of adversity and distress, Of young lion and of old lion, Whence <FI>are<Fi> viper and flying saraph, They carry on the shoulder of asses their wealth, And on the hump of camels their treasures, Unto a people not profitable.

And played hath a suckling by the hole of an asp, And on the den of a cockatrice Hath the weaned one put his hand.

The poison of dragons <FI>is<Fi> their wine And the fierce venom of asps.

who is causing thee to go in the great and the terrible wilderness--burning serpent, and scorpion, and thirst--where there is no water; who is bringing out to thee waters from the flinty rock;

Lo, he doth come with the clouds, and see him shall every eye, even those who did pierce him, and wail because of him shall all the tribes of the land. Yes! Amen!

Whoso is digging a pit falleth into it, And whoso is breaking a hedge, a serpent biteth him.

The way of the eagle in the heavens, The way of a serpent on a rock, The way of a ship in the heart of the sea, And the way of a man in youth.

he hath turned aside the high places, and broken in pieces the standing-pillars, and cut down the shrine, and beaten down the brazen serpent that Moses made, for unto these days were the sons of Israel making perfume to it, and he calleth it `a piece of brass.'

And Moses maketh a serpent of brass, and setteth it on the ensign, and it hath been, if the serpent hath bitten any man, and he hath looked expectingly unto the serpent of brass--he hath lived.

and He saith, `Cast it to the earth;' and he casteth it to the earth, and it becometh a serpent--and Moses fleeth from its presence.

And Jehovah God formeth the man--dust from the ground, and breatheth into his nostrils breath of life, and the man becometh a living creature.

and they have over them a king--the messenger of the abyss--a name <FI>is<Fi> to him in Hebrew, Abaddon, and in the Greek he hath a name, Apollyon.

For if God messengers who sinned did not spare, but with chains of thick gloom, having cast <FI>them<Fi> down to Tartarus, did deliver <FI>them<Fi> to judgment, having been reserved,

because also Christ once for sin did suffer--righteous for unrighteous--that he might lead us to God, having been put to death indeed, in the flesh, and having been made alive in the spirit,

in which once ye did walk according to the age of this world, according to the ruler of the authority of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience,

serpents they shall take up; and if any deadly thing they may drink, it shall not hurt them; on the ailing they shall lay hands, and they shall be well.'

and the court that is without the sanctuary leave out, and thou mayest not measure it, because it was given to the nations, and the holy city they shall tread down forty-two months;

and it was given to them that they may not kill them, but that they may be tormented five months, and their torment <FI>is<Fi> as the torment of a scorpion, when it may strike a man;

After these things I saw, and lo, a door opened in the heaven, and the first voice that I heard <FI>is<Fi> as of a trumpet speaking with me, saying, `Come up hither, and I will shew thee what it behoveth to come to pass after these things;'

and then shall be revealed the Lawless One, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the manifestation of his presence,

I will no more talk much with you, for the ruler of this world doth come, and in me he hath nothing;

And the woman seeth that the tree <FI>is<Fi> good for food, and that it <FI>is<Fi> pleasant to the eyes, and the tree is desirable to make <FI>one<Fi> wise, and she taketh of its fruit and eateth, and giveth also to her husband with her, and he doth eat;

And there was seen another sign in the heaven, and, lo, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his head seven diadems,

And the seventh messenger did sound, and there came great voices in the heaven, saying, `The kingdoms of the world did become <FI>those<Fi> of our Lord and of His Christ, and he shall reign to the ages of the ages!'

A revelation of Jesus Christ, that God gave to him, to shew to his servants what things it behoveth to come to pass quickly; and he did signify <FI>it<Fi> , having sent through his messenger to his servant John, — read the full passage →

for him who did not know sin, in our behalf He did make sin, that we may become the righteousness of God in him.

in whom the god of this age did blind the minds of the unbelieving, that there doth not shine forth to them the enlightening of the good news of the glory of the Christ, who is the image of God;

and I wish you to know that of every man the head is the Christ, and the head of a woman is the husband, and the head of Christ is God.

neither may we tempt the Christ, as also certain of them did tempt, and by the serpents did perish;

the Son of Man shall send forth his messengers, and they shall gather up out of his kingdom all the stumbling-blocks, and those doing the unlawlessness, — read the full passage →

and saith to him, `If Son thou art of God--cast thyself down, for it hath been written, that, His messengers He shall charge concerning thee, and on hands they shall bear thee up, that thou mayest not dash on a stone thy foot.'

And the serpent saith unto the woman, `Dying, ye do not die,

and the serpent did cast forth after the woman, out of his mouth, water as a river, that he may cause her to be carried away by the river,

who did testify the word of God, and the testimony of Jesus Christ, as many things also as he did see.

Be sober, vigilant, because your opponent the devil, as a roaring lion, doth walk about, seeking whom he may swallow up, — read the full passage →

be subject, then, to God; stand up against the devil, and he will flee from you;

Call upon you, then, do I--the prisoner of the Lord--to walk worthily of the calling with which ye were called, — read the full passage →

Christ did redeem us from the curse of the law, having become for us a curse, for it hath been written, `Cursed is every one who is hanging on a tree,'

but Paul having gathered together a quantity of sticks, and having laid <FI>them<Fi> upon the fire, a viper--out of the heat having come--did fasten on his hand. — read the full passage →

`And of which of you--the father--if the son shall ask a loaf, a stone will he present to him? and if a fish, will he instead of a fish, a serpent present to him?

High hath been thy heart, because of thy beauty, Thou hast corrupted thy wisdom because of thy brightness, On the earth I have cast thee, Before kings I have set thee, to look on thee, — read the full passage →

and the people come in unto Moses and say, `We have sinned, for we have spoken against Jehovah, and against thee; pray unto Jehovah, and He doth turn aside from us the serpent;' and Moses prayeth in behalf of the people.

and to fearful, and unstedfast, and abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all the liars, their part <FI>is<Fi> in the lake that is burning with fire and brimstone, which is a second death.'

and the rest of the dead did not live again till the thousand years may be finished; this <FI>is<Fi> the first rising again.

but Paul having gathered together a quantity of sticks, and having laid <FI>them<Fi> upon the fire, a viper--out of the heat having come--did fasten on his hand.

for God did so love the world, that His Son--the only begotten--He gave, that every one who is believing in him may not perish, but may have life age-during. — read the full passage →

And the seventy turned back with joy, saying, `Sir, and the demons are being subjected to us in thy name;' — read the full passage →

Eggs of a viper they have hatched, And webs of a spider they weave, Whoso is eating their eggs doth die, And the crushed hatcheth a viper.

If the serpent biteth without enchantment, Then there is no advantage to a master of the tongue.