The Tower of Babel

Now the whole world had one language and a common speech.

so that you can distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean,

The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills.

He took the Asherah pole from the temple of the Lord to the Kidron Valley outside Jerusalem and burned it there. He ground it to powder and scattered the dust over the graves of the common people.

The king made silver and gold as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills.

The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar as plentiful as sycamore-fig trees in the foothills.

So my God put it into my heart to assemble the nobles, the officials and the common people for registration by families. I found the genealogical record of those who had been the first to return. This is what I found written there:

They are free from common human burdens; they are not plagued by human ills.

Rich and poor have this in common: The Lord is the Maker of them all.

The poor and the oppressor have this in common: The Lord gives sight to the eyes of both.

A Common Destiny for All

So I reflected on all this and concluded that the righteous and the wise and what they do are in God’s hands, but no one knows whether love or hate awaits them.

All share a common destiny—the righteous and the wicked, the good and the bad, the clean and the unclean, those who offer sacrifices and those who do not. As it is with the good, so with the sinful; as it is with those who take oaths, so with those who are afraid to take them.

Therefore my people will go into exile for lack of understanding; those of high rank will die of hunger and the common people will be parched with thirst.

They brought Uriah out of Egypt and took him to King Jehoiakim, who had him struck down with a sword and his body thrown into the burial place of the common people.)

Her priests do violence to my law and profane my holy things; they do not distinguish between the holy and the common; they teach that there is no difference between the unclean and the clean; and they shut their eyes to the keeping of my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.

So he measured the area on all four sides. It had a wall around it, five hundred cubits long and five hundred cubits wide, to separate the holy from the common.

They are to teach my people the difference between the holy and the common and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean.

“The remaining area, 5,000 cubits wide and 25,000 cubits long, will be for the common use of the city, for houses and for pastureland. The city will be in the center of it

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’

“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’”

On reaching the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.”

“Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”

All the believers were together and had everything in common.