And yet you ask, "What does God know? He is hidden by clouds---how can he judge us?"

The wicked say to themselves, "God doesn't care! He has closed his eyes and will never see me!"

They tell the prophets to keep quiet. They say, "Don't talk to us about what's right. Tell us what we want to hear. Let us keep our illusions.

The LORD says, "People deceive the king and his officers by their evil plots.

Don't prophesy here at Bethel any more. This is the king's place of worship, the national temple."

The people preach at me and say, "Don't preach at us. Don't preach about all that. God is not going to disgrace us.

"These people want the kind of prophet who goes around full of lies and deceit and says, 'I prophesy that wine and liquor will flow for you.'

Whoever does not have the Spirit cannot receive the gifts that come from God's Spirit. Such a person really does not understand them, and they seem to be nonsense, because their value can be judged only on a spiritual basis.

As the scripture says, "Who knows the mind of the Lord? Who is able to give him advice?" We, however, have the mind of Christ.

They all came together and joined forces to fight against Joshua and the Israelites.