Topical Bible: Sentence

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Topical Encyclopedia

In biblical terms, the concept of "sentence" can refer to a judicial decision or decree, often reflecting divine judgment or human legal proceedings. The term is used in various contexts throughout the Scriptures, illustrating both God's righteous judgment and the legal practices of ancient Israel.

Divine Judgment

The Bible frequently portrays God as the ultimate judge who issues sentences based on His perfect justice and righteousness. In the Old Testament, God's sentences are often depicted as direct consequences of the people's obedience or disobedience to His commandments. For instance, in the book of Genesis, God pronounces a sentence upon Adam and Eve following their disobedience: "To the woman He said, 'I will sharply increase your pain in childbirth; in pain you will bring forth children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.' And to Adam He said, 'Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat, cursed is the ground because of you; through toil you will eat of it all the days of your life'" (Genesis 3:16-17).

In the New Testament, the concept of divine sentencing is further developed with the promise of final judgment. Jesus speaks of the separation of the righteous from the wicked, where each will receive their due sentence: "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life" (Matthew 25:46).

Human Legal Proceedings

In addition to divine judgment, the Bible also addresses human legal systems and the sentences they impose. The Mosaic Law provided a comprehensive legal code for the Israelites, including various sentences for different offenses. For example, the law prescribed specific penalties for crimes such as theft, murder, and false witness. In Deuteronomy, the principle of proportional justice is emphasized: "Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot" (Deuteronomy 19:21).

The role of judges and elders in administering justice and issuing sentences is also highlighted in the Scriptures. In the book of Exodus, Moses appoints capable men to serve as judges over the people, instructing them to judge fairly and impartially: "Select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens" (Exodus 18:21).

Mercy and Redemption

While the Bible underscores the importance of justice and the execution of sentences, it also emphasizes God's mercy and the possibility of redemption. The Psalms frequently appeal to God's mercy in the face of deserved judgment: "Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions; remember me according to Your loving devotion, because of Your goodness, O LORD" (Psalm 25:7).

The New Testament reveals the ultimate expression of God's mercy through Jesus Christ, who bore the sentence of sin on behalf of humanity. The Apostle Paul writes, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). Through faith in Christ, believers are spared the sentence of eternal separation from God and are granted the promise of eternal life.

In summary, the concept of "sentence" in the Bible encompasses both divine and human judgments, reflecting God's justice, the legal practices of ancient Israel, and the overarching theme of mercy and redemption through Jesus Christ.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

1. (n.) Sense; meaning; significance.

2. (n.) An opinion; a decision; a determination; a judgment, especially one of an unfavorable nature.

3. (n.) A philosophical or theological opinion; a dogma; as, Summary of the Sentences; Book of the Sentences.

4. (n.) In civil and admiralty law, the judgment of a court pronounced in a cause; in criminal and ecclesiastical courts, a judgment passed on a criminal by a court or judge; condemnation pronounced by a judicial tribunal; doom. In common law, the term is exclusively used to denote the judgment in criminal cases.

5. (n.) A short saying, usually containing moral instruction; a maxim; an axiom; a saw.

6. (n.) A combination of words which is complete as expressing a thought, and in writing is marked at the close by a period, or full point. See Proposition, 4.

7. (v. t.) To pass or pronounce judgment upon; to doom; to condemn to punishment; to prescribe the punishment of.

8. (v. t.) To decree or announce as a sentence.

9. (v. t.) To utter sententiously.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

SENTENCE

sen'-tens: Eight Hebrew and three Greek words are thus translated in the King James Version. Sometimes it points to a mystery (Daniel 5:12; Daniel 8:23); then again to the contents of the Law (Deuteronomy 17:11); then again to the idea of judgment (Psalm 17:2) or of a judicial sentence (2 Corinthians 1:9 Luke 23:24), or of judicial advice (Acts 15:19, the American Standard Revised Version "judgment").

Greek

1948. epikrino -- to decree, give sentence
... to decree, give sentence. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: epikrino Phonetic
Spelling: (ep-ee-kree'-no) Short Definition: I decree, give sentence Definition ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1948.htm - 6k

610. apokrima -- a judicial sentence, by ext. an answer
... apokrima. 611 . a judicial sentence, by ext. ... Word Origin from apokrinomai Definition
a judicial sentence, by ext. an answer NASB Word Usage sentence (1). ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/610.htm - 6k

2613b. katadike -- sentence
... 2613a, 2613b. katadike. 2614 . sentence. Transliteration: katadike Short
Definition: condemnation. Word Origin from kata and dike ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2613b.htm - 5k

2613. katadikazo -- to pass sentence upon
... to pass sentence upon. Part of Speech: Verb Transliteration: katadikazo Phonetic
Spelling: (kat-ad-ik-ad'-zo) Short Definition: I condemn Definition: I condemn ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2613.htm - 6k

2613a. katadikazo -- to pass sentence upon
... 2613, 2613a. katadikazo. 2613b . to pass sentence upon. Transliteration:
katadikazo Short Definition: condemned. Word Origin from ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2613a.htm - 5k

1345. dikaioma -- an ordinance, a sentence of acquittal or ...
... an ordinance, a sentence of acquittal or condemnation, a righteous deed. Part of
Speech: Noun, Neuter Transliteration: dikaioma Phonetic Spelling: (dik-ah'-yo ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1345.htm - 8k

2920. krisis -- a decision, judgment
... krisis Phonetic Spelling: (kree'-sis) Short Definition: judging, divine judgment
Definition: judging, judgment, decision, sentence; generally: divine judgment ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2920.htm - 7k

1253. diakrisis -- the act of judgment
... Noun, Feminine Transliteration: diakrisis Phonetic Spelling: (dee-ak'-ree-sis) Short
Definition: distinguishing, deciding, passing sentence on Definition ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1253.htm - 7k

2917. krima -- a judgment
... Word Origin from krino Definition a judgment NASB Word Usage condemnation (8), judgment
(15), judgments (1), lawsuits (1), sentence (1), sentence of ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2917.htm - 7k

3387. me tis -- any
... any Or me tis (may tis) from me and tis; whether any -- any (sometimes unexpressed
except by the simple interrogative form of the sentence). see GREEK me. ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3387.htm - 6k

Strong's Hebrew

6599. pithgam -- an edict, decree
... Word Origin of foreign origin Definition an edict, decree NASB Word Usage
edict (1), sentence (1). decree, sentence. Of Persian origin ...
/hebrew/6599.htm - 5k

4941. mishpat -- judgment
... plan (1), plans (1), practice (1), procedure (4), properly (2), regulation (1),
right (8), rightful place (1), rights (2), rule (1), sentence (2), sentenced (1 ...
/hebrew/4941.htm - 7k

2420. chidah -- a riddle, an enigmatic, perplexing saying or ...
... riddles (1). dark saying sentence, speech, hard question, proverb, riddle.
From chuwd; a puzzle, hence, a trick, conundrum, sententious ...
/hebrew/2420.htm - 6k

280. achidah -- a riddle
... hard sentence. (Aramaic) corresponding to chiydah, an enigma -- hard sentence. see
HEBREW chiydah. 279, 280. achidah. 281 . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/280.htm - 6k

7081. qesem -- divination
... divination, divine sentence, witchcraft. From qacam; a lot: also divination (including
its fee), oracle -- (reward of) divination, divine sentence, witchcraft. ...
/hebrew/7081.htm - 6k

6310. peh -- mouth
... assent, collar, command(-ment), X eat, edge, end, entry, + file, hole, X in, mind,
mouth, part, portion, X (should) say(-ing), sentence, skirt, sound, speech ...
/hebrew/6310.htm - 7k

8201. shephet -- judgment
... judgment. From shaphat; a sentence, ie Infliction -- judgment. see HEBREW
shaphat. 8200, 8201. shephet. 8202 . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/8201.htm - 6k

1779. din -- judgment
... cause, judgment, plea, strife. From diyn; judgement (the suit, justice, sentence
or tribunal); by impl. Also strife -- cause, judgement, plea, strife. ...
/hebrew/1779.htm - 6k

1697. dabar -- speech, word
... please, portion, + power, promise, provision, purpose, question, rate, reason, report,
request, X (as hast) said, sake, saying, sentence, + sign, + so, some ...
/hebrew/1697.htm - 8k

6600. pithgam -- a command, word, affair
... corresponding to pithgam Definition a command, word, affair NASB Word Usage answer
(1), answer...matter (1), answered* (1), edict (1), report (1), sentence (1 ...
/hebrew/6600.htm - 6k

Library

A Memorable Sentence,
... A MEMORABLE SENTENCE,. Formed from the signification of the names by which
the tribes were called, by which both the order of the ...
//christianbookshelf.org/mede/a key to the apocalypse/a memorable sentence .htm

The Sentence of the Synod.
... The Canons of the Blessed and Holy Fathers Assembled at Antioch in Syria. The Sentence
of the Synod. (From the Acts. Collation VIII., L. and C., Conc., Tom. ...
/.../schaff/the seven ecumenical councils/the sentence of the synod.htm

The Sentence of the Judge is Set Forth, the Counterpleas of the ...
... Book II. Chapter XIV. The sentence of the Judge is set forth, the counterpleas of
the opposers are considered? ... Nay, He hath already pronounced sentence. ...
/.../ambrose/works and letters of st ambrose/chapter xiv the sentence of.htm

The Sentence which Condemned the Judges
... EXPOSITIONS OF HOLY SCRIPTURE; ALEXANDER MACLAREN, DD, Litt. D.; ST. MATTHEW
Chaps. XVIII to XXVIII THE SENTENCE WHICH CONDEMNED THE JUDGES. ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture b/the sentence which condemned the.htm

The Sentence against the Monothelites.
... The Sixth Ecumenical Council. The Sentence Against the Monothelites. Session
XIII. (L. and C., Concilia, Tom. VI., col.943.). The ...
/.../schaff/the seven ecumenical councils/the sentence against the monothelites.htm

Which Sentence Dishonoreth the Holy Martyrs, Nay Rather Taketh ...
... Section 3. Which sentence dishonoreth the holy Martyrs, nay rather taketh
away holy martyrdoms altogether.? 3. Which sentence ...
/.../augustine/against lying/section 3 which sentence dishonoreth.htm

If the Sentence is one of Command, Either Forbidding a Crime or ...
... Book 3 Chapter 24. If the sentence is one of command, either forbidding
a crime or vice? 24. If the sentence is one of command ...
/.../augustine/on christian doctrine in four books/chapter 24 if the sentence.htm

Whether the Demons Will Carry Out the Sentence of the Judge on the ...
... OF THOSE WHO WILL JUDGE AND OF THOSE WHO WILL BE JUDGED AT THE GENERAL JUDGMENT
(EIGHT ARTICLES) Whether the demons will carry out the sentence of the Judge on ...
/.../aquinas/summa theologica/whether the demons will carry.htm

The Sentence to this Effect, Then, Having Been Passed by Pilate...
... Part I."The Acts of Pilate. Second Greek Form. Chapter 10. The sentence
to this effect, then, having been passed by Pilate? ...
/.../unknown/the gospel of nicodemus /chapter 10 the sentence to.htm

But Now as to the Sentence which Follows all These...
... Book 4 Chapter 20. But now as to the sentence which follows all these? 20.
But now as to the sentence which follows all these: "and ...
/.../augustine/on christian doctrine in four books/chapter 20 but now as.htm

Thesaurus

Sentence (53 Occurrences)
... of. 8. (vt) To decree or announce as a sentence. 9. (vt) To utter
sententiously. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. SENTENCE. sen ...
/s/sentence.htm - 24k

Revoke (10 Occurrences)
... Amos 1:3 Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four,
I will not revoke my sentence, because they have threshed Gilead with ...
/r/revoke.htm - 10k

Doom (15 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (vt) Judgment; judicial sentence; penal decree;
condemnation. 2. (vt) That to which one is doomed or ...
/d/doom.htm - 12k

Period (43 Occurrences)
... 5. (n.) A complete sentence, from one full stop to another; esp., a well-proportioned,
harmonious sentence. ... 9. (n.) A complete musical sentence. 10. ...
/p/period.htm - 34k

Conscience (36 Occurrences)
... 1. Judicial: This is judicial. No sooner is a decision formed than there ensues
a judgment favorable or adverse, a sentence of guilty or not guilty. ...
/c/conscience.htm - 37k

Damn
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (vt) To condemn; to declare guilty; to doom;
to adjudge to punishment; to sentence; to censure. 2. (vt ...
/d/damn.htm - 13k

Damnation (11 Occurrences)
... of magistracy. This sentence of condemnation comes not from the magistrate,
but from God, whose authority is thus resisted. In 1 ...
/d/damnation.htm - 18k

Verdict (7 Occurrences)
... you shall come to the priests the Levites, and to the judge who shall be in those
days: and you shall inquire; and they shall show you the sentence of judgment ...
/v/verdict.htm - 8k

Damnable (1 Occurrence)
... False prophets taught doctrines calculated to destroy others, and themselves incurred
the sentence of destruction such as overtook the fallen angels, the world ...
/d/damnable.htm - 14k

Condemn (43 Occurrences)
... 3. (vt) To pronounce a judicial sentence against; to sentence to punishment,
suffering, or loss; to doom; -- with to before the penalty. ...
/c/condemn.htm - 24k

Resources

When the Bible is translated into English, how do the translators decide what punctuation to use? | GotQuestions.org

What does it mean that all have sinned? | GotQuestions.org

What is antinomy? | GotQuestions.org

Sentence: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

Bible Concordance • Bible Dictionary • Bible Encyclopedia • Topical Bible • Bible Thesuarus

Concordance

Sentence (53 Occurrences)

Matthew 23:33
You serpents, you offspring of vipers, how will you escape the judgment of Gehenna?
(See NAS RSV)

Luke 23:24
And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required.
(KJV ASV WBS NAS RSV)

Luke 23:40
But the other answered, and rebuking him said, "Don't you even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation?
(See NAS RSV NIV)

Luke 24:20
and how our High Priests and Rulers delivered Him up to be sentenced to death, and crucified Him.
(Root in WEY NAS NIV)

John 3:18
He who trusts in Him does not come up for judgement. He who does not trust has already received sentence, because he has not his trust resting on the name of God's only Son.
(WEY)

John 8:10
And Jesus having bent himself back, and having seen no one but the woman, said to her, 'Woman, where are those -- thine accusers? did no one pass sentence upon thee?'
(YLT)

John 8:11
and she said, 'No one, Sir;' and Jesus said to her, 'Neither do I pass sentence on thee; be going on, and no more sin.'
(YLT)

John 16:11
of judgement, because the Prince of this world is under sentence.
(WEY)

Acts 13:28
Though they found no cause for death, they still asked Pilate to have him killed.
(See NIV)

Acts 15:19
Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God:
(KJV WBS)

Acts 25:15
about whom, when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed me, asking for a sentence against him.
(WEB WEY ASV NAS RSV)

Romans 1:32
In short, though knowing full well the sentence which God pronounces against actions such as theirs, as things which deserve death, they not only practise them, but even encourage and applaud others who do them.
(WEY)

Romans 3:4
No, indeed; let us hold God to be true, though every man should prove to be false. As it stands written, "That Thou mayest be shown to be just in the sentence Thou pronouncest, and gain Thy cause when Thou contendest."
(WEY)

Romans 3:19
But it cannot be denied that all that the Law says is addressed to those who are living under the Law, in order that every mouth may be stopped, and that the whole world may await sentence from God.
(WEY)

Romans 8:3
For what was impossible to the Law--powerless as it was because it acted through frail humanity--God effected. Sending His own Son in a body like that of sinful human nature and as a sacrifice for sin, He pronounced sentence upon sin in human nature;
(WEY)

Romans 9:28
for He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness, because the LORD will make a short work upon the earth."
(See RSV NIV)

Romans 13:2
So that he that sets himself in opposition to the authority resists the ordinance of God; and they who thus resist shall bring sentence of guilt on themselves.
(DBY)

Romans 13:9
For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not give false testimony," "You shall not covet," and whatever other commandments there are, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
(See RSV)

2 Corinthians 1:9
Yes, we ourselves have had the sentence of death within ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead,
(WEB KJV WEY ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

2 Peter 2:3
In covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words: whose sentence now from of old doesn't linger, and their destruction will not slumber.
(WEB ASV)

Jude 1:4
For certain men have got in unnoticed, they who of old were marked out beforehand to this sentence, ungodly persons, turning the grace of our God into dissoluteness, and denying our only Master and Lord Jesus Christ.
(DBY)

Revelation 17:1
And one of the seven angels, which had the seven bowls, came and spoke with me, saying, Come here, I will shew thee the sentence of the great harlot who sits upon the many waters;
(DBY)

Deuteronomy 17:9
and you shall come to the priests the Levites, and to the judge who shall be in those days: and you shall inquire; and they shall show you the sentence of judgment.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS)

Deuteronomy 17:10
You shall do according to the tenor of the sentence which they shall show you from that place which Yahweh shall choose; and you shall observe to do according to all that they shall teach you:
(WEB KJV JPS ASV WBS)

Deuteronomy 17:11
according to the tenor 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 aside from the sentence which they shall show you, to the right hand, nor to the left.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS)

Deuteronomy 19:6
lest the redeemer of blood pursue after the man-slayer when his heart is hot, and hath overtaken him (because the way is great), and hath smitten him -- the life, and he hath no sentence of death, for he is not hating him heretofore;
(YLT)

1 Samuel 24:15
May Yahweh therefore be judge, and give sentence between me and you, and see, and plead my cause, and deliver me out of your hand."
(WEB JPS ASV RSV)

1 Kings 20:40
As your servant was busy here and there, he was gone." The king of Israel said to him, "So your judgment shall be; yourself have decided it."
(See NIV)

2 Kings 25:6
Then they took the king, and carried him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave judgment on him.
(See NAS RSV NIV)

Esther 1:20
and the sentence of the king that he maketh hath been heard in all his kingdom -- for it 'is' great -- and all the wives give honour to their husbands, from great even unto small.'
(YLT)

Psalms 17:2
Let my sentence come forth from your presence. Let your eyes look on equity.
(WEB KJV ASV WBS)

Psalms 51:4
Against you, and you only, have I sinned, and done that which is evil in your sight; that you may be proved right when you speak, and justified when you judge.
(See RSV)

Psalms 76:8
Thou didst cause sentence to be heard from heaven; The earth feared, and was still,
(See JPS ASV)

Psalms 149:9
To give them the punishment which is in the holy writings: this honour is given to all his saints. Praise be to the Lord.
(See NIV)

Proverbs 16:10
A divine sentence is in the lips of the king: his mouth transgresseth not in judgment.
(KJV JPS ASV WBS)

Ecclesiastes 8:11
Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
(WEB KJV JPS ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)

Jeremiah 4:12
Even a full wind from those places shall come unto me: now also will I give sentence against them.
(KJV WBS)

Jeremiah 26:11
Then spoke the priests and the prophets to the princes and to all the people, saying, This man is worthy of death; for he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your ears.
(See NAS RSV NIV)

Jeremiah 26:16
Then said the princes and all the people to the priests and to the prophets: This man is not worthy of death; for he has spoken to us in the name of Yahweh our God.
(See NAS RSV NIV)

Jeremiah 39:5
But the army of the Chaldeans pursued after them, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho: and when they had taken him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath; and he gave judgment on him.
(See NAS RSV NIV)

Jeremiah 52:9
Then they took the king, and carried him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath; and he gave judgment on him.
(See NAS RSV NIV)

Ezekiel 23:45
Righteous men, they shall judge them with the judgment of adulteresses, and with the judgment of women who shed blood; because they are adulteresses, and blood is in their hands.
(See RSV NIV)

Daniel 2:9
so' that, if the dream ye do not cause me to know -- one is your sentence, seeing a word lying and corrupt ye have prepared to speak before me, till that the time is changed, therefore the dream tell ye to me, then do I know that its interpretation ye do shew me.'
(YLT RSV)

Daniel 2:13
And the sentence hath gone forth, and the wise men are being slain, and they have sought Daniel and his companions to be slain.
(YLT)

Daniel 2:15
He hath answered and said to Arioch the king's captain, 'Wherefore 'is' the sentence so urgent from before the king?' Then Arioch hath made the thing known to Daniel,
(YLT)

Daniel 4:17
The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones; to the intent that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever he will, and sets up over it the lowest of men. Jonah
(WEB JPS ASV DBY YLT NAS RSV)

Amos 1:3
Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not revoke my sentence, because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron.
(DBY)

Amos 1:6
Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Gazah, and for four, I will not revoke its sentence; because they carried away captive the whole captivity, to deliver them up to Edom.
(DBY)

Amos 1:9
Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Tyre, and for four, I will not revoke its sentence; because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, and remembered not the brotherly covenant.
(DBY)

Amos 1:11
Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not revoke its sentence; because he pursued his brother with the sword, and cast off all pity; and his anger did tear continually, and he kept his wrath for ever.
(DBY)

Amos 2:1
Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not revoke its sentence; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime.
(DBY)

Amos 2:4
Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not revoke its sentence; because they have despised the law of Jehovah, and have not kept his statutes; and their lies have caused them to err, after which their fathers walked.
(DBY)

Amos 2:6
Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke its sentence; because they have sold the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes;
(DBY)

Subtopics

Sentence

Related Terms

Convict (12 Occurrences)

Sentence (53 Occurrences)

Condemned (49 Occurrences)

Universe (19 Occurrences)

Transport (18 Occurrences)

Doomed (21 Occurrences)

Damned (3 Occurrences)

Display (30 Occurrences)

Displayed (18 Occurrences)