Shame

Do not be afraid, for you will not be put to shame; do not be intimidated, for you will not be humiliated. For you will forget the shame of your youth and will remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.

On that day you will not be put to shame for any of the deeds by which you have transgressed against Me. For then I will remove from among you those who rejoice in their pride, and you will never again be haughty on My holy mountain.

⁷ To You, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but this day we are covered with shame—the men of Judah, the people of Jerusalem, and all Israel near and far, in all the countries to which You have driven us because of our unfaithfulness to You.

⁸ O LORD, we are covered with shame—our kings, our leaders, and our fathers—because we have sinned against You.

⁶² So I will establish My covenant with you, and you will know that I am the LORD,

⁶³ so that when I make atonement for all you have done, you will remember and be ashamed and never again open your mouth because of your disgrace, declares the Lord GOD.”

After I returned, I repented; and after I was instructed, I struck my thigh in grief. I was ashamed and humiliated because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’

But if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but glorify God that you bear that name.

⁵ At the evening offering, I got up from my humiliation with my tunic and cloak torn, and I fell on my knees, spread out my hands to the LORD my God,

⁶ and said: “O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to You, my God, because our iniquities are higher than our heads, and our guilt has reached the heavens.

Because the Lord GOD helps Me, I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set My face like flint, and I know that I will not be put to shame.

Instead of shame, My people will have a double portion, and instead of humiliation, they will rejoice in their share; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs.

Let us lie down in our shame; let our disgrace cover us. We have sinned against the LORD our God, both we and our fathers; from our youth even to this day we have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.”

⁹ And now they mock me in song; I have become a byword among them.

¹⁰ They abhor me and keep far from me; they do not hesitate to spit in my face.

¹¹ Because God has unstrung my bow and afflicted me, they have cast off restraint in my presence.

⁵ You know my folly, O God, and my guilt is not hidden from You.

⁶ May those who hope in You not be ashamed through me, O Lord GOD of Hosts; may those who seek You not be dishonored through me, O God of Israel.

⁷ For I have endured scorn for Your sake, and shame has covered my face.

I am an object of scorn to my accusers; when they see me, they shake their heads.

³ Have mercy on us, O LORD, have mercy, for we have endured much contempt.

⁴ We have endured much scorn from the arrogant, much contempt from the proud.

Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog like me?”

But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went up. His head was covered, and he was walking barefoot. And all the people with him covered their heads and went up, weeping as they went.

So do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, or of me, His prisoner. Instead, join me in suffering for the gospel by the power of God.

There you will remember your ways and all the deeds with which you have defiled yourselves, and you will loathe yourselves for all the evils you have done.

Listen to Me, you who know what is right, you people with My law in your hearts: Do not fear the scorn of men; do not be broken by their insults.

² And Gilead’s wife bore him sons who grew up, drove Jephthah out, and said to him, “You shall have no inheritance in our father’s house, because you are the son of another woman.”

³ So Jephthah fled from his brothers and settled in the land of Tob, where worthless men gathered around him and traveled with him.

⁷ And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; so they sewed together fig leaves and made coverings for themselves.

⁸ Then the man and his wife heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the breeze of the day, and they hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

⁹ But the LORD God called out to the man, “Where are you?”

¹⁰ “I heard Your voice in the garden,” he replied, “and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.”

¹² “No, my brother!” she cried. “Do not humiliate me, for such a thing should never be done in Israel. Do not do this disgraceful thing!

¹³ Where could I ever take my shame? And you would be like one of the fools in Israel! Please speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you.”

“The Lord has done this for me. In these days He has shown me favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.”

⁶⁰ “Man, I do not know what you are talking about,” Peter replied. While he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.

⁶¹ And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word that the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.”

⁶² And he went outside and wept bitterly.

⁶³ The men who were holding Jesus began to mock Him and beat Him.

⁶⁴ They blindfolded Him and kept demanding, “Prophesy! Who hit You?”

Now Joshua was dressed in filthy garments as he stood before the angel.

Then I said: “Woe is me, for I am ruined, because I am a man of unclean lips dwelling among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of Hosts.”

³ The scribes and Pharisees, however, brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before them

⁴ and said, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery.

He has stripped me of my honor and removed the crown from my head.

⁷⁴ At that he began to curse and swear to them, “I do not know the man!” And immediately a rooster crowed.

⁷⁵ Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken: “Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” And he went outside and wept bitterly.

⁴ So Hanun took David’s servants, shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their garments at the hips, and sent them away.

⁵ When this was reported to David, he sent messengers to meet the men, since they had been thoroughly humiliated. The king told them, “Stay in Jericho until your beards have grown back, and then return.”

“No,” she replied, “sending me away is worse than this great wrong you have already done to me!” But he refused to listen to her.

And Tamar put ashes on her head and tore her robe. And putting her hand on her head, she went away crying bitterly.

²² And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw his father’s nakedness and told his two brothers outside.

²³ Then Shem and Japheth took a garment and placed it across their shoulders, and walking backward, they covered their father’s nakedness. Their faces were turned away so that they did not see their father’s nakedness.

And while their hearts were merry, they said, “Call for Samson to entertain us.” So they called Samson out of the prison to entertain them. And they stationed him between the pillars.

²⁵ Simon Peter was still standing and warming himself. So they asked him, “Aren’t you also one of His disciples?” He denied it and said, “I am not.”

²⁶ One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Didn’t I see you with Him in the garden?”

²⁷ Peter denied it once more, and immediately a rooster crowed.

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees. “Go away from me, Lord,” he said, “for I am a sinful man.”

Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”’

And immediately the rooster crowed a second time. Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And he broke down and wept.

So they returned to the city quietly that day, as people steal away in humiliation after fleeing a battle.