Jesus prayed that we might be one, just as He and the Father are one; yet most within His Body recognize that God’s people are scattered -- dispersed far and wide – within and without a variety of organizations.  But why is this?  Is it simply a matter of God’s divine will; or is it perhaps the fulfillment of prophecy, for God’s people to be scattered at this time?

Indeed, many argue that Scripture prophesies the current scattered state of God’s Church.  Further, some suggest that this scattered state is God’s positive will for His Church at this time.  Often, the recommendation is that we should just make the best of the difficulty, and wait for the return of Jesus Christ.

“Scatter the Power of the Holy People”

One passage of Scripture utilized in support of this line of reasoning is found in Daniel 12:7:

And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.  (Daniel 12:7 KJV)

Yet does this verse actually predict the current, ongoing, progressive “scattering” of God’s Church?          

While the Hebrew word naphats can mean “scatter” (as rendered in the King James Bible), most resources give “shatter” as a primary meaning of the word, as it is translated in several other versions. The JPS and the ASV translate this Hebrew word in Daniel 12:7 as “breaking in pieces.” The Living Bible renders it “crushed.”  This gives a very different sense to the resulting condition of the people so affected.  “Shattering,”  “crushing,”  “breaking in pieces” denotes destruction, rather than mere dispersal. 

From the outset, then, it would be a presumption to suggest that the mere scattering of God’s people is all to which God refers here in Daniel 12. 

Additionally, there is the pivotal question of who, in the context of this passage, are the “holy people.” The phrase “holy people” is used twice in Daniel:

These two similar Hebrew phrases are also used other places in Scripture:

Isaiah 62:12; 63:18; Deuteronomy 7:6; 14:2, 21; 26:19; 28:9. The verses in Deuteronomy mentioned here, clearly refer to the nation of ancient Israel as God’s holy people.

Hence, without clear contextual support, or support from other Scriptures, there is no certainty that Daniel 12:7 applies only to the modern Church, rather than to the modern descendants of the tribes of Israel, or to both.  One can certainly argue against the term “holy” applying to the modern descendants of Israel – but one could likewise argue against the appropriateness of applying the term “holy” to ancient Israel; yet in Scripture, God does exactly that.

Equally problematic is the fact that the context of Daniel 12 is clearly of events which have not yet occurred:

"Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued. "And many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt. "And those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. "But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase." Then I, Daniel, looked and behold, two others were standing, one on this bank of the river, and the other on that bank of the river. And one said to the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, "How long will it be until the end of these wonders?" And I heard the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, as he raised his right hand and his left toward heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time; and as soon as they finish shattering the power of the holy people, all these events will be completed.      (Daniel 12:1-7)

Thus we see that although this passage does refer to future events which will certainly impact God’s Church, Daniel 12:7 does not refer to the present scattering of the Body of Christ.

The Danger

If the present scattering of God’s people is merely God’s positive will at this time, then of course, we should simply strive to make the best of this very difficult situation.

However, what if we are incorrect in assuming that these circumstances are simply a matter of God’s divine pleasure? 

We risk being seduced into imagining that the current state of the Church is inevitable – and therefore not our fault.  We risk being perpetuators of the problem.

Why Are God’s People Scattered?

Scripture provides three broad reasons for the scattering of God’s people:

1.  External persecution

2.  God’s punishment for sin

         3.  Abuses by the ministry

External Persecution

An example of scattering by persecution is found in Acts, Chapter 8:

And Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death. And on that day a great persecution arose against the church in Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. And some devout men buried Stephen, and made loud lamentation over him.  But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house; and dragging off men and women, he would put them in prison. Therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching the word. And Philip went down to the city of Samaria and began proclaiming Christ to them. And the multitudes with one accord were giving attention to what was said by Philip, as they heard and saw the signs which he was performing.  For in the case of many who had unclean spirits, they were coming out of them shouting with a loud voice; and many who had been paralyzed and lame were healed. And there was much rejoicing in that city.          (Acts 8:1-8)

Why was the Church scattered at that time?  God allowed a violent persecution of the Church.  That persecution was apparently significantly or primarily driven by Saul (who later became the apostle Paul).  We should note that it was the Church in the environs of Jerusalem which was scattered.  Not all Christians everywhere were so persecuted or scattered at that time.

As we have seen, one amazing consequence of that persecution and scattering was that those who were scattered continued to preach the Gospel (Acts 8:4, 11:19).  This resulted in many conversions and in new congregations sprouting up in several places.  God’s Work was actually expanded!  That persecution died down following Paul’s conversion, and for a time there was again peace for the Church in Judea, Galilee, and Samaria (Acts 9:31).

Christ prophesied of persecution for His name’s sake.  The account in Acts 8 records an early fulfillment of that prophecy.

But this is not what we see in God’s Church today.  The scattering of the Church which we have experienced in recent years is not the result of external persecution, nor has it furthered the preaching of the Gospel message.

God’s Punishment for Sin

It is often alleged today that Satan is attacking God’s Church.  No doubt Satan is attacking the Church, and individuals within it.  But these attacks are not taking the form of large-scale persecution.  External persecution is not the cause of the current state of the Church.

With all this scattering in the absence of external persecution, we should and we must ask:  Why is it that we have become so scattered? Why are Satan’s attacks so effective?  Why are we, individually and collectively, so vulnerable to Satan’s attacks?  Are the problems in the Church today "created by many [other] weak ministers and thousands of [other] weak brethren" or could it be that it is our fault?

"If you say in your heart, 'Why have these things happened to me?' Because of the magnitude of your iniquity Your skirts have been removed And your heels have been exposed. "Can the Ethiopian change his skin Or the leopard his spots? Then you also can do good Who are accustomed to doing evil. "Therefore I will scatter them like drifting straw To the desert wind.  "This is your lot, the portion measured to you From Me," declares the LORD, "Because you have forgotten Me  And trusted in falsehood.      (Jeremiah 13:22-25.  Emphases are added.) 

Is OUR sin, yours and mine, a cause of the scattered state of the Church?

As separations have occurred within various fellowships, it has been (and is) very common, both for those leaving, and for those left behind, to claim that the problems which led to the split were all the fault of the other group.  Depending upon which “side” one is on, either the “bad guys” left us behind, or we left the “bad guys” behind.  Either way, we consider ourselves, by definition, the “good guys.”

Here is Paul’s sobering conclusion to a passage exhorting us to avoid repeating the errors of the ancient Israelites:

Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.   (1 Corinthians 10:11-12)  

We had better heed the example of Israel, as Paul admonishes in this chapter.  Why was Israel scattered?  WHY did God scatter Israel?  WHY has God scattered the Church?

In this regard, it is imperative that we each take to heart the model of repentance and humility exemplified in the remarkable prayers of Daniel, Ezra, and Nehemiah (Daniel 9, Ezra 9, Nehemiah 1).  Reading their prayers, we see that these faithful servants of God do not proclaim their own innocence, while pointing out the sins of others.  Rather, the attitude is one of personal repentance; repeatedly, referring to the sins of the people, they use inclusive terms like “we,” “our,” and “us.”  Here are some representative excerpts:

(Daniel 9:5) we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances.

(Daniel 9:20)  Now while I was speaking and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God in behalf of the holy mountain of my God,

(Ezra 9:6)  and I said, "O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to You, my God, for our iniquities have risen above our heads and our guilt has grown even to the heavens.

(Ezra 9:15)  "O LORD God of Israel, You are righteous, for we have been left an escaped remnant, as it is this day; behold, we are before You in our guilt, for no one can stand before You because of this."

(Nehemiah 1:6)  let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying before You now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Your servants, confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have sinned against You; I and my father's house have sinned.

Notice particularly Nehemiah’s references to God scattering:

"Remember the word which You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, 'If you are unfaithful I will scatter you among the peoples; but if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them, though those of you who have been scattered were in the most remote part of the heavens, I will gather them from there and will bring them to the place where I have chosen to cause My name to dwell.'            (Nehemiah 1:8-9)

There IS hope for us, if WE will repent.

Abuses by the Ministry

An additional point is evident from Scripture:  God emphatically does hold leadership especially accountable for the scattering of His people.  This should be extremely sobering to those of us in the ministry.

Yet over the years, ministers in God’s Church have commonly suggested that the Scriptural condemnations of the ministry apply only to those clergy who are outside of, and separate from, God’s Church.  More recently, there have been public statements by various ministers, and the idea broadcast widely, that the fault lies elsewhere, or at least with other ministers. Where is the inclusive attitude of repentance exemplified by Ezra, Nehemiah, and Daniel?

Notice this rebuke from God against those of us who are shepherds:

For the shepherds have become stupid And have not sought the LORD; Therefore they have not prospered, And all their flock is scattered.  (Jeremiah 10:21)

"Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of My pasture!" declares the LORD.  Therefore thus says the LORD God of Israel concerning the shepherds who are tending My people: "You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them; behold, I am about to attend to you for the evil of your deeds," declares the LORD.  “Then I Myself will gather the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and bring them back to their pasture, and they will be fruitful and multiply.  I will also raise up shepherds over them and they will tend them; and they will not be afraid any longer, nor be terrified, nor will any be missing," declares the LORD.  (Jeremiah 23:1-4)

Ezekiel, in particular, records God’s scathing indictment of the shepherds of His people.  Many of God’s scattered sheep have turned to this passage, and have seen their own disillusioning experiences with the ministry of God’s Church recorded here – prophesied in the words of God Himself.  Are we in the ministry truly aware of the perceptions of the sheep?  Are we willing to see ourselves as the sheep see us?  Most importantly, are we willing to see ourselves as God sees us?  Is Jesus Christ, the Great Shepherd, pleased with our service to the flock?  Are we willing to humble ourselves before God, seeking His mind with regard to our treatment of His flock – repenting of our unyieldedness, our self-serving, abuse, and neglect?

Then the word of the LORD came to me saying, "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock?  You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat sheep without feeding the flock.  Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the lost; but with force and with severity you have dominated them.  They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became food for every beast of the field and were scattered.  My flock wandered through all the mountains and on every high hill; My flock was scattered over all the surface of the earth, and there was no one to search or seek for them."'

Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:  "As I live," declares the Lord GOD, "surely because My flock has become a prey, My flock has even become food for all the beasts of the field for lack of a shepherd, and My shepherds did not search for My flock, but rather the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock;  therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:”  'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand My sheep from them and make them cease from feeding sheep. So the shepherds will not feed themselves anymore, but I will deliver My flock from their mouth, so that they will not be food for them."' " For thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out.  As a shepherd cares for his herd in the day when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will care for My sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day.  I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land.  I will feed them in a good pasture, and their grazing ground will be on the mountain heights of Israel. There they will lie down on good grazing ground and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.  I will feed My flock and I will lead them to rest," declares the Lord GOD.  “I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken and strengthen the sick; but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with judgment.”  (Ezekiel 34:1-16)

Look at the destruction and carnage to the precious flock which Jesus Christ has placed in our care!  We in the ministry, of all people, should note and follow the examples of Daniel, Ezra, and Nehemiah, who were themselves all in positions of leadership. 

Beware of Finger-Pointing

God scatters the flock because of its sins.  The sheep are also scattered by and through the sins of the shepherds. 

While God holds the leadership especially responsible, there is another aspect of the situation that we must each humbly consider. When Samuel presented the people of Israel with the king they had demanded, he conveyed a wonderful promise along with a solemn warning:

"If you will fear the LORD and serve Him, and listen to His voice and not rebel against the command of the LORD, then both you and also the king who reigns over you will follow the LORD your God.  If you will not listen to the voice of the LORD, but rebel against the command of the LORD, then the hand of the LORD will be against you, as it was against your fathers.” (1 Samuel 12:14-15)

Samuel also sounded this added warning: 

"Only fear the LORD and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you.  But if you still do wickedly, both you and your king will be swept away."  (1 Samuel 12:24-25)

If collectively, we are in obedience to God, He will grant us righteous human leadership!  Yet we are warned that the inverse is also true: Samuel admonishes us that the behavior of the people can lead to the destruction of the leaders. Isaiah contends that if God’s people continue in disobedience to God, He will bring upon us what we deserve, including weak and unrighteous leaders!  Yet this does not diminish the culpability of those leaders, as we see here below:

For behold, the Lord GOD of hosts is going to remove from Jerusalem and Judah Both supply and support, the whole supply of bread, And the whole supply of water; The mighty man and the warrior, The judge and the prophet, The diviner and the elder, The captain of fifty and the honorable man, The counselor and the expert artisan, And the skillful enchanter.  And I will make mere lads their princes And capricious children will rule over them, And the people will be oppressed, Each one by another, and each one by his neighbor; The youth will storm against the elder, And the inferior against the honorable.  When a man lays hold of his brother in his father's house, saying, "You have a cloak, you shall be our ruler, And these ruins will be under your charge," On that day will he protest, saying, "I will not be your healer, For in my house there is neither bread nor cloak; You should not appoint me ruler of the people."  For Jerusalem has stumbled, and Judah has fallen, Because their speech and their actions are against the LORD, To rebel against His glorious presence. The expression of their faces bears witness against them. And they display their sin like Sodom; They do not even conceal it. Woe to them! For they have brought evil on themselves.  Say to the righteous that it will go well with them, For they will eat the fruit of their actions.  Woe to the wicked! It will go badly with him, For what he deserves will be done to him.  O My people! Their oppressors are children, And women rule over them. O My people! Those who guide you lead you astray, And confuse the direction of your paths. The LORD arises to contend, And stands to judge the people.  The LORD enters into judgment with the elders and princes of His people, "It is you who have devoured the vineyard; The plunder of the poor is in your houses.  "What do you mean by crushing My people, And grinding the face of the poor?" Declares the Lord GOD of hosts.  (Isaiah 3:1-15.  See also verses 16-26.) 

So again, we find a particular accountability and condemnation of the leadership accompanying God’s rebuke of an also accountable sin-filled populace. It is interesting that when Saul rebelled against God by not killing all that pertained to the Amalekites, Saul said he disobeyed God because he feared the people. (1 Samuel 15)  It appears that the people’s sin led, in part, to Saul’s demise.  Yet he should have led the people in obedience to God, instead of participating in their rebellion. 

It is abundantly clear that the human leaders of God’s Church have led His people astray, and have driven many away; yet we must also ask ourselves – individually and collectively – whether God has provided us (or allowed us to have) the leadership which our behavior deserves?

Shepherd or sheep, our culpability before God is clear.  Instead of each blaming the other, let us each examine ourselves before God and repent, and pray for one another.

Scattering in Scripture

The Appendix to this study contains a collection of most of the verses identified from a concordance search of the following words in Scripture (New American Standard Bible):  words which begin with “scatter” (such as scatter, scattered, etc.); words which begin with “dispers” (such as disperse, dispersion, etc.); and words which begin with “banish” (such as banish, banished, etc.).  Surrounding verses are also included for context.

While reading these passages, it is crucial that we invest the effort to evaluate the following for veracity:

1.     In most cases, these verses speak of God scattering His own people.

2.     God promises to scatter His people if they refuse to obey Him.

3.     God keeps that promise.

4.     God’s purpose in scattering is discipline, punishment, correction.

5.     God expects that some of His people will respond by repenting.

6.     God will regather those who repent and turn to Him.

7.     We dare not write ourselves out of these passages of Scripture.

Conclusion

The Church is scattered today because God has scattered the Church.  God has scattered us because we – you and I – member or minister – have sinned. 

When will you and I cease our recriminations, stop justifying ourselves, and come before God in humble repentance, so that He will see fit to gather us together to do that great Work which remains yet to be accomplished prior to the return of our Elder Brother Jesus Christ?

Let us each fall on our face before our Almighty Loving Father, begging Him in the abundance of His mercy, to speedily grant us that repentance. 

APPENDIX:  To Scatter, Disperse, Banish

The following is a compilation of verses from Scripture which pertain to “scatter,” “disperse,” and/or “banish.”   (Underlining and bold emphases are added throughout.)

(Genesis 11:1-9)  Now the whole earth used the same language and the same words. {2} It came about as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. {3} They said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks and burn them thoroughly." And they used brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar. {4} They said, "Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth." {5} The LORD came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of men had built. {6} The LORD said, "Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them. {7} "Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another's speech." {8} So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city. {9} Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of the whole earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of the whole earth.

(Genesis 49:5-7)  "Simeon and Levi are brothers; Their swords are implements of violence. {6} "Let my soul not enter into their council; Let not my glory be united with their assembly; Because in their anger they slew men, And in their self-will they lamed oxen. {7} "Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce; And their wrath, for it is cruel. I will disperse them in Jacob, And scatter them in Israel.

(Leviticus 26:14-15)  'But if you do not obey Me and do not carry out all these commandments, {15} if, instead, you reject My statutes, and if your soul abhors My ordinances so as not to carry out all My commandments, and so break My covenant,

(Leviticus 26:18)  'If also after these things you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.

(Leviticus 26:21)  'If then, you act with hostility against Me and are unwilling to obey Me, I will increase the plague on you seven times according to your sins.

(Leviticus 26:23-24)  'And if by these things you are not turned to Me, but act with hostility against Me, {24} then I will act with hostility against you; and I, even I, will strike you seven times for your sins.

(Leviticus 26:27-28)  'Yet if in spite of this you do not obey Me, but act with hostility against Me, {28} then I will act with wrathful hostility against you, and I, even I, will punish you seven times for your sins.

(Leviticus 26:33)  'You, however, I will scatter among the nations and will draw out a sword after you, as your land becomes desolate and your cities become waste.

(Numbers 10:35)  Then it came about when the ark set out that Moses said, "Rise up, O LORD! And let Your enemies be scattered, And let those who hate You flee before You."

(Deuteronomy 4:25-27)  "When you become the father of children and children's children and have remained long in the land, and act corruptly, and make an idol in the form of anything, and do that which is evil in the sight of the LORD your God so as to provoke Him to anger, {26} I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that you will surely perish quickly from the land where you are going over the Jordan to possess it. You shall not live long on it, but will be utterly destroyed. {27} "The LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the LORD drives you.

(Deuteronomy 28:58-65)  "If you are not careful to observe all the words of this law which are written in this book, to fear this honored and awesome name, the LORD your God, {59} then the LORD will bring extraordinary plagues on you and your descendants, even severe and lasting plagues, and miserable and chronic sicknesses. {60} "He will bring back on you all the diseases of Egypt of which you were afraid, and they will cling to you. {61} "Also every sickness and every plague which, not written in the book of this law, the LORD will bring on you until you are destroyed. {62} "Then you shall be left few in number, whereas you were as numerous as the stars of heaven, because you did not obey the LORD your God. {63} "It shall come about that as the LORD delighted over you to prosper you, and multiply you, so the LORD will delight over you to make you perish and destroy you; and you will be torn from the land where you are entering to possess it. {64} "Moreover, the LORD will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth; and there you shall serve other gods, wood and stone, which you or your fathers have not known. {65} "Among those nations you shall find no rest, and there will be no resting place for the sole of your foot; but there the LORD will give you a trembling heart, failing of eyes, and despair of soul.

(Deuteronomy 30:1-6)  "So it shall be when all of these things have come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind in all nations where the LORD your God has banished you, {2} and you return to the LORD your God and obey Him with all your heart and soul according to all that I command you today, you and your sons, {3} then the LORD your God will restore you from captivity, and have compassion on you, and will gather you again from all the peoples where the LORD your God has scattered you. {4} "If your outcasts are at the ends of the earth, from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you back. {5} "The LORD your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers. {6} "Moreover the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live.

(1 Kings 14:14-16)  "Moreover, the LORD will raise up for Himself a king over Israel who will cut off the house of Jeroboam this day and from now on. {15} "For the LORD will strike Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water; and He will uproot Israel from this good land which He gave to their fathers, and will scatter them beyond the Euphrates River, because they have made their Asherim, provoking the LORD to anger. {16} "He will give up Israel on account of the sins of Jeroboam, which he committed and with which he made Israel to sin."

(1 Kings 22:17)  So he said, "I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, Like sheep which have no shepherd. And the LORD said, 'These have no master. Let each of them return to his house in peace.'" (2 Chr 18:16)

(Nehemiah 1:7-9)  "We have acted very corruptly against You and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses. {8} "Remember the word which You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, 'If you are unfaithful I will scatter you among the peoples; {9} but if you return to Me and keep My commandments and do them, though those of you who have been scattered were in the most remote part of the heavens, I will gather them from there and will bring them to the place where I have chosen to cause My name to dwell.'

(Esther 3:8)  Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, "There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from those of all other people, and they do not observe the king's laws, so it is not in the king's interest to let them remain.

(Psalm 44:11)  You give us as sheep to be eaten And have scattered us among the nations.

(Psalm 59:10-13)  My God in His lovingkindness will meet me; God will let me look triumphantly upon my foes. {11} Do not slay them, or my people will forget; scatter them by Your power, and bring them down, O Lord, our shield. {12} On account of the sin of their mouth and the words of their lips, Let them even be caught in their pride, And on account of curses and lies which they utter. {13} Destroy them in wrath, destroy them that they may be no more; That men may know that God rules in Jacob To the ends of the earth.

(Psalm 68:1)  Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered, And let those who hate Him flee before Him.

(Psalm 68:14)  When the Almighty scattered the kings there, It was snowing in Zalmon.

(Psalm 68:30)  Rebuke the beasts in the reeds, The herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples, Trampling under foot the pieces of silver; He has scattered the peoples who delight in war.

(Psalm 89:10)  You Yourself crushed Rahab like one who is slain; You scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.

(Psalm 92:9)  For, behold, Your enemies, O LORD, For, behold, Your enemies will perish; All who do iniquity will be scattered.

(Psalm 106:24-27)  Then they despised the pleasant land; They did not believe in His word, {25} But grumbled in their tents; They did not listen to the voice of the LORD. {26} Therefore He swore to them That He would cast them down in the wilderness, {27} And that He would cast their seed among the nations And scatter them in the lands.

(Isaiah 11:11-12)  Then it will happen on that day that the Lord Will again recover the second time with His hand The remnant of His people, who will remain, From Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, And from the islands of the sea. {12} And He will lift up a standard for the nations And assemble the banished ones of Israel, And will gather the dispersed of Judah From the four corners of the earth.

(Isaiah 24:1)  Behold, the LORD lays the earth waste, devastates it, distorts its surface and scatters its inhabitants.

(Isaiah 27:8)  You contended with them by banishing them, by driving them away. With His fierce wind He has expelled them on the day of the east wind.

(Isaiah 27:13)  It will come about also in that day that a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were perishing in the land of Assyria and who were scattered in the land of Egypt will come and worship the LORD in the holy mountain at Jerusalem.

(Isaiah 56:8)  The Lord GOD, who gathers the dispersed of Israel, declares, "Yet others I will gather to them, to those already gathered."

(Jeremiah 9:13-16)  The LORD said, "Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them, and have not obeyed My voice nor walked according to it, {14} but have walked after the stubbornness of their heart and after the Baals, as their fathers taught them," {15} therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, "behold, I will feed them, this people, with wormwood and give them poisoned water to drink. {16} "I will scatter them among the nations, whom neither they nor their fathers have known; and I will send the sword after them until I have annihilated them."

(Jeremiah 10:21)  For the shepherds have become stupid And have not sought the LORD; Therefore they have not prospered, And all their flock is scattered.

(Jeremiah 13:22-25)  "If you say in your heart, 'Why have these things happened to me?' Because of the magnitude of your iniquity Your skirts have been removed And your heels have been exposed. {23} "Can the Ethiopian change his skin Or the leopard his spots? Then you also can do good Who are accustomed to doing evil. {24} "Therefore I will scatter them like drifting straw To the desert wind. {25} "This is your lot, the portion measured to you From Me," declares the LORD, "Because you have forgotten Me And trusted in falsehood.

(Jeremiah 16:14-15)  "Therefore behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when it will no longer be said, 'As the LORD lives, who brought up the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt,' {15} but, 'As the LORD lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of the north and from all the countries where He had banished them.' For I will restore them to their own land which I gave to their fathers.

(Jeremiah 18:15-17)  'For My people have forgotten Me, They burn incense to worthless gods And they have stumbled from their ways, From the ancient paths, To walk in bypaths, Not on a highway, {16} To make their land a desolation, An object of perpetual hissing; Everyone who passes by it will be astonished And shake his head. {17} 'Like an east wind I will scatter them Before the enemy; I will show them My back and not My face In the day of their calamity.'"

(Jeremiah 23:1-4)  "Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of My pasture!" declares the LORD. {2} Therefore thus says the LORD God of Israel concerning the shepherds who are tending My people: "You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them; behold, I am about to attend to you for the evil of your deeds," declares the LORD. {3} "Then I Myself will gather the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and bring them back to their pasture, and they will be fruitful and multiply. {4} "I will also raise up shepherds over them and they will tend them; and they will not be afraid any longer, nor be terrified, nor will any be missing," declares the LORD.

(Jeremiah 24:8-9)  'But like the bad figs which cannot be eaten due to rottenness--indeed, thus says the LORD--so I will abandon Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials, and the remnant of Jerusalem who remain in this land and the ones who dwell in the land of Egypt. {9} 'I will make them a terror and an evil for all the kingdoms of the earth, as a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse in all places where I will scatter them.

(Jeremiah 25:32-38)  Thus says the LORD of hosts, "Behold, evil is going forth From nation to nation, And a great storm is being stirred up From the remotest parts of the earth. {33} "Those slain by the LORD on that day will be from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be lamented, gathered or buried; they will be like dung on the face of the ground. {34} "Wail, you shepherds, and cry; And wallow in ashes, you masters of the flock; For the days of your slaughter and your dispersions have come, And you will fall like a choice vessel. {35} "Flight will perish from the shepherds, And escape from the masters of the flock. {36} "Hear the sound of the cry of the shepherds, And the wailing of the masters of the flock! For the LORD is destroying their pasture, {37} "And the peaceful folds are made silent Because of the fierce anger of the LORD. {38} "He has left His hiding place like the lion; For their land has become a horror Because of the fierceness of the oppressing sword And because of His fierce anger."

(Jeremiah 30:11)  'For I am with you,' declares the LORD, 'to save you; For I will destroy completely all the nations where I have scattered you, Only I will not destroy you completely. But I will chasten you justly And will by no means leave you unpunished.'

(Jeremiah 31:10)  Hear the word of the LORD, O nations, And declare in the coastlands afar off, And say, "He who scattered Israel will gather him And keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock."

(Jeremiah 49:32)  "Their camels will become plunder, And their many cattle for booty, And I will scatter to all the winds those who cut the corners of their hair; And I will bring their disaster from every side," declares the LORD.

(Jeremiah 49:36)  'I will bring upon Elam the four winds From the four ends of heaven, And will scatter them to all these winds; And there will be no nation To which the outcasts of Elam will not go.

(Jeremiah 50:17)  "Israel is a scattered flock, the lions have driven them away. The first one who devoured him was the king of Assyria, and this last one who has broken his bones is Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.

(Lamentations 4:12-16)  The kings of the earth did not believe, Nor did any of the inhabitants of the world, That the adversary and the enemy Could enter the gates of Jerusalem. {13} Because of the sins of her prophets And the iniquities of her priests, Who have shed in her midst The blood of the righteous; {14} They wandered, blind, in the streets; They were defiled with blood So that no one could touch their garments. {15} "Depart! Unclean!" they cried of themselves. "Depart, depart, do not touch!" So they fled and wandered; Men among the nations said, "They shall not continue to dwell with us." {16} The presence of the LORD has scattered them, He will not continue to regard them; They did not honor the priests, They did not favor the elders.

(Ezekiel 4:13)  Then the LORD said, "Thus will the sons of Israel eat their bread unclean among the nations where I will banish them."

(Ezekiel 5:1-13)  "As for you, son of man, take a sharp sword; take and use it as a barber's razor on your head and beard. Then take scales for weighing and divide the hair. {2} "One third you shall burn in the fire at the center of the city, when the days of the siege are completed. Then you shall take one third and strike it with the sword all around the city, and one third you shall scatter to the wind; and I will unsheathe a sword behind them. {3} "Take also a few in number from them and bind them in the edges of your robes. {4} "Take again some of them and throw them into the fire and burn them in the fire; from it a fire will spread to all the house of Israel. {5} "Thus says the Lord GOD, 'This is Jerusalem; I have set her at the center of the nations, with lands around her. {6} 'But she has rebelled against My ordinances more wickedly than the nations and against My statutes more than the lands which surround her; for they have rejected My ordinances and have not walked in My statutes.' {7} "Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, 'Because you have more turmoil than the nations which surround you and have not walked in My statutes, nor observed My ordinances, nor observed the ordinances of the nations which surround you,' {8} therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, 'Behold, I, even I, am against you, and I will execute judgments among you in the sight of the nations. {9} 'And because of all your abominations, I will do among you what I have not done, and the like of which I will never do again. {10} 'Therefore, fathers will eat their sons among you, and sons will eat their fathers; for I will execute judgments on you and scatter all your remnant to every wind. {11} 'So as I live,' declares the Lord GOD, 'surely, because you have defiled My sanctuary with all your detestable idols and with all your abominations, therefore I will also withdraw, and My eye will have no pity and I will not spare. {12} 'One third of you will die by plague or be consumed by famine among you, one third will fall by the sword around you, and one third I will scatter to every wind, and I will unsheathe a sword behind them. {13} 'Thus My anger will be spent and I will satisfy My wrath on them, and I will be appeased; then they will know that I, the LORD, have spoken in My zeal when I have spent My wrath upon them.

(Ezekiel 6:7-10)  "The slain will fall among you, and you will know that I am the LORD. {8} "However, I will leave a remnant, for you will have those who escaped the sword among the nations when you are scattered among the countries. {9} "Then those of you who escape will remember Me among the nations to which they will be carried captive, how I have been hurt by their adulterous hearts which turned away from Me, and by their eyes which played the harlot after their idols; and they will loathe themselves in their own sight for the evils which they have committed, for all their abominations. {10} "Then they will know that I am the LORD; I have not said in vain that I would inflict this disaster on them."'

(Ezekiel 11:16-17)  "Therefore say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Though I had removed them far away among the nations and though I had scattered them among the countries, yet I was a sanctuary for them a little while in the countries where they had gone."' {17} "Therefore say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries among which you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel."'

(Ezekiel 12:11-16)  "Say, 'I am a sign to you. As I have done, so it will be done to them; they will go into exile, into captivity.' {12} "The prince who is among them will load his baggage on his shoulder in the dark and go out. They will dig a hole through the wall to bring it out. He will cover his face so that he can not see the land with his eyes. {13} "I will also spread My net over him, and he will be caught in My snare. And I will bring him to Babylon in the land of the Chaldeans; yet he will not see it, though he will die there. {14} "I will scatter to every wind all who are around him, his helpers and all his troops; and I will draw out a sword after them. {15} "So they will know that I am the LORD when I scatter them among the nations and spread them among the countries. {16} "But I will spare a few of them from the sword, the famine and the pestilence that they may tell all their abominations among the nations where they go, and may know that I am the LORD."

(Ezekiel 17:19-21)  Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, "As I live, surely My oath which he despised and My covenant which he broke, I will inflict on his head. {20} "I will spread My net over him, and he will be caught in My snare. Then I will bring him to Babylon and enter into judgment with him there regarding the unfaithful act which he has committed against Me. {21} "All the choice men in all his troops will fall by the sword, and the survivors will be scattered to every wind; and you will know that I, the LORD, have spoken."

(Ezekiel 20:23-24)  "Also I swore to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them among the lands, {24} because they had not observed My ordinances, but had rejected My statutes and had profaned My sabbaths, and their eyes were on the idols of their fathers.

(Ezekiel 20:33-38)  "As I live," declares the Lord GOD, "surely with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out, I shall be king over you. {34} "I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered, with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out; {35} and I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you face to face. {36} "As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you," declares the Lord GOD. {37} "I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant; {38} and I will purge from you the rebels and those who transgress against Me; I will bring them out of the land where they sojourn, but they will not enter the land of Israel. Thus you will know that I am the LORD.

(Ezekiel 20:40-44)  "For on My holy mountain, on the high mountain of Israel," declares the Lord GOD, "there the whole house of Israel, all of them, will serve Me in the land; there I will accept them and there I will seek your contributions and the choicest of your gifts, with all your holy things. {41} "As a soothing aroma I will accept you when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered; and I will prove Myself holy among you in the sight of the nations. {42} "And you will know that I am the LORD, when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the land which I swore to give to your forefathers. {43} "There you will remember your ways and all your deeds with which you have defiled yourselves; and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight for all the evil things that you have done. {44} "Then you will know that I am the LORD when I have dealt with you for My name's sake, not according to your evil ways or according to your corrupt deeds, O house of Israel," declares the Lord GOD.'"

(Ezekiel 22:1-16)  Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, {2} "And you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then cause her to know all her abominations. {3} "You shall say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "A city shedding blood in her midst, so that her time will come, and that makes idols, contrary to her interest, for defilement! {4} "You have become guilty by the blood which you have shed, and defiled by your idols which you have made. Thus you have brought your day near and have come to your years; therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations and a mocking to all the lands. {5} "Those who are near and those who are far from you will mock you, you of ill repute, full of turmoil. {6} "Behold, the rulers of Israel, each according to his power, have been in you for the purpose of shedding blood. {7} "They have treated father and mother lightly within you. The alien they have oppressed in your midst; the fatherless and the widow they have wronged in you. {8} "You have despised My holy things and profaned My sabbaths. {9} "Slanderous men have been in you for the purpose of shedding blood, and in you they have eaten at the mountain shrines. In your midst they have committed acts of lewdness. {10} "In you they have uncovered their fathers' nakedness; in you they have humbled her who was unclean in her menstrual impurity. {11} "One has committed abomination with his neighbor's wife and another has lewdly defiled his daughter-in-law. And another in you has humbled his sister, his father's daughter. {12} "In you they have taken bribes to shed blood; you have taken interest and profits, and you have injured your neighbors for gain by oppression, and you have forgotten Me," declares the Lord GOD. {13} "Behold, then, I smite My hand at your dishonest gain which you have acquired and at the bloodshed which is among you. {14} "Can your heart endure, or can your hands be strong in the days that I will deal with you? I, the LORD, have spoken and will act. {15} "I will scatter you among the nations and I will disperse you through the lands, and I will consume your uncleanness from you. {16} "You will profane yourself in the sight of the nations, and you will know that I am the LORD."' "

(Ezekiel 28:25)  'Thus says the Lord GOD, "When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and will manifest My holiness in them in the sight of the nations, then they will live in their land which I gave to My servant Jacob.

(Ezekiel 29:3)  "Speak and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt, The great monster that lies in the midst of his rivers, That has said, 'My Nile is mine, and I myself have made it.'

(Ezekiel 29:12-13 NNAS)  "So I will make the land of Egypt a desolation in the midst of desolated lands. And her cities, in the midst of cities that are laid waste, will be desolate forty years; and I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands." {13} 'For thus says the Lord GOD, "At the end of forty years I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they were scattered.

(Ezekiel 30:22-23)  "Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, 'Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt and will break his arms, both the strong and the broken; and I will make the sword fall from his hand. {23} 'I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands.

(Ezekiel 30:26)  'When I scatter the Egyptians among the nations and disperse them among the lands, then they will know that I am the LORD.'"

(Ezekiel 34)  Then the word of the LORD came to me saying, {2} "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock? {3} "You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat sheep without feeding the flock. {4} "Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the lost; but with force and with severity you have dominated them. {5} "They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and they became food for every beast of the field and were scattered. {6} "My flock wandered through all the mountains and on every high hill; My flock was scattered over all the surface of the earth, and there was no one to search or seek for them."' " {7} Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: {8} "As I live," declares the Lord GOD, "surely because My flock has become a prey, My flock has even become food for all the beasts of the field for lack of a shepherd, and My shepherds did not search for My flock, but rather the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock; {9} therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: {10} 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand My sheep from them and make them cease from feeding sheep. So the shepherds will not feed themselves anymore, but I will deliver My flock from their mouth, so that they will not be food for them."' " {11} For thus says the Lord GOD, "Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. {12} "As a shepherd cares for his herd in the day when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will care for My sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day. {13} "I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land. {14} "I will feed them in a good pasture, and their grazing ground will be on the mountain heights of Israel. There they will lie down on good grazing ground and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. {15} "I will feed My flock and I will lead them to rest," declares the Lord GOD. {16} "I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken and strengthen the sick; but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with judgment. {17} "As for you, My flock, thus says the Lord GOD, 'Behold, I will judge between one sheep and another, between the rams and the male goats. {18} 'Is it too slight a thing for you that you should feed in the good pasture, that you must tread down with your feet the rest of your pastures? Or that you should drink of the clear waters, that you must foul the rest with your feet? {19} 'As for My flock, they must eat what you tread down with your feet and drink what you foul with your feet!'" {20} Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD to them, "Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. {21} "Because you push with side and with shoulder, and thrust at all the weak with your horns until you have scattered them abroad, {22} therefore, I will deliver My flock, and they will no longer be a prey; and I will judge between one sheep and another. {23} "Then I will set over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them; he will feed them himself and be their shepherd. {24} "And I, the LORD, will be their God, and My servant David will be prince among them; I the LORD have spoken. {25} "I will make a covenant of peace with them and eliminate harmful beasts from the land so that they may live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods. {26} "I will make them and the places around My hill a blessing. And I will cause showers to come down in their season; they will be showers of blessing. {27} "Also the tree of the field will yield its fruit and the earth will yield its increase, and they will be secure on their land. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bars of their yoke and have delivered them from the hand of those who enslaved them. {28} "They will no longer be a prey to the nations, and the beasts of the earth will not devour them; but they will live securely, and no one will make them afraid. {29} "I will establish for them a renowned planting place, and they will not again be victims of famine in the land, and they will not endure the insults of the nations anymore. {30} "Then they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are My people," declares the Lord GOD. {31} "As for you, My sheep, the sheep of My pasture, you are men, and I am your God," declares the Lord GOD.

(Ezekiel 36:16-20)  Then the word of the LORD came to me saying, {17} "Son of man, when the house of Israel was living in their own land, they defiled it by their ways and their deeds; their way before Me was like the uncleanness of a woman in her impurity. {18} "Therefore I poured out My wrath on them for the blood which they had shed on the land, because they had defiled it with their idols. {19} "Also I scattered them among the nations and they were dispersed throughout the lands. According to their ways and their deeds I judged them. {20} "When they came to the nations where they went, they profaned My holy name, because it was said of them, 'These are the people of the LORD; yet they have come out of His land.'

(Joel 3:1-2)  "For behold, in those days and at that time, When I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, {2} I will gather all the nations And bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. Then I will enter into judgment with them there On behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel, Whom they have scattered among the nations; And they have divided up My land.

(Nahum 2:1-2)  The one who scatters has come up against you. Man the fortress, watch the road; Strengthen your back, summon all your strength. {2} For the LORD will restore the splendor of Jacob Like the splendor of Israel, Even though devastators have devastated them And destroyed their vine branches.

(Nahum 3:18)  Your shepherds are sleeping, O king of Assyria; Your nobles are lying down. Your people are scattered on the mountains And there is no one to regather them.

(Zephaniah 3:10-11)  "From beyond the rivers of Ethiopia My worshipers, My dispersed ones, Will bring My offerings. {11} "In that day you will feel no shame Because of all your deeds By which you have rebelled against Me; For then I will remove from your midst Your proud, exulting ones, And you will never again be haughty On My holy mountain.

(Zechariah 1:17-21)  "Again, proclaim, saying, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, "My cities will again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD will again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem."' " {18} Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, there were four horns. {19} So I said to the angel who was speaking with me, "What are these?" And he answered me, "These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel and Jerusalem." {20} Then the LORD showed me four craftsmen. {21} I said, "What are these coming to do?" And he said, "These are the horns which have scattered Judah so that no man lifts up his head; but these craftsmen have come to terrify them, to throw down the horns of the nations who have lifted up their horns against the land of Judah in order to scatter it."

(Zechariah 2:6-7)  "Ho there! Flee from the land of the north," declares the LORD, "for I have dispersed you as the four winds of the heavens," declares the LORD. {7} "Ho, Zion! Escape, you who are living with the daughter of Babylon."

(Zechariah 7:8-14)  Then the word of the LORD came to Zechariah saying, {9} "Thus has the LORD of hosts said, 'Dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion each to his brother; {10} and do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the stranger or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.' {11} "But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears from hearing. {12} "They made their hearts like flint so that they could not hear the law and the words which the LORD of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets; therefore great wrath came from the LORD of hosts. {13} "And just as He called and they would not listen, so they called and I would not listen," says the LORD of hosts; {14} "but I scattered them with a storm wind among all the nations whom they have not known. Thus the land is desolated behind them so that no one went back and forth, for they made the pleasant land desolate."

(Zechariah 10:9)  "When I scatter them among the peoples, They will remember Me in far countries, And they with their children will live and come back.

(Zechariah 13:7-9)  "Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, And against the man, My Associate," Declares the LORD of hosts. "Strike the Shepherd that the sheep may be scattered; And I will turn My hand against the little ones. {8} "It will come about in all the land," Declares the LORD, "That two parts in it will be cut off and perish; But the third will be left in it. {9} "And I will bring the third part through the fire, Refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them; I will say, 'They are My people,' And they will say, 'The LORD is my God.'"

(Matthew 21:42-44)  Jesus said^ to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures, 'THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone; THIS CAME ABOUT FROM THE LORD, AND IT IS MARVELOUS IN OUR EYES'? {43} "Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it. {44} "And he who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust."

(Luke 20:17-18)  But Jesus looked at them and said, "What then is this that is written: 'THE STONE WHICH THE BUILDERS REJECTED, THIS BECAME THE CHIEF CORNER stone'? {18} "Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will scatter him like dust."

(Luke 1:51)  "He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their heart.

(John 7:35)  The Jews then said to one another, "Where does this man intend to go that we will not find Him? He is not intending to go to the Dispersion among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks, is He?

(John 10:12)  "He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.

(John 11:51-52)  Now he did not say this on his own initiative, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, {52} and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.

(Acts 8:1-4)  Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death. And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. {2} Some devout men buried Stephen, and made loud lamentation over him. {3} But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house, and dragging off men and women, he would put them in prison. {4} Therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching the word.

(Acts 11:19-21)  So then those who were scattered because of the persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way to Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone. {20} But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks also, preaching the Lord Jesus. {21} And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord.

(James 1:1)  James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings.

(1 Peter 1:1)  Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen