It was hard to not think about Israel this week with the news coverage of President Obama’s and Prime Minister Netanyahu’s meeting and press conference. Add the latest developments with the situation of Iran and it’s easy to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. No, today’s post is not going to be political (well maybe a little).

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May those who love you be secure.” – Psalm 122:6 NIV

It’s common knowledge that the USA is undoubtedly Israel’s strongest supporter and ally, but what few people may realize is that such love and support comes with a promise. The promise is, that for those who pray for Israel and the peace of Jerusalem, God will provide security and prosperity. Yes, our nation is going through some hard times and the future may not look good, but as long as the USA remains committed to Israel, we can be assured that we can have a brighter tomorrow. The flip side is also true: if we as a nation are to abandon Israel, and abandon the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, then we are sure to fall.

Here are some different Bible versions of Psalm 122:6.

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.” – Psalm 122:6 KJV

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you.” – Psalm 122:6 NKJV

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you.” – Psalm 122:6 NAS

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. May all go well for those who love you.” – Psalm 122:6 NLV

Thanks to Brooks from Texas for inspiring today’s quote. Our iPhone and Android Bible games have a Feedback feature, so we frequently get feedback notes from players telling us what they like, what they’d like to see, or if they found a bug or some other type of error. Great stuff, we love it! We got a note from Brooks last night about the famous lambs lying down with lions quote.

“And the lion shall lie down with the lamb.” – Contemporary Quote, Not Bible

I would say that 99% of the people you ask would say that this quote can be found in the Bible. As a matter of fact, when we added it to our Bible games, I went to the Bible to find the source. Yes, I knew exactly where in Isaiah to go, but to my disappointment it wasn’t there. And so I checked different versions; King James, New King James, NIV, NAS, and others. Not in any of those either. So what’s the story?

Like many of today’s sayings, such as “you cannot change a leopard’s spots”, “pride goes before a fall”, “a drop in the bucket”, the quote “the lion shall lie down with the lamb” does have its origins in the Bible. However, the saying has morphed over the centuries to what we see and hear today. The original concept comes from these two passages in the book of Isaiah.

“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.” – Isaiah 11:6 NKJV

“The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, the lion shall eat straw like the ox.” – Isaiah 65:25 NKJV

So the quote is more closely, “the wolf shall lie down with the lamb” or “the leopard shall lie down with the lamb”. But of course, given that the lion is considered to be the king of beasts, and creates a greater contrast between predator and prey, the lion won the day. And so today when we seek peace, we look to the image put forth by the quote the lion shall lie down with the lamb as our picture of heaven.

Another popular lamb and lion quote made famous by the latest Robin Hood movie is “rise and rise again until lambs become lions“.

Just saw this quote, do you know if it from the Bible, or not?

“There is no peace without hope, no hope without liberty, no liberty without integrity, no integrity without virtue.” – Bible or Not?

It reminds me a little of this Bible verse:

“And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.” - 2 Peter 1:5-7

So, Bible or not? If so, where? If not who?