[Ezekiel Bathfire]

Why thank you Pastor Prune, you have satisfied a long felt want. Now, seeing the Commandment and their punishments, do you notice what is missing? Imprisonment!

The only mention of imprisonment in the Old Testament is when Ataxerxes issues a Godly decree that all shall obey Ezra.

Ezr:7:21: And I, even I Artaxerxes the king, do make a decree to all the treasurers which are beyond the river, that whatsoever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, shall require of you, it be done speedily,
Ezr:7:26: And whosoever will not do the law of thy God, and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily upon him, whether it be unto death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment.

But this is a one-off job, suited to the circumstances.

In the New Testament, we see that Saul speaks of imprisonment, but clearly this is Ungodly:

Ac:22:19: And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee:
Ac:22:20: And when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him.

And

Heb:11:36: And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:

Note - all imprisonment was done by heathens. It is therefore clear that prisons are not a Godly thing.

You can see that the cost of imprisonment in the USA in 2001 was $46Billion, by 2006, it was $60Billion. There are tax-dollars to be saved here, and these savings mean less tax for us all, at least $200 for every man woman and child! Thus a family of 8 would get $1,600 each and every year!

I hear lieberals saying prison doesn’t work – prison is inhuman – prisons are universities of crime! Well, I suggest we take them at their word. The Godly punishments are the just ones.

So we are looking at the death penalty for adultery upwards (plus abominations, wayward sons, and witches, etc.) fines or death for thieves and despising and scorn for the rest.

Now despising and scorn doesn’t seem too bad, but I would say that this means not being able to take part in business of any sort, having no access to public services, welfare or health treatment, and no home; quite effective and entirely cost-free.