Bible verses Old Testament

+ Write a new article

Well-known verses, their interpretation and the debates around them · Articles: 285 (835 in the whole category)

Genesis 28

1:1The first sentence of the Bible, declaring that God created the heavens and the earth. It is the starting point of the Christian doctrine of creation…
1:26–27Genesis 1:26–27 is the passage stating that God created humankind "in our image" as male and female. It is the starting point for the doctrine of the…
1:28Genesis 1:28 is the verse in which God blesses humankind, saying, "Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have domini…
2:2-3Genesis 2:2-3 states that God, having completed the six days of creation, rested on the seventh day, blessed it, and sanctified it. Regarded as the f…
2:7Genesis 2:7 states that God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, so that man became a living bei…
2:15Genesis 2:15 records that God placed the first man in the Garden of Eden to work it and to keep it. The verse is often cited in discussions of the me…
2:18Genesis 2:18 records God's declaration, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him" (KJV). It is one of the p…
2:20–24This passage depicts God making the woman from the rib taken from Adam and bringing her to him. The phrase "they shall be one flesh" in verse 24, quo…
2:24Genesis 2:24 states that a man shall leave his father and his mother and cleave unto his wife, and "they shall be one flesh." Quoted by both Jesus an…
3:15Genesis 3:15 is God's declaration to the serpent that the seed of the woman "shall bruise thy head." The church has called this verse the Protoevange…
3:16Genesis 3:16 records God's words to the woman after the Fall, in which He increases her pain in childbirth and declares that her husband "shall rule …
3:17–19The sentence God pronounced on Adam after the Fall: the ground is cursed, man must labor by the sweat of his face in order to eat, and he will finall…
4:7Genesis 4:7 records God's warning to Cain, who had become angry when his offering was not accepted. The verse likens sin to a creature crouching at t…
5:1–3Genesis 5:1–3 introduces the genealogy that runs from Adam to Noah. It recalls the creation account in which humanity was made in the image of God an…
6:1–4A brief and enigmatic passage stating that "the sons of God" took "the daughters of men" as wives and that the Nephilim were on the earth in those da…
9:1–7After the Flood, God renews to Noah and his sons the blessing to be fruitful and multiply, permits the eating of meat while forbidding the eating of …
9:25Genesis 9:25 records the words Noah spoke after awaking from his drunkenness, cursing Canaan, the son of Ham, and declaring that he would be a servan…
10:6Genesis 10:6 lists the four sons of Ham, the son of Noah: Cush, Mizraim, Phut, and Canaan. The verse is frequently discussed for two reasons: the que…
12:1–3The passage in which God commands Abram to leave his country, his kindred, and his father's house, promising to make of him a great nation and to ble…
14:18-20Genesis 14:18-20 is the passage in which Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of the most high God, blesses Abram on his return from battle, and Abr…
15:1-6A passage in which God promises the childless Abram descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven, and Abram's belief in that promise is counted to …
15:6Genesis 15:6 reads, "And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness." Paul cited the verse as a central basis for the doctri…
22:2Genesis 22:2 records God's command to Abraham to offer his beloved only son Isaac as a burnt offering in the land of Moriah. The verse is read as the…
22:12-14Genesis 22:12-14 is the passage in which God stops Abraham as he is about to offer Isaac and has him offer a ram in his son's place. It gives rise to…
28:20-22The vow Jacob made after his dream at Bethel, promising that if God would keep him, the LORD would be his God and he would give a tenth of all he rec…
35:1–7After the events at Shechem, God commands Jacob to go up to Bethel and build an altar there, and Jacob's household puts away its foreign gods before …
45:5–8In this passage Joseph reveals his identity to the brothers who sold him into slavery and tells them that it was not they but God who sent him to Egy…
50:20Genesis 50:20 records Joseph's words to the brothers who had sold him: "Ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good." It is a classic text…

Exodus 12

3:12–15In this passage God, speaking from the burning bush at Mount Horeb, promises Moses that He will be with him and reveals the names "I AM THAT I AM" an…
3:14Exodus 3:14 is the verse in which God, speaking from the flame of the burning bush, answers Moses' question about his name with "I AM THAT I AM." The…
6:2–3Exodus 6:2–3 is the passage in which God tells Moses that he is the LORD (YHWH). He says that he appeared to the patriarchs as "God Almighty" but was…
14:13–14Exodus 14:13–14 records the words Moses spoke at the Red Sea to the people of Israel, who were terrified by the pursuing Egyptian army. He told them …
19:5–6Exodus 19:5–6 is the passage in which God promises Israel, newly arrived at Mount Sinai, that if they obey his voice and keep his covenant, they will…
20:3–5The opening of the Ten Commandments, which forbids having other gods and making or bowing down to idols. Traditions differ in how they number the com…
20:8-11The fourth of the Ten Commandments, which commands that the Sabbath be remembered and kept holy: after six days of labor, no work is to be done on th…
21:23-25Known as the law of retaliation, this passage calls for repayment of "life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth." Although often misunderstood as e…
24:8The verse in which Moses, at Mount Sinai, sprinkles the blood of the sacrifices on the people and declares it "the blood of the covenant," completing…
25:2Exodus 25:2 is the verse in which God, through Moses, asks Israel for offerings to build the tabernacle and directs that offerings be received only f…
34:6The words the LORD proclaimed on Mount Sinai as he passed before Moses, declaring his name and character and naming in turn his mercy, grace, slownes…
40:34-35The closing scene of the Book of Exodus, in which, once the tabernacle is completed, the cloud covers the tent of meeting and the glory of the LORD f…

Leviticus 7

9:22–23In this scene Aaron, having completed his first sacrifices as high priest, lifts up his hands and blesses the people; he then blesses them again toge…
18:22Leviticus 18:22 reads, "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination" (KJV). It is one of the principal biblical texts on ho…
19:18Leviticus 19:18 is a precept of the Mosaic Law: "Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love t…
19:33–34A command in Leviticus not to mistreat the stranger (resident alien) dwelling in the land of Israel, but to regard him as one born in the land and to…
20:13Leviticus 20:13 is a provision in Leviticus 20 that declares sexual relations between men an "abomination" and prescribes the death penalty. It is fr…
24:17–22A passage containing the law of retaliation, which requires that homicide and bodily injury be repaid in equal measure, together with the command tha…
25:8–12Leviticus 25:8–12 is a provision of the Law commanding that the fiftieth year, which follows seven sabbatical years (forty-nine years), be kept holy …

Numbers 5

6:22-27A three-line blessing that God gave through Moses for the priests, Aaron and his sons, to use in blessing the people of Israel. Known as the Aaronic …
6:24–26Numbers 6:24–26 is the Aaronic Blessing, the words God instructed Aaron and his sons to use in blessing the people of Israel. One of the oldest praye…
11:29Numbers 11:29 records Moses' reply to Joshua, who had urged him to stop Eldad and Medad from prophesying in the camp. Moses answers that he wishes th…
13:33In this verse, ten of the spies returning from Canaan call the inhabitants of the land descendants of the Nephilim and report, "we were in our own si…
21:8–9This passage records how God commanded Moses to set a bronze serpent on a pole for the Israelites who had been bitten by fiery serpents in the wilder…

Deuteronomy 16

4:2A verse in which Moses instructs the people of Israel to keep God's commandments without adding to them or taking away from them. It is frequently ci…
5:6–10The opening of the Ten Commandments, in which God declares that He is the one who brought Israel out of bondage in Egypt and commands the people to h…
5:12–15This passage is Deuteronomy's restatement of the Sabbath commandment from the Ten Commandments. Unlike the Exodus version, it grounds the commandment…
6:4–5Known as the Shema, this passage begins, "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD." It is the central confession of faith in Judaism, was cited …
6:6–9Deuteronomy 6:6–9 is a passage in which Moses commands Israel to keep God's words in their hearts and to teach them continually to their children. It…
11:13–21Moses' exhortation promising timely rain and abundant harvests for obedience and warning of drought and destruction for serving other gods. It urges …
19:15Deuteronomy 19:15 is an Old Testament legal provision directing that guilt not be established on the testimony of a single person but confirmed by th…
19:18-21A provision in Deuteronomy on perjury. It requires that a person who bears false witness in court receive the very penalty he intended to bring upon …
22:10Deuteronomy 22:10 is a provision of the Mosaic law forbidding the plowing of a field with an ox and a donkey yoked together. It has been read as a la…
24:1-4A provision of the Mosaic Law forbidding a first husband to take back his divorced wife after she has married another man. Because Jesus referred to …
24:16Deuteronomy 24:16 is a provision of the Mosaic Law forbidding that children be put to death for the sins of their parents, or parents for the sins of…
28:1–2A promise that all blessings will come upon those who diligently hearken to the voice of God and observe to do His commandments. These verses open a …
28:13–15Deuteronomy 28:13–15 is the transitional passage in Deuteronomy 28 where Moses declares that Israel's obedience to the law will make it "the head, an…
30:11–14A passage in which Moses, on the plains of Moab, declares that God's commandment is not far off but is "in thy mouth, and in thy heart." Because Paul…
30:15-20In this passage Moses, making a covenant on the plains of Moab, sets before Israel life and good, death and evil, and urges the people to choose life…
31:6–8Deuteronomy 31:6–8 records the words of encouragement Moses spoke shortly before his death to the people of Israel and to his successor Joshua, urgin…

Joshua 3

1:8-9After the death of Moses, God told Joshua to meditate on the book of the law day and night and to observe it, encouraging him to "be strong and of a …
24:14-25In this passage Joshua, at Shechem, urges the people of Israel to put away other gods and choose to serve the LORD alone, and then makes a covenant w…
24:15Joshua 24:15 records the declaration Joshua made near the end of his life, when he called on Israel to choose that day whom they would serve and anno…

Judges 2

6:12In this verse the angel of the LORD appears to Gideon, who is hiding from the Midianites, addresses him as "thou mighty man of valour," and declares …
21:25Judges 21:25 is the final verse of the Book of Judges. It sums up the disorder of the period of the judges by stating that there was no king in Israe…

Ruth 1

4:4-10In this passage Boaz, seated at the city gate with the elders as witnesses, receives the right of redemption from a nearer kinsman and acquires both …

1 Samuel 6

9:2First Samuel 9:2 introduces Saul, who would become Israel's first king, and describes his handsome appearance and great height. Together with 1 Samue…
15:221 Samuel 15:22 records Samuel's rebuke of Saul: "Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams." It is a key verse fo…
15:23-24In this passage the prophet Samuel tells King Saul, who had disobeyed God's command, that rebellion is comparable to divination and idolatry and that…
16:71 Samuel 16:7 records the words God spoke to Samuel before David was anointed king: "For the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outw…
16:11–13This passage recounts how Samuel anointed David, the youngest son of Jesse, and how the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. It …
16:13–14In this passage, after Samuel anoints David, the Spirit of the LORD comes upon David and departs from Saul. The passage marks the turning point in th…

2 Samuel 2

7:12–16The passage in which God, speaking through the prophet Nathan, promises David that He will establish the throne and kingdom of his offspring forever.…
12:13In this verse David, rebuked by Nathan, confesses, "I have sinned against the LORD," and Nathan declares that the LORD has put away his sin. Because …

1 Kings 1

18:21These are the words Elijah spoke on Mount Carmel, demanding that the people of Israel, who were wavering between Baal and the LORD, make a clear choi…

2 Kings 2

2:11In this verse, as Elijah walks with Elisha, a chariot of fire and horses of fire part the two men, and Elijah goes up by a whirlwind into heaven. The…
6:162 Kings 6:16 records the words Elisha spoke to his frightened servant in the city of Dothan, which the Aramean army had surrounded: "Fear not." Becau…

1 Chronicles 3

4:101 Chronicles 4:10 records that Jabez called on the God of Israel, asking Him to bless him, enlarge his territory, and keep him from evil and grief, a…
16:34A verse from the song of thanksgiving that David appointed to be sung after the Ark of the Covenant was installed in Jerusalem. It confesses God's go…
29:11–12The opening of the prayer of praise that David offered after gifts were presented for building the temple, in which he confesses that greatness and p…

2 Chronicles 4

3:1This verse states that Solomon began building the temple in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, at the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite that David had pr…
6:26–31In this part of his prayer at the dedication of the temple, Solomon asks God to hear the people when they repent and pray toward the temple during di…
7:13-22In this passage, after Solomon dedicates the Temple, God appears to him by night and speaks of answered prayer, the conditions of obedience, and the …
7:14Second Chronicles 7:14 records God's promise to Solomon after the dedication of the Temple: if "my people, which are called by my name, shall humble …

Ezra 1

7:10This verse records that Ezra had set his heart to seek the law of the LORD, to do it, and to teach it in Israel. Because it presents the sequence of …

Nehemiah 2

1:4A verse recounting how Nehemiah, on hearing that the wall of Jerusalem had been broken down, wept, mourned, fasted, and prayed for many days. It is f…
8:10Nehemiah 8:10 is an exhortation to the people who had returned from exile and were weeping as they heard the Law read. They are told not to grieve on…

Esther 1

4:14Esther 4:14 records Mordecai's words to Esther as she hesitates to go before the king, asking whether she may have come to her royal position "for su…

Job 12

1:6Job 1:6 opens the heavenly scene at the beginning of the Book of Job, relating that Satan came before the LORD along with the sons of God. It sets th…
1:20–22In this passage Job, having lost his possessions and his children all at once, grieves and yet falls down before God, confessing, "The LORD gave, and…
1:21Job 1:21 records the words Job spoke after losing his possessions and his children in a single day: "The LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; ble…
2:10In this verse Job answers his wife, who has urged him in his suffering to curse God, with the words "shall we receive good at the hand of God, and sh…
9:32–33A passage in which Job laments that there is no "daysman," or arbiter, to decide between God and himself. Christian tradition often reads it as an ex…
10:8–12Job 10:8–12 is part of Job's prayer of protest, in which he asks God why he would now destroy the one he so carefully made. Because the passage depic…
13:15In this verse Job declares that, even at the risk of death, he will defend his ways before God. Because of a variant reading in the Hebrew text, tran…
14:4Job 14:4 is part of Job's appeal to God concerning human frailty, in which he says that a "clean thing" cannot come out of an "unclean." In the Chris…
16:19–21In the midst of his suffering, Job looks beyond the friends who condemn him and confesses his hope that a witness in heaven will take his side before…
19:25Job 19:25 is Job's confession in the midst of his suffering: "For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the …
28:28Job 28:28 is the final verse of the "Hymn to Wisdom" in Job 28. It declares that God makes known to humanity the wisdom that people cannot find for t…
42:7-10The closing scene of the Book of Job, in which God rebukes Job's three friends, accepts Job's intercessory prayer on their behalf, reverses Job's mis…

Psalms 50

Psalm 1:1-2The opening verses of the Psalter, which declare blessed the person who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly but delights in the law of the LO…
Psalm 1:3–6The second half of Psalm 1 contrasts the ends of two ways. It likens the righteous person who delights in the law to a tree planted by the rivers of …
Psalm 2:12The final verse of Psalm 2, which warns the kings of the earth to submit to the king whom the LORD has installed ("the Son") and pronounces a blessin…
Psalm 8:5-8Psalm 8:5-8 praises God for making human beings "a little lower than the angels" (or "than God"), crowning them with honor, and giving them dominion …
Psalm 19:7–11A passage in Psalm 19 that calls the law of the LORD by six names and celebrates its perfection and benefits. Paired with the psalm's opening hymn to…
Psalm 23:1–6A psalm of David that begins, "The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want." Portraying God as a shepherd and as the host of a banquet, it confesses Hi…
Psalm 27:14The final verse of Psalm 27 places the exhortation to be strong and courageous between two calls to "wait on the LORD." It is often cited as a verse …
Psalm 30:5Psalm 30:5 is a verse in which the psalmist declares that God's anger lasts only a moment while His favor lasts a lifetime, and that joy comes in the…
Psalm 32:5Psalm 32:5 is a verse from Psalm 32, a psalm traditionally attributed to David. In it the psalmist testifies that when he stopped concealing his sin …
Psalm 33:6A verse from the hymn of praise in Psalm 33 that celebrates the heavens and all their host as made by the word of the LORD and the breath of His mout…
Psalm 34:18A verse from the Psalms declaring that God is near to those whose hearts are broken and whose spirits are crushed, and that he saves them. It is freq…
Psalm 37:4–5Psalm 37:4–5 exhorts the reader to delight in the LORD and to commit one's way to him. The passage is frequently cited as a promise that God will gra…
Psalm 37:5Psalm 37:5 urges the righteous, who are shaken by the prosperity of the wicked, to commit their way to God and trust in him. It is frequently cited t…
Psalm 37:7A verse urging believers not to fret when the wicked prosper, but to be still before God and wait patiently for him. It is often quoted to encourage …
Psalm 42:1Psalm 42:1 is the opening verse of Psalm 42, which compares longing for God to a thirsty deer seeking water. It is widely quoted as a classic express…
Psalm 44:22A verse from Psalm 44, a communal lament, in which Israel protests to God that its people are being killed not because of their sin but "for thy sake…
Psalm 46:1–3Psalm 46:1–3 is the first stanza of Psalm 46. It confesses that because God is his people's refuge and strength, they will not fear even though the e…
Psalm 46:8–11Psalm 46:8–11 is the final stanza of Psalm 46. It proclaims that God makes wars to cease unto the end of the earth and will be exalted among the nati…
Psalm 46:10Psalm 46:10 records God's declaration, "Be still, and know that I am God." The verse is often used as a text for quiet meditation and waiting on God,…
Psalm 50:15A verse in Psalm 50 in which God calls His covenant people to offer thanksgiving and to call upon Him rather than to bring merely formal sacrifices, …
Psalm 51:5David's confession, "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me." The verse is cited as a leading Old Testament basis for…
Psalm 51:10David's prayer, "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." Offered after his confession of sin, it asks God to create t…
Psalm 51:11–12In this passage David, repenting of his sin, asks God not to cast him away from His presence or take His Holy Spirit from him, and to restore to him …
Psalm 51:16–17A passage from Psalm 51, traditionally known as David's psalm of repentance, in which the psalmist confesses that the sacrifice God desires is not an…
Psalm 58:3A verse in Psalm 58 that indicts unjust rulers and judges and declares that the wicked go astray from birth. It is frequently cited in support of the…
Psalm 67:1Psalm 67:1 is the opening verse of Psalm 67. It asks for God's mercy and blessing and for His face to shine upon His people. The verse echoes the pri…
Psalm 73:25–26Psalm 73:25–26 is the passage in which the psalmist, after being shaken by the prosperity of the wicked, confesses that God alone is the one he desir…
Psalm 90:4A verse from Psalm 90, traditionally attributed to Moses as a prayer, which states that in God's sight a thousand years are like yesterday when it is…
Psalm 91:1–2The opening verses of Psalm 91 describe the security of one who dwells under the protection of the Most High and confess trust in God as refuge and f…
Psalm 100:4–5A passage that calls worshipers to enter the temple gates and courts with thanksgiving and praise and to exalt God (v. 4), and that gives the reason:…
Psalm 103:5Psalm 103:5 is the final item in the psalmist's list of God's benefits in Psalm 103. It declares that God satisfies with good things and renews youth…
Psalm 103:11-12Psalm 103:11-12 is a passage from a psalm traditionally attributed to David. It compares God's lovingkindness to the height of the heavens above the …
Psalm 105:16–22This passage retells, as an act of God's providence, the story of Joseph, who was sold as a slave and imprisoned before becoming ruler in Egypt. It i…
Psalm 106:30–31This passage celebrates how Phinehas rose up during the Baal-peor incident and stopped the plague, and how his deed "was counted unto him for righteo…
Psalm 111:10The final verse of Psalm 111, which declares that the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. Together with Proverbs 9:10 and Job 28:28, it is f…
Psalm 118:22A verse of Psalm 118 confessing that the stone people rejected has become the most important stone of the house. Quoted several times in the New Test…
Psalm 119:97–104The thirteenth stanza of Psalm 119, in which the psalmist meditates on God's word all day long and confesses that it makes him wiser than his enemies…
Psalm 119:105Psalm 119:105 is a verse of confession: "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." It expresses the conviction that God's word illu…
Psalm 121:1–2Psalm 121 opens with the psalmist lifting his eyes to the hills and asking where his help will come from, followed by the answer, "My help cometh fro…
Psalm 121:3–8The latter part of Psalm 121, a pilgrimage psalm, which sings of the promise that the LORD, who neither slumbers nor sleeps, will keep "thee," repeat…
Psalm 122:1Psalm 122:1 is the verse in which a pilgrim declares his gladness upon hearing the invitation, "Let us go into the house of the LORD." It is regarded…
Psalm 124:8Psalm 124:8 is the final verse of Psalm 124. It confesses that the help that delivered Israel comes from God, the maker of heaven and earth. Reformed…
Psalm 125:1-2A passage declaring that those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, and that God surrounds His people forever as the mou…
Psalm 127:1A declaration that unless the LORD builds the house, the labor of those who build it is in vain. It is one of the verses most often cited at the begi…
Psalm 127:2Psalm 127:2 declares that anxiety and excessive toil without reliance on God are vain, and that the LORD gives sleep to his beloved. The verse is fre…
Psalm 133:1A verse celebrating how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. It is frequently read at joint worship services of churches …
Psalm 137:1–6A lament in which Judeans carried captive to Babylon long for Zion (Jerusalem), refuse to sing, and vow never to forget Jerusalem. The passage is fre…
Psalm 137:9Psalm 137:9 is the final verse of Psalm 137, a lament over the Babylonian exile. It pronounces blessed the one who dashes the enemy's little ones aga…
Psalm 139:13–14A hymn of praise attributed to David, declaring that God formed him in his mother's womb. Cherished as a passage on the dignity of human life, it is …
Psalm 139:15-16A passage in Psalm 139 in which the psalmist confesses that God saw him before he was formed in the womb and recorded the days of his life in God's b…

Proverbs 19

1:7Proverbs 1:7 declares that the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, stating the theme of the entire Book of Proverbs. Christian schools an…
3:5-6Proverbs 3:5-6 teaches trusting in the LORD with all one's heart rather than leaning on one's own understanding, with the promise that he will direct…
4:23A verse of Proverbs that instructs the reader to keep the heart above all else, because out of it are the issues of life. It reflects the biblical un…
6:23Proverbs 6:23 compares a parent's teaching to a "lamp" and "light" and the "reproofs of instruction" to "the way of life." It is often quoted to expr…
9:10Proverbs 9:10 declares that the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom and that the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. As a key verse t…
11:24–25A couplet in Proverbs teaching that those who give generously end up with more, while those who hold on too tightly fall into want. It is often quote…
11:26A proverb teaching that whoever hoards grain in a time of famine and refuses to release it will be cursed by the people, while whoever sells it will …
13:24Proverbs 13:24 is a proverb teaching that one who spares the rod hates his son, while one who loves him disciplines him diligently: "He that spareth …
16:1–3Proverbs 16:1–3 is a group of wisdom sayings teaching that people make plans in their hearts, but God judges both the outcome and the motives of the …
16:9Proverbs 16:9 is a proverb teaching that although a person plans his way in his heart, it is the LORD who directs his steps. It is frequently cited i…
19:17A proverb that likens showing kindness to the poor to lending to the LORD. It is frequently cited as a key verse encouraging almsgiving, and discussi…
19:21A proverb stating that although a person may make many plans in the heart, it is the counsel of the LORD that will ultimately stand. It is frequently…
22:6Proverbs 22:6 is the proverb that reads, "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it" (KJV). It is wide…
22:9Proverbs 22:9 is a proverb declaring that the one with a "good eye" (KJV: "a bountiful eye"), that is, a generous person, is blessed because he share…
22:15A proverb stating that foolishness is bound in the heart of a child and that the rod of correction drives it far away. Because it is often cited in s…
23:29–35A passage in Proverbs that uses six questions and vivid description to warn of the calamities that befall those given to drink. In Korean Protestant …
28:13Proverbs 28:13 is a proverb teaching that whoever covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy. Becaus…
30:5–6A passage among the sayings of Agur that declares the word of God pure and trustworthy and warns against adding anything to it. It is frequently cite…
31:30Proverbs 31:30 declares that favour and beauty are vain but that a woman who fears the LORD shall be praised. It forms the conclusion of the poem of …

Ecclesiastes 10

1:2Ecclesiastes 1:2 is the opening thematic verse of the Book of Ecclesiastes, in which the Preacher declares, "Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, …
3:1–8Ecclesiastes 3:1–8 is a poem that uses fourteen pairs of contrasting lines to declare that God has appointed a time for everything. Because it sets t…
3:11Ecclesiastes 3:11 states that God has made everything beautiful in its time and has given human beings a heart that longs for eternity, yet has made …
5:4–5Ecclesiastes 5:4–5 is the Preacher's exhortation that a vow made to God should be paid without delay, because it is better not to vow than to vow and…
5:15A verse stating that just as a person came forth naked from the womb, so at death he takes away nothing of what he has labored to gain. It is frequen…
8:17Ecclesiastes 8:17 states that however much a person labors, he cannot fully comprehend the work of God that is done "under the sun." The verse is fre…
11:9–10A passage in which the Preacher urges a young man to enjoy his youth while remembering that God will bring every deed into judgment. Because it joins…
12:1An exhortation to remember one's Creator in the days of youth, before the evil days come. It is one of the final exhortations of Ecclesiastes and one…
12:8Ecclesiastes 12:8 concludes the main body of the book. It repeats the opening declaration of Ecclesiastes 1:2, "Vanity of vanities," to sum up the tr…
12:13–14The closing words of Ecclesiastes, which declare that to fear God and keep His commandments is the whole duty of man and that God will bring every wo…

Song of Songs 3

2:16Song of Songs 2:16 is a verse in which the woman declares that she and her beloved belong to each other. It is often cited and has been read both as …
5:2A scene in the Song of Songs in which the beloved, drenched with the night dew, asks the sleeping woman to open the door to him. The verse is read as…
Song of Solomon 8:6–7This passage, which declares that love is strong as death and that many waters cannot quench its fire, forms the climax of the Song of Solomon. It is…

Isaiah 34

1:16–17In this passage the prophet Isaiah commands the people of Judah to forsake their evil deeds, learn to do good, and defend the vulnerable, such as orp…
5:1-7A prophecy that indicts the injustice of Israel and Judah through a song about a vineyard that its owner tended with great care but that yielded only…
6:8Isaiah 6:8 is the verse in which the prophet Isaiah, during his vision in the temple, hears the voice of the Lord asking whom He shall send and answe…
7:14Isaiah 7:14 is the prophecy that a virgin will conceive and bear a son and call his name Immanuel. The Gospel of Matthew cites it as a prophecy of th…
8:8–10A passage in which Isaiah likens the Assyrian invasion to a flood and foretells the crisis coming upon Judah. He then declares that the plans of the …
9:1–7Isaiah 9:1–7 is a prophecy proclaiming that light will shine on the land of Galilee, darkened by the Assyrian invasion, and that a child will be born…
9:6Isaiah 9:6 is the prophecy that "unto us a child is born," whose name "shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father,…
25:8Isaiah 25:8 is a prophecy within Isaiah 24–27 promising that God will destroy death forever and wipe away the tears from all faces. Taken up by Paul …
26:3A verse celebrating that God keeps "in perfect peace" the one who trusts in Him and whose mind is stayed on Him. It is frequently cited to comfort be…
30:15Isaiah 30:15 is addressed to Judah, which was seeking an alliance with Egypt in the face of the Assyrian threat. It declares that salvation and stren…
40:11Isaiah 40:11 portrays God as a shepherd who carries the lambs in his bosom and gently leads the nursing ewes. Because its image of tender care is pai…
40:28–31A passage in the Book of Isaiah that answers the lament of Israel during the Babylonian exile by proclaiming that God the Creator, who never grows we…
40:31Isaiah 40:31 promises that those who wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength, mount up with wings as eagles, and run without growing weary. It …
41:10God's promise, "Fear thou not; for I am with thee," in which He pledges to strengthen His people and uphold them with the right hand of His righteous…
43:1–2A passage in which God, as Creator and Redeemer, tells Israel in Babylonian exile to "fear not" and promises to be with them even through water and f…
43:10–11In this passage God appoints Israel as his "witnesses" and his "servant" and declares that there is no other god and no savior besides him. It is a c…
43:16–21A passage in the Book of Isaiah that promises Israel in Babylonian exile a "new thing" greater than the Exodus, in which God parted the Red Sea: a wa…
43:18–19Isaiah 43:18–19 is God's declaration, "Remember ye not the former things… Behold, I will do a new thing," together with the promise to make a way in …
45:9Isaiah 45:9 is a verse in the Book of Isaiah that uses the image of the potter and the clay to declare that the creature cannot contend with the Crea…
46:9A verse in which the God of Israel contrasts himself with the idols of Babylon and declares, "I am God, and there is none else." It is frequently cit…
49:1Isaiah 49:1 opens the second "Servant Song" in the Book of Isaiah. In it the Servant of the LORD declares to distant peoples that he was called befor…
49:6Isaiah 49:6 is a verse in which God tells his servant that, beyond restoring Israel, he will make him "a light to the Gentiles" so that salvation may…
53:1Isaiah 53:1 is a verse lamenting that scarcely anyone can believe the report concerning the Suffering Servant. It is frequently discussed because the…
53:4–6Isaiah 53:4–6 is a passage in which the speakers confess that the "Suffering Servant" suffered because of the transgressions and iniquities of others…
53:5Isaiah 53:5 is the central verse of the Song of the Suffering Servant, declaring that he was wounded for our transgressions and that with his stripes…
53:10–12This passage concludes the fourth "Servant Song" in the Book of Isaiah and declares that the servant who suffered and died bears the sins of many and…
55:6–7Isaiah 55:6–7 calls the people of Judah in the Babylonian exile to seek the LORD, forsake their wicked ways and thoughts, and return to him, promisin…
55:8–9A declaration that God's thoughts and ways differ from human thoughts and ways and are as high above them as the heavens are above the earth. Althoug…
55:10–11A passage declaring that God's word, like the rain and snow that make the earth bring forth fruit, does not return void but accomplishes his purpose.…
57:15Isaiah 57:15 declares that God, who dwells in the high and holy place, also dwells with those who are contrite and humble and revives their spirit an…
59:20–21These verses conclude Isaiah 59, a chapter that indicts Israel for its sins. They promise that a Redeemer will come to those who turn from transgress…
60:1A prophecy declaring, "Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee." The verse proclaims the restoration of Zio…
61:1–3A passage in which one anointed by the Spirit of God proclaims liberty and comfort to the poor, the brokenhearted, and the captives. It is frequently…
65:17–25A passage in the Book of Isaiah in which God promises to create "new heavens and a new earth," a world where weeping ceases and even the animals live…

Jeremiah 14

1:5A verse from the call narrative of Jeremiah in which God declares that He knew Jeremiah before forming him in the womb, sanctified him before he came…
1:6-10A passage in which the prophet Jeremiah hesitates at his call, protesting "I am a child," and God promises to be with him and puts His words in his m…
3:23Jeremiah 3:23 is a verse in which the people confess that pagan worship on the hills is in vain and that the salvation of Israel is in the LORD alone…
6:16A verse in which God tells the people of Judah to stand at the crossroads, ask for "the old paths, where is the good way," and walk in it, promising …
17:5–10Jeremiah 17:5–10 is a prophetic oracle of Jeremiah that compares the one who trusts in man to a shrub in the desert and the one who trusts in the LOR…
17:9A lament declaring that the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, and asking who can know it. It is a classic verse on the sinf…
18:1–10A passage that speaks of God's sovereignty through the image of a potter reshaping a marred vessel and sets out the principle that God "repents" of c…
23:29Jeremiah 23:29 is a verse that likens the word of God to "a fire" and to "a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces." Because it appears in a passage…
29:4–14Part of Jeremiah's letter to the exiles in Babylon, containing the exhortation to settle in the land of exile and seek the peace of the city, togethe…
29:11Jeremiah 29:11 is the promise that God's thoughts toward his people are thoughts of peace and not of evil, intended to give them a future and a hope.…
31:31–33God's promise to make a new covenant with Israel and Judah and to write his law on their hearts. It is the principal Old Testament passage in which t…
31:34Jeremiah 31:34 is the final verse of the new covenant prophecy (Jeremiah 31:31-34). It promises that all the people will know the LORD and that their…
33:3Jeremiah 33:3 contains the divine promise "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not." Inte…
33:6–9Jeremiah 33:6–9 is a passage in which God promises to heal Jerusalem, then besieged by Babylon and on the verge of collapse, to bring back its captiv…

Lamentations 2

3:19–26Lamentations 3:19–26 is the passage in which a speaker, despairing as he remembers the suffering of Jerusalem's destruction, recalls the mercies and …
3:22–23Lamentations 3:22–23 is a confession that the LORD's mercies and compassions never fail, that they are new every morning, and that His faithfulness i…

Ezekiel 12

9:4A verse in Ezekiel's vision in which God commands a man clothed in linen to set a mark upon the foreheads of those who sigh and cry over the abominat…
11:19–20In this passage God promises the exiled Israelites that He will give them one heart and a new spirit, replacing their stony heart with a heart of fle…
18:2-4A prophetic message delivered by Ezekiel to the exiles in Babylon that rejects a proverb blaming the fathers and declares each person's own responsib…
18:19–20A passage in which God declared through Ezekiel during the Babylonian exile that "the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father." It is a key tex…
18:20Ezekiel 18:20 is a declaration of individual responsibility: "The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father,…
18:23A verse in the Book of Ezekiel declaring that God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked but desires that they turn and live. It is frequently …
18:30–32Ezekiel's call to repentance addressed to Israel during the Babylonian exile, declaring that each person will be judged according to his ways and tha…
34:11–16Ezekiel 34:11–16 is a passage in which God promises that he himself will be the shepherd who seeks out, gathers, and cares for his scattered sheep. I…
36:25–27A promise delivered by Ezekiel, a prophet of the Babylonian exile, in which God declares that he will cleanse Israel with water, give the people a ne…
36:26Ezekiel 36:26 records God's promise to give a new spirit, to take away the stony heart, and to give a heart of flesh. It is a principal Old Testament…
37:4–5Ezekiel 37:4–5 is the command, given in a vision, to prophesy the word of the LORD to dry bones, with God's promise: "Behold, I will cause breath to …
37:11–14This passage interprets Ezekiel's vision of the "valley of dry bones." In it God promises to open the graves of exiled Israel, put His spirit within …

Daniel 5

3:17–18Daniel 3:17–18 is the reply of Daniel's three friends before the fiery furnace: God was able to deliver them, "but if not," they would still not bow …
3:24–28This passage describes how the three men cast into King Nebuchadnezzar's fiery furnace walk out unharmed and how the king then praises their God. It …
7:1-8In this passage Daniel sees in a dream four beasts rising out of the sea and a little horn springing up among ten horns. Because interpreters disagre…
9:1-3In this passage Daniel reads Jeremiah's prophecy of the "seventy years" and resolves to seek God with fasting and prayer. It is often cited as a mode…
9:24–27The prophecy of the "seventy weeks" delivered to Daniel by the angel Gabriel. It is among the most difficult prophecies in Scripture to interpret. In…

Hosea 3

6:1–4A passage in which the people of the northern kingdom of Israel declare, "Come, and let us return unto the LORD," while God laments that their faithf…
6:6A declaration that God desires steadfast love rather than sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. Jesus quoted the verse twice…
8:7A verse that indicts the Northern Kingdom of Israel for idolatry and futile political dependence, pronouncing judgment through the agricultural image…

Joel 4

2:12-14A passage in which the prophet Joel calls the people of Judah to return to God with fasting and weeping, and to rend their hearts rather than their g…
2:23–27A passage in the Book of Joel in which God promises Judah, repentant after a locust plague, that he will return the rain and abundant harvests and "r…
2:28-29Joel 2:28-29 is God's promise that afterward he will pour out his Spirit upon all flesh, so that sons and daughters will prophesy, old men will dream…
2:32Joel 2:32 promises that on the day of the LORD "whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered." Quoted in Peter's Pentecost sermon …

Amos 2

5:21–23In this oracle addressed by Amos to the northern kingdom of Israel, God declares that he rejects the feasts, sacrifices, and songs of a people who ha…
5:24Amos 5:24 is the prophet Amos's call for justice to flow like water and righteousness like a stream that never runs dry. It is widely used as a repre…

Obadiah 1

1:15In this verse Obadiah, having indicted Edom for its sins, declares that the day of the LORD is near upon all nations and sets out the principle of re…

Jonah 3

3:10This verse records that when the people of Nineveh turned from their evil way, God did not bring upon them the disaster He had announced. It is frequ…
4:2In this verse Jonah, angered that Nineveh has been spared, tells God why he had fled. The verse is frequently discussed for its irony, since Jonah tu…
4:11Jonah 4:11 is God's question to Jonah, who was angry that Nineveh had been spared, and the Book of Jonah ends with this question. The verse is freque…

Micah 2

6:6-8Micah 6:6-8 asks what a person should bring when coming before God and answers that, rather than sacrifices, God requires justice, mercy, and a humbl…
6:8A declaration that what God requires of people is to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God. It is widely cited as a summary of prophe…

Nahum 1

1:7Nahum 1:7 is a verse in which the prophet Nahum, while foretelling the fall of Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, confesses that the LORD is good and a…

Habakkuk 3

2:4Habakkuk 2:4, "the just shall live by his faith," is God's answer to the prophet Habakkuk. Quoted three times in the New Testament and a central basi…
3:17–18Habakkuk's confession that even if the fig tree, vine, olive, field, flock, and herd all fail, he will still rejoice in the LORD. The passage is cher…
3:19Habakkuk 3:19 is the final verse of the Book of Habakkuk. It is a confession of trust that, even when everything is lost, the LORD is "my strength" w…

Zephaniah 1

3:17Zephaniah 3:17 declares that God, present in the midst of restored Jerusalem, rejoices and sings over His people. It is frequently cited as a word of…

Haggai 1

2:4–5Haggai 2:4–5 is a word of encouragement to the leaders and people who had returned from exile and had grown discouraged while rebuilding the temple, …

Zechariah 3

4:6Zechariah 4:6, "Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts" (KJV), is a word addressed to Zerubbabel, who was charged with…
4:9–10A passage from Zechariah's fifth night vision that promises Zerubbabel will finish the temple rebuilding he began and warns against despising "the da…
12:10Zechariah 12:10 is a prophecy in which God promises to pour out upon the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and suppli…

Malachi 4

2:14–16In this passage the prophet Malachi rebukes the men of Israel who had abandoned the wives they married in their youth, and he speaks of marriage as a…
3:6A verse declaring that because God does not change, the sinful descendants of Jacob are not destroyed. It is commonly cited in discussions of God's i…
3:8–10In this passage the prophet Malachi rebukes the people for withholding tithes and offerings, charging that they have "robbed God," and urges them to …
3:10A verse in which God commands His people to bring all the tithes into the storehouse and prove Him, promising to open the windows of heaven and pour …