34 Bible Verses about Negotiation

So now, swear to me here by God [that] you will not deal with me falsely, or with my descendants, or my posterity. According to the kindness that I have done to you, you shall [pledge] to do with me and with the land where you have dwelled as an alien."

Or what king, going out to engage another king in battle, does not sit down first [and] deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand. But if not, [while] [the other] is still far away, he sends an ambassador [and] asks {for terms of} peace.

And they went to Joshua at the camp [at] Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, "We have come from a far land; so then {make a covenant with us}."

"Come up and help me, and let us attack Gibeon, because it has made peace with Joshua and the {Israelites}."

But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, "On this [condition] {I will make a treaty} with you, by gouging out the right eye of each of you, so that I can make it a disgrace for all Israel."

Abner sent messengers to David {where he was}, saying, "To whom does the land [belong]? {Make your covenant with me}! Look, my hand [is] with you to bring all of Israel over to you!" He said, "Good. {I will make a covenant with you}. I am asking only one thing from you: You shall not see my face unless you bring Michal the daughter of Saul when you come to see {me}."

"[Let there be] a covenant between me and you, between my father and your father. Look, I have sent you a gift of silver and gold. Go, break your covenant with Baasha king of Israel that he may go up [away] from me."

So then, please make a wager with my lord, with the king of Assyria, and I will give to you a thousand horses {if you are able on your part to put riders on them.}

And now please make a wager with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, [that is,] if you are able {put} riders for yourself on them!

And he spoke with them, saying, "{If you are willing} [that] I bury my dead from before me, hear me and intercede for me with Ephron the son of Zohar, that he may sell to me the cave of Machpelah which {belongs to him}, which [is] at the end of his field. At full value let him sell [it] to me in your midst as {a burial site}."

And I thought {I would tell you} and say, '{Buy it in the presence of} those sitting and before the elders of my people,' if you want to redeem [it], redeem [it]. But if you do not want to redeem, tell me so that I may know, for there is no one except you to redeem [it], and I [am] after you." And he said, "I want to redeem [it]."

Then the king said to Araunah, "No, but {I will certainly buy} it from you for a price; I don't want to offer to Yahweh my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing." So David bought the threshing floor and the cattle for fifty shekels of silver.

Then Hanamel, the son of my uncle, came to me, to the courtyard of the guard {according to} the word of Yahweh, and he said to me, 'Please buy my field that [is] at Anathoth, that [is] in the land of Benjamin, for to you [is] the claim of possession, and to you the redemption; buy [it] for yourself.' Then I knew that this [was] the word of Yahweh.

Then Laban said to Jacob, "[Just] because you [are] my brother should you work for me for nothing? Tell me what your wage [should be]."

Complete the week of this one, then I will also give you the other, {on the condition that you will work for me} another seven years."

Let me pass through all your flocks today, removing all the speckled and spotted sheep from them, along with every dark-colored sheep among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled among the goats. That shall be my wages.

And Micah said to him, "Stay with me and be to me a father and a priest, and I will give to you ten pieces of silver a year, a set of clothes, and your food." So the Levite went [with him]. The Levite agreed to stay with the man; and the young man became as one of his sons.

So then, command that they may cut cedars for me from Lebanon, and let my servants be with your servants. The wage of your servants I will give to you according to all that you say, for you know that there is no one among us who knows [how] to cut timber like the Sidonians."

And [after] coming to an agreement with the workers for a denarius per day, he sent them into his vineyard.

Then one of the twelve, the one named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests [and] said, "What are you willing to give me if I in turn deliver him to you?" So they set out for him thirty silver coins.

And Judas Iscariot, who [was] one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them.

And he went away [and] discussed with the chief priests and officers of the temple guard how he could betray him to them.

So then please swear to me by Yahweh, because {I have shown loyalty to you}, and {you will also show loyalty} {to my family}. You must give me a sign of good faith, and you will spare my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all that belongs to them; you will deliver our lives from death."

They said to him, "We have come down to bind you and give you over into the hand of [the] Philistines." And Samson said to them, "Swear to me that you will not attack me yourselves." They said to him, "No, we will only bind you and give you into their hand; we will certainly not kill you." So they bound him with two new ropes, and they brought him up from the rock.

So you must show loyal love to your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of Yahweh with you. But if there [is] guilt in me, [then] kill me yourself! But why should you bring me to your father?"

So David asked him, "Will you take me down to this band [of raiders]?" He said, "Swear to me by God that you will not kill me and that you will not deliver me into my master's hand! Then I will take you down to this band."

And the men said to her, "{Our lives for yours}. If you do not report this business of ours, {we will show you loyalty and faithfulness} when Yahweh gives us the land."

"Bad, bad," the buyer will say, but [when] one goes to him, then he will boast.

"Ho! Everyone thirsty, come to the waters! And whoever has no money, come, buy and eat, and come, buy without money, wine and milk without price! Why do you weigh out money for [what is] not food, and your labor for {what cannot satisfy}? Listen carefully to me, and eat [what is] good, and let your soul take pleasure in {rich} food.

Has a nation exchanged gods? And they [are] not gods! But my people have exchanged their glory for that which does not profit.

Therefore he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. And coached by her mother, she said, "Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter!" And [although] the king was distressed, because of his oaths and his {dinner guests} he commanded [the request] to be granted.read more.
And he sent [orders] [and] had John beheaded in the prison,

Then one of the twelve, the one named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests [and] said, "What are you willing to give me if I in turn deliver him to you?" So they set out for him thirty silver coins. And from that time on, he began seeking a favorable opportunity in order that he could betray him.

Then Yahweh said, "Because the outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah [is] great and because their sin [is] very {serious}, I will go down and I will see. Have they done altogether according to its cry of distress [which] has come to me? If not, I will know." And the men turned from there and went toward Sodom. And Abraham [was] still standing before Yahweh.read more.
And Abraham drew near [to Yahweh] and said, "Will you also sweep away the righteous with the wicked? If perhaps there are fifty righteous in the midst of the city, will you also sweep [them] away and not forgive the place on account of the fifty righteous in her midst? Far be it from you to do such a thing as this, to kill [the] righteous with [the] wicked, that the righteous would be as the wicked! Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do justice?" And Yahweh said, "If I find fifty righteous in Sodom, in the midst of the city, then I will forgive the whole place for their sake." Then Abraham answered and said, "Look, please, I was bold to speak to my Lord, but I [am] dust and ashes. Perhaps the fifty righteous are lacking five--will you destroy the whole city on account of the five?" And he answered, "I will not destroy [it] if I find forty-five there." And {once again he spoke} to him and said, "What if forty are found there?" And he answered, "I will not do [it] on account of the forty." And he said, "Please, let not my Lord be angry, and I will speak. What if thirty be found there?" And he answered, "I will not do [it] if I find thirty there." And he said, "Please, now, I was bold to speak to my Lord. What if twenty be found there?" And he answered, "I will not destroy [it] for the sake of the twenty." And he said, "Please, let not my Lord be angry, and I will speak only once more. What if ten are found there?" And he answered, "I will not destroy [it] for the sake of the ten." Then Yahweh left, as he finished speaking to Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.

And the boys grew up. And Esau [was] a skilled hunter, a man of the field, but Jacob [was] a peaceful man, living [in] tents. And Isaac loved Esau because {he could eat of his game}, but Rebekah loved Jacob. Once Jacob cooked a thick stew, and Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted.read more.
And Esau said to Jacob, "Give me {some of that red stuff} to gulp down, for I am exhausted!" (Therefore his name was called Edom). Then Jacob said, "Sell me your birthright {first}." And Esau said, "Look, I am going to die; now what [is] this birthright to me?" Then Jacob said, "Swear to me {first}." And he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread, and thick lentil stew, and he ate and drank. Then he got up and went away. So Esau despised his birthright.