'Captives' in the Bible

Then Laban said to Jacob, “What do you mean by deceiving me and leaving without my knowledge, and carrying off my daughters as if [they were] captives of the sword?

Then they brought the captives, the spoils, and the plunder to Moses and to Eleazar the priest and to the congregation of the Israelites at the camp on the plains of Moab by the Jordan [River] across from Jericho.

Camp outside the camp for seven days; whoever has killed any person and whoever has touched any dead body, purify yourselves and your captives, on the third day and on the seventh day.

and you see a beautiful woman among the captives, and desire her and would take her as your wife,

‘I will make My arrows drunk with blood,And My sword will devour flesh,With the blood of the slain and the captives,From the heads of the leaders of the enemy.’

“Awake, awake, Deborah;Awake, awake, sing a song!Arise, Barak, and lead away your captives, you son of Abinoam.

He led away into exile all Jerusalem and all the captains and all the brave men, ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths. None remained except the poorest people of the land.

Therefore the Lord his God handed over Ahaz to the king of Aram (Syria), who defeated him and led away a great number [of the people] as captives, and brought them to Damascus. And he was also handed over to the king of Israel, who struck Judah with a great slaughter.

and said to them, “You must not bring the captives in here; for we are guilty before the Lord already, and what you intend to do will add more to our sins and our guilt. For our guilt is so great that His burning anger is against Israel.”

So the armed men [of Israel] left the captives and the spoil [of Judah] before the officers and all the assembly.

Then the men who were designated by name rose up and took the captives, and from the spoil they clothed all those who were naked; they clothed them and gave them sandals, and fed them and gave them [something to] drink, anointed them [with oil, as was a host’s duty], and led all the feeble ones on donkeys, and they brought them to Jericho, the City of Palm Trees, to their brothers (fellow descendants of Israel, i.e. Jacob). Then they returned to Samaria.

For the Edomites had come again and attacked Judah and led away captives.

Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia [that is, the first year he ruled Babylon], in order to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah [the prophet], the Lord stirred up (put in motion) the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying:

who had been deported from Jerusalem with the captives who had been exiled with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had exiled.

O Lord, You have [at last] shown favor to Your land [of Canaan];You have restored [from Babylon] the captives of Jacob (Israel).

When the Lord brought back the captives to Zion (Jerusalem),We were like those who dream [it seemed so unreal].

By the rivers of Babylon,There we [captives] sat down and wept,When we remembered Zion [the city God imprinted on our hearts].

Therefore the Lord will afflict the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion with scabs [making them bald],And the Lord will expose their foreheads (send them into captivity).”

Now it will come to pass that instead of the sweet fragrance of spices there will be [the stench of] rottenness;Instead of a belt, a rope;Instead of well-set hair, baldness;Instead of fine clothes, a robe of sackcloth;And branding [of captives by the scorching heat] instead of beauty.

The peoples will take them along and bring them to their own place (Judea), and the house of Israel will possess them as an inheritance in the land of the Lord as male and female servants; and they will take captive those whose captives they have been, and they will rule over their [former] oppressors.

in the same way the king of Assyria will lead away the Egyptian captives and the Cushite exiles, young and old, stripped and barefoot, even with buttocks uncovered—to the shame of Egypt.

All your leaders have fled together [with your king],And have been captured without the bow [which they had thrown away];All of you who were found were taken captive together,Though they had fled far away.

But now, this is what the Lord, your Creator says, O Jacob,And He who formed you, O Israel,“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you [from captivity];I have called you by name; you are Mine!

“I have stirred up Cyrus and put him into action in righteousness [to accomplish My purpose]And I will make all his ways smooth;He will build My city and let My exiles go,Without any payment or reward,” says the Lord of hosts.

“Can the spoils of war be taken from the mighty man,Or the captives of a tyrant be rescued?”

Indeed, this is what the Lord says,“Even the captives of the mighty man will be taken away,And the tyrant’s spoils of war will be rescued;For I will contend with your opponent,And I will save your children.

“Your gates will be open continually;They shall not be shut day or night,So that people may bring to you the wealth of the nations—With their kings led in procession.

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,Because the Lord has anointed and commissioned meTo bring good news to the humble and afflicted;He has sent me to bind up [the wounds of] the brokenhearted,To proclaim release [from confinement and condemnation] to the [physical and spiritual] captivesAnd freedom to prisoners,

Go and proclaim these words toward the north [where the ten tribes have been taken as captives] and say,‘Return, faithless Israel,’ says the Lord;‘I will not look on you in anger.For I am gracious and merciful,’ says the Lord;‘I will not be angry forever.

My tent is destroyed,And all my [tent] cords are broken;My children have been taken from me [as captives] and are no more.There is no one to stretch out my tent againAnd to set up my [tent] curtains.

“Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Like these good figs, so I will regard as good the captives of Judah, whom I have sent from this place into the land of the Chaldeans.

“So says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the captives whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon,

Now when all the [captive] people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were with him, they were glad.

He spoke kindly to him and gave him a throne above the thrones of the kings who were [captives] with him in Babylon.

Go to the [Jewish] exiles [in Babylon], to the children of your people, and speak to them, whether they listen or not, and tell them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’”

“Son of man, speak to the sons of your people [who are exiled in Babylon] and say to them, ‘If I bring a sword on a land, and the people of the land take one man from among them and make him their watchman,

Then Arioch hurriedly brought Daniel before the king and said this to him: “I have found a man among the exiles of Judah who can explain to the king the interpretation [of the dream].”

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me (the Messiah),Because He has anointed Me to preach the good news to the poor.He has sent Me to announce release (pardon, forgiveness) to the captives,And recovery of sight to the blind,To set free those who are oppressed (downtrodden, bruised, crushed by tragedy),

And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled (completed).