'Heavens' in the Bible

“By His breath the heavens are cleared;His hand has pierced the [swiftly] fleeing serpent.

“It is hidden from the eyes of all the livingAnd concealed from the birds of the heavens.

“For He looks to the ends of the earthAnd sees everything under the heavens.

“Look to the heavens and see;And behold the skies which are [much] higher than you.

Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earthAnd makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?’

“Do you know about the layers of thick clouds [and how they are balanced and poised in the heavens],The wonderful works of Him who is perfect in knowledge,

“Do you know the ordinances of the heavens,Or [can you] establish their rule over the earth?

“Who can count the clouds by [earthly] wisdom,Or pour out the water jars of the heavens,

“Who has first given to Me that I should repay him?Whatever is under the whole heaven is Mine. [Who can have a claim against Me who made the unmastered beast?]

“He looks on everything that is high [without terror];He is monarch over all the sons of pride. [And now, Job, who are you who does not dare to disturb the beast, yet who dares resist Me, the beast’s creator? Everything under the heavens is Mine; therefore, who can have a claim against God?]”

He who sits [enthroned] in the heavens laughs [at their rebellion];The [Sovereign] Lord scoffs at them [and in supreme contempt He mocks them].

O Lord, our Lord,How majestic and glorious and excellent is Your name in all the earth!You have displayed Your splendor above the heavens.

When I see and consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,The moon and the stars, which You have established,

He bowed the heavens also and came down;And thick darkness was under His feet.

The Lord also thundered in the heavens,And the Most High uttered His voice,Hailstones and coals of fire.

The heavens are telling of the glory of God;And the expanse [of heaven] is declaring the work of His hands.

Yet their voice [in quiet evidence] has gone out through all the earth,Their words to the end of the world.In them and in the heavens He has made a tent for the sun,

The sun’s rising is from one end of the heavens,And its circuit to the other end of them;And there is nothing hidden from its heat.

By the word of the Lord were the heavens made,And all their host by the breath of His mouth.

He summons the heavens above,And the earth, to judge His people:

And the heavens declare His righteousness,For God Himself is judge. Selah.

Be exalted above the heavens, O God;Let Your glory and majesty be over all the earth.

For Your faithfulness and lovingkindness are great, reaching to the heavens,And Your truth to the clouds.

Be exalted above the heavens, O God;Let Your glory and majesty be over all the earth.

The earth trembled;The heavens also poured down rain at the presence of God;Sinai itself trembled at the presence of God, the God of Israel.

To Him who rides in the highest heavens, the ancient heavens,Behold, He sends out His voice, a mighty and majestic voice.

Your righteousness, O God, reaches to the [height of the] heavens,You who have done great things;O God, who is like You, [who is Your equal]?

He caused the east wind to blow in the heavensAnd by His [unlimited] power He guided the south wind.

And He built His sanctuary [exalted] like the heights [of the heavens],Like the earth which He has established forever.

They have given the dead bodies of Your servants as food to the birds of the heavens,The flesh of Your godly ones to the beasts of the earth.

For I have said, “Goodness and lovingkindness will be built up forever;In the heavens [unchangeable and majestic] You will establish Your faithfulness.”

For who in the heavens can be compared to the Lord?Who among the divine beings is like the Lord,

The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours;The world and all that is in it, You have founded and established them.

“It shall be established forever like the moon,And the witness in the heavens is ever faithful.” Selah.

For all the gods of the peoples are [worthless, lifeless] idols,But the Lord made the heavens.

Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;Let the sea roar, and all the things it contains;

The heavens declare His righteousness,And all the peoples see His glory and brilliance.

“At the beginning You founded the earth;The heavens are the work of Your hands.

For as the heavens are high above the earth,So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear and worship Him [with awe-filled respect and deepest reverence].

The Lord has established His throne in the heavens,And His sovereignty rules over all [the universe].

[You are the One] who covers Yourself with light as with a garment,Who stretches out the heavens like a tent curtain,

Beside them the birds of the heavens have their nests;They lift up their voices and sing among the branches.

They went up toward the heavens [on the crest of the wave], they went down again to the depths [of the watery trough];Their courage melted away in their misery.

For Your lovingkindness is great and higher than the heavens;Your truth reaches to the skies.

Be exalted [in majesty], O God, above the heavens,And Your glory above all the earth.

The Lord is high above all nations,And His glory above the heavens.

Who humbles Himself to regardThe heavens and the earth?

The heavens are the heavens of the Lord,But the earth He has given to the children of men.

Lamedh.Forever, O Lord,Your word is settled in heaven [standing firm and unchangeable].

Whatever the Lord pleases, He does,In the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all deeps—

To Him who made the heavens with skill,For His lovingkindness endures forever;

Bow Your heavens, O Lord, and come down;Touch the mountains, and they will smoke.

Who covers the heavens with clouds,Who provides rain for the earth,Who makes grass grow on the mountains.

Praise the Lord!Praise the Lord from the heavens;Praise Him in the heights!

Praise Him, highest heavens,And the waters above the heavens!

Praise the Lord!Praise God in His sanctuary;Praise Him in His mighty heavens.

The Lord by His wisdom has founded the earth;By His understanding He has established the heavens.

“When He established the heavens, I [Wisdom] was there;When He drew a circle upon the face of the deep,

When you set your eyes on wealth, it is [suddenly] gone.For wealth certainly makes itself wingsLike an eagle that flies to the heavens.

As the heavens for height and the earth for depth,So the hearts and minds of kings are unsearchable.

Hear, O heavens, and listen, O earth;For the Lord has spoken:“I have reared and brought up sons,But they have rebelled against Me and have broken away.

They are coming from a distant country,From the end of heaven [the farthest horizon]—The Lord and the weapons of His indignation—To destroy the whole land.

For the stars of heaven and their constellationsWill not flash with their light;The sun will be dark when it rises,And the moon will not shed its light.

Therefore I will make the heavens tremble;And the earth will be shaken from its placeAt the wrath of the Lord of hostsIn the day of His burning anger.

The earth dries up and crumbles away, the world dries out and crumbles away, the exalted of the people of the earth fade away.

Then it will be that he who flees at the sound of terror will fall into the pit,And he who comes up out of the pit will be caught in the snare;For the windows of heaven are opened, and the foundations of the earth tremble.

All the host of heaven will be dissolved,And the skies will be rolled up like a scroll;All their hosts [the stars and the planets] will also wither awayAs a leaf withers from the vine,And as a fig withers from the fig tree.

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand,And marked off the heavens with a span [of the hand],And calculated the dust of the earth with a measure,And weighed the mountains in a balanceAnd the hills in a pair of scales?

It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;[It is He] who stretches out the heavens like a veilAnd spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.

This is what God the Lord says,He who created the heavens and stretched them out,Who spread out the earth and its produce,Who gives breath to the people on itAnd spirit to those who walk on it,

Shout for joy, O heavens, for the Lord has done it!Shout in triumph, you depths of the earth;Break forth into jubilant rejoicing, you mountains,O forest, and every tree in it!For the Lord has redeemed Jacob,And He shows His glory in Israel.

For the Lord, your Redeemer, and He who formed you from the womb says this,“I am the Lord, Maker of all things,Who alone stretches out the heavens,Who spreads out the earth by Myself,

“Rain down, O heavens, from above,Let the clouds pour down righteousness [all the blessings of God];Let the earth open up, let salvation bear fruit,And righteousness spring up with it;I, the Lord, have created it.

“I made the earth and created man upon it.My hands, stretched out the heavens,And I commanded all their host.

For the Lord, who created the heavens (He is God, who formed the earth and made it; He established it and did not create it to be a wasteland, but formed it to be inhabited) says this,“I am the Lord, and there is no one else.

“My hand founded and established the earth,And My right hand spread out the heavens;When I call to them, they stand together [in obedience to carry out My decrees].

Shout for joy, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth,And break forth into singing, O mountains!For the Lord has comforted His peopleAnd will have compassion on His afflicted.

“I clothe the heavens with the blackness [of storm clouds]And make sackcloth [of mourning] their clothing.”

“Lift up your eyes to the heavens,Then look to the earth beneath;For the heavens will be torn to pieces and vanish like smoke,And the earth will wear out like a garmentAnd its inhabitants will die in like manner.But My salvation will be forever,And My righteousness (justice) [and faithfully fulfilled promise] will not be broken.

That you have forgotten the Lord your Maker,Who stretched out the heavensAnd laid the foundations of the earth,That you continually tremble with fear all day long because of the rage of the oppressor,As he takes aim to destroy?And where is the rage of the oppressor?

I have put My words in your mouth and have covered you with the shadow of My hand, to establish the [renewed] heavens and lay the foundations of the [renewed] earth, and to say to Zion (Jerusalem), ‘You are My people.’”

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,So are My ways higher than your waysAnd My thoughts higher than your thoughts.

“For as the rain and snow come down from heaven,And do not return there without watering the earth,Making it bear and sprout,And providing seed to the sower and bread to the eater,

Oh, that You would tear open the heavens and come down,That the mountains might quake at Your presence—

“Behold, I am creating new heavens and a new earth;And the former things [of life] will not be remembered or come to mind.

“For just as the new heavens and the new earthWhich I make will remain and endure before Me,” declares the Lord,“So your offspring and your name will remain and endure.

“Be appalled, O heavens, at this;Be shocked and shudder with horror [at the behavior of the people],” says the Lord.

I looked at the earth [in my vision], and behold, it was [as at the time of creation] formless and void;And to the heavens, and they had no light.

“For this reason the earth shall mournAnd the heavens above shall become dark,Because I have spoken, I have decided,And I will not change my mind (relent), nor will I turn back from it.”

“Even the stork in the skyKnows her seasons [of migration],And the turtledove, the swallow and the craneObserve the time of their return.But My people do not knowThe law of the Lord.

Thus says the Lord,“Do not learn the way of the [pagan] nations,And do not be terrified and distressed by the signs of the heavensAlthough the pagans are terrified by them;

In this manner you shall say to them, “The gods that did not make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.”

God made the earth by His power;He established the world by His wisdomAnd by His understanding and skill He has stretched out the heavens.

When He utters His voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,And He causes the clouds and the mist to ascend from the end of the earth;He makes lightning for the rain,And brings out the wind from His treasuries and from His storehouses.

Are there any among the idols of the nations who can send rain?Or can the heavens [of their own will] give showers?Is it not You, O Lord our God?Therefore we will wait and hope [confidently] in You,For You are the one who has made all these things [the heavens and the rain].

The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be defiled like this place, Topheth, all the houses on whose rooftops incense has been burned to all the host of heaven (sun, moon, stars), and where drink offerings have been poured out to other gods.”’”

Thus says the Lord,“If the heavens above can be measuredAnd the foundations of the earth searched out below,Then I will also cast off and abandon all the descendants of IsraelFor all that they have done,” says the Lord.

‘Ah Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! There is nothing too difficult or too wonderful for You—

As the host of [the stars of] heaven cannot be counted and the sand of the sea cannot be measured, so I will multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me.’”

Thus says the Lord, ‘If My covenant with day and night does not stand, and if I have not established the fixed patterns of heaven and earth, [the whole order of nature,]