'Merely' in the Bible

Lamech said to his wives,“Adah and Zillah,Hear my voice;You wives of Lamech,Listen to what I say;For I have killed a man [merely] for wounding me,And a boy [only] for striking (bruising) me.

it is a chronic disease on the skin of his body, so the priest is to pronounce him unclean. The priest must not merely quarantine him, for he is unclean.

The Lord answered Moses, “If her father had merely spit in her face, wouldn’t she remain in disgrace for seven days? Let her be confined outside the camp for seven days; after that she may be brought back in.”

Look to see whether the land where they live is good or bad, and whether the cities in which they live are merely tents or if they're fortified.

Now Korah, Dathan, and Abiram stood at the entrance to their tents with their wives, sons, and little children. Then Moses said, "This is how you'll know that the LORD has sent me to do all these awesome works they're not coming merely from me.

So Saul said, "Tell me what you have done." So Jonathan told him and said, "I {merely tasted} a little honey with the end of the staff that was in my hand. Here I am, I must die."

David replied, "What have I done now? {I merely asked a question}!

Then David {took an oath} again and said, "Your father knows very well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he thought, 'Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he worry.' But {as Yahweh lives} and {as your soul lives}, surely [there is] merely a step between me and death!"

The young man who [was] reporting to him said, "I merely happened to be on Mount Gilboa. Here Saul [was] leaning on his spear, and look, the chariots and the horsemen [were] getting close to him.

Your servant would merely cross over the Jordan with the king. Why should the king compensate me with this reward?

For my people and I have been sold out to destruction, death, and extermination. If we had merely been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept silent. Indeed, the trouble wouldn’t be worth burdening the king.”

I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me;when I stand up, You merely look at me.

O Yahweh, put them in fear. Let [the] nations know they [are merely] human. Selah

“Behold, You have made my days as [short as] hand widths,And my lifetime is as nothing in Your sight.Surely every man at his best is a mere breath [a wisp of smoke, a vapor that vanishes]! Selah.

You return people to dust merely by saying, "Return, you mortals!"

I will run the way of Your commandments [with purpose],For You will give me a heart that is willing.

In all hard work there is profit, but merely talking about it only brings poverty.

For with great wisdom comes great frustration; whoever increases his knowledge merely increases his heartache.

Therefore the word of the Lord to them will be [merely monotonous repetitions]:“Precept upon precept, precept upon precept,Rule upon rule, rule upon rule,Here a little, there a little.”That they may go and stumble backward, and be broken, ensnared, and taken captive.

“As often as it passes through, it will seize you;For morning after morning it will pass through, by day and by night,And it will be sheer terror to understand what it means.”

Then the Lord said: "Because these people draw near with their mouths and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, worship of me has become merely like rules taught by human beings.

Scarcely have they been planted,Scarcely have they been sown,Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth,But He merely blows on them, and they wither,And the storm carries them away like stubble.

"Is this the kind of fast that I have chosen, merely a day for a person to humble himself? Is it merely for bowing down one's head like a bulrush, for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is this what you call a fast, an acceptable day to the LORD?

"If you keep your feet from trampling the Sabbath, from pursuing your own interests on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the LORD's holy day honorable; and if you honor it by not going your own ways and seeking your own pleasure or speaking merely idle words,

Consider this: When I spoke to your ancestors after I brought them out of Egypt, I did not merely give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices.

All these idolaters will prove to be stupid and ignorant. Every goldsmith will be disgraced by the idol he made. For the image he forges is merely a sham. There is no breath in any of those idols.

“Do you think that you become a king because you have much more cedar [in your palace than Solomon]?Did not your father [Josiah], as he ate and drank,Do just and righteous acts [being upright and in right standing with God]?Then all was well with him.

Each of you should merely ask the prophet, 'What answer did the Lord give you? Or what did the Lord say?'

All idolaters will prove to be stupid and ignorant. Every goldsmith will be disgraced by the idol he made. For the image he forges is merely a sham. There is no breath in any of those idols.

The [noble and] precious sons of Zion,[Once] worth their weight in fine gold,How they are regarded [merely] as earthen jars,The work of a potter’s hands!

We have given the hand [as a pledge of fidelity and submission] to Egypt and Assyria to get enough bread.

Yet you have not merely walked in their ways or done according to their abominations; but, as if that were too little, you acted more corruptly in all your conduct than they.