'Nations' in the Bible

"Give thanks to the LORD; call on his name. Make known his actions among the nations. Proclaim that his name is exalted.

The noise of a multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people; a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered together: the LORD of hosts mustereth the host of the battle.

The nations will escort Israel and bring it to its homeland. Then the house of Israel will possess them as male and female slaves in the Lord’s land. They will make captives of their captors and will rule over their oppressors.

He who smote the people in wrath with a continual stroke, he that ruled the nations in anger, is persecuted, and none hindereth.

Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the nations.

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house.

This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth: and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations.

For Heshbon’s terraced vineyardsand the grapevines of Sibmah have withered.The rulers of the nationshave trampled its choice vinesthat reached as far as Jazerand spread to the desert.Their shoots spread outand reached the Dead Sea.

Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!

The nations shall rush like the rushing of many waters: but God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off, and shall be chased as the chaff of the mountains before the wind, and like a rolling thing before the whirlwind.

And by great waters the seed of Sihor, the harvest of the river, is her revenue; and she is a mart of nations.

For this is how it will be on earthamong the nations:like a harvested olive tree,like a gleaning after a grape harvest.

Therefore shall the strong people glorify thee, the city of the terrible nations shall fear thee.

"On this mountain, the LORD of the Heavenly Armies will prepare for all nations a banquet of rich food, a banquet of well-aged wines rich food full of marrow, and refined wines of the finest vintage

And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.

And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, even all that fight against her and her munition, and that distress her, shall be as a dream of a night vision.

It shall even be as when an hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite: so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against mount Zion.

And his breath, as an overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations with the sieve of vanity: and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the people, causing them to err.

At the noise of the tumult the people fled; at the lifting up of thyself the nations were scattered.

And the nations will be burned as if to ashes; like cut thorn bushes, they will be set ablaze.

Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it.

For the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter.

Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, The LORD will deliver us. Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?

Have the gods of the nations delivered them which my fathers have destroyed, as Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the children of Eden which were in Telassar?

Of a truth, LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations, and their countries,

They have burned the gods of the nations, for they are not really gods, but only the product of human hands manufactured from wood and stone. That is why the Assyrians could destroy them.

Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.

All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.

"Listen to me in silence, you coastlands! Let the nations find renewed strength! Let them approach and then speak; let us come together for debate!

Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? he gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow.

“Who has performed and done this,Calling forth [and guiding the destinies of] the generations [of the nations] from the beginning?‘I, the Lord—the first, and with the last [existing before history began, the ever-present, unchanging God]—I am He.’”

“I have stirred up and put into action one from the north [the king of Persia, Cyrus the Great], and he has come;From the rising of the sun he will call on My Name [in prayer].And he will trample on [the Babylonian] officials as on mortar,Even as a potter treads clay.”

“This is My Servant; I strengthen Him,this is My Chosen One; I delight in Him.I have put My Spirit on Him;He will bring justice to the nations.

“I, Yahweh, have called Youfor a righteous purpose,and I will hold You by Your hand.I will keep You and appoint Youto be a covenant for the peopleand a light to the nations,

Since you're precious in my sight and honored, and because I love you, I'm giving up people in your place, and nations in exchange for your life."

Let all the nations be gathered together, and let the people be assembled: who among them can declare this, and shew us former things? let them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified: or let them hear, and say, It is truth.

Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut;

I have sent him out to overcome the nations, and I will make all his ways straight: I will give him the work of building my town, and he will let my prisoners go free, without price or reward, says the Lord of armies.

Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save.

He says,“It is not enough for you to be My Servantraising up the tribes of Jacoband restoring the protected ones of Israel.I will also make you a light for the nations,to be My salvation to the ends of the earth.”

This is what the Lord, the protector of Israel, their Holy One, says to the one who is despised and rejected by nations, a servant of rulers: "Kings will see and rise in respect, princes will bow down, because of the faithful Lord, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen you."

This is what the Lord God says:Look, I will lift up My hand to the nations,and raise My banner to the peoples.They will bring your sons in their arms,and your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.

Pay attention to Me, My people,and listen to Me, My nation;for instruction will come from Me,and My justice for a light to the nations.I will bring it about quickly.

My righteousness is near,My salvation appears,and My arms will bring justice to the nations.The coastlands will put their hope in Me,and they will look to My strength.

Now then, what have I here? says the Lord, for my people are taken away without cause; they are made waste and give cries of sorrow, says the Lord, and all the day the nations put shame on my name.

The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.

For you will spread out to the right and to the left,and your descendants will dispossess nationsand inhabit the desolate cities.

"Look! I have made him a witness to the nations, a leader and commander of the nations.

Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the LORD thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee.

I will bring them to My holy mountainand let them rejoice in My house of prayer.Their burnt offerings and sacrificeswill be acceptable on My altar,for My house will be called a house of prayerfor all nations.”

All you beasts of the field,All you beasts (hostile nations) in the forest,Come to eat.

For, look, darkness covers the earth and deep darkness covers the nations, but the Lord shines on you; his splendor appears over you.

Nations will come to your light,and kings to the brightness of your radiance.

Then you will see and be radiant,and your heart will tremble and rejoice,because the riches of the sea will become yoursand the wealth of the nations will come to you.

Your gates will always be open;they will never be shut day or nightso that the wealth of the nationsmay be brought into you,with their kings being led in procession.

For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted.

You will nurse on the milk of nations,and nurse at the breast of kings;you will know that I, Yahweh, am your Saviorand Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

But you will be called the Lord’s priests;they will speak of you as ministers of our God;you will eat the wealth of the nations,and you will boast in their riches.

Their descendants will be known among the nations,and their posterity among the peoples.All who see them will recognizethat they are a people the Lord has blessed.

For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.

Nations will see your righteousnessand all kings, your glory.You will be called by a new namethat the Lord’s mouth will announce.

"Pass through the gates! prepare the way for the people! Build up! Build up the highway! Clear it of stumbling stones, speak among the nations.

I trampled the winepress alone,and no one from the nations was with Me.I trampled them in My angerand ground them underfoot in My fury;their blood spattered My garments,and all My clothes were stained.

I crushed nations in My anger;I made them drunk with My wrathand poured out their blood on the ground.

Like the cattle that go down into the valley [to find better pasture and rest],The Spirit of the Lord gave them rest.So You led Your people [O Lord]To make for Yourself a beautiful and glorious name [preparing the way for the acknowledgment of Your name by all nations].

As when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at thy presence!

For this is what the Lord says:I will make peace flow to her like a river,and the wealth of nations like a flood;you will nurse and be carried on her hipand bounced on her lap.

For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory.

And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles.

And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the LORD out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the LORD, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD.

Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.

At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.

But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations? and I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away from me.

And thou shalt swear, The LORD liveth, in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall they glory.

A lion has gone up from his thicket;a destroyer of nations has set out.He has left his lairto make your land a waste.Your cities will be reduced to uninhabited ruins.

Make ye mention to the nations; behold, publish against Jerusalem, that watchers come from a far country, and give out their voice against the cities of Judah.

For the nations of Israel and Judah have been very unfaithful to me," says the Lord.

Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them.

I will scatter them among the nations that they and their fathers have not known. I will send a sword after them until I have finished them off.”

Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, and the children of Ammon, and Moab, and all that are in the utmost corners, that dwell in the wilderness: for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart.

This is what the Lord says:Do not learn the way of the nationsor be terrified by signs in the heavens,although the nations are terrified by them,

Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee.

The people of those nations are both stupid and foolish. Instruction from a wooden idol is worthless!

But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.

You people of Israel should tell those nations this: 'These gods did not make heaven and earth. They will disappear from the earth and from under the heavens.'

Pour out Your wrath on the nationsthat don’t recognize Youand on the familiesthat don’t call on Your name,for they have consumed Jacob;they have consumed him and finished him offand made his homeland desolate.

For though I, the Lord who rules over all, planted you in the land, I now decree that disaster will come on you because the nations of Israel and Judah have done evil and have made me angry by offering sacrifices to the god Baal."

The people I call my own attack me like birds of prey or like hyenas. But other birds of prey are all around them. Let all the nations gather together like wild beasts. Let them come and destroy these people I call my own.

"I, the Lord, also have something to say concerning the wicked nations who surround my land and have attacked and plundered the land that I gave to my people as a permanent possession. I say: 'I will uproot the people of those nations from their lands and I will free the people of Judah who have been taken there.

But after I have uprooted the people of those nations, I will relent and have pity on them. I will restore the people of each of those nations to their own lands and to their own country.

And if these [neighboring nations] will diligently learn the ways of My people, to swear by My Name, saying, ‘As the Lord lives’—even as they taught My people to swear by Baal, then they will be built up among My people.

But I will completely uproot and destroy any of those nations that will not pay heed,'" says the Lord.

“What will you say [O Jerusalem] when the Lord appoints [foreign nations to rule] over you—Those former friends and allies whom you have encouraged [to be your companions]—Will not pain seize youLike [that of] a woman in childbirth?

“This is your destiny, the portion [of judgment] measured to youFrom Me,” says the Lord,“Because you have forgotten MeAnd trusted in [pagan] lies [the counterfeit gods, and the pretense of alliance].”

Can any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain?Or can the skies alone give showers?Are You not the Lord our God?We therefore put our hope in You,for You have done all these things.

I will make them an object of horror to all nations of the earth because of Manasseh [the despicable] son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, for the [evil and detestable] things which he did in Jerusalem.

Lord, my strength and my stronghold,my refuge in a time of distress,the nations will come to Youfrom the ends of the earth, and they will say,“Our fathers inherited only lies,worthless idols of no benefit at all.”