'Nations' in the Bible

“Gather yourselves and come;Draw near together, you fugitives of the nations;They have no knowledge,Who carry about their wooden idolAnd pray to a god who cannot save.

He says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My ServantTo raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel;I will also make You a light of the nationsSo that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

Thus says the Lord God,“Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nationsAnd set up My standard to the peoples;And they will bring your sons in their bosom,And your daughters will be carried on their shoulders.

The Lord has bared His holy armIn the sight of all the nations,That all the ends of the earth may seeThe salvation of our God.

Thus He will sprinkle many nations,Kings will shut their mouths on account of Him;For what had not been told them they will see,And what they had not heard they will understand.

“For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left.And your descendants will possess nationsAnd will resettle the desolate cities.

“Nations will come to your light,And kings to the brightness of your rising.

“Then you will see and be radiant,And your heart will thrill and rejoice;Because the abundance of the sea will be turned to you,The wealth of the nations will come to you.

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

“For the nation and the kingdom which will not serve you will perish,And the nations will be utterly ruined.

“You will also suck the milk of nationsAnd suck the breast of kings;Then you will know that I, the Lord, am your SaviorAnd your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

But you will be called the priests of the Lord;You will be spoken of as ministers of our God.You will eat the wealth of nations,And in their riches you will boast.

Then their offspring will be known among the nations,And their descendants in the midst of the peoples.All who see them will recognize themBecause they are the offspring whom the Lord has blessed.

For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,And as a garden causes the things sown in it to spring up,So the Lord God will cause righteousness and praiseTo spring up before all the nations.

The nations will see your righteousness,And all kings your glory;And you will be called by a new nameWhich the mouth of the Lord will designate.

As fire kindles the brushwood, as fire causes water to boil—To make Your name known to Your adversaries,That the nations may tremble at Your presence!

For thus says the Lord, “Behold, I extend peace to her like a river,And the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream;And you will be nursed, you will be carried on the hip and fondled on the knees.

“For I know their works and their thoughts; the time is coming to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and see My glory.

I will set a sign among them and will send survivors from them to the nations: Tarshish, Put, Lud, Meshech, Tubal and Javan, to the distant coastlands that have neither heard My fame nor seen My glory. And they will declare My glory among the nations.

Then they shall bring all your brethren from all the nations as a grain offering to the Lord, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “just as the sons of Israel bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord.

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,And before you were born I consecrated you;I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

“See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms,To pluck up and to break down,To destroy and to overthrow,To build and to plant.”

At that time they will call Jerusalem ‘The Throne of the Lord,’ and all the nations will be gathered to it, to Jerusalem, for the name of the Lord; nor will they walk anymore after the stubbornness of their evil heart.

“Then I said,‘How I would set you among My sonsAnd give you a pleasant land,The most beautiful inheritance of the nations!’And I said, ‘You shall call Me, My Father,And not turn away from following Me.’

And you will swear, ‘As the Lord lives,’In truth, in justice and in righteousness;Then the nations will bless themselves in Him,And in Him they will glory.”

“A lion has gone up from his thicket,And a destroyer of nations has set out;He has gone out from his placeTo make your land a waste.Your cities will be ruinsWithout inhabitant.

“Report it to the nations, now!Proclaim over Jerusalem,‘Besiegers come from a far country,And lift their voices against the cities of Judah.

“Therefore hear, O nations,And know, O congregation, what is among them.

I will scatter them among the nations, whom neither they nor their fathers have known; and I will send the sword after them until I have annihilated them.”

Egypt and Judah, and Edom and the sons of Ammon, and Moab and all those inhabiting the desert who clip the hair on their temples; for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised of heart.”

Thus says the Lord,“Do not learn the way of the nations,And do not be terrified by the signs of the heavensAlthough the nations are terrified by them;

Who would not fear You, O King of the nations?Indeed it is Your due!For among all the wise men of the nationsAnd in all their kingdoms,There is none like You.

But the Lord is the true God;He is the living God and the everlasting King.At His wrath the earth quakes,And the nations cannot endure His indignation.

Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not know YouAnd on the families that do not call Your name;For they have devoured Jacob;They have devoured him and consumed himAnd have laid waste his habitation.

Are there any among the idols of the nations who give rain?Or can the heavens grant showers?Is it not You, O Lord our God?Therefore we hope in You,For You are the one who has done all these things.

O Lord, my strength and my stronghold,And my refuge in the day of distress,To You the nations will comeFrom the ends of the earth and say,“Our fathers have inherited nothing but falsehood,Futility and things of no profit.”

“Therefore thus says the Lord,‘Ask now among the nations,Who ever heard the like of this?The virgin of IsraelHas done a most appalling thing.

“Many nations will pass by this city; and they will say to one another, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this great city?’

behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will send to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants and against all these nations round about; and I will utterly destroy them and make them a horror and a hissing, and an everlasting desolation.

This whole land will be a desolation and a horror, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

I will bring upon that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, all that is written in this book which Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations.

(For many nations and great kings will make slaves of them, even them; and I will recompense them according to their deeds and according to the work of their hands.)’”

For thus the Lord, the God of Israel, says to me, “Take this cup of the wine of wrath from My hand and cause all the nations to whom I send you to drink it.

Then I took the cup from the Lord’s hand and made all the nations to whom the Lord sent me drink it:

‘A clamor has come to the end of the earth,Because the Lord has a controversy with the nations.He is entering into judgment with all flesh;As for the wicked, He has given them to the sword,’ declares the Lord.”

then I will make this house like Shiloh, and this city I will make a curse to all the nations of the earth.”’”

All the nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson until the time of his own land comes; then many nations and great kings will make him their servant.

Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Even so will I break within two full years the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations.’” Then the prophet Jeremiah went his way.

For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “I have put a yoke of iron on the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they will serve him. And I have also given him the beasts of the field.”’”

I will be found by you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will restore your fortunes and will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’

I will pursue them with the sword, with famine and with pestilence; and I will make them a terror to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse and a horror and a hissing, and a reproach among all the nations where I have driven them,

‘For I am with you,’ declares the Lord, ‘to save you;For I will destroy completely all the nations where I have scattered you,Only I will not destroy you completely.But I will chasten you justlyAnd will by no means leave you unpunished.’

For thus says the Lord,“Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,And shout among the chief of the nations;Proclaim, give praise and say,‘O Lord, save Your people,The remnant of Israel.’

Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,And declare in the coastlands afar off,And say, “He who scattered Israel will gather himAnd keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.”

It will be to Me a name of joy, praise and glory before all the nations of the earth which will hear of all the good that I do for them, and they will fear and tremble because of all the good and all the peace that I make for it.’

“Take a scroll and write on it all the words which I have spoken to you concerning Israel and concerning Judah, and concerning all the nations, from the day I first spoke to you, from the days of Josiah, even to this day.

But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces took the entire remnant of Judah who had returned from all the nations to which they had been driven away, in order to reside in the land of Judah—

provoking Me to anger with the works of your hands, burning sacrifices to other gods in the land of Egypt, where you are entering to reside, so that you might be cut off and become a curse and a reproach among all the nations of the earth?

That which came as the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the nations.

The nations have heard of your shame,And the earth is full of your cry of distress;For one warrior has stumbled over another,And both of them have fallen down together.

“O Jacob My servant, do not fear,” declares the Lord,“For I am with you.For I will make a full end of all the nationsWhere I have driven you,Yet I will not make a full end of you;But I will correct you properlyAnd by no means leave you unpunished.”

I have heard a message from the Lord,And an envoy is sent among the nations, saying,“Gather yourselves together and come against her,And rise up for battle!”

“For behold, I have made you small among the nations,Despised among men.

“Declare and proclaim among the nations.Proclaim it and lift up a standard.Do not conceal it but say,‘Babylon has been captured,Bel has been put to shame, Marduk has been shattered;Her images have been put to shame, her idols have been shattered.’

“For behold, I am going to arouse and bring up against BabylonA horde of great nations from the land of the north,And they will draw up their battle lines against her;From there she will be taken captive.Their arrows will be like an expert warriorWho does not return empty-handed.

Your mother will be greatly ashamed,She who gave you birth will be humiliated.Behold, she will be the least of the nations,A wilderness, a parched land and a desert.

“How the hammer of the whole earthHas been cut off and broken!How Babylon has becomeAn object of horror among the nations!

At the shout, “Babylon has been seized!” the earth is shaken, and an outcry is heard among the nations.

Babylon has been a golden cup in the hand of the Lord,Intoxicating all the earth.The nations have drunk of her wine;Therefore the nations are going mad.

He says, “You are My war-club, My weapon of war;And with you I shatter nations,And with you I destroy kingdoms.

Lift up a signal in the land,Blow a trumpet among the nations!Consecrate the nations against her,Summon against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni and Ashkenaz;Appoint a marshal against her,Bring up the horses like bristly locusts.

Consecrate the nations against her,The kings of the Medes,Their governors and all their prefects,And every land of their dominion.

“How Sheshak has been captured,And the praise of the whole earth been seized!How Babylon has become an object of horror among the nations!

“I will punish Bel in Babylon,And I will make what he has swallowed come out of his mouth;And the nations will no longer stream to him.Even the wall of Babylon has fallen down!

Thus says the Lord of hosts,“The broad wall of Babylon will be completely razedAnd her high gates will be set on fire;So the peoples will toil for nothing,And the nations become exhausted only for fire.”

How lonely sits the cityThat was full of people!She has become like a widowWho was once great among the nations!She who was a princess among the provincesHas become a forced laborer!

Judah has gone into exile under afflictionAnd under harsh servitude;She dwells among the nations,But she has found no rest;All her pursuers have overtaken herIn the midst of distress.

The adversary has stretched out his handOver all her precious things,For she has seen the nations enter her sanctuary,The ones whom You commandedThat they should not enter into Your congregation.

Her gates have sunk into the ground,He has destroyed and broken her bars.Her king and her princes are among the nations;The law is no more.Also, her prophets findNo vision from the Lord.

“Depart! Unclean!” they cried of themselves.“Depart, depart, do not touch!”So they fled and wandered;Men among the nations said,“They shall not continue to dwell with us.”

The breath of our nostrils, the Lord’s anointed,Was captured in their pits,Of whom we had said, “Under his shadowWe shall live among the nations.”

Then the Lord said, “Thus will the sons of Israel eat their bread unclean among the nations where I will banish them.”

“Thus says the Lord God, ‘This is Jerusalem; I have set her at the center of the nations, with lands around her.

But she has rebelled against My ordinances more wickedly than the nations and against My statutes more than the lands which surround her; for they have rejected My ordinances and have not walked in My statutes.’

Therefore, thus says the Lord God, ‘Because you have more turmoil than the nations which surround you and have not walked in My statutes, nor observed My ordinances, nor observed the ordinances of the nations which surround you,’

therefore, thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I, even I, am against you, and I will execute judgments among you in the sight of the nations.

Moreover, I will make you a desolation and a reproach among the nations which surround you, in the sight of all who pass by.

So it will be a reproach, a reviling, a warning and an object of horror to the nations who surround you when I execute judgments against you in anger, wrath and raging rebukes. I, the Lord, have spoken.

“However, I will leave a remnant, for you will have those who escaped the sword among the nations when you are scattered among the countries.

Then those of you who escape will remember Me among the nations to which they will be carried captive, how I have been hurt by their adulterous hearts which turned away from Me, and by their eyes which played the harlot after their idols; and they will loathe themselves in their own sight for the evils which they have committed, for all their abominations.

Therefore, I will bring the worst of the nations, and they will possess their houses. I will also make the pride of the strong ones cease, and their holy places will be profaned.

Thus you will know that I am the Lord; for you have not walked in My statutes nor have you executed My ordinances, but have acted according to the ordinances of the nations around you.”’”

Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Though I had removed them far away among the nations and though I had scattered them among the countries, yet I was a sanctuary for them a little while in the countries where they had gone.”’

So they will know that I am the Lord when I scatter them among the nations and spread them among the countries.

But I will spare a few of them from the sword, the famine and the pestilence that they may tell all their abominations among the nations where they go, and may know that I am the Lord.”

Then your fame went forth among the nations on account of your beauty, for it was perfect because of My splendor which I bestowed on you,” declares the Lord God.

‘Then nations heard about him;He was captured in their pit,And they brought him with hooksTo the land of Egypt.

‘Then nations set against himOn every side from their provinces,And they spread their net over him;He was captured in their pit.

But I acted for the sake of My name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations among whom they lived, in whose sight I made Myself known to them by bringing them out of the land of Egypt.

But I acted for the sake of My name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, before whose sight I had brought them out.