'Near' in the Bible

Who struck down Abimelech the son of Jerubbesheth? Did not a woman throw an upper millstone on him from the wall so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go so near the wall?’—then you shall say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.’”

Now it came about after two full years that Absalom had sheepshearers in Baal-hazor, which is near Ephraim, and Absalom invited all the king’s sons.

And when a man came near to prostrate himself before him, he would put out his hand and take hold of him and kiss him.

Please let your servant return, that I may die in my own city near the grave of my father and my mother. However, here is your servant Chimham, let him cross over with my lord the king, and do for him what is good in your sight.”

As David’s time to die drew near, he charged Solomon his son, saying,

“When they sin against You (for there is no man who does not sin) and You are angry with them and deliver them to an enemy, so that they take them away captive to the land of the enemy, far off or near;

And may these words of mine, with which I have made supplication before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, that He may maintain the cause of His servant and the cause of His people Israel, as each day requires,

King Solomon also built a fleet of ships in Ezion-geber, which is near Eloth on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom.

Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people did not answer him a word.

Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord which had been torn down.

At the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and I have done all these things at Your word.

Then the prophet came near to the king of Israel and said to him, “Go, strengthen yourself and observe and see what you have to do; for at the turn of the year the king of Aram will come up against you.”

Then a man of God came near and spoke to the king of Israel and said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Because the Arameans have said, “The Lord is a god of the mountains, but He is not a god of the valleys,” therefore I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.’”

Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, “How did the Spirit of the Lord pass from me to speak to you?”

When she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught hold of his feet. And Gehazi came near to push her away; but the man of God said, “Let her alone, for her soul is troubled within her; and the Lord has hidden it from me and has not told me.”

Then his servants came near and spoke to him and said, “My father, had the prophet told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?”

Moreover those who were near to them, even as far as Issachar and Zebulun and Naphtali, brought food on donkeys, camels, mules and on oxen, great quantities of flour cakes, fig cakes and bunches of raisins, wine, oil, oxen and sheep. There was joy indeed in Israel.

So Joab and the people who were with him drew near to the battle against the Arameans, and they fled before him.

“When they sin against You (for there is no man who does not sin) and You are angry with them and deliver them to an enemy, so that they take them away captive to a land far off or near,

Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near and struck Micaiah on the cheek and said, “How did the Spirit of the Lord pass from me to speak to you?”

Then Hezekiah said, “Now that you have consecrated yourselves to the Lord, come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the house of the Lord.” And the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and all those who were willing brought burnt offerings.

Now Tobiah the Ammonite was near him and he said, “Even what they are building—if a fox should jump on it, he would break their stone wall down!”

When the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times, “They will come up against us from every place where you may turn,”

As for the builders, each wore his sword girded at his side as he built, while the trumpeter stood near me.

When the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, she obtained favor in his sight; and the king extended to Esther the golden scepter which was in his hand. So Esther came near and touched the top of the scepter.

Then Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far,

“They make night into day, saying,‘The light is near,’ in the presence of darkness.

“Then his soul draws near to the pit,And his life to those who bring death.

“He is the first of the ways of God;Let his maker bring near his sword.

“One is so near to anotherThat no air can come between them.

Be not far from me, for trouble is near;For there is none to help.

Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding,Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check,Otherwise they will not come near to you.

The Lord is near to the brokenheartedAnd saves those who are crushed in spirit.

How blessed is the one whom You choose and bring near to YouTo dwell in Your courts.We will be satisfied with the goodness of Your house,Your holy temple.

Oh draw near to my soul and redeem it;Ransom me because of my enemies!

For the choir director; set to Al-tashheth. A Psalm of Asaph, a Song.We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks,For Your name is near;Men declare Your wondrous works.

Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him,That glory may dwell in our land.

For my soul has had enough troubles,And my life has drawn near to Sheol.

No evil will befall you,Nor will any plague come near your tent.

Their soul abhorred all kinds of food,And they drew near to the gates of death.

Those who follow after wickedness draw near;They are far from Your law.

You are near, O Lord,And all Your commandments are truth.

The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,To all who call upon Him in truth.

And He has lifted up a horn for His people,Praise for all His godly ones;Even for the sons of Israel, a people near to Him.Praise the Lord!

Keep your way far from herAnd do not go near the door of her house,

Passing through the street near her corner;And he takes the way to her house,

Do not forsake your own friend or your father’s friend,And do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity;Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother far away.

Guard your steps as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know they are doing evil.

Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say, “I have no delight in them”;

Who say, “Let Him make speed, let Him hasten His work, that we may see it;And let the purpose of the Holy One of Israel draw nearAnd come to pass, that we may know it!”

Wail, for the day of the Lord is near!It will come as destruction from the Almighty.

In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the Lord near its border.

Then the Lord said,“Because this people draw near with their wordsAnd honor Me with their lip service,But they remove their hearts far from Me,And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,

“You who are far away, hear what I have done;And you who are near, acknowledge My might.”

Draw near, O nations, to hear; and listen, O peoples!Let the earth and all it contains hear, and the world and all that springs from it.

The coastlands have seen and are afraid;The ends of the earth tremble;They have drawn near and have come.

“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.

“I bring near My righteousness, it is not far off;And My salvation will not delay.And I will grant salvation in Zion,And My glory for Israel.

“Come near to Me, listen to this:From the first I have not spoken in secret,From the time it took place, I was there.And now the Lord God has sent Me, and His Spirit.”

He who vindicates Me is near;Who will contend with Me?Let us stand up to each other;Who has a case against Me?Let him draw near to Me.

“My righteousness is near, My salvation has gone forth,And My arms will judge the peoples;The coastlands will wait for Me,And for My arm they will wait expectantly.

“In righteousness you will be established;You will be far from oppression, for you will not fear;And from terror, for it will not come near you.

Seek the Lord while He may be found;Call upon Him while He is near.

Creating the praise of the lips.Peace, peace to him who is far and to him who is near,”Says the Lord, “and I will heal him.”

“Who say, ‘Keep to yourself, do not come near me,For I am holier than you!’These are smoke in My nostrils,A fire that burns all the day.

You have planted them, they have also taken root;They grow, they have even produced fruit.You are near to their lipsBut far from their mind.

“Am I a God who is near,” declares the Lord,“And not a God far off?

and all the kings of the north, near and far, one with another; and all the kingdoms of the earth which are upon the face of the ground, and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them.

‘Their leader shall be one of them,And their ruler shall come forth from their midst;And I will bring him near and he shall approach Me;For who would dare to risk his life to approach Me?’ declares the Lord.

and I brought them into the house of the Lord, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, the man of God, which was near the chamber of the officials, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the doorkeeper.

“Line up the shield and buckler,And draw near for the battle!

against Kerioth, Bozrah and all the cities of the land of Moab, far and near.

You drew near when I called on You;You said, “Do not fear!”

They hunted our stepsSo that we could not walk in our streets;Our end drew near,Our days were finishedFor our end had come.

He who is far off will die by the plague, and he who is near will fall by the sword, and he who remains and is besieged will die by the famine. Thus will I spend My wrath on them.

Your doom has come to you, O inhabitant of the land. The time has come, the day is near—tumult rather than joyful shouting on the mountains.

Then He cried out in my hearing with a loud voice saying, “Draw near, O executioners of the city, each with his destroying weapon in his hand.”

who say, ‘The time is not near to build houses. This city is the pot and we are the flesh.’

Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “I will make this proverb cease so that they will no longer use it as a proverb in Israel.” But tell them, “The days draw near as well as the fulfillment of every vision.

You have become guilty by the blood which you have shed, and defiled by your idols which you have made. Thus you have brought your day near and have come to your years; therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations and a mocking to all the lands.

Those who are near and those who are far from you will mock you, you of ill repute, full of turmoil.

She lusted after the Assyrians, governors and officials, the ones near, magnificently dressed, horsemen riding on horses, all of them desirable young men.

“For the day is near,Even the day of the Lord is near;It will be a day of clouds,A time of doom for the nations.

but the chamber which faces toward the north is for the priests who keep charge of the altar. These are the sons of Zadok, who from the sons of Levi come near to the Lord to minister to Him.”

Then he said to me, “The north chambers and the south chambers, which are opposite the separate area, they are the holy chambers where the priests who are near to the Lord shall eat the most holy things. There they shall lay the most holy things, the grain offering, the sin offering and the guilt offering; for the place is holy.

You shall give to the Levitical priests who are from the offspring of Zadok, who draw near to Me to minister to Me,’ declares the Lord God, ‘a young bull for a sin offering.

And they shall not come near to Me to serve as a priest to Me, nor come near to any of My holy things, to the things that are most holy; but they will bear their shame and their abominations which they have committed.

“But the Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept charge of My sanctuary when the sons of Israel went astray from Me, shall come near to Me to minister to Me; and they shall stand before Me to offer Me the fat and the blood,” declares the Lord God.

“They shall enter My sanctuary; they shall come near to My table to minister to Me and keep My charge.

It shall be the holy portion of the land; it shall be for the priests, the ministers of the sanctuary, who come near to minister to the Lord, and it shall be a place for their houses and a holy place for the sanctuary.

Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the furnace of blazing fire; he responded and said, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, come out, you servants of the Most High God, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego came out of the midst of the fire.

When he had come near the den to Daniel, he cried out with a troubled voice. The king spoke and said to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you constantly serve, been able to deliver you from the lions?”

So he came near to where I was standing, and when he came I was frightened and fell on my face; but he said to me, “Son of man, understand that the vision pertains to the time of the end.”

Alas for the day!For the day of the Lord is near,And it will come as destruction from the Almighty.

Blow a trumpet in Zion,And sound an alarm on My holy mountain!Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,For the day of the Lord is coming;Surely it is near,

Proclaim this among the nations:Prepare a war; rouse the mighty men!Let all the soldiers draw near, let them come up!

Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.

Do you put off the day of calamity,And would you bring near the seat of violence?

“For the day of the Lord draws near on all the nations.As you have done, it will be done to you.Your dealings will return on your own head.

Be silent before the Lord God!For the day of the Lord is near,For the Lord has prepared a sacrifice,He has consecrated His guests.