'Peace' in the Bible

I will hear [with expectant hope] what God the Lord will say,For He will speak peace to His people, to His godly ones—But let them not turn again to folly.

Steadfast love and truth and faithfulness meet together;Righteousness and peace kiss each other.

Those who love Your law have great peace;Nothing makes them stumble.

Too long my soul has had its dwellingWith those who hate peace.

I am for peace, but when I speak,They are for war.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:“May they prosper who love you [holy city].

“May peace be within your wallsAnd prosperity within your palaces.”

For the sake of my brothers and my friends,I will now say, “May peace be within you.”

But as for those who turn aside to their crooked ways [in unresponsiveness to God],The Lord will lead them away with those who do evil.Peace be upon Israel.

Indeed, may you see your [family perpetuated in your] children’s children.Peace be upon Israel!

He makes peace in your borders;He satisfies you with the finest of the wheat.

Her ways are highways of pleasantness and favor,And all her paths are peace.

“I have peace offerings with me;Today I have paid my vows.

He who [maliciously] winks the eye [of evil intent] causes trouble;And the babbling fool [who is arrogant and thinks himself wise] will come to ruin.

Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil,But counselors of peace have joy.

When a man’s ways please the Lord,He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

Even a [callous, arrogant] fool, when he keeps silent, is considered wise;When he closes his lips he is regarded as sensible (prudent, discreet) and a man of understanding.

A time to love and a time to hate;A time for war and a time for peace.

(The Shulammite Bride)“I was a wall, and my breasts were like the towers.Then I became in the king’s eyesAs one [to be respected and allowed] to find peace.

For to us a Child shall be born, to us a Son shall be given;And the government shall be upon His shoulder,And His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

There shall be no end to the increase of His government and of peace,[He shall rule] on the throne of David and over his kingdom,To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousnessFrom that time forward and forevermore.The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.

“You will keep in perfect and constant peace the one whose mind is steadfast [that is, committed and focused on You—in both inclination and character],Because he trusts and takes refuge in You [with hope and confident expectation].

Lord, You will establish peace for us,Since You have also performed for us all that we have done.

“Or let him (Israel) cling to My strength and rely on My protection [My stronghold],Let him make peace with Me,Let him make peace with Me.”

Therefore the Lord waits [expectantly] and longs to be gracious to you,And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you.For the Lord is a God of justice;Blessed (happy, fortunate) are all those who long for Him [since He will never fail them].

And the effect of righteousness will be peace,And the result of righteousness will be quietness and confident trust forever.

Now look, their brave men shout outside;The ambassadors [seeking a treaty] of peace weep bitterly.

Do not listen to Hezekiah,’ for this is what the king of Assyria says, ‘Make peace with me and come out to me, and each one of you will eat from his own vine and each from his own fig tree and each [one of you] drink from the water of his own cistern,

“Indeed, it was for my own well-being that I had such bitterness;But You have loved back my life from the pit of nothingness (destruction),For You have cast all my sins behind Your back.

Then said Hezekiah to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “There will be peace and faithfulness [to God’s promises to us] in my days.”

“I [the Lord] have been silent for a long time,I have been still and restrained Myself.Now I will moan like a woman in labor,I will both gasp and pant.

Who is blind but My servant [Israel],Or deaf like My messenger whom I send?Who is blind like the one who is at peace with Me [in a covenant relationship],Or so blind as the servant of the Lord?

The One forming light and creating darkness,Causing peace and creating disaster;I am the Lord who does all these things.

“Oh, that you had paid attention to My commandments!Then your peace and prosperity would have been like a [flowing] river,And your righteousness [the holiness and purity of the nation] like the [abundant] waves of the sea.

“There is no peace for the wicked,” says the Lord.

How beautiful and delightful on the mountainsAre the feet of him who brings good news,Who announces peace,Who brings good news of good [things],Who announces salvation,Who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

But He was wounded for our transgressions,He was crushed for our wickedness [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing];The punishment [required] for our well-being fell on Him,And by His stripes (wounds) we are healed.

“For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake,But My lovingkindness will not be removed from you,Nor will My covenant of peace be shaken,”Says the Lord who has compassion on you.

“And all your [spiritual] sons will be disciples [of the Lord],And great will be the well-being of your sons.

“No weapon that is formed against you will succeed;And every tongue that rises against you in judgment you will condemn.This [peace, righteousness, security, and triumph over opposition] is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,And this is their vindication from Me,” says the Lord.

“For you will go out [from exile] with joyAnd be led forth [by the Lord Himself] with peace;The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you,And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.

He enters into peace [through death];They rest in their beds (graves),Each one who walked uprightly [following God’s will, living with integrity].

As I create the praise of his lips,Peace, peace, to him who is far away [both Jew and Gentile] and to him who is near!”Says the Lord;“And I will heal him [making his lips blossom anew with thankful praise].”

“There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”

“Then your light will break out like the dawn,And your healing (restoration, new life) will quickly spring forth;Your righteousness will go before you [leading you to peace and prosperity],The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.

They do not know the way of peace,And there is no justice in their tracks.They have made them into crooked paths;Whoever walks on them does not know peace.

“Instead of bronze I will bring gold,And instead of iron I will bring silver,And instead of wood, bronze,And instead of stones, iron.And [instead of the tyranny of the present] I will appoint peace as your officers,And righteousness your rulers.

For Zion’s sake I (Isaiah) will not be silent,And for Jerusalem’s sake I will not keep quiet,Until her righteousness and vindication go forth as brightness,And her salvation goes forth like a burning torch.

On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have appointed and stationed watchmen (prophets),Who will never keep silent day or night;You who profess the Lord, take no rest for yourselves,

For the Lord says this, “Behold, I extend peace to her (Jerusalem) like a river,And the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream;And you will be nursed, you will be carried on her hip and [playfully] rocked on her knees.

Then I said, “Alas, Lord God! Surely You have completely deceived and misled this people and Jerusalem, [for the prophets represented You as] saying [to Your people], ‘You will have peace,’ but [in fact] a sword reaches to their throat.”

“They have treated superficially the [bloody] broken wound of My people,Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’When there is no peace.

“For they have treated the brokenness of the daughter of My people superficially,Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’When there is no peace.

We waited for peace and salvation, but no good came,And for a time of healing, but behold, terror!

[The Lord rebukes Jeremiah for his impatience, saying] “If you have raced with men on foot and they have tired you out,Then how can you compete with horses?If you fall down in a land of peace [where you feel secure],Then how will you do [among the lions] in the [flooded] thicket beside the Jordan?

“Destroyers have comeOn all the caravan roads in the desert,For the sword of the Lord (Babylon) is devouringFrom one end of the land even to the other;No one has peace or a way of escape.

But I said, “Alas, Lord God! Behold, the [false] prophets are telling them, ‘You will not see the sword nor will you have famine, but I [the Lord] will give you lasting peace in this place.’”

Have You [O Lord] completely rejected Judah?Do You loathe Zion?Why have You stricken us so that there is no healing for us?We looked for peace and completeness, but nothing good came;And [we hoped] for a time of healing, but behold, terror!

For thus says the Lord, “Do not enter a house of mourning, nor go to lament (express grief) or bemoan [the dead], for I have taken My peace away from this people,” says the Lord, “even My lovingkindness and compassion.

“They are continually saying to those who despise Me [and My word],‘The Lord has said, “You will have peace”’;And they say to everyone who walks after the stubbornness of his own heart,‘No evil will come on you.’

But as for the prophet who [on the contrary] prophesies of peace, when that prophet’s word comes to pass, [only] then will it be known that the Lord has truly sent him.”

Seek peace and well-being for the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its peace (well-being) you will have peace.’

For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

“Thus says the Lord,‘We have heard a terrified voiceOf panic and dread, and there is no peace.

Behold, [in the restored Jerusalem] I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them; and I will reveal to them an abundance of peace (prosperity, security, stability) and truth.

Jerusalem 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 it, and they shall fear and tremble because of all the good and all the peace (prosperity, security, stability) that I provide for it.’

You will die in peace; and as spices were burned for [the memory and honor of] your fathers, the former kings who reigned before you, so shall a [ceremonial] burning be made for you; and people will lament (grieve) for you, saying, “Alas, lord (master)!”’ For I have spoken the word,” says the Lord.

And [through him] I will set fire to the temples of the gods of Egypt, and he will burn them and take them (Egyptian idols) captive. He will wrap himself with the land of Egypt as a shepherd wraps himself with his garment, and he will go away from there safely.

My soul has been cast far away from peace;I have forgotten happiness.

When anguish comes, they [of Judah] shall seek peace, but there will be none.

It is definitely because they have seduced My people, saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace, and because when one builds a [flimsy] wall, behold, these [lying] prophets plaster it over with whitewash;

along with the [false] prophets of Israel who prophesy [deceitfully] to Jerusalem, and who see [false] visions of peace for her when there is no peace,’ says the Lord God.

“I will make a covenant of peace with them and will eliminate the predatory animals from the land so that they may live securely in the wilderness and sleep [safely] in the woods.

I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will place them and multiply them, and will put My sanctuary in their midst forever.

When they have completed these days, on the eighth day and from then onward, the priests shall offer your burnt offerings on the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you,’ says the Lord God.”

and [you shall offer] one sheep out of every flock of two hundred from the watering places of Israel—for a grain offering, for a burnt offering, and for peace offerings to make atonement for [those who brought] them,” says the Lord God.

It shall be the prince’s responsibility to provide the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the drink offerings at the feasts, on the New Moons and on the Sabbaths, at all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel. He shall prepare and provide the sin offering, the grain offering, the burnt offering and the peace offerings, to make atonement for the house of Israel.”

The prince shall enter by the porch (portico) of the gate from outside and stand by the post of the gate. The priests shall prepare and provide his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate and then go out; but the gate shall not be shut until evening.

When the prince provides a freewill offering, a burnt offering, or peace offerings voluntarily to the Lord, the gate that faces east shall be opened for him, and he shall provide his burnt offering and his peace offerings as he does on the Sabbath day. Then he shall go out, and after he goes out the gate shall be shut.

Nebuchadnezzar the king, to all the peoples, nations, and speakers of every language that live in all the earth: “May your peace abound!

Therefore, O king, let my advice to you be [considered and found] acceptable; break away now from your sins and exhibit your repentance by doing what is right, and from your wickedness by showing mercy to the poor, so that [if you repent] there may possibly be a continuance of your prosperity and tranquility and a healing of your error.’

Then Darius the king wrote to all the peoples, nations, and speakers of every language who were living in all the land: “May peace abound to you!

He said, “O man, highly regarded and greatly beloved, do not be afraid. Peace be to you; take courage and be strong.” Now when he had spoken to me, I was strengthened and said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.”

He will be determined to come with the power of his entire kingdom, and propose equitable conditions and terms of peace, which he will put into effect [by making an agreement with the king of the South]. He will also give him his daughter (Cleopatra I), in an attempt to overthrow the kingdom, but it will not succeed or be to his advantage.

The overwhelming forces [of the invading armies of Egypt] will be flooded away before him and smashed; and also the prince of the covenant [will be smashed].

“Even though you offer Me your burnt offerings and your grain offerings,I will not accept them;And I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fattened animals.

“All the men allied with youShall send you on your way to the border;The men who were at peace with youShall deceive you and overpower you;Those who eat your bread [those you trust]Shall set a hostile ambush for you.(There is no understanding of it.)

Thus says the Lord concerning the [false] prophets who lead my people astray;When they have something good to bite with their teeth,They call out, “Peace,”But against the one who gives them nothing to eat,They declare a holy war.

This One [the Messiah] shall be our peace.When the Assyrian invades our landAnd tramples on our citadels and in our palaces,Then shall we raise against himSeven shepherds and eight princes [an overpowering force] among men.

Behold, on the mountains the feet of him who brings good news [telling of Assyria’s destruction],Who announces peace and prosperity!Celebrate your feasts, O Judah;Perform your vows.For the wicked one [the king of Assyria] will never again pass through you;He is completely cut off.

‘The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘and in this place I shall give [the ultimate] peace and prosperity,’ declares the Lord of hosts.”

Yes, [you are to build a temple of the Lord, but] it is He who shall build the [ultimate] temple of the Lord, and He shall bear the honor and majesty [as the only begotten of the Father] and sit and rule on His throne. And He shall be a Priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between the two offices [Priest and King].”’

For before those days there were no wages for man or animal; nor was there any peace or success for him who went out or came in because of his enemies, for I set all men against one another.

‘For there the seed will produce peace and prosperity; the vine will yield its fruit, and the ground will produce its increase, and the heavens will give their dew. And I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit and possess all these things.

These are the things which you should do: speak the truth with one another; judge with truth and pronounce the judgment that brings peace in [the courts at] your gates.

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘The fast of the fourth [month to mourn the breaching of Jerusalem’s walls], the fast of the fifth [month to mourn the temple’s destruction], the fast of the seventh [month to mourn Gedaliah’s assassination], and the fast of the tenth [month to mourn the siege of Jerusalem] will become times of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts for the house of Judah; so [to bring this about] love truth and peace.’

I will cut off the [war] chariot from EphraimAnd the [war] horse from Jerusalem,And the bow of war will be cut off.And He will speak [words of] peace to the nations,And His dominion shall be from sea to sea [absolutely endless],And from the River [Euphrates] to the ends of the earth.

“My covenant with Levi was [one of] life and peace, and I gave them to him as an object of reverence; so he [and the priests] feared Me and stood in reverent awe of My name.

True instruction was in Levi’s mouth and injustice was not found on his lips. He walked with Me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from wickedness.