'Please' in the Bible

Then the woman said, “Please, may your servant speak a word to my lord the king?”“Speak,” he replied.

"So your humble servant is saying, "Please, your majesty, let what the king has to say be of comfort, because just as the angel of God is, so also is your majesty the king to discern both good and evil. And may the LORD your God remain present with you.'"

In reply, the king asked the woman, "Please don't conceal anything about which I'm going to be asking you now." So the woman replied, "Please, your majesty, let the king speak."

Then the king said to Joab, "Look, please, I will grant this thing. Go and bring back the young man Absalom."

When four years had passed, Absalom said to the king, “Please let me go to Hebron to fulfill a vow I made to the Lord.

Then someone reported to David: “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.”“Lord,” David pleaded, “please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness!”

Then Abishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king, "Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Please let me go over and take off his head."

Furthermore, Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Please let me choose 12,000 men that I may arise and pursue David tonight.

Then Absalom said, "Please call also for Hushai the Arkite, and let us hear {what he has to say} also."

Ahimaaz son of Zadok said, “Please let me run and tell the king the good news that the Lord has delivered him from his enemies.”

However, Ahimaaz son of Zadok persisted and said to Joab, “No matter what, please let me also run behind the Cushite!”Joab replied, “My son, why do you want to run since you won’t get a reward?”

He said to the king, "Don't think badly of me, my lord, and don't recall the sin of your servant on the day when you, my lord the king, left Jerusalem! Please don't call it to mind!

Please let your servant return so that I may die in my own city near the tomb of my father and mother. But here is your servant Chimham: let him cross over with my lord the king. Do for him what seems good to you.”

a wise woman called out from the city, “Listen! Listen! Please tell Joab to come here and let me speak with him.”

The king said to Joab, the commander of the army who [was] with him: "Please go about through all the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba, and count the people that I may know the number of the people."

David’s conscience troubled him after he had taken a census of the troops. He said to the Lord, “I have sinned greatly in what I’ve done. Now, Lord, because I’ve been very foolish, please take away Your servant’s guilt.”

David answered Gad, “I have great anxiety. Please, let us fall into the Lord’s hands because His mercies are great, but don’t let me fall into human hands.”

When David saw the angel striking the people, he said to the Lord, “Look, I am the one who has sinned; I am the one who has done wrong. But these sheep, what have they done? Please, let Your hand be against me and my father’s family.”

Now please come and let me advise you. Save your life and the life of your son Solomon.

Now I'd like to ask you for just one thing. Please don't refuse me." She said, "Go ahead and ask."

He replied, “Please speak to King Solomon since he won’t turn you down. Let him give me Abishag the Shunammite as a wife.”

and told him, "I would like to make a minor request of you. Please don't refuse me." "What is your request, mother?" the king asked her. "I won't turn you down."

One woman said, “Please my lord, this woman and I live in the same house, and I had a baby while she was in the house.

The woman whose son was alive spoke to the king because she felt great compassion for her son. “My lord, give her the living baby,” she said, “but please don’t have him killed!”But the other one said, “He will not be mine or yours. Cut him in two!”

Now therefore please order that cedars of Lebanon be cut for me. My servants will work with your servants, and I will pay your servants whatever wages you set, because you know there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians do."

Now Lord God of Israel,please confirm what You promisedto Your servant, my father David.

And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities that Solomon had given him; and they did not please him.

Later on, Hadad learned in Egypt that David had been buried with his ancestors and that Joab the army commander was dead. So Hadad asked Pharaoh, "Please send me out so I can go back to my own land."

But Pharaoh asked him, “What do you lack here with me for you to want to go back to your own country?”“Nothing,” he replied, “but please let me leave.”

As a result, he asked them, "What's your advice so that we can give an answer to these people who have asked me, "Please lighten the burden that your father put on us.'?"

Then the king responded to the man of God, “Plead for the favor of the Lord your God and pray for me so that my hand may be restored to me.” So the man of God pleaded for the favor of the Lord, and the king’s hand was restored to him and became as it had been at first.

Jeroboam said to his wife, "Please get up and disguise yourself so that they will not know that you [are] the wife of Jeroboam, and go [to] Shiloh. Look, Ahijah the prophet is there, and he spoke concerning me [before I became] king over this people.

So Elijah got up and went to Zarephath. When he arrived at the city gate, there was a widow woman gathering wood. Elijah called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup and let me drink.”

As she went to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand.”

Then he stretched himself out over the boy three times. He cried out to the Lord and said, “My Lord God, please let this boy’s life return to him!”

Then he said to his servant, "Please go [and] look in the direction of [the] sea." So he went up and looked; then he said, "There is nothing." Then he said, "Go back," seven times.

Elisha left the oxen, ran to follow Elijah, and said, “Please let me kiss my father and mother, and then I will follow you.”“Go on back,” he replied, “for what have I done to you?”

Then the king of Israel called together all of the elders of the land and told them, "Please note that this man is here looking for trouble. He sent a message to me, demanding my wives, my children, and my silver and gold, and I haven't refused him."

His servants said to him, “Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings, please let us put sackcloth on our loins and ropes on our heads, and go out to the king of Israel; perhaps he will save your life.”

So they dressed with sackcloth around their waists and ropes around their heads, went to the king of Israel, and said, “Your servant Ben-hadad says, ‘Please spare my life.’”So he said, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.”

Right about then, one of the members of the guild of prophets told another through a message from the LORD: "Please strike me!" But the man refused to do so,

Later, he found another man and told him, "Please strike me!" So the man struck him and wounded him.

Ahab addressed Naboth and asked him, "I would like to plant a vegetable garden near my house. Please exchange your vineyard with a better one from me, or if you'd rather have cash, I'll buy it for its full value."

And he said unto her, Because I spake unto Naboth the Jezreelite, and said unto him, Give me thy vineyard for money; or else, if it please thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it: and he answered, I will not give thee my vineyard.

But Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “First, please ask what the Lord’s will is.”

Meanwhile, the messenger who had gone off to summon Micaiah advised him, "Look, everything that the other prophets were saying was unanimously favorable to the king. So please, cooperate with them and speak favorably."

Then the king sent a third captain of 50 with his 50 men. The third captain of 50 went up and fell on his knees in front of Elijah and begged him, “Man of God, please let my life and the lives of these 50 servants of yours be precious in your sight.

Look how fire fell from heaven and devoured the two other companies of 50 soldiers, along with their captains, but now please treat me as if my life were precious!"

Elijah instructed Elisha, "Remain here on this side, please, because the LORD is sending me as far as Bethel." But Elisha replied, "As the LORD lives, I'm not going to leave you while you're still alive!" So they both went on to Bethel.

Elijah also spoke to him, "Elisha, remain here on this side, please, because the LORD is sending me to Jericho." But Elisha responded, "As the LORD lives, and while you're still alive, I'm not going to leave you!" So they went to Jericho.

Elijah also spoke to him, "Elisha, remain here on this side, please, because the LORD is sending me to the Jordan River."

After they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I can do for you before I am taken from you.”So Elisha answered, “Please, let me inherit two shares of your spirit.”

Then the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “Since there are 50 strong men here with your servants, please let them go and search for your master. Maybe the Spirit of the Lord has carried him away and put him on one of the mountains or into one of the valleys.”He answered, “Don’t send them.”

The men of the city said to Elisha, "Please now, the location of the city [is] good, as my master can see, but the water [is] bad and the land unproductive."

She said to her husband, "Please now, I know that he [is] a holy man of God who is passing {our way} regularly;

Please, let us make a little walled upper chamber and let us set a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand; and it shall be, when he comes to us, that he can turn in there.”

He said to him, "Please say to her, 'Look, you took all this trouble, showing care for us; what is there [for me] to do for you? To speak for you to the king or to the commander of the army?'" She said, "I [am] living among my people."

"No, sir! Please, as a godly man, don't mislead your servant!" But the woman did conceive and did bear a son at that very same time the next year, just as Elisha had told her.

She summoned her husband and said, “Please send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, so I can hurry to the man of God and then come back.”

When the man of God noticed her from a distance, he told his attendant Gehazi, "Look! There's the woman from Shunem! Please run out quickly and greet her. Ask her, "Are things going well with you? Are things going well with your husband? Are things going well with your child?'" She answered Gehazi, "Things are going well."

It happened, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he tore his clothes, and said, "Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends to me to heal a man of his leprosy? But please consider and see how he seeks a quarrel against me."

When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent a message to the king and asked, "Why did you tear your clothes? Please, let the man come visit me and he will learn that there is a prophet in Israel!"

Then Naaman and his whole company went back to the man of God, stood before him, and declared, “I know there’s no God in the whole world except in Israel. Therefore, please accept a gift from your servant.”

Naaman responded, “If not, please let your servant be given as much soil as a pair of mules can carry, for your servant will no longer offer a burnt offering or a sacrifice to any other god but Yahweh.

As far as this matter, may Yahweh pardon your servant when my master goes [into] the house of Rimmon to worship there, and he [is] leaning himself on my arm, that I also bow down [in] the house of Rimmon: when I bow down [in] the house of Rimmon, may Yahweh please pardon your servant in this matter."

Gehazi said, “It’s all right. My master has sent me to say, ‘I have just now discovered that two young men from the sons of the prophets have come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them 75 pounds of silver and two changes of clothes.’”

But Naaman insisted, “Please, accept 150 pounds.” He urged Gehazi and then packed 150 pounds of silver in two bags with two changes of clothes. Naaman gave them to two of his young men who carried them ahead of Gehazi.

The sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “Please notice that the place where we live under your supervision is too small for us.

Please let us go to the Jordan where we can each get a log and can build ourselves a place to live there.”“Go,” he said.

Then one said, “Please come with your servants.”“I’ll come,” he answered.

The king of Aram flew into a rage over this, so he called in his advisors and asked them, "Will you please tell me which of us has joined the king of Israel?"

Then Elisha prayed, “Lord, please open his eyes and let him see.” So the Lord opened the servant’s eyes. He looked and saw that the mountain was covered with horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

When the Arameans came against him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, “Please strike this nation with blindness.” So He struck them with blindness, according to Elisha’s word.

The king got up in the night and said to his servants, "Please let me tell you what [the] Arameans have done to us. [The] Arameans know that we [are] hungry, so they went out from the camp to hide in the field, saying, 'When they go out from the city, we shall seize them alive and go into the city.'"

But one of his servants responded, “Please, let messengers take five of the horses that are left in the city. Their fate is like the entire Israelite community who will die, so let’s send them and see.”

The king was talking with Gehazi, the attendant of the man of God. He had asked Gehazi, "Please tell me about all of the great things that Elisha has done."

Then they said, "Liar. Please tell us." He said, "{Thus and so} he said to me, saying, 'Thus says Yahweh, "I hereby anoint you as king over Israel." '"

Then he came and ate and drank, and said, "Please take care of this cursed one and bury her, for she is the daughter of a king."

Then the chief advisor said to them, "Please say to Hezekiah: 'Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: "What [is] this confidence that you trust?

So then, please make a wager with my lord, with the king of Assyria, and I will give to you a thousand horses {if you are able on your part to put riders on them.}

Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, Shebnah, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it. Don’t speak with us in Hebrew within earshot of the people on the wall.”

Now, Lord our God, please save us from his hand so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the Lord God—You alone.

“Please Lord, remember how I have walked before You faithfully and wholeheartedly and have done what pleases You.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

Now therefore let it please thee to bless the house of thy servant, that it may be before thee for ever: for thou blessest, O LORD, and it shall be blessed for ever.

David said to God, “I have sinned greatly because I have done this thing. Now, please take away Your servant’s guilt, for I’ve been very foolish.”

David answered Gad, “I’m in anguish. Please, let me fall into the Lord’s hands because His mercies are very great, but don’t let me fall into human hands.”

David said to God, “Wasn’t I the one who gave the order to count the people? I am the one who has sinned and acted very wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? My Lord God, please let Your hand be against me and against my father’s family, but don’t let the plague be against Your people.”

Then David said to Ornan, "Please give me the place, the threshing floor, that I might build an altar on it to Yahweh; at full price please give it to me, that the plague against the people might be stopped."

Then David told the entire assembly, "Bless the LORD your God, please." So the entire assembly blessed the LORD God of their ancestors, bowing their heads and falling in the LORD's presence and before the king.

And Solomon sent [word] to Huram king of Tyre, saying, "As you have dealt with David my father and sent cedar to him to build for himself a house in which to live, [please deal with me].

Now, Lord God of Israel, please confirmwhat You promised to Your servant David.

Now, my God,please let Your eyes be openand Your ears attentiveto the prayer of this place.

if my people, who belong to me, humble themselves, pray, seek to please me, and repudiate their sinful practices, then I will respond from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.

And they spake unto him, saying, If thou be kind to this people, and please them, and speak good words to them, they will be thy servants for ever.

As a result, he asked them, "What's your advice, so we can give an answer to these people who have asked me, "Please lighten the burden that your father put on us'?"

But Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “First, please ask what the Lord’s will is.”

Meanwhile, the messenger who had gone off to summon Micaiah advised him, "Look, everything that the other prophets were saying has been unanimously favorable to the king. So please, cooperate with them and speak favorably."

Take notice, please, that Amariah the Chief Priest is presiding over all cases that pertain to the LORD, Ishmael's son Zebadiah is presiding as ruler of the household of Judah with respect to all cases that pertain to the national government, and the descendants of Levi will preside over your other civil cases. Serve courageously, and the LORD will be with the upright."

Jotham grew powerful because he was determined to please the Lord his God.

Please don't be careless, you descendants of Aaron, because the LORD has chosen you to minister in his presence, to serve him, to be his ministers, and to burn incense."