'Require' in the Bible

For your lifeblood I will most certainly require an accounting; from every animal [that kills a person] I will require it. And from man, from every man’s brother [that is, anyone who murders] I will require the life of man.

I will be security (a guarantee) for him; you may hold me [personally] responsible for him. If I do not bring him [back] to you and place him [safely] before you, then let me bear the blame before you forever.

But the number of bricks which they were making before, you shall [still] require of them; you are not to reduce it in the least. For they are idle and lazy; that is why they cry, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’

then an oath before the Lord shall be made by the two of them that he has not taken his neighbor’s property; and the owner of it shall accept his word and not require him to make restitution.

“If you lend money to any one of My people with you who is poor, you shall not act as a creditor (professional moneylender) to him; you shall not charge him interest.

But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul.

“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require from you, but to fear [and worship] the Lord your God [with awe-filled reverence and profound respect], to walk [that is, to live each and every day] in all His ways and to love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul [your choices, your thoughts, your whole being],

It shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him [and there will be consequences].

“When you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay to pay it, for He will most certainly require it of you, and a delay would cause you to sin.

Now, my daughter, do not be afraid. I will do for you whatever you ask, since all my people in the city know that you are a woman of excellence.

So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David. [He added,] “May the Lord require it at the hands of David’s enemies. [that is, hold them accountable for any harm they inflict on David].”

David said, “Good! I will make a covenant (treaty) with you, but I require one thing of you: you shall not see my face unless you first bring Michal, Saul’s daughter, when you come to see me.”

How much more, when wicked men have killed a righteous and just man in his own house on his bed, shall I not require his blood from your hand and remove you from the earth?”

Moreover, they did not require an accounting from the men into whose hands they placed the money to be paid to those who did the work, for they acted in good faith.

Joab said, “May the Lord add to His people a hundred times as many as they are! But, my lord the king, are they not all my lord’s servants? Why then does my lord require this? Why will he bring guilt on Israel?”

Now set your heart and your soul to seek (inquire of, require as your vital necessity) the Lord your God. Arise and build the sanctuary of the Lord God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the holy articles and utensils of God into the house built for the Name (Presence) of the Lord.”

and My people, who are called by My Name, humble themselves, and pray and seek (crave, require as a necessity) My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear [them] from heaven, and forgive their sin and heal their land.

For Ezra had set his heart (resolved) to study and interpret the Law of the Lord, and to practice it and teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel.

“And I, Artaxerxes the king, issue a decree to all the treasurers in the provinces west of the [Euphrates] River, that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, may require of you, it shall be done diligently and at once—

When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard this, it caused them great displeasure that someone had come to see about the welfare and prosperity of the Israelites.

Then they said, “We will give it back and not require anything from them. We will do exactly as you say.” Then I called the priests and took an oath from them that they would act in accordance with this promise.

“As for me, I would seek God and inquire of Him,And I would commit my cause to God;

The afflicted will eat and be satisfied;Those who [diligently] seek Him and require Him [as their greatest need] will praise the Lord.May your hearts live forever!

This is the generation (description) of those who diligently seek Him and require Him as their greatest need,Who seek Your face, even [as did] Jacob. Selah.

One thing I have asked of the Lord, and that I will seek:That I may dwell in the house of the Lord [in His presence] all the days of my life,To gaze upon the beauty [the delightful loveliness and majestic grandeur] of the LordAnd to meditate in His temple.

When You said, “Seek My face [in prayer, require My presence as your greatest need],” my heart said to You,“Your face, O Lord, I will seek [on the authority of Your word].”

The young lions lack [food] and grow hungry,But they who seek the Lord will not lack any good thing.

Let those be ashamed and dishonored who seek my life;Let those be turned back [in defeat] and humiliated who plot evil against me.

Those who seek my life lay snares for me,And those who seek to injure me threaten mischievous things and destruction;They devise treachery all the day long.

Sacrifice and meal offering You do not desire, nor do You delight in them;You have opened my ears and given me the capacity to hear [and obey Your word];Burnt offerings and sin offerings You do not require.

Let those be ashamed and humiliated togetherWho seek my life to destroy it;Let those be turned back [in defeat] and dishonoredWho delight in my hurt.

Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;Let those who love Your salvation say continually,“The Lord be magnified!”

Do not let those who wait [confidently] for You be ashamed through me, O Lord God of hosts;Do not let those who seek You [as necessary for life itself] be dishonored through me, O God of Israel,

May all those who seek You [as life’s first priority] rejoice and be glad in You;May those who love Your salvation say continually,“Let God be magnified!”

Let those who attack my life be ashamed and consumed;Let them be covered with reproach and dishonor, who seek to injure me.

In the day of my trouble I [desperately] sought the Lord;In the night my hand was stretched out [in prayer] without weariness;My soul refused to be comforted.

Fill their faces with shame and disgrace,That they may [persistently] seek Your name, O Lord.

Glory in His holy name;Let the hearts of those who seek and require the Lord [as their most essential need] rejoice.

Seek and deeply long for the Lord and His strength [His power, His might];Seek and deeply long for His face and His presence continually.

For the sake of the house of the Lord our God [which is Jerusalem],I will seek your (the city’s) good.

Yet the people do not turn back [in repentance] to Him who struck them,Nor do they seek the Lord of hosts [as their most essential need].

“Listen to Me, you who pursue righteousness (right standing with God),Who seek and inquire of the Lord:Look to the rock from which you were cutAnd to the excavation of the quarry from which you were dug.

Seek the Lord while He may be found;Call on Him [for salvation] while He is near.

“Yet they seek Me day by day and delight [superficially] to know My ways,As [if they were in reality] a nation that has done righteousnessAnd has not abandoned (turned away from) the ordinance of their God.They ask of Me righteous judgments,They delight in the nearness of God.

“And [the plain of] Sharon will be a place for flocks to graze,And the Valley of Achor a resting place for herds,For My people who seek Me [who long for Me and require My presence in their lives].

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.’

Then [with a deep longing] you will seek Me and require Me [as a vital necessity] and [you will] find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

‘All your lovers (allies) have forgotten you;They do not seek and long for you.For I have injured you with the wound of an enemy,With the punishment of a cruel and merciless foe,Because your guilt is greatAnd your sins are glaring and innumerable.

The Lord is good to those who wait [confidently] for Him,To those who seek Him [on the authority of God’s word].

When I say to the wicked, ‘You will certainly die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to tell him to turn from his wicked way to save his life, that same evil man will die in his sin, but you will be responsible for his blood.

Again, when a righteous man turns from his righteousness (right standing with God) and sins, and I place an obstacle before him, he will die; since you have not warned him, he will die in his sin, and the righteous deeds which he has done will not be remembered; but you will be responsible for his blood.

For on My holy mountain, on the high mountain of Israel (Zion),” says the Lord God, “there the whole house of Israel, all of them in the land, shall serve Me. There I will [graciously] accept them, and there I will seek (require) your offerings and the choicest of your gifts, with all your holy and sacred things.

But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any one of them, he is taken away because of his corruption and sin; but I will require his blood from the watchman’s hand.’

When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will certainly die,’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man will die because of his sin; but I will require his blood from your hand.

‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand My flock from them and make them stop tending the flock, so that the shepherds cannot feed themselves anymore. I will rescue My flock from their mouth, so that they will not be food for them.”’”

I will go away and return to My place [on high]Until they acknowledge their offense and bear their guilt and seek My face;In their distress they will earnestly seek Me, saying,

Though the pride of Israel testifies against him,Yet they do not return [in repentance] to the Lord their God,Nor seek nor search for nor desire Him [as essential] in spite of all this.

Sow with a view to righteousness [that righteousness, like seed, may germinate];Reap in accordance with mercy and lovingkindness.Break up your uncultivated ground,For it is time to seek and search diligently for the Lord [and to long for His blessing]Until He comes to rain righteousness and His gift of salvation on you.

For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel,“Seek Me [search diligently for Me and regard Me as more essential than food] so that you may live.

“Seek the Lord [search diligently for Him and long for Him as your most essential need] so that you may live,Or He will rush down like a [devouring] fire, O house of Joseph,And there will be no one to quench the flame for [idolatrous] Bethel,

Seek (long for, require) good and not evil, that you may live;And so may the Lord God of hosts be with you,Just as you have said!

He has told you, O man, what is good;And what does the Lord require of youExcept to be just, and to love [and to diligently practice] kindness (compassion),And to walk humbly with your God [setting aside any overblown sense of importance or self-righteousness]?

You too [Nineveh] will become drunk [with the cup of God’s wrath];You will be hidden.You too [Nineveh] will search [in vain] for a refuge from the enemy.

Seek the Lord [search diligently for Him and regard Him as the foremost necessity of your life],All you humble of the landWho have practiced His ordinances and have kept His commandments;Seek righteousness, seek humility [regard them as vital].Perhaps you will be hidden [and pardoned and rescued]In the day of the Lord’s anger.

The inhabitants of one [city] will go to another, saying, “Let us go at once to ask the favor of the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts. I will go also.”

So many peoples and powerful nations will come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to ask the Lord for His favor.’

For the lips of the priest should guard and preserve knowledge [of My law], and the people should seek instruction from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.

Give to everyone who asks of you. Whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.

but the one who did not know it and did things worthy of a beating, will receive only a few [lashes]. From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.

But if you want anything beyond this, it will be settled in the lawful assembly.

that you may receive her in the Lord [with love and hospitality], as God’s people ought to receive one another. And that you may help her in whatever matter she may require assistance from you, for she has been a helper of many, including myself.

For what business is it of mine to judge outsiders (non-believers)? Do you not judge those who are within the church [to protect the church as the situation requires]?

while our more presentable parts do not require it. But God has combined the [whole] body, giving greater honor to that part which lacks it,

And God is able to make all grace [every favor and earthly blessing] come in abundance to you, so that you may always [under all circumstances, regardless of the need] have complete sufficiency in everything [being completely self-sufficient in Him], and have an abundance for every good work and act of charity.

But the Law does not rest on or require faith [it has nothing to do with faith], but [instead, the Law] says, “He who practices them [the things prescribed by the Law] shall live by them [instead of faith].”

Our people must learn to do good deeds to meet necessary demands [whatever the occasion may require], so that they will not be unproductive.