'Stones' in the Bible

He who quarries stones may be hurt with them, and he who splits logs may be endangered by them.

He dug it all around and cleared away its stones,And planted it with the choicest vine (the people of Judah).And He built a tower in the center of it;And also hewed out a wine vat in it.Then He expected it to produce [the choicest] grapes,But it produced only worthless ones.

“The bricks have fallen down,But we will rebuild [all the better] with ashlar (hewed stones);The sycamores have been cut down,But we will replace them with [expensive] cedars.”

“But you [king of Babylon] have been cast out of your tomb (denied burial)Like a rejected branch,Clothed with the slain who are pierced by the sword,Who go down to the stones of the pit [into which carcasses are thrown],Like a dead body trampled [underfoot].

Therefore through this the wickedness [the sin, the injustice, the wrongdoing] of Jacob (Israel) will be atoned for and forgiven;And this will be the full price [that God requires] for taking away his sin:When Israel makes all the stones of the [pagan] altars like crushed chalk stones;When the Asherim and the incense altars will not stand.

But the pelican and the porcupine will take possession of it;The owl and the raven will dwell in it.And He will stretch over it (Edom) the measuring line of desolationAnd the plumb line of emptiness.

“O you afflicted [city], storm-tossed, and not comforted,Listen carefully, I will set your [precious] stones in mortar,And lay your foundations with sapphires.

“And I will make your battlements of rubies,And your gates of [shining] beryl stones,And all your [barrier] walls of precious stones.

“Among the smooth stones of the ravineIs your portion, they (the idols) are your lot;Even to them you have poured out a drink offering,You have offered a grain offering.Should I be quiet concerning these things [leaving them unpunished—bearing them with patience]?

“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.

Go through, go through the gates,Clear the way for the people;Build up, build up the highway,Remove the stones, lift up a banner over the peoples.

Because of the thoughtlessness of Israel’s prostitution [her immorality mattered little to her], she desecrated the land and committed adultery with [idols of] stones and trees.

“Take some large stones in your hands and hide them in the mortar in the brickwork [of the terrace] which is at the entrance of Pharaoh’s house in Tahpanhes, in the sight of some of the men of Judah;

and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “Behold, I am going to send and get Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and I am going to set his throne over these stones that I have hidden; and his [majestic, royal] canopy will be spread over them.

“They will not take from you [even] a stone for a cornerstoneNor any rock for a foundation,But you will be desolate forever,” says the Lord.

He has broken my teeth with gravel;He has [covered me with ashes and] made me cower in the dust.

How dark and dim the gold has become,How the pure gold has changed!The sacred stones [of the temple] are poured out and scatteredAt the head of every street.

They will also incite a crowd against you and they will stone you and slaughter you with their swords.

And the horde will stone them with stones and cut them down with their swords; they will kill their sons and their daughters and burn down their houses with fire.

Also they will take your riches as spoil and plunder your merchandise, and tear down your walls and your pleasant houses, and throw your stones and your timber and the debris [from your city] out in the water.

The merchants of Sheba and Raamah [in Arabia], they traded with you; they paid for your wares with the choicest of all kinds of spices and all kinds of precious stones and gold.

“You were the anointed cherub who covers and protects,And I placed you there.You were on the holy mountain of God;You walked in the midst of the stones of fire [sparkling jewels].

“Through the abundance of your commerceYou were internally filled with lawlessness and violence,And you sinned;Therefore I have cast you out as a profane and unholy thingFrom the mountain of God.And I have destroyed you, O covering cherub,From the midst of the stones of fire.

“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army work hard [at My command] against Tyre; every [soldier’s] head became bald and every shoulder was worn and peeled [from carrying loads of dirt and stones for siege works]. Yet he had no wages from Tyre [in proportion to the time and labor expended during the siege], either for himself or his army, for the work that he had done against it [for Me].”

Instead, he will honor a god of fortresses, a god whom his fathers did not know; he will honor him with gold and silver, with precious stones and with expensive things.

Therefore I [the Lord] shall make Samaria a heap of ruins [and of stones and arable land] in the open country,A place for planting vineyards;And I will pour her stones down into the ravineAnd lay bare her foundations.

I will send the curse out,” declares the Lord of hosts, “and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My name; and it will spend the night in that house and consume it, both its timber and its stones.”

and do not presume to say to yourselves [as a defense], ‘We have Abraham for our father [so our inheritance assures us of salvation]’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children (descendants) for Abraham.

And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

Night and day he was constantly screaming and shrieking among the tombs and on the mountains, and cutting himself with [sharp] stones.

As He was coming out of the temple [grounds], one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, look what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!”

Therefore produce fruit that is worthy of [and consistent with your] repentance [that is, live changed lives, turn from sin and seek God and His righteousness]. And do not even begin to say to yourselves [as a defense], ‘We have Abraham for our father [and so our heritage assures us of salvation]’; for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children (descendants) for Abraham [for God can replace the unrepentant, regardless of their heritage, with those who are obedient].

Jesus replied, “I tell you, if these [people] keep silent, the stones will cry out [in praise]!”

As some were talking about the temple, that it was decorated with beautiful stones and consecrated offerings [of magnificent gifts of gold which were displayed on the walls and hung in the porticoes], He said,

So they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus concealed Himself and left the temple.

Again the Jews picked up stones to stone Him.

But if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,

You [believers], like living stones, are being built up into a spiritual house for a holy and dedicated priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices [that are] acceptable and pleasing to God through Jesus Christ.

The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold, precious stones and pearls, [and she was] holding in her hand a gold cup full of the abominations and the filth of her [sexual] immorality.

cargoes of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet; all kinds of citron (scented) wood and every article of ivory and every article of very costly and lavish wood and bronze and iron and marble;

saying, ‘Woe, woe, for the great city that was robed in fine linen, in purple and scarlet, gilded and adorned with gold, with precious stones, and with pearls;

And the wall of the city had twelve foundation stones, and on them the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb (Christ).

The foundation stones of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation stone was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald;