'Strife' in the Bible
And there was strife and quarreling between the herdsmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdsmen of Lot’s cattle. Now the Canaanite and the Perizzite were living in the land at that same time [making grazing of the livestock difficult].
So Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife and disagreement between you and me, nor between your herdsmen and my herdsmen, because we are relatives.
These are the waters of Meribah (contention, strife), where the sons of Israel contended with the Lord, and He showed Himself holy among them.
because in the Wilderness of Zin, during the strife of the congregation, you rebelled against My command to treat me as holy [by following My instruction] before their eyes at the water.” (These are the waters of Meribah in Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.)
How can I alone bear the weight and pressure and burden of you and your strife (contention) and complaining?
All the people were quarreling throughout the tribes of Israel, saying, “The king rescued us from the hands of our enemies, and he saved us from the hands of the Philistines, but now he has fled out of the land from Absalom.
“You also have rescued me from strife with my [own] people;You have kept me as the head of the nations.People whom I have not known served me.
“Man is also disciplined with pain on his bed,And with unceasing complaint in his bones,
In the secret place of Your presence You hide them from the plots and conspiracies of man;You keep them secretly in a shelter (pavilion) from the strife of tongues.
Confuse [my enemies], O Lord, divide their tongues [destroying their schemes],For I have seen violence and strife in the city.
You make us an object of contention to our neighbors,And our enemies laugh [at our suffering] among themselves.
A hot-tempered man stirs up strife,But he who is slow to anger and patient calms disputes.
A perverse man spreads strife,And one who gossips separates intimate friends.
Better is a dry morsel [of food served] with quietness and peaceThan a house full of feasting [served] with strife and contention.
The beginning of strife is like letting out water [as from a small break in a dam; first it trickles and then it gushes];Therefore abandon the quarrel before it breaks out and tempers explode.
He who loves transgression loves strife and is quarrelsome;He who [proudly] raises his gate seeks destruction [because of his arrogant pride].
It is an honor for a man to keep away from strife [by handling situations with thoughtful foresight],But any fool will [start a] quarrel [without regard for the consequences].
Drive out the scoffer, and contention will go away;Even strife and dishonor will cease.
Who has woe? Who has sorrow?Who has strife? Who has complaining?Who has wounds without cause?Whose eyes are red and dim?
Like one who grabs a dog by the ears [and is likely to be bitten]Is he who, passing by, stops to meddle with a dispute that is none of his business.
Like charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire,So is a contentious man to kindle strife.
An arrogant and greedy man stirs up strife,But he who trusts in the Lord will be blessed and prosper.
An angry man stirs up strife,And a hot-tempered and undisciplined man commits many transgressions.
Surely the churning of milk produces butter,And wringing the nose produces blood;So the churning of anger produces strife.
“If anyone fiercely attacks you it will not be from Me.Whoever attacks you will fall because of you.
“The facts are that you fast only for strife and brawling and to strike with the fist of wickedness.You do not fast as you do today to make your voice heard on high.
Woe to me, my mother, that you have given birth to meTo be a man of strife and a man of contention to all the earth!I have not loaned, nor have men lent money to me,Yet everyone curses me.
Why do You make me see iniquity,And cause me to look on wickedness?For destruction and violence are before me;Strife continues and contention arises.
And as the dissension became even greater, the commander, fearing that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, ordered the troops to go down and forcibly take him from them, and bring him to the barracks.
until they were filled (permeated, saturated) with every kind of unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice and mean-spiritedness. They are gossips [spreading rumors],
But if you bite and devour one another [in bickering and strife], watch out that you [along with your entire fellowship] are not consumed by one another.
idolatry, sorcery, hostility, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions [that promote heresies],
Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit [through factional motives, or strife], but with [an attitude of] humility [being neither arrogant nor self-righteous], regard others as more important than yourselves.
he is conceited and woefully ignorant [understanding nothing]. He has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, which produces envy, quarrels, verbal abuse, evil suspicions,
But have nothing to do with foolish and ignorant speculations [useless disputes over unedifying, stupid controversies], since you know that they produce strife and give birth to quarrels.
Indeed men swear [an oath] by one greater than themselves, and with them [in all disputes] the oath serves as confirmation [of what has been said] and is an end of the dispute.
What leads to [the unending] quarrels and conflicts among you? Do they not come from your [hedonistic] desires that wage war in your [bodily] members [fighting for control over you]?