'Us' in the Bible

On the seventh day the baby died. But David’s servants were afraid to tell him the baby was dead. They said, “Look, while the baby was alive, we spoke to him, and he wouldn’t listen to us. So how can we tell him the baby is dead? He may do something desperate.”

“If not,” Absalom said, “please let my brother Amnon go with us.”The king asked him, “Why should he go with you?”

David said to all the servants with him in Jerusalem, “Get up. We have to flee, or we will not escape from Absalom! Leave quickly, or he will soon overtake us, heap disaster on us, and strike the city with the edge of the sword.”

The king said to Ittai the Gittite, “Why are you also going with us? Go back and stay with the new king since you’re both a foreigner and an exile from your homeland.

Besides, you only arrived yesterday; should I make you wander around with us today while I go wherever I can? Go back and take your brothers with you. May the Lord show you kindness and faithfulness.”

“You must not go!” the people pleaded. “If we have to flee, they will not pay any attention to us. Even if half of us die, they will not pay any attention to us because you are worth 10,000 of us. Therefore, it is better if you support us from the city.”

You love your enemies and hate those who love you! Today you have made it clear that the commanders and soldiers mean nothing to you. In fact, today I know that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead, it would be fine with you!

All the people among all the tribes of Israel were arguing: “The king delivered us from the grasp of our enemies, and he rescued us from the grasp of the Philistines, but now he has fled from the land because of Absalom.

But Absalom, the man we anointed over us, has died in battle. So why do you say nothing about restoring the king?”

The men of Israel answered the men of Judah: “We have 10 shares in the king, so we have a greater claim to David than you. Why then do you despise us? Weren’t we the first to speak of restoring our king?” But the words of the men of Judah were harsher than those of the men of Israel.

So David said to Abishai, “Sheba son of Bichri will do more harm to us than Absalom. Take your lord’s soldiers and pursue him, or he will find fortified cities and elude us.”

They replied to the king, “As for the man who annihilated us and plotted to destroy us so we would not exist within the whole territory of Israel,

let seven of his male descendants be handed over to us so we may hang them in the presence of the Lord at Gibeah of Saul, the Lord’s chosen.”The king answered, “I will hand them over.”

But Abishai son of Zeruiah came to his aid, struck the Philistine, and killed him. Then David’s men swore to him: “You must never again go out with us to battle. You must not extinguish the lamp of Israel.”

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.”

So his servants said to him: “Let us search for a young virgin for my lord the king. She is to attend the king and be his caregiver. She is to lie by your side so that my lord the king will get warm.”

On the third day after I gave birth, she also had a baby and we were alone. No one else was with us in the house; just the two of us were there.

“Therefore, command that cedars from Lebanon be cut down for me. My servants will be with your servants, and I will pay your servants’ wages according to whatever you say, for you know that not a man among us knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.”

May the Lord our God be with us as He was with our ancestors. May He not abandon us or leave us

“Your father made our yoke difficult. You, therefore, lighten your father’s harsh service and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”

He asked them, “What message do you advise that we send back to these people who said to me, ‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us’?”

Then the young men who had grown up with him told him, “This is what you should say to these people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you, make it lighter on us!’ This is what you should tell them: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s loins!

Let two bulls be given to us. They are to choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and place it on the wood but not light the fire. I will prepare the other bull and place it on the wood but not light the fire.

So they took the bull that he gave them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “Baal, answer us!” But there was no sound; no one answered. Then they danced, hobbling around the altar they had made.

They replied, “A man came to meet us and said, ‘Go back to the king who sent you and declare to him: This is what the Lord says: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you’re sending these men to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore, you will not get up from your sickbed—you will certainly die.’”

Then the king of Israel said, “Oh no, the Lord has summoned three kings, only to hand them over to Moab.”

However, Elisha said to King Joram of Israel, “We have nothing in common. Go to the prophets of your father and your mother!”But the king of Israel replied, “No, because it is the Lord who has summoned these three kings to hand them over to Moab.”

Then he said to Gehazi, “Say to her, ‘Look, you’ve gone to all this trouble for us. What can we do for you? Can we speak on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?’”She answered, “I am living among my own people.”

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.

The king of Aram was enraged because of this matter, and he called his servants and demanded of them, “Tell me, which one of us is for the king of Israel?”

Elisha said, “Don’t be afraid, for those who are with us outnumber those who are with them.”

If we say, ‘Let’s go into the city,’ we will die there because the famine is in the city, but if we sit here, we will also die. So now, come on. Let’s go to the Arameans’ camp. If they let us live, we will live; if they kill us, we will die.”

for the Lord had caused the Aramean camp to hear the sound of chariots, horses, and a great army. The Arameans had said to each other, “The king of Israel must have hired the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Egypt to attack us.”

So the king got up in the night and said to his servants, “Let me tell you what the Arameans have done to us. They know we are starving, so they have left the camp to hide in the open country, thinking, ‘When they come out of the city, we will take them alive and go into the city.’”

When he arrived, the army commanders were sitting there, so he said, “I have a message for you, commander.”Jehu asked, “For which one of us?”He answered, “For you, commander.”

But they replied, “That’s a lie! Tell us!”So Jehu said, “He talked to me about this and that and said, ‘This is what the Lord says: I anoint you king over Israel.’”

So the overseer of the palace, the overseer of the city, the elders, and the guardians sent a message to Jehu: “We are your servants, and we will do whatever you tell us. We will not make anyone king. Do whatever you think is right.”

Amaziah then sent messengers to Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, “Come, let us meet face to face.”

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.”

Don’t let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord by saying: Certainly the Lord will deliver us! This city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.’

until I come and take you away to a land like your own land—a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey—so that you may live and not die. But don’t listen to Hezekiah when he misleads you, saying: The Lord will deliver us.

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.

“Go and inquire of the Lord for me, the people, and all Judah about the instruction in this book that has been found. For great is the Lord’s wrath that is kindled against us because our ancestors have not obeyed the words of this book in order to do everything written about us.”

Even when Saul was king, you led us out to battle and brought us back. The Lord your God also said to you, ‘You will shepherd My people Israel and be ruler over My people Israel.’”

Then he said to the whole assembly of Israel, “If it seems good to you, and if this is from the Lord our God, let us spread out and send the message to the rest of our relatives in all the districts of Israel, including the priests and Levites in their cities with pasturelands, that they should gather together with us.

Then let us bring back the ark of our God, for we did not inquire of Him in Saul’s days.”

For the Lord our God burst out in anger against us because you Levites were not with us the first time, for we didn’t inquire of Him about the proper procedures.”

And say: “Save us, God of our salvation;gather us and rescue us from the nationsso that we may give thanks to Your holy nameand rejoice in Your praise.

“Your father made our yoke difficult. Therefore, lighten your father’s harsh service and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”

He asked them, “What message do you advise we send back to these people who said to me, ‘Lighten the yoke your father put on us’?”

Then the young men who had grown up with him told him, “This is what you should say to the people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you, make it lighter on us!’ This is what you should say to them: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s loins.

“But as for us, Yahweh is our God. We have not abandoned Him; the priests ministering to the Lord are descendants of Aaron, and the Levites serve at their tasks.

Look, God and His priests are with us at our head. The trumpets are ready to sound the charge against you. Israelites, don’t fight against the Lord God of your ancestors, for you will not succeed.”

So he said to the people of Judah, “Let’s build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, with doors and bars. The land is still ours because we sought the Lord our God. We sought Him and He gave us rest on every side.” So they built and succeeded.

Then Asa cried out to the Lord his God: “Lord, there is no one besides You to help the mighty and those without strength. Help us, Lord our God, for we depend on You, and in Your name we have come against this large army. Yahweh, You are our God. Do not let a mere mortal hinder You.”

“If disaster comes on us—sword or judgment, pestilence or famine—we will stand before this temple and before You, for Your name is in this temple. We will cry out to You because of our distress, and You will hear and deliver.”

Look how they repay us by coming to drive us out of Your possession that You gave us as an inheritance.

Our God, will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this vast number that comes to fight against us. We do not know what to do, but we look to You.

King Amaziah of Judah took counsel and sent word to Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, “Come, let us meet face to face.”

They said to them, “You must not bring the captives here, for you plan to bring guilt on us from the Lord to add to our sins and our guilt. For we have much guilt, and burning anger is on Israel.”

It is in my heart now to make a covenant with Yahweh, the God of Israel so that His burning anger may turn away from us.

“Be strong and courageous! Don’t be afraid or discouraged before the king of Assyria or before the large army that is with him, for there are more with us than with him.

He has only human strength, but we have Yahweh our God to help us and to fight our battles.” So the people relied on the words of King Hezekiah of Judah.

Isn’t Hezekiah misleading you to give you over to death by famine and thirst when he says, “Yahweh our God will deliver us from the power of the king of Assyria”?

“Go. Ask Yahweh for me and for those remaining in Israel and Judah, concerning the words of the book that was found. For great is the Lord’s wrath that is poured out on us because our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord in order to do everything written in this book.”

they approached Zerubbabel and the leaders of the families and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we also worship your God and have been sacrificing to Him since the time King Esar-haddon of Assyria brought us here.”

But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the other leaders of Israel’s families answered them, “You may have no part with us in building a house for our God, since we alone must build it for Yahweh, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia has commanded us.”

Let it be known to the king that the Jews who came from you have returned to us at Jerusalem. They are rebuilding that rebellious and evil city, finishing its walls, and repairing its foundations.

Since we have taken an oath of loyalty to the king, and it is not right for us to witness his dishonor, we have sent to inform the king

The letter you sent us has been translated and read in my presence.

This is the reply they gave us: We are the servants of the God of heaven and earth and are rebuilding the temple that was built many years ago, which a great king of Israel built and finished.

So if it pleases the king, let a search of the royal archives in Babylon be conducted to see if it is true that a decree was issued by King Cyrus to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. Let the king’s decision regarding this matter be sent to us.

I sent them to Iddo, the leader at Casiphia, with a message for him and his brothers, the temple servants at Casiphia, that they should bring us ministers for the house of our God.

Since the gracious hand of our God was on us, they brought us Sherebiah—a man of insight from the descendants of Mahli, a descendant of Levi son of Israel—along with his sons and brothers, 18 men,

I proclaimed a fast by the Ahava River, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask Him for a safe journey for us, our children, and all our possessions.

I did this because I was ashamed to ask the king for infantry and cavalry to protect us from enemies during the journey, since we had told him, “The hand of our God is gracious to all who seek Him, but His great anger is against all who abandon Him.”

We set out from the Ahava River on the twelfth day of the first month to go to Jerusalem. We were strengthened by our God, and He protected us from the power of the enemy and from ambush along the way.

But now, for a brief moment, grace has come from Yahweh our God to preserve a remnant for us and give us a stake in His holy place. Even in our slavery, God has given us new life and light to our eyes.

Though we are slaves, our God has not abandoned us in our slavery. He has extended grace to us in the presence of the Persian kings, giving us new life, so that we can rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins, to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.

After all that has happened to us because of our evil deeds and terrible guilt—though You, our God, have punished us less than our sins deserve and have allowed us to survive—

should we break Your commands again and intermarry with the peoples who commit these detestable practices? Wouldn’t You become so angry with us that You would destroy us, leaving no survivors?

Let us therefore make a covenant before our God to send away all the foreign wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the command of our God. Let it be done according to the law.

When Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite official, and Geshem the Arab heard about this, they mocked and despised us, and said, “What is this you’re doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”

I gave them this reply, “The God of heaven is the One who will grant us success. We, His servants, will start building, but you have no share, right, or historic claim in Jerusalem.”

When the Jews who lived nearby arrived, they said to us time and again, “Everywhere you turn, they attack us.”

When our enemies heard that we knew their scheme and that God had frustrated it, every one of us returned to his own work on the wall.

Wherever you hear the trumpet sound, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us!”

Some were saying, “We, our sons, and our daughters are numerous. Let us get grain so that we can eat and live.”

Even I, as well as my brothers and my servants, have been lending them money and grain. Please, let us stop charging this interest.

For they were all trying to intimidate us, saying, “They will become discouraged in the work, and it will never be finished.”But now, my God, strengthen me.

I went to the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was restricted to his house. He said:Let us meet at the house of Godinside the temple.Let us shut the temple doorsbecause they are coming to kill you.They are coming to kill you tonight!

So now, our God—the great, mighty,and awe-inspiring God who keeps His gracious covenant—do not view lightly all the hardships that have afflicted us,our kings and leaders,our priests and prophets,our ancestors and all Your people,from the days of the Assyrian kings until today.

You are righteous concerning all that has come on us,because You have acted faithfully,while we have acted wickedly.

Its abundant harvest goes to the kingsYou have set over us,because of our sins.They rule over our bodiesand our livestock as they please.We are in great distress.

Didn’t your ancestors do the same, so that our God brought all this disaster on us and on this city? And now you are rekindling His anger against Israel by profaning the Sabbath!”

There is no one to judge between us,to lay his hand on both of us.

What do you know that we don’t?What do you understand that is not clear to us?

Both the gray-haired and the elderly are with us,men older than your father.

Yet they say to God: “Leave us alone!We don’t want to know Your ways.