'My People' in the Bible

The younger also gave birth to a son and named him Ben-ammi (son of my people); he is the father of the Ammonites to this day.

“No, my lord, hear me; I give you the [entire] field, and I also give you the cave that is in it. In the presence of the men of my people I give (sell) it to you; bury your dead [there].”

You shall have charge over my house, and all my people shall be governed according to your word and pay respect [to you with reverence, submission, and obedience]; only in [matters of] the throne will I be greater than you [in Egypt].”

The Lord said, “I have in fact seen the affliction (suffering, desolation) of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters (oppressors); for I know their pain and suffering.

Therefore, come now, and I will send you to Pharaoh, and then bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”

Afterward Moses and Aaron came and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let My people go, so that they may celebrate a feast to Me in the wilderness.’”

But Pharaoh will not listen to you, and I shall lay My hand on Egypt and bring out My hosts [like a defensive army, tribe by tribe], My people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment (the plagues).

You shall say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you, saying, “Let My people go, so that they may serve Me in the wilderness. But behold, you have not listened until now.”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let My people go, so that they may serve Me.

Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, “Plead with the Lord that He may take away the frogs from me and my people; and I will let the people go, so that they may sacrifice to the Lord.”

Now the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh as he is coming out to the water [of the Nile], and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let My people go, so that they may serve Me.

For if you do not let My people go, hear this: I will send swarms of [bloodsucking] insects on you and on your servants and on your people and into your houses; and the houses of the Egyptians will be full of swarms of insects, as well as the ground on which they stand.

But on that day I will separate and set apart the land of Goshen, where My people are living, so that no swarms of insects will be there, so that you may know [without any doubt] and acknowledge that I, the Lord, am in the midst of the earth.

I will put a division (distinction) between My people and your people. By tomorrow this sign shall be in evidence.”’”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: “Let My people go, so that they may serve Me.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, “Let My people go, so that they may serve Me.

Since you are still [arrogantly] exalting yourself [in defiance] against My people by not letting them go,

Then Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “I have sinned this time; the Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.

So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, so that they may serve Me.

For if you refuse to let My people go, then hear this: tomorrow I will bring [migratory] locusts into your country.

Then he called for Moses and Aaron at night and said, “Get up, get out from among my people, both you and the Israelites; and go, serve the Lord, as you said.

“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.

I will walk among you and be your God, and you shall be My people.

And now, look, I am going to my people; come, I will advise you as to what this people [Israel] will do to your people [Moab] in the days to come.”

And Jephthah said to them, “My people and I were in a major conflict with the Ammonites, and when I called you [for help], you did not rescue me from their hand.

But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to turn back from following you; for where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people will be my people, and your God, my God.

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 I thought to let you hear of it, saying, ‘Buy it in the presence of those sitting here, and before the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it; but if not, then tell me, so that I may know; for there is no one besides you to redeem it, and I am [next of kin] after you.’” And he said, “I will redeem it.”

Why then do you kick at (despise) My sacrifice and My offering which I commanded in My dwelling place, and honor your sons more than Me, by fattening yourselves with the choicest part of every offering of My people Israel?’

“About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him as leader over My people Israel; and he will save My people from the hand of the Philistines. For I have looked upon [the distress of] My people, because their cry [for help] has come to Me.”

When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord said to him, “There is the man of whom I spoke to you. This one shall rule over My people [as their king].”

Saul said, “I have sinned; but please honor me now before the elders of my people and before Israel, and go back with me, so that I may worship the Lord your God.”

Now then, do it [and make him king]! For the Lord has spoken of David, saying, ‘By the hand of My servant David I will save My people Israel from the hand of the Philistines and the hand of all their enemies.’”

In times past, when Saul was king over us, it was you who led Israel out [to war] and brought Israel in [from battle]. And the Lord told you, ‘You shall shepherd My people Israel and be ruler over them.’”

Wherever I have gone with all the Israelites, did I speak a word to any from the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people Israel, asking, ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?’”’

So now, say this to My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people Israel.

I will appoint a place for My people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in a place of their own and not be disturbed again. The wicked will not afflict them again, as formerly,

even from the day that I appointed judges over My people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. The Lord also declares to you that He will make a house (royal dynasty) for you.

“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.

I will dwell among the sons (descendants) of Israel, and will not abandon My people Israel.”

‘Since the day that I brought My people Israel out of Egypt, I did not choose a [particular] city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house so that My Name (Presence) would be in it, but I chose David to be over My people Israel.’

Go, tell Jeroboam, ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: “Because I exalted you from among the people and made you leader over My people Israel,

“Because I exalted you [Baasha] from the dust and made you leader over My people Israel, and you walked in the way of Jeroboam and made My people Israel sin, provoking Me to anger with their sins [of idol worship],

And Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to battle at Ramoth-gilead?” Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.”

Then he went and sent word to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, saying, “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight against Moab?” And he replied, “I will go; I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.”

“Go back and tell Hezekiah the leader of My people, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of David your father (ancestor): “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears. Behold, I am healing you; on the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord.

In times past, even when Saul was king, it was you who led out and brought in Israel; and the Lord your God said to you, ‘You shall shepherd My people Israel, and you shall be prince and leader over My people Israel.’”

Wherever I have walked with all Israel, did I say a word to any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people, saying, ‘Why have you not built for Me a house of cedar?’”’

Now, therefore, this is what you shall say to My servant David: ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be leader over My people Israel.

I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place and not be moved again [nor tremble with fear]; and the wicked will not waste (persecute) them anymore, as formerly,

since the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel. And I will humble and subdue all your enemies.“Furthermore, I tell you that the Lord will build you a house (a blessed posterity).

Then David the king rose to his feet and said, “Hear me, my brothers [in arms] and my people. I had intended to build a permanent home for the ark of the covenant of the Lord and as a footstool for our God, and I prepared materials for the building.

“But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to offer as generously as this? For all things come from You, and from Your own hand we have given to You.

God replied to Solomon, “Because this was in your heart and you did not ask for riches, possessions or honor and personal glory, or the life of those who hate you, nor have you even asked for long life, but you have asked for wisdom and knowledge for yourself so that you may rule and administer justice to My people over whom I have made you king,

‘Since the day that I brought My people out of the land of Egypt, I did not choose a city among all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house so that My Name (Presence) might be there, nor did I choose any man to be a leader over My people Israel;

but I have chosen Jerusalem that My Name might be there, and I have chosen David to be over My people Israel.’

If I shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or if I command locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence and plague among My people,

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.

Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me to [fight against] Ramoth-gilead?” He answered, “I am as you are, and my people as your people [your hopes and concerns are ours]; we will be with you in the battle.”

Then Queen Esther replied, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it pleases the king, let my life be spared as my petition, and my people [be spared] as my request;

for we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, killed and wiped out of existence. Now if we had only been sold as slaves, men and women, I would have remained silent, for our hardship would not be sufficient to burden the king [by even mentioning it].”

For how can I endure to see the tragedy that will happen to my people? Or how can I endure to see the destruction of my kindred?”

Have all the workers of wickedness and injustice no knowledge,Who eat up my people as they eat bread,And do not call upon the Lord?

“Hear, O My people, and I will speak;O Israel, I will testify against you:I am God, your God.

Have workers of wickedness no knowledge or no understanding?They eat up My people as though they ate breadAnd have not called upon God.

Do not kill them, or my people will forget;Scatter them and make them wander [endlessly] back and forth by Your power, and bring them down,O Lord our shield!

Listen, O my people, to my teaching;Incline your ears to the words of my mouth [and be willing to learn].

“Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you—O Israel, if you would listen to Me!

“But My people would not listen to My voice,And Israel did not [consent to] obey Me.

“Oh, that My people would listen to Me,That Israel would walk in My ways!

God has spoken in His holiness:“I will rejoice, I will portion out Shechem [as I divide Canaan among My people],And measure out the Valley of Succoth.

My [steadfast] lovingkindness and my fortress,My high tower and my rescuer,My shield and He in whom I take refuge,Who subdues my people under me.

“Before I was aware [of what was happening], my desire had brought meInto the area of the princes of my people [the king’s retinue].”

“The ox [instinctively] knows its owner,And the donkey its master’s feeding trough,But Israel does not know [Me as Lord],My people do not understand.”

O My people! Children are their oppressors,And women rule over them.O My people! Your leaders lead you astrayAnd confuse (destroy, swallow up) the direction of your paths.

“What do you mean by crushing My peopleAnd grinding the face of the poor?”Declares the Lord God of hosts.

“And now, says the Lord, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah,Judge between Me and My vineyard (My people).

Therefore My people go into exile because they lack knowledge [of God];And their honorable men are famished,And their common people are parched with thirst.

So as to deprive the needy of justiceAnd rob the poor of My people of rightful claims,So that widows may be their spoilAnd that they may plunder the fatherless.

Therefore, the Lord God of hosts says this, “O My people who dwell in Zion, do not be afraid of the Assyrian who strikes you with a rod and lifts up his staff against you, as [the king of] Egypt did.

whom the Lord of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My heritage.”

Therefore I say, “Look away from me;Let me weep bitterly.Do not try to comfort me over the destruction of the daughter of my people.”

Come, my people, enter your chambersAnd shut your doors behind you;Hide for a little whileUntil the [Lord’s] wrath is past.

For the land of my people growing over with thorns and briars—Yes, [mourn] for all the houses of joy in the joyous city.

Then my people will live in a peaceful surrounding,And in secure dwellings and in undisturbed resting places.

“Comfort, O comfort My people,” says your God.

“The beasts of the field will honor Me,Jackals and ostriches,Because I have given waters in the wildernessAnd rivers in the desert,To give drink to My people, My chosen.

“I was angry with My people,I profaned [Judah] My inheritanceAnd gave them into your hand [Babylon].You showed them no mercy;You made your yoke very heavy on the aged.

“Listen carefully to Me [says the Lord], O My people,And hear Me, O My nation;For a [divine] law will go forth from Me,And I will quickly establish My justice as a light to the peoples.

I have put My words in your mouth and have covered you with the shadow of My hand, to establish the [renewed] heavens and lay the foundations of the [renewed] earth, and to say to Zion (Jerusalem), ‘You are My people.’”

For the Lord God says this, “My people went down at the first into Egypt to live there; and [many years later Sennacherib] the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.

But now, what do I have here,” declares the Lord, “seeing that My people have been taken away without reason? Those who rule over them howl [with taunting and mockery of salvation],” declares the Lord, “and My name is continually blasphemed all day long.

Therefore My people shall know My Name and what it means. Therefore in that day I am the One who is speaking, ‘Here I am.’”

And it will be said,“Build up, build up, clear the way.Remove the stumbling block out of the way [of the spiritual return] of My people.”

“Cry aloud, do not hold back;Lift up your voice like a trumpet,And declare to My people their transgressionAnd to the house of Jacob their sins.

For He said, “Be assured, they are My people,Sons who will not be faithless.”So He became their Savior [in all their distresses].

“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].

“I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people;And there will no longer be heard in herThe voice of weeping and the sound of crying.

“They will not build and another occupy;They will not plant and another eat [the fruit].For as the lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people,And My chosen [people] will fully enjoy [and long make use of] the work of their hands.

“Has a nation [ever] changed godsEven though they were not gods [but merely man-made objects]?But My people have exchanged their Glory (the true God)For that [man-made idol] which does not benefit [them].