'To the Lord' in the Bible

I said to the Lord, “You are my God;Listen to the voice of my supplications, O Lord.

I cry aloud with my voice to the Lord;I make supplication with my voice to the Lord.

Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;Sing praises to our God with the lyre,

Praise the Lord!Sing to the Lord a new song,And praise Him in the congregation of His godly ones (believers).

For the devious are repulsive to the Lord;But His private counsel is with the upright [those with spiritual integrity and moral courage].

A false balance and dishonest business practices are extremely offensive to the Lord,But an accurate scale is His delight.

Lying lips are extremely disgusting to the Lord,But those who deal faithfully are His delight.

The sacrifice of the wicked is hateful and exceedingly offensive to the Lord,But the prayer of the upright is His delight!

The way [of life] of the wicked is hateful and exceedingly offensive to the Lord,But He loves one who pursues righteousness [personal integrity, moral courage and honorable character].

Evil plans and thoughts of the wicked are exceedingly vile and offensive to the Lord,But pure words are pleasant words to Him.

Everyone who is proud and arrogant in heart is disgusting and exceedingly offensive to the Lord;Be assured he will not go unpunished.

He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the righteousAre both repulsive to the Lord.

He who is gracious and lends a hand to the poor lends to the Lord,And the Lord will repay him for his good deed.

Differing weights [one for buying and another for selling] and differing measures,Both of them are detestable and offensive to the Lord.

Differing weights are detestable and offensive to the Lord,And fraudulent scales are not good.

To do righteousness and justiceIs more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice [for wrongs repeatedly committed].

The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable and offensive [to the Lord].How much more [unacceptable and insulting can it be] when he brings it with evil intention?

And in that day you will say,“Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name [in prayer].Make His deeds known among the peoples [of the earth];Proclaim [to them] that His name is exalted!”

Sing praises to the Lord, for He has done excellent and glorious things;Let this be known throughout the earth.

At that time a gift of homage will be brought to the Lord of hostsFrom a people tall and smooth (clean shaven),From a people feared far and wide,A powerful and oppressive nation,Whose land the rivers divide—To the place [of worship] of the name of the Lord of hosts, to Mount Zion [in Jerusalem].

In that day five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of [the Hebrews of] Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord of hosts. One [of them] will be called the City of Destruction.

In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a memorial stone to the Lord near its border.

It will become a sign and a witness to the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt; for they will cry to the Lord because of oppressors, and He will send them a Savior, a [Great] Defender, and He will rescue them.

And so the Lord will make Himself known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know [heed, honor, and cherish] the Lord in that day. They will even worship with sacrifices [of animals] and offerings [of produce]; they will make a vow to the Lord and fulfill it.

The Lord will strike Egypt, striking but healing it; so they will return to the Lord, and He will respond to them and heal them.

But her commercial gain and her prostitute’s wages will be dedicated to the Lord; it will not be treasured or stored up, but her commercial gain will become sufficient food and stately clothing for those who dwell (minister) in the presence of the Lord.

And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord saying,

Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord,

Sing to the Lord a new song,Sing His praise from the end of the earth!You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it,You islands and coastlands, and those who inhabit them [sing His praise]!

Let them give glory to the LordAnd declare His praise in the islands and coastlands.

Awake, awake, put on strength and might, O arm of the Lord;Awake as in the ancient days, as in the generations of long ago.Was it not You who cut Rahab (Egypt) in pieces,Who pierced the dragon [of Egypt]?

Let the wicked leave (behind) his wayAnd the unrighteous man his thoughts;And let him return to the Lord,And He will have compassion (mercy) on him,And to our God,For He will abundantly pardon.

“Instead of the thorn bush the cypress tree will grow,And instead of the nettle the myrtle tree will grow;And it will be a memorial to the Lord,For an everlasting sign [of His mercy] which will not be cut off.”

Do not let the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say,“The Lord will most certainly separate me from His people.”And do not let the eunuch say, “Look, I am a dry tree.”

“Also the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,To minister to Him, and to love the name of the Lord,To be His servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath without profaning itAnd holds fast to My covenant [by conscientious obedience];

“Is a fast such as this what I have chosen, a day for a man to humble himself [with sorrow in his soul]?Is it only to bow down his head like a reedAnd to make sackcloth and ashes as a bed [pretending to have a repentant heart]?Do you call this a fast and a day pleasing to the Lord?

Then they shall bring all your countrymen (children of Israel) from all the nations as a grain offering to the Lord—on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules and on camels—to My holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “just as the sons of Israel bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the Lord.

“Israel was holy [something set apart from ordinary purposes, consecrated] to the Lord,The first fruits of His harvest [in which no outsider was allowed to share].All who ate of it [injuring Israel] became guilty;Evil came on them,” says the Lord.’”

“Circumcise (dedicate, sanctify) yourselves to the LordAnd remove the foreskin [sins] of your heart,Men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,Or else My wrath will go forth like fire [consuming all that gets in its way]And burn and there will be no one to quench it,Because of the evil of your acts.”

Oh that I had in the wildernessA lodging place (a mere shelter) for wayfaring men,That I might leave my peopleAnd go away from them!For they are all adulterers [worshiping idols instead of the Lord],[They are] an assembly of treacherous men [of weak character, men without integrity].

Give glory to the Lord your God,Before He brings darknessAnd before your feet stumbleOn the dark and shadowy mountains,And while you are longing for lightHe turns it into the shadow of death,And makes it into thick darkness.

Sing to the Lord! Praise the Lord!For He has rescued the life of the needy oneFrom the hand of evildoers.

But if they are [true] prophets, and if the word of the Lord is [really spoken] by them, let them now entreat the Lord of hosts that the articles which are [still] left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem may not go to Babylon.

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.’

“For there will be a day when the watchmenOn the hills of Ephraim cry out,‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion,To the Lord our God.’”

And the whole valley (Hinnom) of the dead bodies and [the hill] of the ashes [long dumped there from the temple sacrifices], and all the fields as far as the brook Kidron, to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, shall be holy to the Lord. It (the city) will not be uprooted or overthrown anymore to the end of the age.”

“Now when I had delivered the purchase deed to Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord, saying,

the [sound of the] voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the [song-filled] voice of those who say,“Give praise and thanks to the Lord of hosts,For the Lord is good;For His [steadfast] lovingkindness (mercy) endures forever”;and of those who bring a thank offering into the house of the Lord. For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were at first,’ says the Lord.

Yet King Zedekiah sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah [along] with Zephaniah the son of Maaseiah, the priest, to the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “Please pray [now] to the Lord our God for us.”

and said to Jeremiah the prophet, “Please let our petition be presented before you, and pray to the Lord your God for us, that is, for all this remnant [of the people of Judah]; for we were once many, but now [only] a few of us are left, as you see with your own eyes, [so please pray]

Then Jeremiah the prophet said to them, “I have heard you. Now hear me, I will pray to the Lord your God in accordance with your words; and I will declare to you whatever message the Lord answers; I will keep nothing back from you.”

that you have deceived yourselves; for you sent me to the Lord your God, saying, “Pray for us to the Lord our God; and whatever the Lord our God says, declare it to us and we will do it.”

They will ask the way to Zion, with their faces in that direction, saying, ‘Come, let us join ourselves to the Lord in an everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten.’

Their hearts cried out to the Lord.“O wall of the Daughter of Zion,Let your tears run down like a river day and night;Give yourself no relief,Let your eyes have no rest.

Let us test and examine our ways,And let us return to the Lord.

but the chamber which faces toward the north is for the priests who have the responsibility and take care of the altar. These are the sons of Zadok, who [alone] from the sons of Levi come near to the Lord to minister to Him.”

You shall present them before the Lord, and the priests shall throw salt on them, and they shall offer them up as a burnt offering to the Lord.

“Moreover, when you divide the land by lot for inheritance, you shall [set apart and] offer an allotment (contribution) to the Lord, a holy portion of the land [to be used for sacred purposes]. The length shall be 25,000 cubits, and the width shall be 20,000 cubits. It shall be holy (set apart for sacred use) within its every area.

It shall be the holy portion of the land; it shall be for the priests, the ministers of the sanctuary, who come near to minister to the Lord, and it shall be a place for their houses and a holy place for the sanctuary.

And for the seven days of the feast he shall provide as a burnt offering to the Lord seven bulls and seven rams without blemish on every day for the seven days, and a male goat daily for a sin offering.

The burnt offering which the prince shall offer to the Lord on the Sabbath day shall be six lambs without blemish and a ram without blemish.

When the prince provides a freewill offering, a burnt offering, or peace offerings voluntarily to the Lord, the gate that faces east shall be opened for him, and he shall provide his burnt offering and his peace offerings as he does on the Sabbath day. Then he shall go out, and after he goes out the gate shall be shut.

“And you [priests] shall provide a lamb a year old without blemish as a burnt offering to the Lord each day; morning by morning you shall provide it.

Also you shall provide a grain offering with it morning by morning, one-sixth of an ephah with one-third of a hin of oil to sprinkle on the finely-milled flour. This is a perpetual ordinance for a continual grain offering to the Lord.

The allotment [of land] that you shall set apart and offer to the Lord shall be 25,000 cubits in length and 10,000 in width.

And they shall not sell any of it or exchange it, or allow this choice portion of land to pass to others; for it is holy to the Lord.

So I directed my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes.

I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed and said, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and extends lovingkindness toward those who love Him and keep His commandments,

To the Lord our God belong mercy and lovingkindness and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against Him;

Afterward the sons of Israel will return [in deep repentance] and seek the Lord their God and [seek from the line of] David their king [the King of kings—the Messiah]; and they will come trembling to the Lord and to His goodness and blessing in the last days.

“Come and let us return [in repentance] to the Lord,For He has torn us, but He will heal us;He has wounded us, but He will bandage us.

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.

They will not pour out drink offerings of wine to the Lord;Their sacrifices will not please Him.Their bread will be like mourners’ bread [eaten at funerals];All who eat it will be [ceremonially] unclean,For their bread will be for themselves;It will not enter the house of the Lord [to be consecrated].

O Israel, return [in repentance] to the Lord your God,For you have stumbled and fallen [visited by tragedy], because of your sin.

Take the words [confessing your guilt] with you and return to the Lord.Say to Him, “Take away all our wickedness;Accept what is good and receive us graciously,So that we may present the fruit of our lips (gratitude).

Consecrate a fast,Proclaim a solemn assembly,Gather the eldersAnd all the inhabitants of the landTo the house of the Lord your God,And cry out to the Lord [in penitent pleadings].

Rip your heart to pieces [in sorrow and contrition] and not your garments.”Now return [in repentance] to the Lord your God,For He is gracious and compassionate,Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness [faithful to His covenant with His people];And He relents [His sentence of] evil [when His people genuinely repent].

Then they called on the Lord and said, “Please, O Lord, do not let us perish because of taking this man’s life, and do not make us accountable for innocent blood; for You, O Lord, have done as You pleased.”

Then the men greatly feared the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows.

Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the stomach of the fish,

and said,“I called out of my trouble and distress to the Lord,And He answered me;Out of the belly of Sheol I cried for help,And You heard my voice.

“But [as for me], I will sacrifice to YouWith the voice of thanksgiving;I shall pay that which I have vowed.Salvation is from the Lord!”

He prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is this not what I said when I was still in my country? That is why I ran to Tarshish, because I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and great in lovingkindness, and [when sinners turn to You] You revoke the [sentence of] disaster [against them].

Then they will cry to the Lord,But He will not answer them;Instead, He will even hide His face from them at that time [withholding His mercy]Because they have practiced and tolerated and ignored evil acts.

“Arise and thresh, O Daughter of Zion!For I will make your horn ironAnd I will make your hoofs bronze;That you may beat many peoples in pieces [trampling down your enemies],That you may devote to the Lord their unjust gain (pagan possessions)And their wealth to the Lord of all the earth.

But as for me, I will look expectantly for the Lord and with confidence in Him I will keep watch;I will wait [with confident expectation] for the God of my salvation.My God will hear me.

They shall lick the dust like a serpent;Like crawling things of the earthThey shall come trembling out of their fortresses and hiding places.They shall turn and come with fear and dread to the Lord our GodAnd they shall be afraid and stand in awe before You [O Lord].

Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people [who had returned from exile], listened carefully and obeyed the voice of the Lord their God and the words of Haggai the prophet, since the Lord their God had sent him. And the people [reverently] feared the Lord.

Many nations shall join themselves to the Lord in that day and shall be My people. And I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know (recognize, understand fully) that the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you.

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

But it will be a unique day which is known to the Lord—not day and not night, but at evening time there will be light.

In that day there will be written on the little bells on the horses, “HOLY TO The Lord.” And the cooking pots in the Lord’s house will be [holy to the Lord] like the bowls before the altar.

Every cooking pot in [all the houses in] Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the Lord of hosts, and all who sacrifice will come and take them and boil [their sacrifices] in them. And in that day there will no longer be a Canaanite [that is, any godless or spiritually unclean person, whether Jew or Gentile] in the house of the Lord of hosts.

As for the man who does this, may the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob to the last man those who do this [evil thing], awake and aware, even the one who brings an offering to the Lord of hosts.

He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi [the priests], and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the Lord [grain] offerings in righteousness.

Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in ancient years.