28 Bible Verses about Motives, Examples Of

Actually some also preach the Christ because of envy and strife, and some also because of good-will. Some indeed proclaim the Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to bring affliction to my bonds. But some from love, knowing that I am set for the defense of the good-news.read more.
What then? Except in every way, whether in pretence or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice, but also I will rejoice.

And Michal, Saul's daughter, loved David, and they told Saul, and the thing pleased him. And Saul said, I will give him her, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand of the Philistines may be against him. Therefore Saul said to David, Thou shall this day be my son-in-law a second time. And Saul commanded his servants, [saying], Converse with David secretly, and say, Behold, the king has delight in thee, and all his servants love thee. Now therefore be the king's son-in-law.read more.
And Saul's servants spoke those words in the ears of David. And David said, Does it seem to you a light thing to be the king's son-in-law, seeing that I am a poor man, and lightly esteemed?

Now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of LORD, the God of Israel. But LORD said to David my father, Whereas it was in thy heart to build a house for my name, thou did well that it was in thy heart. Nevertheless thou shall not build the house, but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house for my name.

Now it was in the heart of David my father to build a house for the name of LORD, the God of Israel. But LORD said to David my father, Whereas it was in thy heart to build a house for my name, thou did well that it was in thy heart. Nevertheless thou shall not build the house, but thy son who shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house for my name.

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was this way. For his mother Mary, who was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found having in her womb from Holy Spirit. But Joseph her husband, being a righteous man, and not wanting to expose her to public disgrace, intended to dismiss her privately. But while he considered these things, behold, an agent of Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take Mary to be thy wife, for that which was begotten in her is from Holy Spirit.

And his brothers envied him, but his father kept the saying in mind.

And they saw him afar off. And before he came near to them, they conspired against him to kill him. And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer comes. Come now therefore, and let us kill him, and cast him into one of the pits. And we will say, An evil beast has devoured him. And we shall see what will become of his dreams.read more.
And Reuben heard it, and delivered him out of their hand, and said, Let us not take his life. And Reuben said to them, Shed no blood. Cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but lay no hand upon him, that he might deliver him out of their hand, to restore him to his father. And it came to pass, when Joseph came to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his coat, the coat of many colors that was on him, and they took him, and cast him into the pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it. And they sat down to eat bread. And they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt. And Judah said to his brothers, What profit is it if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come, and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother, our flesh. And his brothers hearkened to him. And there passed by Midianites, merchantmen, and they drew and lifted Joseph up out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they brought Joseph into Egypt.

Thus says lord LORD: Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge, and have taken vengeance with spite of soul to destroy with perpetual enmity, therefore thus says lord LORD: Behold, I will stretch out my hand upon the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethites, and destroy the remnant of the sea coast.

therefore thus says lord LORD: Surely in the fire of my jealousy I have spoken against the residue of the nations, and against all Edom, who have appointed my land to themselves for a possession with the joy of all their heart, wit

Then Herod having called the wise men privately, ascertained from them what time the star appeared. And having sent them to Bethlehem, he said, After going, search diligently about the child. And when ye find him, report to me, so that I also having come, may worship him. And when they heard the king, they departed. And lo, the star that they saw in the east went before them until, having come, it stood over where the child was.read more.
And when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And having come into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and having fallen down, they worshiped him. And having opened their treasures, they brought to him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And divinely warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed into their own country by another way. Now after they departed, behold, an agent of Lord appears to Joseph in a dream, saying, After rising, take the child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and thou be there until I tell thee, for Herod is going to seek the child to

Therefore one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, the man who was going to betray him, says, Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii, and given to the poor? Now he said this, not because it was a concern to him about the poor, but because he was a thief, and he had the purse and removed things that were put in.

And he said to him, Go in peace. So he departed from him a little way. But Gehazi the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, Behold, my master has spared this Naaman the Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought. As LORD lives, I will run after him, and take something from him. So Gehazi followed after Naaman. And when Naaman saw him running after him, he alighted from the chariot to meet him, and said, Is all well?read more.
And he said, All is well. My master has sent me, saying, Behold, even now there come to me from the hill-country of Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets. Give them, I pray thee, a talent of silver, and two changes of r And Naaman said, Be pleased to take two talents. And he urged him, and bound two talents of silver in two bags, with two changes of raiment, and laid them upon two of his servants, and they bore them before him. And when he came to the hill, he took them from their hand, and bestowed them in the house, and he let the men go, and they departed. But he went in, and stood before his master. And Elisha said to him, From where did thou come, Gehazi? And he said, Thy servant went nowhere. And he said to him, Did not my heart go [with thee] when the man turned from his chariot to meet thee? Is it a time to receive money, and to receive garments, and oliveyards and vineyards, and sheep and oxen, and men-servants and m The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cling to thee, and to thy seed forever. And he went out from his presence a leper [as white] as snow.

For there are also many insubordinate men, vain talkers and deceivers, especially those from circumcision, who must be muzzled, men who subvert whole houses, teaching things that they ought not, for sake of ugly profit.

And the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned, and departed from the sons of Israel out of Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the land of Gilead, to the land of their possession, o And when they came to the region about the Jordan that is in the land of Canaan, the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by the Jordan, a great altar to look upon. And the sons of Israel heard say, Behold, the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar in the forefront of the land of Canaan, in the region about the Jordan, on the side that pertains tread more.
And when the sons of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the sons of Israel gathered themselves together at Shiloh, to go up against them to war. And the sons of Israel sent Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, to the sons of Reuben, and to the sons of Gad, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, into the land of Gilead, and with him ten rulers, one ruler of a fathers' house for each of the tribes of Israel. And they were each man of them head of their fathers' houses among the thousands of Israel. And they came to the sons of Reuben, and to the sons of Gad, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, and they spoke with them, saying, Thus says the whole congregation of LORD, What trespass is this that ye have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following LORD, in that ye have built for you an altar, to rebel this day against LORD? Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us, from which we have not cleansed ourselves to this day, although there came a plague upon the congregation of LORD, that ye must turn away this day from following LORD? And it will be, seeing ye rebel today against LORD, that tomorrow he will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel. However, if the land of your possession is unclean, then pass ye over to the land of the possession of LORD, in which LORD's tabernacle dwells, and take possession among us, but do not rebel against LORD, nor rebel against us, in b Did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespass in what was set apart, and wrath fell upon all the congregation of Israel? And that man did not perish alone in his iniquity. Then the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered, and spoke to the heads of the thousands of Israel, The Mighty One, God, LORD, the Mighty One, God, LORD, he knows, and Israel he shall know, if it is in rebellion, or if in trespass against LORD (do not save us this day), that we have built us an altar to turn away from following LORD, or if to offer burnt-offering or meal-offering on it, or if to offer sacrifices of peace-offerings on it, let LORD himself require it, and if we have not [rather] out of carefulness done this, from purpose, saying, In time to come your sons might speak to our sons, saying, What have ye to do with LORD, the God of Israel? For LORD has made the Jordan a border between us and you, ye sons of Reuben and sons of Gad. Ye have no portion in LORD. So your sons might make our sons cease from fearing LORD. Therefore we said, Let us now prepare to build us an altar, not for burnt-offering, nor for sacrifice, but it shall be a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us, that we may do the service of LORD before him with our burnt-offerings, and with our sacrifices, and with our peace-offerings, that your sons may n Therefore we said, It shall be, when they so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we shall say, Behold the pattern of the altar of LORD, which our fathers made, not for burnt-offering, nor for sacrifice, but it is Far be it from us that we should rebel against LORD, and turn away this day from following LORD, to build an altar for burnt-offering, for meal-offering, or for sacrifice, besides the altar of LORD our God that is before his tabern And when Phinehas the priest, and the rulers of the congregation, even the heads of the thousands of Israel that were with him, heard the words that the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the sons of Manasseh spoke, it pleased And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the sons of Reuben, and to the sons of Gad, and to the sons of Manasseh, This day we know that LORD is in the midst of us, because ye have not committed this trespass against LORD. And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the rulers, returned from the sons of Reuben, and from the sons of Gad, out of the land of Gilead, to the land of Canaan, to the sons of Israel, and brought them word again. And the thing pleased the sons of Israel. And the sons of Israel blessed God, and spoke no more of going up against them to war, to destroy the land in which the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad dwelt. And the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad called the altar [Ed]. For, [they said], it is a witness between us that LORD is God.

Now the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle. And when they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, behold, the place was a place for cattle, the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben came and spoke to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and to the rulers of the congregation, saying, Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Sebam, and Nebo, and Beon,read more.
the land which LORD smote before the congregation of Israel, is a land for cattle, and thy servants have cattle. And they said, If we have found favor in thy sight, let this land be given to thy servants for a possession. Bring us not over the Jordan. And Moses said to the sons of Gad, and to the sons of Reuben, Shall your brothers go to the war, and shall ye sit here? And why do ye discourage the heart of the sons of Israel from going over into the land which LORD has given them? Thus did your fathers when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land. For when they went up to the valley of Eshcol, and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the sons of Israel, that they should not go into the land which LORD had given them. And LORD's anger was kindled in that day, and he swore, saying, Surely none of the men who came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; because they have not wholly followed me, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun, because they have wholly followed LORD. And LORD's anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander to and fro in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of LORD was consumed. And, behold, ye are risen up in your fathers' stead, an increase of sinful men, to augment yet the fierce anger of LORD toward Israel. For if ye turn away from after him, he will yet again leave them in the wilderness, and ye will destroy all this people. And they came near to him, and said, We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones, but we ourselves will be ready armed to go before the sons of Israel, until we have brought them to their place. And our little ones shall dwell in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land. We will not return to our houses until the sons of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance. For we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan, and forward, because our inheritance is fallen to us on this side of the Jordan eastward. And Moses said to them, If ye will do this thing, if ye will arm yourselves to go before LORD to the war, and every armed man of you will pass over the Jordan before LORD, until he has driven out his enemies from before him, and the land is subdued before LORD, then afterward ye shall return, and be guiltless towards LORD, and towards Israel, and this land shall be to you for a possession before LORD. But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against LORD, and be sure your sin will find you out. Build for you cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep, and do that which has proceeded out of your mouth. And the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben spoke to Moses, saying, Thy servants will do as my lord commands. Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our cattle, shall be there in the cities of Gilead, but thy servants will pass over, every man who is armed for war, before LORD to battle, as my lord says. So Moses gave charge concerning them to Eleazar the priest, and to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the sons of Israel. And Moses said to them, If the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben will pass with you over the Jordan, every man that is armed to battle, before LORD, and the land shall be subdued before you, then ye shall give them the land of Gil but if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan. And the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben answered, saying, As LORD has said to thy servants, so we will do. We will pass over armed before LORD into the land of Canaan, and the possession of our inheritance [is] with us beyond the Jordan. And Moses gave to them, even to the sons of Gad, and to the sons of Reuben, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land, according t

And it came to pass after this, that the king of the sons of Ammon died, and Hanun his son reigned in his stead. And David said, I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father showed kindness to me. So David sent by his servants to comfort him concerning his father. And David's servants came into the land of the sons of Ammon. But the rulers of the sons of Ammon said to Hanun their lord, Think thou that David honors thy father, in that he has sent comforters to thee? Has not David sent his servants to thee to search the city, and to spy it out, and to ovread more.
So Hanun took David's servants, and shaved off the one half of their beards, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away.

And it came to pass after this, that Nahash the king of the sons of Ammon died, and his son reigned in his stead. And David said, I will show kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me. So David sent messengers to comfort him concerning his father. And David's servants came into the land of the sons of Ammon But the rulers of the sons of Ammon said to Hanun, Do thou think that David honors thy father, in that he has sent comforters to thee? Have not his servants come to thee to search, and to overthrow, and to spy out the land?read more.
So Hanun took David's servants, and shaved them, and cut off their garments in the middle, even to their buttocks, and sent them away.

And the king of Syria said, Go now, and I will send a letter to the king of Israel. And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand [pieces] of gold, and ten changes of raiment. And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, And now when this letter has come to thee, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to thee that thou may heal him of his leprosy. And it came to pass, when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he tore his clothes, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends to me to heal a man of his leprosy? But consider, I pray you, and see ho

And he who sent me is with me. The Father has not left me alone, because I always do things pleasing to him.

Jesus says to them, My food is that I do the will of him who sent me, and may finish his work.

Because I have come down from heaven, not so that I might do my will, but the will of him who sent me.

Therefore when he comes into the world, he says, Sacrifice and offering thou did not desire, but thou prepared for me a body. In whole burnt offerings, and for sin thou were not pleased. Then I said, Lo, I come (in the volume of a book it is written about me) to do thy will, O God,

Sacrifice and offering thou did not desire, {but a body thou have prepared for me (LXX/NT)}. Whole burnt-offering and sacrifice for sin thou did not require. Then I said, Lo, I have come. In the volume of a book it is written of me. I delight to do thy will, O my God. Yea, thy law is within my heart.

For our exhortation is not from error, nor from uncleanness, nor in deception, but as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the good-news, thus we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who proves our hearts. For we came neither in word of flattery (at any time as ye know) nor a pretense of greed (God is witness)read more.
nor seeking glory from men, neither from you nor from others. While able to bear down as apostles of Christ,

For we are not as other men, huckstering the word of God, but as from purity. But we speak in Christ as from God in the sight of God.

Therefore also we aspire, whether at home or away from home, to be well-pleasing to him. For we must all appear before the judgment-seat of the Christ, so that each man may receive back about the things that he did through the body, whether good or bad. Having seen therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men. But we have been manifested to God, and I hope also to have been manifested in your consciences.read more.
For we are not commending ourselves again to you, but giving you an opportunity of boasting about us, so that ye may have for those who boast in appearance and not in heart.

Nevertheless ye did well having shared with my affliction. And ye Philippians also have seen that, in the beginning of the good-news when I departed from Macedonia, not one congregation shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving except ye only, because also in Thessalonica ye sent both once and again to my need.read more.
Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that abounds to your account. But I receive all things, and I abound. I have been filled, having received from Epaphroditus the things from you, an aroma of fragrance, an acceptable sacrifice well-pleasing to God.

But if to live in flesh, this is fruit of labor to me, then what I will choose I know not. And I am constrained by the two, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, being far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary because of you.read more.
And having been convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and will continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith. So that your pride may abound in Christ Jesus in me because of my presence with you again.