28 Bible Verses about Motives, Examples Of

Some indeed also for envy and strife, but some also for good will, preach the Christ. These indeed out of love, knowing that I am set for the defence of the glad tidings; but those out of contention, announce the Christ, not purely, supposing to arouse tribulation for my bonds.read more.
What is it then? at any rate, in every way, whether in pretext or in truth, Christ is announced; and in this I rejoice, yea, also I will rejoice;

And Michal Saul's daughter loved David; and they told Saul, and the thing was right in his sight. 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 upon him. And Saul said to David, Thou shalt this day be my son-in-law a second time. And Saul commanded his servants, Speak with David secretly, saying, 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, Is it a light thing in your eyes to be the king's son-in-law, seeing that I am a poor man, and lightly esteemed?

And it was in the heart of David my father to build a house unto the name of Jehovah the God of Israel. But Jehovah said to David my father, Whereas it was in thy heart to build a house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thy heart; nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house unto my name.

And it was in the heart of David my father to build a house unto the name of Jehovah the God of Israel. But Jehovah said to David my father, Whereas it was in thy heart to build a house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thy heart; nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house unto my name.

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was thus: His mother, Mary, that is, having been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit. But Joseph, her husband, being a righteous man, and unwilling to expose her publicly, purposed to have put her away secretly; but while he pondered on these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, fear not to take to thee Mary, thy wife, for that which is begotten in her is of the Holy Spirit.

And his brethren envied him; but his father kept the saying.

And when they saw him from afar, and before he came near to them, they conspired against him to put him to death. And they said one to another, Behold, there comes that dreamer! And now come 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 will see what becomes 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 which is in the wilderness; but lay no hand upon him in order that he might deliver him out of their hand, to bring him to his father again. And it came to pass when Joseph came to his brethren, that they stripped Joseph of his vest, the vest of many colours, which he had on; and they took him and cast him into the pit; now 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 came from Gilead; and their camels bore tragacanth, and balsam, and ladanum going to carry it down to Egypt. And Judah said to his brethren, What profit is it that we kill our brother and secrete his blood? Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites; but let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother, our flesh. And his brethren hearkened to him. And Midianitish men, merchants, passed by; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty silver-pieces; and they brought Joseph to Egypt.

Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Because the Philistines have dealt by revenge, and have taken vengeance with despite of soul, to destroy, from old hatred; therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I stretch out my hands upon the Philistines, and I will cut off the Kerethites, and cause the remnant of the sea-coast to perish.

therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the remnant of the nations, and against the whole of Edom, which have appointed my land unto themselves for a possession with the joy of all their heart, w

Then Herod, having secretly called the magi, inquired of them accurately the time of the star that was appearing; and having sent them to Bethlehem, said, Go, search out accurately concerning the child, and when ye shall have found him bring me back word, so that I also may come and do him homage. And they having heard the king went their way; and lo, the star, which they had seen in the east, went before them until it came and stood over the place where the little child was.read more.
And when they saw the star they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And having come into the house they saw the little child with Mary his mother, and falling down did him homage. And having opened their treasures, they offered to him gifts, gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. And being divinely instructed in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. Now, they having departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appears in a dream to Joseph, saying, Arise, take to thee the little child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be there until I shall tell thee; for Herod will seek the little child to destroy it.

One of his disciples therefore, Judas son of Simon, Iscariote, who was about to deliver him up, says, Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor? But he said this, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief and had the bag, and carried what was put into it.

And he said to him, Go in peace. And he departed from him a little way. And Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said, Behold, my master has spared Naaman, this Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought; but as Jehovah liveth, I will run after him and take somewhat of him. And Gehazi followed after Naaman. And when Naaman saw him running after him, he sprang down 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 are come to me from mount Ephraim two young men of the sons of the prophets; give them, I pray thee, a talent of silver, and two changes of raiment. And Naaman said, Consent 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 young men; and they bore them before him. And when he came to the hill, he took them from their hand, and stowed them in the house; and he let the men go, and they departed. And he entered in and stood before his master. And Elisha said to him, Whence comest thou, Gehazi? And he said, Thy servant went no whither. And he said to him, Did not my heart go, when the man turned again 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 bondmen, and bondwomen? But the leprosy of Naaman shall fasten upon thee, and upon thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence leprous, as snow.

For there are many and disorderly vain speakers and deceivers of people's minds, specially those of the circumcision, who must have their mouths stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which ought not to be taught for the sake of base gain.

And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh returned, and departed from the children of Israel out of Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the country of Gilead, into the land of their possession, of which they had become possessed, according to the word of Jehovah through Moses. And they came to the districts of the Jordan that are in the land of Canaan; and the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by the Jordan, an altar of grand appearance. And the children of Israel heard say, Behold, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh have built an altar over against the land of Canaan, in the districts of the Jordan, separately from the children of Israel.read more.
And when the children of Israel heard of it, the whole assembly of the children of Israel gathered together at Shiloh, to go up against them to war. And the children of Israel sent to the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half tribe of Manasseh, into the land of Gilead, Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and with him ten princes, of each father's house a prince, out of all the tribes of Israel; and each of them was head of a father's house, of the thousands of Israel. And they came to the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, and spoke with them, saying, Thus saith the whole assembly of Jehovah: What wickedness is this which ye have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following Jehovah, in that ye have built yourselves an altar, rebelling this day against Jehovah? Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us? from which we are not cleansed until this day, although there was a plague in the assembly of Jehovah. And ye turn away this day from following Jehovah; and it will be, that since ye rebel this day against Jehovah, to-morrow he will be wroth with the whole assembly of Israel. Notwithstanding, if the land of your possession is unclean, come over into the land of the possession of Jehovah, where Jehovah's tabernacle dwelleth, and take possession amongst us; but rebel not against Jehovah, and rebel not against us, in building for yourselves an altar besides the altar of Jehovah our God. Did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespass in the accursed thing? and wrath fell on all the assembly of Israel, and he perished not alone in his iniquity. And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh answered and said to the heads of the thousands of Israel, The God of gods, Jehovah, the God of gods, Jehovah, he knoweth, and Israel he shall know it; if it is in rebellion, or if in trespass against Jehovah, save us not this day! that we have built for ourselves an altar to turn from following Jehovah, and if it is to offer up burnt-offering and oblation on it, and if to offer peace-offerings thereon, let Jehovah himself require it from us; and if we have not done it from fear of this thing, saying, In future your children will speak to our children, saying, What have ye to do with Jehovah the God of Israel? Jehovah hath made the Jordan a border between us and you, ye children of Reuben and children of Gad, ye have no portion in Jehovah! And so shall your children make our children cease from fearing Jehovah. And we said, Let us now set to work to build an altar, not for burnt-offering, nor for sacrifice, but to be a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us, that we might do service to Jehovah before him with our burnt-offerings, and with our sacrifices, and with our peace-offerings; that your children may not say to our children in future, Ye have no portion in Jehovah. And we said, If it shall be that in future they so say to us and to our generations, we will say, Behold the pattern of the altar of Jehovah which our fathers made, not for burnt-offering, nor for sacrifice, but as a witness between us and you. Far be it from us that we should rebel against Jehovah, and turn this day from following Jehovah, in building an altar for burnt-offering, for oblation, and for sacrifice, besides the altar of Jehovah our God that is before his tabernacle. And when Phinehas the priest and the princes of the assembly and the heads of the thousands of Israel that were with him heard the words that the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the children of Manasseh spoke, it was good in their sight. And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the children of Manasseh, This day we perceive that Jehovah is among us, because ye have not committed this trespass against Jehovah: now have ye delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of Jehovah. And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the princes, returned from the children of Reuben, and from the children of Gad, out of the land of Gilead, to the land of Canaan, to the children of Israel, and brought them word again. And the thing was good in the sight of the children of Israel, and the children of Israel blessed God, and no more said that they would go up in warfare against them, to destroy the land in which the children of Reuben and the children of Gad dwelt. And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad gave a name to the altar; for it is a witness between us that Jehovah is God.

And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had much cattle, a very great multitude; and they saw the land of Jaazer, and the land of Gilead, and behold, the place was a place for cattle. And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spoke to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and to the princes of the assembly, saying, Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jaazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elaleh, and Sebam, and Nebo, and Beon,read more.
the country that Jehovah smote before the assembly of Israel, is a land for cattle, and thy servants have cattle; and they said, If we have found favour in thine eyes, let this land be given to thy servants for a possession: bring us not over the Jordan. And Moses said to the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye abide here? And why do ye discourage the children of Israel from going over into the land that Jehovah has given them? Thus did your fathers, when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land: they went up to the valley of Eshcol, and saw the land, and discouraged the children of Israel, that they should not go into the land that Jehovah had given them. And Jehovah's anger was kindled the same time, and he swore, saying, If the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land that I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob! for they have not wholly followed me; save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun; for they have wholly followed Jehovah. And Jehovah's anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until the whole generation was consumed that had done evil in the eyes of Jehovah. And behold, ye are risen up in your fathers' stead, a progeny of sinful men, to augment yet the fierce anger of Jehovah toward Israel. If ye turn away from after him, he will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and ye shall destroy all this people. And they drew near to him, and said, We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones; but we ourselves will go with diligence armed before the children of Israel, until we have brought them to their place; and our little ones shall dwell in the strong cities because of the inhabitants of the land. We will not return to our houses, until the children of Israel have inherited each one his inheritance. For we will not inherit with them on yonder side the Jordan, and further, because our inheritance is fallen to us on this side the Jordan eastward. And Moses said to them, If ye do this thing, if ye arm yourselves before Jehovah for war, and all of you that are armed go over the Jordan before Jehovah, until he have dispossessed his enemies from before him, and the land is subdued before Jehovah, and afterwards ye return, ye shall be guiltless toward Jehovah and toward Israel, and this land shall be your possession before Jehovah. But if ye do not do so, behold, ye have sinned against Jehovah, and be sure your sin will find you out. Build yourselves cities for your little ones, and folds for your flocks, and do that which has gone out of your mouth. And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spoke to Moses, saying, Thy servants will do as my lord commands. Our little ones, our wives, our cattle, and all our beasts shall be there in the cities of Gilead; but thy servants will pass over, every one armed for war, before Jehovah to battle, as my lord says. So concerning them Moses commanded Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the chief fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel. And Moses said unto them, If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben pass with you over the Jordan, every one armed for battle, before Jehovah, and the land be subdued before you, then ye shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession; but if they do not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan. And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered, saying, As Jehovah has said to thy servants, so will we do. We will pass over armed before Jehovah into the land of Canaan, and the possession of our inheritance on this side the Jordan shall be ours. And Moses gave to them, to the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, and to half the tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og the king of Bashan, the land, according to its cities and territories, the cities of the land round about.

And it came to pass after this that the king of the children of Ammon died, and Hanun his son reigned in his stead. And David said, I will shew kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father shewed kindness to me. And David sent to comfort him by the hand of his servants for his father. And David's servants came into the land of the children of Ammon. And the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun their lord, Is it, in thine eyes, to honour thy father that David has sent comforters to thee? Is it not to search the city and to spy it out, and to overthrow it, that David has sent his servants to thee?read more.
And Hanun took David's servants, and had the one half of their beards shaved off, and their raiment cut off in the midst, as far as their buttocks, and sent them away.

And it came to pass after this that Nahash king of the children of Ammon died, and his son reigned in his stead. And David said, I will shew kindness to Hanun the son of Nahash, because his father shewed kindness to me. And David sent messengers to comfort him concerning his father. And David's servants came into the land of the children of Ammon to Hanun, to comfort him. And the princes of the children of Ammon said to Hanun, Is it, in thine eyes, to honour thy father that David has sent comforters to thee? Is it not to search and overthrow, and to spy out the land that his servants are come to thee?read more.
And Hanun took David's servants, and had them shaved, and their raiment cut off in the midst, as far as the hip, and sent them away.

And the king of Syria said, Well! go, 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 shekels of gold, and ten changes of raiment. And he brought the letter to the king of Israel, saying, And now, when this letter comes to thee, behold, I have sent Naaman my servant to thee, that thou mayest cure him of his leprosy. And it came to pass when the king of Israel had read the letter, that he rent his garments, and said, Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man sends to me to cure a man of his leprosy? Wherefore consider, I pray you, and see how he seeks an occasion against me.

And he that has sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, because I do always the things that are pleasing to him.

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

For I am come down from heaven, not that I should do my will, but the will of him that has sent me.

Wherefore coming into the world he says, Sacrifice and offering thou willedst not; but thou hast prepared me a body. Thou tookest no pleasure in burnt-offerings and sacrifices for sin. Then I said, Lo, I come (in the roll of the book it is written of me) to do, O God, thy will.

Sacrifice and oblation thou didst not desire: ears hast thou prepared me. Burnt-offering and sin-offering hast thou not demanded; Then said I, Behold, I come, in the volume of the book it is written of me -- To do thy good pleasure, my God, is my delight, and thy law is within my heart.

For our exhortation was not of deceit, nor of uncleanness, nor in guile; but even as we have been approved of God to have the glad tidings entrusted to us, so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, who proves our hearts. For we have not at any time been among you with flattering discourse, even as ye know, nor with a pretext for covetousness, God is witness;read more.
nor seeking glory from men, neither from you nor from others, when we might have been a charge as Christ's apostles;

For we do not, as the many, make a trade of the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as of God, before God, we speak in Christ.

Wherefore also we are zealous, whether present or absent, to be agreeable to him. For we must all be manifested before the judgment-seat of the Christ, that each may receive the things done in the body, according to those he has done, whether it be good or evil. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord we persuade men, but have been manifested to God, and I hope also that we have been manifested in your consciences.read more.
For we do not again commend ourselves to you, but we are giving to you occasion of boast in our behalf, that ye may have such with those boasting in countenance, and not in heart.

But ye have done well in taking part in my affliction. And know also ye, O Philippians, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I came out of Macedonia, no assembly communicated anything to me in the way of giving and receiving save ye alone; for also in Thessalonica once and even twice ye sent to me for my need.read more.
Not that I seek gift, but I seek fruit abounding to your account. But I have all things in full supply and abound; I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things sent from you, an odour of sweet savour, an acceptable sacrifice, agreeable to God.

but if to live in flesh is my lot, this is for me worth the while: and what I shall choose I cannot tell. But I am pressed by both, having the desire for departure and being with Christ, for it is very much better, but remaining in the flesh is more necessary for your sakes;read more.
and having confidence of this, I know that I shall remain and abide along with you all, for your progress and joy in faith; that your boasting may abound in Christ Jesus through me by my presence again with you.