28 Bible Verses about Motives, Examples Of

Some indeed preach the Christ even out of envy and strife, but others also out of good will. Some preach the Christ out of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add tribulation to my bonds, but the others out of charity, knowing that I am placed here for the defense of the gospel.read more.
What then? notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretense, or in truth, Christ is preached, and I therein do rejoice, and will even rejoice.

But Michal, Saul's other daughter, loved David, and they told Saul, and the thing pleased him. And Saul said, I will give her to him 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 shalt this day be my son-in-law with the other one. And Saul commanded his slaves, saying, Speak with David secretly and say, Behold, the king has delight in thee, and all his slaves love thee; now, therefore, be the king's son-in-law.read more.
And Saul's slaves spoke those words in the ears of David. And David said, Does it seem to you a light thing to be a 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 for the name of the LORD God of Israel. But the LORD said unto 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 a house unto my name.

Now it was in the heart of David, my father, to build a house unto the name of the LORD God of Israel. But the LORD said to David, my father, Forasmuch as it was in thy heart to build a house for my name, thou didst well in that it was in thy heart; notwithstanding, thou shalt not build the house, but thy son which shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build a house for my name.

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was like this: That being, his mother Mary espoused to Joseph (before they came together) she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being just and not willing to expose her publicly, desired to leave her secretly. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in dreams, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife; for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

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

And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him. And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer comes; now therefore, come and let us slay him and cast him into a cistern, and we will say, Some evil beast has devoured him; and we shall see what will become of his dreams.read more.
When Reuben heard it, he delivered him out of their hands and said, Let us not kill him. And Reuben said unto them, Shed no blood but cast him into this cistern that is in the wilderness and lay no hand upon him that he might rid him out of their hands to deliver him to his father again. And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stripped Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him; and they took him and cast him into the cistern; 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 company of Ishmeelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing aromas and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt. Then Judah said unto his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother and conceal his blood? Come and let us sell him to the Ishmeelites and let not our hand be upon him; for he is our brother and our flesh. And his brethren were content. And when the Midianite merchantmen passed by, they took and lifted up Joseph out of the cistern and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver. And they brought Joseph into Egypt.

Thus hath the Lord GOD said: Because the Palestinians have dealt by revenge and have taken vengeance with a despiteful heart to destroying because of perpetual enmity, therefore thus hath the Lord GOD said; Behold, I stretch out my hand upon the Palestinians, and I will cut off the Cherethims and destroy the remnant of the sea coast.

therefore thus hath the Lord GOD said: Surely in the fire of my jealousy I have spoken against the other Gentiles and against all Idumea, who have disputed my land into their possession with the joy of all their heart, with despiteful desires, to cast it out for a prey.

Then Herod, calling the wise men unto him secretly, understood of them with diligence the time of the appearing of the star; and sending them to Bethlehem, he said, Go there and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again that I may come and worship him also. When they had heard the king, they departed; and, behold, the star, which they had seen in the east, went before them until it arrived and stood over where the young child was.read more.
Seeing the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And entering into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother; and falling down, they worshipped him; and opening their treasures, they offered him gifts: gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned by divine revelation in dreams that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in dreams, saying, Arise and take the young child and his mother and flee into Egypt and remain there until I bring thee word, for Herod will seek the young child to kill him.

Then said one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who should betray him, Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarius and given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief and had the bag and would take from what was put therein.

And he said unto 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 Naaman, this Syrian, in not receiving at his hands that which he brought. As the 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 lighted down from the chariot to meet him and said, Is there no peace?read more.
And he said, Peace. My master has sent me, saying, Behold, even now two young men of the sons of the prophets came to me from Mount Ephraim; give them, I pray thee, a talent of silver and two changes of garments. And Naaman said, If you wish take two talents. And he urged him and bound two talents of silver in two bags with two changes of garments and laid them upon two of his servants; and they bore them before him. And when he came to a secret place, he took them from their hand and bestowed them in the house; and he let the men go, and they departed. But when he went in and stood before his master, Elisha said unto him, From where comest thou, Gehazi? And he said, Thy servant went nowhere. Then he said unto him, Did not my heart go with thee 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 menslaves and maidslaves? The leprosy therefore of Naaman shall cleave unto thee and unto thy seed for ever. And he went out from his presence a leper as white as snow.

For there are many insubordinate and vain talkers and deceivers of souls, especially those of the circumcision, whose mouths it is expedient to stop, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for dishonest gain.

And the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh returned, departing from the sons of Israel out of Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go unto the country of Gilead, to the land of their possession, of which they were the possessors, according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses. And when they came unto the borders of the Jordan, which is in the land of Canaan, the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh built an altar there next to the Jordan, a great altar to look upon. And the sons of Israel heard it said, Behold, the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh have built an altar over against the land of Canaan, in the borders of the Jordan, at the passage of the sons of Israel.read 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 to war against them. And the sons of Israel sent unto the sons of Reuben and to the sons 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 chief house a prince throughout all the tribes of Israel; and each one was the head of the house of their fathers among the thousands of Israel. And they came unto the sons of Reuben and to the sons of Gad and to the half tribe of Manasseh unto the land of Gilead, and they spoke with them, saying, Thus saith the whole congregation of the LORD, What trespass is this that ye have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following the LORD in that ye have built an altar, that ye might rebel this day against the LORD? Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us, from which we are not cleansed until this day, for which there was a plague in the congregation of the LORD? And ye turn away this day from following the LORD; and it will be, seeing ye rebel today against the LORD, that tomorrow he will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel. If the land of your possession seems unto you to be unclean, then pass ye over unto the land of the possession of the LORD, in which the LORD's tabernacle dwells and take possession among us; but do not rebel against the LORD, nor rebel against us, in building yourselves an altar in addition to the altar of the LORD our God. Peradventure did Achan, the son of Zerah, not commit a trespass in the anathema, and wrath fell on 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 said unto the heads of the thousands of Israel, The LORD God of gods, the LORD God of gods, he knows and let Israel also know; if it is in rebellion, or if in transgression against the LORD (save us not this day) that we have built us an altar to turn from following the LORD or if to offer thereon burnt offering or present or if to offer peace offerings thereon, let the LORD himself require it; likewise, if we have not rather done it for fear of this thing, saying, Peradventure tomorrow your children shall speak unto our children, saying, What have ye to do with the LORD God of Israel? The LORD has put the Jordan for a border between us and you, O sons of Reuben and sons of Gad; ye have no part in the LORD, so shall your sons make our sons cease from fearing the LORD. Therefore we said, Let us now work to build us an altar, not for burnt offering nor for sacrifice, but that it may be a witness between us and you and our generations after us, to do the service of the LORD 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 time to come, Ye have no part in the LORD. Therefore we said, that it shall be, if they should so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may reply, Behold the pattern of the altar of the LORD, which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings nor for sacrifices, but it is a witness between us and you. Let it never happen that we should rebel against the LORD or that we should turn today from following the LORD, to build an altar for burnt offerings, for presents, or for sacrifices, in addition to the altar of the LORD our God that is before his tabernacle. And when Phinehas the priest and the princes of the congregation and heads of the thousands of Israel who were with him, heard the words that the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the sons of Manasseh spoke, it pleased them. And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, said unto the sons of Reuben and to the sons of Gad and to the sons of Manasseh, This day we perceive that the LORD is among us because ye have not intended to trespass against the LORD. Now ye have delivered the sons of Israel from the wrath of the LORD. And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest, and the princes, returned from the sons of Reuben and from the sons of Gad, out of the land of Gilead, unto 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 did not speak again of going up against them in battle to destroy the land in which the sons of Reuben and Gad dwelt. And the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad called the altar Ed; for it is a witness between us that the LORD is God.

Now the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad had a very great multitude of livestock, and when they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, it seemed unto them that the place was a place for livestock. And the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben came and spoke unto Moses and to Eleazar, the priest, and unto the princes of the congregation, saying, Ataroth and Dibon and Jazer and Nimrah and Heshbon and Elealeh and Shebam and Nebo and Beon,read more.
the country which the LORD smote before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock, and thy slaves have livestock. Therefore, they said, if we have found grace in thy sight, let this land be given unto thy slaves for a possession and do not make us pass the Jordan. And Moses said unto the sons of Gad and to the sons of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here? Why do ye discourage the heart of the sons of Israel from going over into the land which the LORD has given them? Thus did your fathers when I sent them from Kadeshbarnea to see the land. For when they went up unto 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 the LORD had given them. And the LORD's anger was kindled the same time, and he swore, saying, Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I swore unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob; because they were not perfect in following me, except Caleb, the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite, and Joshua, the son of Nun, for they were perfect in following the LORD. And the LORD's anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the LORD was consumed. And, behold, ye are risen up in the place of your fathers, an increase of sinful men, to augment yet the fierce anger of the LORD toward Israel. For if ye turn away from after him, he will yet again leave you in the wilderness; and ye shall destroy all this people. Then they came near unto him and said, We will build sheepfolds here for our livestock and cities for our little ones, but we ourselves will go arm ourselves and go with diligence before the sons of Israel until we have brought them unto their place, and our little ones shall dwell in the fenced cities because of the inhabitants of the land. We will not return unto our houses until the sons of Israel have inherited each man his inheritance. For we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan or forward because our inheritance is fallen to us on this side of Jordan eastward. Then Moses said unto them, If ye will do this thing, if ye will prepare yourselves to go before the LORD to the war and will all pass the Jordan armed before the LORD until he has driven out his enemies from before him and the land is subdued before the LORD, then afterward ye shall return and be guiltless before the LORD and before Israel, and this land shall be your possession before the LORD. But if ye will not do so, behold, ye shall have sinned against the LORD, and be sure your sin will catch up with you. Build 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 unto Moses, saying, Thy slaves will do as my lord commands. Our little ones, our wives, our livestock, and all our beasts, shall be there in the cities of Gilead; but thy slaves, each one armed for war, will pass before the LORD to battle, as our lord saith. So concerning them Moses commanded Eleazar, the priest, and Joshua, the son of Nun, and the princes of the fathers of the tribes of the sons of Israel. And Moses said unto them, If the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben will pass the Jordan with you, each one armed to battle, before the LORD, after the land shall be subdued before you, then ye shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession. 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 the LORD has said unto thy slaves, so will we do. We will pass over armed before the LORD into the land of Canaan, and the possession of our inheritance on this side of the Jordan shall be ours. Thus Moses gave unto the sons of Gad and to the sons of Reuben and unto half the 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, with its cities and borders, even the cities of the country round about.

And it came to pass after this that the king of the sons of Ammon died, and Hanun his son reigned in his stead. Then David said, I will show mercy unto Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father showed mercy unto me. And David sent to comfort him by the hand of his slaves for his father. And David's slaves came into the land of the sons of Ammon. And the princes of the sons of Ammon said unto Hanun their lord, Does it appear unto thee that David has sent comforters unto thee to honour thy father? Has not David rather sent his slaves unto thee to search the city and to spy it out and to overthrow it?read more.
Therefore, Hanun took David's slaves 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.

Now 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 mercy unto Hanun, the son of Nahash, because his father showed mercy to me. And David sent ambassadors to comfort him concerning his father. So the slaves of David came into the land of the sons of Ammon to Hanun, to comfort him. But the princes of the sons of Ammon said to Hanun, Does it seem unto thee that David honours thy father, that he has sent comforters unto thee? Are not his slaves come unto thee to search and to overthrow and to spy out the land?read more.
Then Hanun took David's slaves and shaved them, and cut off their garments in half, exposing their buttocks and sent them away.

And the king of Syria said, Go, depart, and I will send a letter unto 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 also took the letter to the king of Israel, which said, Now when this letter is come unto thee, behold, I have therewith sent Naaman, my slave, to thee, that thou may remove his leprosy. And when the king of Israel read the letter, he rent his clothes and said, Am I God, to kill and to give life, that this man sends unto me to remove the leprosy of this man? Therefore now consider and see how he seeks a quarrel against me.

And he that sent me is with me: the Father has not left me alone, for I always do those things that please him.

Jesus said unto them, My food is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work.

For I came down from the heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me.

Therefore when he came into the world, he said, Sacrifice and offering thou dost not desire, but a body hast thou prepared me; in burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Behold, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me) to do thy will, O God.

Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened; burnt offering and sin offering thou hast not required. Then said I, Behold, I come; in the volume of the book it is written of me, I delight to do thy will, O my God; thy law is within my bowels.

For our exhortation was not of error nor of uncleanness nor in guile, but because we have been approved of God that he might entrust us with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God, who tries our hearts. For we were never flatterers in the word, as ye know, nor tainted with covetousness, God is witness,read more.
nor did we seek glory of men neither of you nor yet of others, when we might have been burdensome unto you as the apostles of Christ.

For we are not as many, false merchandisers of the word of God, but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.

Therefore we also procure, whether present or absent, that we may please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ that each one may receive according to that which they have done in the body, good or evil. Therefore being certain of that terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God, and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.read more.
For we do not commend ourselves again unto you, but give you occasion to glory on our behalf that ye may have something to answer those who glory in appearance, and not in heart.

Notwithstanding ye have done well, that ye did communicate with my tribulation. Now ye Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel when I departed from Macedonia, no congregation communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only. For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity.read more.
Not because I desire a gift, but I desire fruit that may abound to your account. But I have all and abound; I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God.

But if I live in the flesh, this is the fruit of my labour, yet I do not know what to choose. For I am in a strait between the two, having a desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better: nevertheless, to abide in the flesh is more needful for you.read more.
And having this confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your furtherance and joy of faith, that your glorying in Jesus Christ may be more abundant by my coming to you again.