28 Bible Verses about Motives, Examples Of

Some even because of envy and strife preach Christ, but some also because of good will. The latter [do so] from love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, thinking to raise up affliction in my imprisonment.read more.
{What is the result?} Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice. But also I will rejoice,

Now Saul's daughter Michal loved David, so they told Saul, and the matter {pleased him}. And Saul thought, "I will give her to him, so that she may be a snare for him and the hand of [the] Philistines may be against him." So Saul said to David, "For a second [time] you can become my son-in-law today." Then Saul commanded his servants, "Speak to David in secret, saying, 'Look, the king [is] pleased with you, and all his servants love you. So then, become a son-in-law of the king.'"read more.
And Saul's servants spoke these words {to David privately}. But David said, "[Is] it insignificant {in your sight} to become the son-in-law of the king, [as] I am a poor and lightly esteemed man?"

{David my father desired} to build a house for the name of Yahweh the God of Israel, but Yahweh said to David my father, 'Because {you desired} to build a house for my name, you did well in that it was within your heart. However, you will not build the house, but your son who has come from your 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 Yahweh, the God of Israel. But Yahweh said to David my father, 'Because it was in your heart to build a house for my name, you did well that it was in your heart, but you yourself will not build the house, but your son who will proceed from your loins; he himself will build the house for my name.'

Now the birth of Jesus Christ occurred in this way. His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, [but] before they came together, she was found {to be pregnant} by the Holy Spirit. So Joseph her husband, being righteous and not wanting to disgrace her, intended to divorce her secretly. But [as] he was considering these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary [as] your wife, for what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

And his brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter [in mind].

And they saw him from a distance. And before he drew near to them, they conspired against him to kill him. And each said to his brothers, "Look, this master of dreams is coming. Now then, come, let us kill him and throw him in one of the pits. Then we will say a wild animal devoured him. Then we will see what his dreams become."read more.
And Reuben heard [it] and delivered him from their hand and said, "We must not take his life." And Reuben said to them, "You must not shed blood. Throw him into this pit that [is] in the desert, but do not lay a hand on him"--so that he might rescue him from their hand to return him to his father. And it happened [that] as Joseph came to his brothers they stripped Joseph of his robe, the robe with long sleeves, that [was] upon him. And they took him and threw him into the pit (the pit [was] empty; there was no water in it). Then they sat down to eat [some] food. And they lifted up their eyes and looked, and behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead. And their camels were carrying aromatic gum and balm and spices {on the way} to Egypt. Then Judah said to his brothers, "What profit [is there] if we kill our brother and conceal his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, but our hand shall not be against him, for he [is] our brother, our own flesh." And his brothers agreed. Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and brought [him] up from the pit, and they sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty [pieces of] silver. And they brought Joseph to Egypt.

Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Because of the {acting} of [the] Philistines in vengeance, so that they avenged themselves relentlessly with malice in themselves for destruction {with everlasting hostility}, therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: 'Look! I [am] stretching out my hand against [the] Philistines, and I will cut off the Kerethites, and I will destroy the remainder of {the seacoast}.

Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: "{Certainly} in the fire of my passion I spoke against the rest of the nations and against all Edom, who made my land as possession, because of its pastureland for plunder, for themselves in all of [the] joy of their whole heart [and] in [their] inner disdain."

Then Herod secretly summoned the wise men [and] determined precisely from them the time [when] the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem [and] said, "Go, inquire carefully concerning the child, and when you have found [him], report to me so that I also may come [and] worship him." [After] they listened to the king, they went out, and behold, the star which they had seen at its rising led them until it came [and] stood above [the place] where the child was.read more.
Now [when they] saw the star, they rejoiced [with] very great joy. And [when they] came into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down [and] worshiped him. And opening their treasure boxes, they offered him gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh. And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their [own] country by another route. Now [after] they had gone away, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph, saying, "Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. For Herod is about to seek the child to destroy him."

But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was going to betray him) said, "{Why} was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?" (Now he said this not because {he was concerned} about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having the money box, he used to steal what was put into [it].)

He said to him, "Go in peace," so he went from him {a short distance}. But Gehazi the servant of Elisha, the man of God, thought, "Look, my master has refrained from taking what this Aramean Naaman brought from his hand. {As Yahweh lives}, I will certainly run after him, and I will accept something from him." So Gehazi pursued after Naaman. When Naaman saw [someone] running after him, he jumped off his chariot to meet him and asked him, "[Is it] peace?"read more.
He said, "Peace. My master has sent me saying, 'Look, {just now} two servants from the hill country of Ephraim came to me, from the sons of the prophets. Please give them a talent of silver and two sets of clothing.'" Then Naaman said, "Be prepared to accept two talents." So he urged him and tied up two talents of silver in two bags, with two sets of clothing and gave it to two of his servants and they carried it before him. When he came to the citadel, he took them from their hand and put them in the house, then sent away the men so that they went. When he went and stood by his master, Elisha asked him, "From where have you come, Gehazi?" And he said, "Your servant has not gone {anywhere}." Then he said to him, "Did not my heart go [with you] as the man turned from on his chariot to meet you? [Is] it time to take silver, clothes, olive orchards, vineyards, sheep, oxen, male slaves, and female slaves? The skin disease of Naaman shall cling to you and to your offspring forever." Then he went out from before him having a skin disease like the snow.

For there are many rebellious [people], idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, whom it is necessary to silence, whoever are ruining whole families [by] teaching [things] which must not be [taught] for the sake of dishonest gain.

So the descendants of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned [home] and departed with the {Israelites} at Shiloh, which [is] in the land of Canaan, to go to the land of Gilead to the land of their possession, which they had acquired {according to the command of Yahweh} through the hand of Moses. And they came to the region of the Jordan that [is] in the land of Canaan, and the descendants of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh built there an altar on the Jordan, {a large and imposing altar}. And the {Israelites} heard [it] said that the descendants of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh had built an altar next to the land of Canaan, in the region of the Jordan, on the side [belonging to] the {Israelites}.read more.
When the {Israelites} heard [of it], the whole congregation of the {Israelites} gathered [at] Shiloh to go up against them for battle. And the {Israelites} sent to the descendants of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, Phinehas the priest son of Eleazar, and ten leaders with him, {one leader for each} {family} from each of the tribes of Israel; and each one [was] the head of {his family} among the clans of Israel. They came to the descendants of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, and they spoke with them, saying, "Thus says all the congregation of Yahweh: 'What [is] this treachery that you have committed against the God of Israel by turning away today from following Yahweh, by building for yourselves an altar to rebel today against Yahweh? [Is] not the sin of Peor {enough for us}, from which we have not cleansed ourselves today, and for which a plague came to the congregation of Yahweh, that you must turn today from following Yahweh? [If] you rebel today against Yahweh, tomorrow he will be angry with all of the congregation of Israel; if, however, the land of your property [is] unclean, cross [over] to the land of Yahweh's property, where Yahweh's tabernacle resides, and take possession among us. But you must not rebel against Yahweh or against us by building for yourselves an altar other than the altar of Yahweh our God. Did not Achan son of Zerah commit treachery with devoted things, and wrath fell on all the congregation of Israel? {And he alone} did not perish because of his iniquity.'" And the descendants of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh spoke with the heads of the clans of Israel, "Yahweh, God of gods! Yahweh, God of gods knows. And let Israel itself know, if [it was] in rebellion or treachery against Yahweh, do not spare us this day for building for ourselves an altar to turn away from Yahweh, or if [it was] to offer burnt offerings, grain offerings, or fellowship offerings on it, may Yahweh himself take vengeance. But in fact, we have done this because of anxiety, because of a reason, saying, 'In the future your children may say to our children, '{What is the relationship between you and Yahweh the God of Israel}? Yahweh has made the Jordan a border between us and you, the descendants of Reuben and Gad; you have no portion in Yahweh.' So your children may put an end to our children worshiping Yahweh. So we said, 'Let us build immediately for ourselves an altar, not for burnt offerings or for sacrifices; instead, it [is] a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us for performing the serving of Yahweh in his presence with our burnt offerings, sacrifices, and fellowship offerings; so that your children may not say in the future to our children, "You have no portion in Yahweh." ' And we thought, if they say to us and to our children in the future, we can say, 'Look at this replica of the altar of Yahweh, which our ancestors made, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices; rather, it [is] a witness between us and you.' Far be it from us to rebel against Yahweh, to turn today from following Yahweh, to build an altar for burnt offerings, grain offerings, or sacrifices, instead of the altar of Yahweh our God that [is] before his tabernacle." Phinehas the priest, the leaders of the congregation, and the heads of the clans of Israel who [were] with him heard the words that the descendants of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh spoke, and {they were satisfied}. Phinehas the priest, son of Eleazar, said to the descendants of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, "Today we know that Yahweh [is] among us, because you have not committed this treachery against Yahweh. Therefore you have rescued the {Israelites} from the hand of Yahweh." And Phinehas the priest, son of Eleazar, and the leaders returned from the descendants of Reuben and Gad, from the land of Gilead, to the land of Canaan to the {Israelites}, and {they gave them their report}. {The report satisfied the Israelites}; they blessed God, and they did not speak of going up for battle against them to destroy the land in which the descendants of Reuben and Gad were living. The descendants of Reuben and Gad called the altar Witness, "Because," [they said], "it [is] a witness between us that Yahweh [is] God."

The descendants of Reuben and the descendants of Gad had a very large number of livestock. And they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, and behold it [was] a place for livestock. The descendants of Gad and the descendants of Reuben came, and they said to Moses and to Eleazar the priest and to the leaders of the community, saying, "Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon,read more.
the land that Yahweh struck before the community of Israel, [is] a land of livestock, and your servants have livestock." They said, "If we have found favor in {your sight}, let this land be given to your servants as property; do not lead us [across] the Jordan." But Moses said to the descendants of Gad and to the descendants of Reuben, "Will your brothers go to war while you yourselves live here? Why are you discouraging the hearts of the {Israelites} from crossing into the land that Yahweh gave to them? This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to see the land. When they went up to the valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the {Israelites} so that they did not come to the land that Yahweh gave to them. So {Yahweh's anger burned} on that day, and he swore an oath, saying, 'The men who went up from Egypt, from {those twenty years old} and above, will not see the land that I swore with an oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob because they have not wholly followed me, except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, because they followed Yahweh wholly.' And {Yahweh became angry}, and he made them wander in the desert forty years until the entire generation who did evil in the {sight of Yahweh} {had died}. Behold, you stand in the place of your fathers, a brood of sinful men, to increase still more {Yahweh's fierce anger} against Israel. If you turn from following him, he will again abandon them in the wilderness, and you would have destroyed all these people." They came near to him and said, "We will build sheep pens here for [the] flock of our livestock and cities for our little children; but we ourselves will become armed [and] ready before the {Israelites} until we have brought them to their place, and our little children will live in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land. We will not return to our houses until the {Israelites} each obtain their inheritance for themselves. For we will not take possession with them from across the Jordan and beyond because our inheritance has come to us from across the Jordan to the east." So Moses said to them, "If you do this thing, if you arm yourselves {before} Yahweh for the war, and everyone of you armed cross the Jordan {before} Yahweh until he has driven out his enemies from before him, and the land is subdued {before} Yahweh, then afterward you will return and be free of obligation from Yahweh and from Israel, and this land will be your property {before} Yahweh. But if you do not do so, behold, you have sinned against Yahweh, and know that your sin will find you. Build for yourselves cities for your little children and sheep pens for your flocks; what has gone out from your mouth you will do." So the descendants of Gad and the descendants of Reuben said to Moses, saying, "Your servants will do just as my lord commands. Our little children, our wives, our livestock, and all of our animals {will remain} in the cities of Gilead, but your servants, everyone who is armed for battle, will cross over {before} Yahweh to the war, just as my lord says." So Moses commanded them, Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the {families} of the tribes of the {Israelites}. Moses said to them, "If the descendants of Gad and the descendants of Reuben, everyone who is armed for the war, cross over the Jordan {before} Yahweh, and the land is subdued before you, you will give them the land of Gilead as property. But if they will not cross over with you armed, they will acquire land in your midst in Canaan." The descendants of Gad and the descendants of Reuben answered and said, "What Yahweh has commanded your servants, we will do. We ourselves will cross over armed {before} Yahweh to the land of Canaan, and the property of our inheritance [will remain] with us beyond the Jordan." So Moses gave to them, to the descendants of Gad and the descendants of Reuben, and to half of the tribe of Joseph's son Manasseh, the kingdom of Sihon the king of Amorites and the kingdom of Og the king of the Bashan, the land with its cities [and their] territories, the cities of the surrounding land.

{Afterwards the king of the Ammonites died}, and his son Hanun ruled in his place. David said, "I will show loyal love with Hanun, the son of Nahash, as his father showed loyal love with me." So David sent to console him concerning his father, by the hand of his servants. And the servants of David came to the land of the {Ammonites}. But the commanders of the {Ammonites} said to Hanun their master, "{In your opinion}, [is] David honoring your father because he has sent condolences to you? [Is] it not in order to search the city, to spy it out, and to overthrow it [that] David sent his servants to you?"read more.
Then Hanun took the servants of David, and he shaved off half of their beards and cut their garments off in the middle up to their buttocks, then sent them away.

And it happened [that] after this Nahash the king of the {Ammonites} died, and his son reigned in his place. And David said, "I will deal kindly with Hanun the son of Nahash because his father showed kindness to me." So David sent messengers to comfort him concerning his father. And the servants of David came to the land of the {Ammonites}, to Hanun, to comfort him. But the princes of the {Ammonites} said to Hanun, "{Do you think} because David sent comforters to you [that] David honors your father? Is it not for the purpose of exploring [so as] to overthrow and spy out the land that his servants have come to you?"read more.
So Hanun took the servants of David and shaved them and cut off their garments at the middle, up to the buttocks, and sent them away.

So the king of Aram said, "Go, I will send a letter to the king of Israel." He went and took {with him} ten talents of silver, six thousand [shekels of] gold, and ten sets of clothing. So he brought the letter of the king to Israel, saying, "Now, when this letter comes to you, I have just sent Naaman my servant to you that you may cure him from his skin disease." It happened that when the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes and said, "Am I God to cause death or to give life? This man [is] sending a man to me to cure his disease. Indeed! But know and see that he seeks an opportunity against me."

And the one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do the things that are pleasing to him."

Jesus said to them, "My food is that I do the will of the one who sent me and complete his work.

because I have come down from heaven not that I should do my will, but the will of the one who sent me.

Therefore, [when he] came into the world, he said, "Sacrifice and offering you did not want, but a body you prepared for me; you did not delight in whole burnt offerings and [offerings] for sins. Then I said, 'Behold, I have come-- in the roll of the book it is written about me-- to do your will, O God.'

A sacrifice and offering you do not desire. {My ears you have opened}. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not demanded. Then I said, "Look, I come. In [the] scroll of [the] book it is written concerning me: 'I delight to do your will, O my God, and your law [is] {deep within me}.'"

For our exhortation [is] not from error or from impurity or with deceit, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, thus we speak, not as pleasing people but God, who examines our hearts. {For never} did we come with a word of flattery, just as you know, nor with a pretext of greediness (God [is] witness),read more.
nor seeking glory from people, neither from you nor from others.

For we are not like the majority who peddle the word of God, but as from pure motives--but as from God--we speak before God in Christ.

Therefore indeed we have as our ambition, whether at home [in the body] or absent [from the body], to be acceptable to him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, in order that each one may receive back the [things] through the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Therefore, [because we] know the fear of the Lord, we are attempting to persuade people, but we are revealed to God, and I hope to be revealed in your consciences.read more.
We are not commending ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to boast about us, in order that you may have [an answer] for those who boast in appearance and not in heart.

Nevertheless you have done well by sharing with me in my affliction. Now you also know, Philippians, that at the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving except you alone, because even in Thessalonica {on more than one occasion} you sent for my need.read more.
Not that I seek the gift, but I seek for the profit that increases to your account. But I have received everything [in full] and have an abundance; {I am well supplied} [because] I received from Epaphroditus {what you had sent}, a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God.

But if [it is] to live in the flesh, this [is] fruitful work for me, and which I will prefer [I do] not know. But I am hard pressed {between the two options}, having the desire to depart and to be with Christ, {for this is very much better}. But to stay on in the flesh [is] more necessary for your sake.read more.
And because I am convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that [what] you can be proud of may increase in Christ Jesus because of me through my return again to you.