30 Bible Verses about Nations

{But there will be no gloom for those who were in distress}. In former times he treated [the] land of Zebulun and Naphtali with contempt, but in the future he will honor the way of the sea beyond the Jordan, Galilee [of] the nations.

O Yahweh, put them in fear. Let [the] nations know they [are merely] human. Selah

Because the kingship belongs to Yahweh, and [he] rules over the nations.

This day I will begin to place {the dread of you} and the fear of you {before} the peoples under all the heavens. [They] will hear {the report about you}, and [so] they will shake and tremble {because of you}.'

And also the nation that they serve I will judge. Then afterward they shall go out with great possessions.

[He says], "You [are] a war club for me, a weapon of battle, and I smash nations with you, and I destroy kingdoms with you. And I smash [the] horse with you, and its rider, and I smash [the] chariot with you, and its rider.

Now when the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. And all the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them from one another like a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right and the goats on the left.

Those who sanctify themselves and those who cleanse themselves {to go into} the gardens after [the] one in the middle, eating the flesh of swine and detestable things and rodents together shall come to an end!" {declares} Yahweh. "And I--their works and thoughts!--[am] about to come to gather all nations and tongues, and they shall come and see my glory.

For look! In those days, and in that time, when I will return the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations, and I will bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat, and I will argue {a case against them} there concerning my people and my inheritance Israel whom they have scattered among the nations, and my land [that] they have divided. For my people they cast lots, and {they traded} the male child for the prostitute, and the female child they sold for wine and they drank [it]. read more.
What [are] you to me, Tyre and Sidon, and all of the regions of Philistia? Are you repaying to me what is deserved? If you [are] recompensing me, I will return swiftly [and] quickly what you deserve on your head! For you have taken my silver and my gold, and my beautiful treasures you have carried into your temples. And the sons of Judah and Jerusalem you sold to the sons of the Greeks, in order to remove them from their border. Look! I [am] rousing them from the place where you have sold them, and I will return what you deserve on your head! I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the children of Judah, and they will sell them to [the] Sabeans and to a nation far [away], for Yahweh has spoken. Proclaim this among the nations: {Prepare for war}! Stir up the mighty warriors; let them approach and come up; [let] all the men of war approach. Beat your cutting tools of iron into swords and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weakling say, 'I am a mighty warrior!' Hurry and come, all the nations, from all around, and gather [yourselves] there. Bring down your mighty warriors, O Yahweh! Let the nations be roused and let them come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the nations from all around. Send forth [the] sickle, for the harvest is ripe! Go tread, for [the] winepress is full! The vats overflow, because their evil [is] great! Commotion, commotion in the valley of decision! For the day of Yahweh [is] near in the valley of decision!

"Therefore, wait for me"--a declaration of Yahweh-- "for the day of my rising as a witness. For my decision [is] to gather nations, to assemble kingdoms, to pour out my wrath upon them, all my burning anger. For by the fire of my anger all the land shall be consumed.

An oracle. The word of Yahweh concerning Israel. "{Thus declares} Yahweh, who stretches out [the] heavens, founds [the] earth, and forms the spirit of humankind in its midst: 'Look, I [am] going to make Jerusalem a cup of reeling for all the surrounding nations; it will also be against Judah in the siege against Jerusalem. {And then} on that day I will make Jerusalem a stone weight for all the peoples. All those lifting it up will grievously hurt themselves, and all the nations of the earth will assemble against it.

O Yahweh, put them in fear. Let [the] nations know they [are merely] human. Selah

And I will feed your oppressors their [own] flesh, and they shall be drunk [with] their blood as [with] wine. Then all flesh shall know that I [am] Yahweh, your savior and redeemer, the strong [one] of Jacob."

so that all of the people of the earth may know that Yahweh, he [is] God; there is none other.

And [so] I will exalt myself, and I will show myself holy, and I will make myself known before [the] eyes of many nations, and they will know that I [am] Yahweh.'"

You must not be afraid, my servant Jacob," {declares} Yahweh, "for I [am] with you. For I will make a complete destruction in all the nations where I scattered you, but you I will not make a complete destruction, though I will chastise you to the measure, and I will certainly not leave you unpunished."

But you must not fear, my servant Jacob,' {declares} Yahweh, 'and you must not be dismayed, Israel, for look, I [am] going to save you from far, and your offspring from the land of their captivity. And Jacob will return, and he will be at rest, and he will be at ease, and there will be no [one who] makes [him] afraid. For I am with you,' {declares} Yahweh, 'to save you. For I will make a complete destruction of all the nations to which I scattered you, but you I will not make a complete destruction. And I will chastise you to the measure, and I will not leave you entirely unpunished.'

"Are you not like the Cushites to me, O people of Israel?" {declares} Yahweh. "Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt and [the] Philistines from Caphtor and {the Arameans} from Kir? Look, the eyes of my Lord Yahweh [are] on the kingdom of sin, and I will destroy it from the surface of the earth. However, I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob," {declares} Yahweh.

"You, O king, were looking and, look, there was one great statue. This statue [was] huge and its brilliance extraordinary, standing [there] before you, and its appearance [was] frightening. The head of this statue [was] of fine gold, its chest and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet, part of them of iron and part of them of clay. read more.
You were looking on {until} a stone was chiseled out--that not by hands--and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and it broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold {all at once} broke into pieces and they became like chaff from the summer threshing floor, and the wind carried them away and any trace of them could not be found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and it filled the whole earth. "This [was] the dream, and [now] we will tell its interpretation to the king. You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power and the might and the glory, and [also] {human beings wherever they dwell}, the animals of the field and the birds of heaven--he has given into your hand and made you ruler over all of them--you are the head of gold. And after you another kingdom inferior to yours will arise, and another third [kingdom] of bronze that will rule over the whole earth. And fourth kingdom will be strong as iron, [and] {just as} iron crushes and smashes {everything}, and as iron shatters all of these [other metals], [so] it will crush and it will shatter [these nations]. {And just as} you saw the feet and the toes, {partly potter's clay} and {partly iron}, it will be a divided kingdom; and {some hardness} of the iron will be [in it], {just as} you have seen the iron mixed with the wet clay. And [as] the toes of the feet [were] partly iron and partly clay, [so] part of the kingdom will be strong {and partly brittle}. And [in] that you saw the iron was mixed with wet clay, [so] {they will mix in marriage} and they will not cling {to one another}, just as iron [does] not mix with clay. And {in the day of those kings}, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will {never} be destroyed, and the kingdom will not be left for another nation, and it will bring an end to all these kingdoms, but it will stand {forever}.

On that day Yahweh will put a shield around the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who stumbles among them on that day will be like David, and the house of David [will be] like God, like the angel of Yahweh, {before them}. {And then} on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations coming against Jerusalem.

And Yahweh said to Abram, "Go out from your land and from your relatives, and from the house of your father, to the land that I will show you. And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great. And you will be a blessing. And I will bless those who bless you, and those who curse you I will curse. And all families of the earth will be blessed in you."

Abraham will surely become a great and strong nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed on account of him.

And the angel of Yahweh called to Abraham a second time from heaven. And he said, "I swear by myself, declares Yahweh, that because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only child, that I will certainly bless you and greatly multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and as the sand that is by the shore of the sea. And your offspring will take possession of the gate of his enemies. read more.
All the nations of the earth will be blessed through your offspring, because you have listened to my voice."

Dwell as an alien in this land, and I will be with you, and will bless you, for I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham you father. And I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and I will give to your descendants all these lands. And all nations of the earth will be blessed through your offspring,

You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God ordained with your fathers, saying to Abraham, 'And in your offspring all the nations of the earth will be blessed.'

"{I continued watching} in the visions of the night, and look, with the clouds of heaven [one] like a son of man was coming, and he came to the Ancient of Days, and {was presented} before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and kingship that all the peoples, the nations, and languages [would] serve him; his dominion [is] a dominion {without end} that will not cease, and his kingdom [is one] that will not be destroyed.

All [the] ends of [the] earth will remember and turn to Yahweh. All [the] families of [the] nations will worship before you.

And [as for] Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I will bless him and I will make him fruitful, and I will multiply him {exceedingly}. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation.

And the child grew and was weaned. And Abraham made a great feast on the day Isaac was weaned. And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne Abraham, mocking. Then she said to Abraham, "Drive out this slave woman and her son, for the son of this slave woman will not be heir with my son, with Isaac." read more.
And the matter {displeased Abraham very much} on account of his son. Then God said to Abraham, "{Do not be displeased} on account of the boy and on account of the slave woman. {Listen to everything that Sarah said to you}, for through Isaac [your] offspring will be named. And I will also make the son of the slave woman into a nation, for he is your offspring."

Who among all of these does not know that Yahweh's hand has done this? In whose hand [is] the life of all living things and {the breath of every human being}? Does not [the] ear test words and [the] palate taste food for itself? read more.
Wisdom [is] with [the] aged, and understanding [is in] length of days. "With him [are] wisdom and powerful deeds, and to him [belong] counsel and understanding. If he tears down, then it will not be rebuilt; if he shuts a man in, then he cannot be freed. Look, [if] he withholds the water, then they dry up; and [if] he sends them out, then they overwhelm [the] land. "Strength and sound wisdom [are] with him; [the] deceived and [the] deceiver [are] his. He leads counselors away stripped, and he makes fools of judges. He loosens [the] fetters of kings, and he binds a loincloth on their loins. He leads priests away stripped, and he overthrows {the members of ancient families}. He deprives [the] trustworthy of speech, and he takes away [the] discretion of elders. He pours contempt on noblemen, and he loosens [the] girdle of [the] mighty. "He uncovers mysteries out of darkness, and he brings deep shadow to the light. He makes the nations great, then he destroys them; he expands the nations, then he guides them.

O Lord, at your right [hand] he will shatter kings in the day of his anger. He will judge among the nations; he will fill [them] with corpses. He will shatter [the] {rulers} of many countries.

many peoples shall come. And they shall say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of Yahweh, to the house of the God of Jacob, and may he teach us part of his ways, and let us walk in his paths." For instruction shall go out from Zion, and the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations and he shall arbitrate for many peoples. They shall beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. A nation shall not lift up a sword against a nation, and they shall not learn war again.

And it will be [that] at the end of those days, the mountain of Yahweh will be established as the highest of the mountains, and it will be lifted up above the hills, and people will stream to it. And many nations will come and say, "Come! Let us go up to the mountain of Yahweh, and to the {temple} of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways, and that we may walk in his paths," for the law will go out from Zion, and the word of Yahweh from Jerusalem. And he will judge between many peoples and will arbitrate for strong nations far away; and they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation will not lift up a sword against a nation, and they will no longer learn war.

Now the sons of Noah who came out of the ark [were] Shem, Ham, and Japheth. (Ham [was] the father of Canaan.) These three [were] the sons of Noah, and from these {the whole earth was populated}.

These [are] the generations of the sons of Noah--Shem, Ham, and Japheth. Children were born to them after the flood. The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras. And the sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah. read more.
And the sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. From these the coastland peoples spread out through their lands, each according to his own language by their own families, in their nations. And the sons of Ham: Cush, Egypt, Put, and Canaan. And the sons of Cush: Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. The sons of Raamah: Sheba and Dedan. And Cush fathered Nimrod. {He was the first on earth to be a mighty warrior}. He was a mighty hunter before Yahweh. Therefore it was said, "Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before Yahweh." Now, the beginning of his kingdom [was] Babel, Erech, Akkad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. From that land he went out [to] Assyria, and he built Nineveh, Rehoboth-Ir, Calah, Resen between Nineveh and Calah; that [is] the great city. And Egypt fathered Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, Pathrusim, and Casluhim (from whom the Philistines came), and Caphtorim. Canaan fathered Sidon, his firstborn, and Heth, and the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites. Afterward the families of the Canaanites were spread abroad. And the territory of the Canaanites [was] from Sidon {in the direction of} Gerar as far as Gaza, and {in the direction of} Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, as far as Lasha. These [are] the descendants of Ham, according to their families and their languages, in their lands, and in their nations. And to Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, the older brother of Japheth, [children] were also born. The sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram. And the sons of Aram: Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash. And Arphaxad fathered Shelah, and Shelah fathered Eber. And to Eber two sons were born. The name of the one was Peleg, for in his days the earth was divided, and the name of his brother [was] Joktan. And Joktan fathered Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, Obal, Abimael, Sheba, Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. All these [were] the sons of Joktan. And their dwelling [place] {extended from} Mesha {in the direction of} Sephar [to] the hill country of the east. These [are] the sons of Shem, according to their families, according to their languages, in their lands, and according to their nations. These are the families of the sons of Noah, according to their generations [and] in their nations. And from these the nations spread abroad on the earth after the flood.

"[As for] me, behold, my covenant [shall be] with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. Your name shall no longer be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I will make you the father of a multitude of nations. And I will make you {exceedingly} fruitful. I will make you a nation, and kings shall go out from you.

The wicked flee, but no one pursues, but the righteous is bold like a lion. By the rebellion of a land, her rulers increase, but by a person of intelligence who knows justice, it will last.

Righteousness will exalt a nation, but sin [is] a reproach to a people.

For [as I] was passing through and observing carefully your objects of worship, I even found an altar on which was inscribed, 'To an unknown God.' Therefore what you worship without knowing [it], this I proclaim to you-- the God who made the world and all the things in it. This one, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by human hands, nor is he served by human hands [as if he] needed anything, [because] he himself gives to everyone life and breath and everything. read more.
And he made from one [man] every nation of humanity to live on all the face of the earth, determining [their] fixed times and the fixed boundaries of their habitation,

Say to God, "How awesome are your works! Because of the greatness of your strength, your enemies will cringe before you. All the earth will bow in worship to you, and sing [praise] to you. They will sing [the praise of] your name." Selah Come and {consider} the works of God; [he is] awesome [in his] dealings with the children of humankind. read more.
He turned [the] sea into dry ground; they passed through the river on foot. There we rejoiced in him. [He] rules by his might forever; his eyes keep watch on the nations. Do not let the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah

Blessed [is] the nation whose God [is] Yahweh, the people he has chosen for his inheritance.

Why are nations in tumult, and countries plotting in vain? [The] kings of [the] earth establish themselves, and the rulers conspire together against Yahweh and his anointed: "Let us tear off their bonds, and cast their cords from us!" read more.
[He who] sits [enthroned] in the heavens laughs. The Lord derides them. Then he speaks to them in his wrath, and in his fury he terrifies them: "But as for me, I have set my king on Zion, my holy mountain."

[The] wicked shall turn back to Sheol, all [the] nations forgetting God,