23 Bible Verses about Recreation

And he said unto them, Come you yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest awhile: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.

Six days you shall do your work, and on the seventh day you shall rest: that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.

Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, a holy convocation; you shall do no work on it: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.

And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make sport for us. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made sport for them: and they set him between the pillars.

He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: therefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD.

And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.

And they rose up early on the next day, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.

And you shall offer peace offerings, and shall eat there, and rejoice before the LORD your God.

And among these nations shall you find no ease, neither shall the sole of your foot have rest: but the LORD shall give you there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind:

And Samson said unto them, I will now put forth a riddle unto you: if you can certainly declare it to me within the seven days of the feast, and find it out, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothing: But if you cannot declare it to me, then shall you give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothing. And they said unto him, Put forth your riddle, that we may hear it. And he said unto them, Out of the eater came forth food, and out of the strong came forth sweetness. And they could not in three days expound the riddle.read more.
And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they said unto Samson's wife, Entice your husband, that he may declare unto us the riddle, lest we burn you and your father's house with fire: have you called us to take what we have? is it not so? And Samson's wife wept before him, and said, You do but hate me, and love me not: you have put forth a riddle unto the children of my people, and have not told it to me. And he said unto her, Behold, I have not told it to my father nor my mother, and shall I tell it to you? And she wept before him the seven days, while their feast lasted: and it came to pass on the seventh day, that he told her, because she pressed him so: and she told the riddle to the children of her people. And the men of the city said unto him on the seventh day before the sun went down, What is sweeter than honey? and what is stronger than a lion? And he said unto them, If you had not plowed with my heifer, you would not have found out my riddle.

Now as they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain sons of Belial, beset the house round about, and beat at the door, and spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into your house, that we may know him. And the man, the master of the house, went out unto them, and said unto them, Nay, my brethren, nay, I pray you, do not so wickedly; seeing that this man is come into my house, do not this folly. Behold, here is my daughter a maiden, and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble you them, and do with them what seems good unto you: but unto this man do not so vile a thing.read more.
But the men would not hearken to him: so the man took his concubine, and brought her forth unto them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to dawn, they let her go. Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man's house where her lord was, till it was light.

And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men now arise, and play before us. And Joab said, Let them arise.

And on the second day were gathered together the heads of the fathers' houses of all the people, the priests, and the Levites, unto Ezra the scribe, even to understand the words of the law. And they found written in the law which the LORD had commanded by Moses, that the children of Israel should dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month: And that they should publish and proclaim in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, Go forth unto the mountain, and bring olive branches, and pine branches, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of leafy trees, to make booths, as it is written.read more.
So the people went forth, and brought them, and made themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the house of God, and in the square at the water gate, and in the square at the gate of Ephraim. And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths, and sat under the booths: for since the days of Joshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness.

They send forth their little ones like a flock, and their children dance.

There go the ships: there is that leviathan, which you have made to play therein.

I said in my heart, Come now, I will test you with mirth, therefore enjoy pleasure: and, behold, this also is vanity. I said of laughter, It is mad: and of mirth, What use is it? I sought in my heart to give myself unto wine, yet acquainting my heart with wisdom; and to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the sons of men, which they should do under heaven all the days of their life.

Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Why have we fasted, they say, and you see not? why have we afflicted our soul, and you take no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, and exploit all your laborers. Behold, you fast for strife and debate, and to strike with the fist of wickedness: you shall not fast as you do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high. Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? will you call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the LORD?read more.
Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and that you bring the poor that are cast out to your house? when you see the naked, that you cover him; and that you hide not yourself from your own flesh? Then shall your light break forth as the morning, and your health shall spring forth speedily: and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then shall you call, and the LORD shall answer; you shall cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If you take away from the midst of you the yoke, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness; And if you draw out your soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall your light rise in the darkness, and your darkness be as the noon day: And the LORD shall guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones: and you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not. And they from among you shall build the old waste places: you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of streets to dwell in. If you turn away your foot from the sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honorable; and shall honor him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words: Then shall you delight yourself in the LORD; and I will cause you to ride upon the heights of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father: for the mouth of the LORD has spoken it.

That chant to the sound of the harp, and invent for yourselves instruments of music, like David;

And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets.

But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, And saying, We have piped unto you, and you have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and you have not lamented.

And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at table, there came a woman having an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard very precious; and she broke the flask, and poured it on his head.

And at the same time they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but gossips also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.