'Action' in the Bible

Jacob’s sons answered Shechem and Hamor his father deceitfully, because Shechem had defiled and disgraced their sister Dinah.

Let Pharaoh take action to appoint overseers in charge of the land, and let him exact a fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt in the seven years of abundance.

Therefore, say to the children of Israel, ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will free you from their bondage. I will redeem and rescue you with an outstretched (vigorous, powerful) arm and with great acts of judgment [against Egypt].

Everyone whose heart stirred him to action and everyone whose spirit was willing came and brought the offering for the Lord for the work of the tent of meeting, for all its service, and for the holy garments.

and all the women whose heart stirred them to action and who were skilled spun goats' hair.

If the people of the land should ever tolerate that man when he gives any of his children [as a burnt offering] to Molech, and fail to put him to death [as My law requires],

Now Korah the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took action,

It will be [considered] righteousness for us [that is, right standing with God] if we are careful to observe all this commandment before the Lord our God—just as He has commanded us.

“Therefore we said: Let us take action and build an altar for ourselves, but not for burnt offering or sacrifice.

Deborah said to Barak, "Spring into action, for this is the day the Lord is handing Sisera over to you! Has the Lord not taken the lead?" Barak quickly went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him.

Now take action, because the Lord has spoken concerning David: ‘Through My servant David I will save My people Israel from the power of the Philistines and the power of all Israel’s enemies.’”

Now Absalom whom we anointed [as king] over us has died in the battle; so then, why [are] you taking no action to restore the king?"

But if you will go, take action, be strong for the battle. God will overthrow you before the enemy; for God has power to help, and to overthrow."

Get up, for this matter is your responsibility, and we support you. Be strong and take action!”

For the queen’s action will become public knowledge to all the women and cause them to despise their husbands and say, ‘King Ahasuerus ordered Queen Vashti brought before him, but she did not come.’

King Ahasuerus replied to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, "Look, I have already given Haman's estate to Esther, and he has been hanged on the gallows because he took hostile action against the Jews.

“For adultery is a heinous and lustful crime;Moreover, it would be a sin punishable by the judges.

This also would have been [a heinous] sin calling for judgment,For I would have denied God above.

"Because of the violence done to the oppressed, because of the painful cries of the needy, I will spring into action," says the Lord. "I will provide the safety they so desperately desire."

Lord, how long will You look on [without action]?Rescue my life from their destructions,My only life from the young lions.

Though I have done nothing wrong, they are anxious to attack. Spring into action and help me! Take notice of me!

For the music director; by David, a psalm, a song. God springs into action! His enemies scatter; his adversaries run from him.

I have seen personally what is the only beneficial and appropriate course of action for people: to eat and drink, and find enjoyment in all their hard work on earth during the few days of their life which God has given them, for this is their reward.

Their arrows are sharp, all their bows ready for action. Their horses' hooves seem like flint, and their chariot wheels spin like a whirlwind.

There will be no work for EgyptWhich head or tail, [high] palm branch or [low] bulrush, may do.

Lord, Your hand is lifted up to take action,but they do not see it.They will see Your zeal for Your people,and they will be put to shame.The fire for Your adversaries will consume them!

The nations run away when they hear a loud noise; the nations scatter when you spring into action!

“I have stirred up and put into action one from the north [the king of Persia, Cyrus the Great], and he has come;From the rising of the sun he will call on My Name [in prayer].And he will trample on [the Babylonian] officials as on mortar,Even as a potter treads clay.”

So he will repay according to their action: Anger to his enemies, retribution to his foes; to the coastlands he will render their due.

"This is what the Lord says: 'Beware! An army is coming from a land in the north. A mighty nation is stirring into action in faraway parts of the earth.

"But tell the people of Jerusalem that the Lord says, 'I will give you a choice between two courses of action. One will result in life; the other will result in death.

For I will rouse into action and bring against Babylon a host of mighty nations from the land of the north. They will set up their battle lines against her. They will come from the north and capture her. Their arrows will be like a skilled soldier who does not return from the battle empty-handed.

"Look! An army is about to come from the north. A mighty nation and many kings are stirring into action in faraway parts of the earth.

"Lord, listen! "Lord, forgive! "Lord, take note and take action! "For your own sake, don't delay, my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.'"

In the place of the king of the South, one from her family will rise up, come against the army, and enter the fortress of the king of the North. He will take action against them and triumph.

The king of the North will return to his land with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant; he will take action, then return to his own land.

Ships of Kittim will come against him, and being intimidated, he will withdraw. Then he will rage against the holy covenant and take action. On his return, he will favor those who abandon the holy covenant.

With flattery he will corrupt those who act wickedly toward the covenant, but the people who know their God will be strong and take action.

He'll take action against the strongest fortresses. With the help of a foreign god, he'll recognize those who honor him, making them rule over many, and he'll parcel out the land for a profit.

Your creditors will suddenly attack; those who terrify you will spring into action, and they will rob you.

Your bow is ready for action; you commission your arrows. Selah. You cause flash floods on the earth's surface.

Be silent in the Lord's presence, all people everywhere, for he is being moved to action in his holy dwelling place.

"{You must be prepared for action} and [your] lamps burning.

And will not God avenge the wrongs of His own People who cry aloud to Him day and night, although He seems slow in taking action on their behalf?

who had not agreed with their plan and action. He was from Arimathea, a Judean town, and was looking forward to the kingdom of God.

“What things?” He asked them.So they said to Him, “The things concerning Jesus the Nazarene, who was a Prophet powerful in action and speech before God and all the people,

Jesus answered them, "I performed one action, and all of you are astonished.

The Jewish leaders answered him, "We are not going to stone you for a good action, but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, are making yourself God!"

Then the high priest took action. He and all his colleagues, those who belonged to the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy.

So in the present case, I say to you, stay away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or action is of men, it will be overthrown;

"Look, you mockers! Be amazed and die! Since I am performing an action in your days, one that you would not believe even if someone told you!'"

You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who detest idols, do you rob [pagan] temples [of valuable idols and offerings]?

And having been set free from sin, you have become the slaves of righteousness [of conformity to God’s will and purpose].

For whilst we were under the thraldom of our earthly natures, sinful passions-- made sinful by the Law--were always being aroused to action in our bodily faculties that they might yield fruit to death.

For what I do, I do not recognize as my own action. What I desire to do is not what I do, but what I am averse to is what I do.

So I find it to be the law [of my inner self], that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.

but I see a different law and rule of action in the members of my body [in its appetites and desires], waging war against the law of my mind and subduing me and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is within my members.

Do not destroy God's action for the sake of food. Everything is clean, but it is wrong to make another person stumble because of what you eat.

The one who plants and the one who waters have the same goal, and each will receive a reward for his own action.

the workmanship of each person will become evident, for the day of judgment will show what it is, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person's action.

I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is not one wise man among you who [is governed by integrity and] will be able and competent to decide [private disputes] between his fellow believers,

Now these things happened to them as an example and warning [to us]; they were written for our instruction [to admonish and equip us], upon whom the ends of the ages have come.

and by conscience I mean for the sake of the other man’s, not yours. For why is my freedom [of choice] judged by another’s conscience [another’s ethics—another’s sense of right and wrong]?

Your every action must be done with love.

We are not boasting about work done by others that cannot be evaluated. On the contrary, we cherish the hope that your faith may continue to grow and enlarge our sphere of action among you until it overflows.

Just as Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness, [as conformity to God’s will and purpose—so it is with you also].

For we [not relying on the Law but] through the [strength and power of the Holy] Spirit, by faith, are waiting [confidently] for the hope of righteousness [the completion of our salvation].

Now to Him who is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly more than all that we dare ask or think [infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams], according to His power that is at work within us,

I am convinced of this, that the one who began a good action among you will bring it to completion by the Day of the Messiah Jesus.

so that your lives may be worthy of the Lord and perfectly pleasing to Him, while you exhibit the results of right action of every sort and grow into a fuller knowledge of God.

And whatever you do, whether by speech or action, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

With this in mind, we always pray for you, asking that our God might make you worthy of his calling and that through his power he might help you accomplish every good desire and faithful action.

encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good action and word.

Therefore, if anyone stops associating with these people, he will become a special utensil, set apart for the owner's use, prepared for every good action.

All Scripture is God-breathed [given by divine inspiration] and is profitable for instruction, for conviction [of sin], for correction [of error and restoration to obedience], for training in righteousness [learning to live in conformity to God’s will, both publicly and privately—behaving honorably with personal integrity and moral courage];

so that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good action.

Remind people that they must submit to the rulers who are in authority over them; that they must obey the magistrates, be prepared for every right action,

so that we would be justified [made free of the guilt of sin] by His [compassionate, undeserved] grace, and that we would be [acknowledged as acceptable to Him and] made heirs of eternal life [actually experiencing it] according to our hope (His guarantee).

Only I wished to do nothing without your consent, so that his kind action of yours might not be done under pressure, but might be a voluntary one.

“You have loved righteousness [integrity, virtue, uprightness in purpose] and have hated lawlessness [injustice, sin].Therefore God, Your God, Has anointed YouWith the oil of gladness above Your companions.”

For everyone who lives on milk is [doctrinally inexperienced and] unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a spiritual infant.

For the time being no discipline brings joy, but seems sad and painful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness [right standing with God and a lifestyle and attitude that seeks conformity to God’s will and purpose].

For a man's anger does not lead to action which God regards as righteous.

To: The exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, the people chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father through the sanctifying action of the Spirit to be obedient to Jesus, the Messiah, and to be sprinkled with his blood. May grace and peace be yours in abundance!

Therefore, with your minds ready for action, be serious and set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just [true to His own nature and promises], and will forgive our sins and cleanse us continually from all unrighteousness [our wrongdoing, everything not in conformity with His will and purpose].

My little children (believers, dear ones), I am writing you these things so that you will not sin and violate God’s law. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate [who will intercede for us] with the Father: Jesus Christ the righteous [the upright, the just One, who conforms to the Father’s will in every way—purpose, thought, and action].

If you know that He is absolutely righteous, you know [for certain] that everyone who practices righteousness [doing what is right and conforming to God’s will] has been born of Him.

Little children (believers, dear ones), do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who practices righteousness [the one who strives to live a consistently honorable life—in private as well as in public—and to conform to God’s precepts] is righteous, just as He is righteous.

By this the children of God and the children of the devil are clearly identified: anyone who does not practice righteousness [who does not seek God’s will in thought, action, and purpose] is not of God, nor is the one who does not [unselfishly] love his [believing] brother.

Little children, we must stop expressing love merely by our words and manner of speech; we must love also in action and in truth.

And there was given him a mouth full of boastful and blasphemous words; and liberty of action was granted him for forty-two months.