'Answer' in the Bible

A servant will not be corrected by words alone;For though he understands, he will not respond [nor pay attention].

The officials make a feast for enjoyment [instead of repairing what is broken], and serve wine to make life merry, and money is the answer to everything.

“I opened for my beloved,But my beloved had turned away and was gone.My heart went out to him when he spoke.I searched for him, but I could not find him;I called him, but he did not answer me.

He will protest on that day, saying,“I will not be a governor;For in my house there is neither bread nor clothing;You should not make me a judge and ruler of the people.”

Cry aloud with your voice [in consternation], O Daughter of Gallim!Pay attention, Laishah! Answer her, Anathoth!

Hyenas will howl in their castles,And jackals in their luxurious palaces.Babylon’s time has nearly come,And her days will not be prolonged.

“Then what answer will one give the messengers of the [Philistine] nation?That the Lord has founded Zion,And the afflicted of His people will seek and find refuge in it.”

O people in Zion, inhabitant in Jerusalem, you will weep no longer. He will most certainly be gracious to you at the sound of your cry for help; when He hears it, He will answer you.

But they kept silent and did not say a word to him in reply, for King Hezekiah’s command was, “Do not answer him.”

“The poor and needy are seeking water, but there is none;Their tongues are parched with thirst.I, the Lord, will answer them Myself;I, the God of Israel, will not neglect them.

“But when I look [on the pagan prophets and priests], there is no one [who could predict these events],And there is no counselor among them,Who, if I ask, can give an answer.

“They lift it on their shoulders [in religious processions or into battle] and carry it;They set it in its place and there it remains standing.It cannot move from its place.Even if one cries to it [for help], the idol cannot answer;It cannot save him from his distress.

“Why, when I came, was there no man [to greet Me]?When I called, why was there no one to answer?Is My hand really so short that it cannot redeem [My servants]?Or have I no power to rescue?Listen carefully, with My rebuke I dry up the sea,I make the rivers into a desert;Their fish stink because there is no waterAnd die of thirst.

“Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;You will cry for help, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’If you take away from your midst the yoke [of oppression],The finger pointed in scorn [toward the oppressed or the godly], and [every form of] wicked (sinful, unjust) speech,

I will destine you for the sword, [says the Lord],And all of you will bow down to the slaughter,Because when I called, you did not answer;When I spoke, you did not listen or obey.But you did [what was] evil in My sightAnd chose that in which I did not delight.”

“It shall also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear.

“Return, O faithless sons,” [says the Lord],“I will heal your unfaithfulness.”[They answer] “Behold, we come to You,For You are the Lord our God.

It will come about when your people say, ‘Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?’ then you shall answer them, ‘As you have abandoned (rejected) Me,’ [says the Lord,] ‘and have served strange and foreign gods in your land, so you will serve strangers in a land that is not yours.’

And now, because you have done all these things,” says the Lord, “and I spoke [persistently] to you, even rising up early and speaking, but you did not listen, and I called you but you did not answer,

“You shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you; and you shall [also] call to them, but they will not answer you.

“And if you [wonder and] say in your heart,‘Why have these things happened to me?’It is because of the greatness and nature of your sinThat your skirts have been pulled away [subjecting you to public disgrace]And [like a barefoot slave] your heels have been wounded.

Then they will answer, ‘Because the people ignored and abandoned the [solemn] covenant with the Lord their God and worshiped other gods and served them.’”

‘Call to Me and I will answer you, and tell you [and even show you] great and mighty things, [things which have been confined and hidden], which you do not know and understand and cannot distinguish.’

Then Jeremiah the prophet said to them, “I have heard you. Now hear me, I will pray to the Lord your God in accordance with your words; and I will declare to you whatever message the Lord answers; I will keep nothing back from you.”

Then Jeremiah said to all the people, to the men and to the women and to all the people who had given him that answer,

Therefore speak to them and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Any man of the house of Israel who takes his idols [of rebellion] into his heart, and puts the [vile] stumbling block of his wickedness and guilt [images of silver and gold] before his face, and yet comes to the prophet [to ask of him], I the Lord will answer him, [but I will answer him] in accordance with the number of his idols,

For anyone of the house of Israel or among the strangers who immigrate to Israel who separates himself from Me, taking his idols into his heart, and puts right before his face the [vile] stumbling block of his wickedness and guilt, and [then] comes to the prophet to ask of Me for himself, I the Lord will answer him Myself.

“But if the prophet [who speaks without My authority] is enticed to speak a word [of his own], it is I the Lord who have caused that prophet [to speak falsely to please the inquirer, thus allowing himself to be a party to the inquirer’s sin], and I will stretch out My hand against him and destroy him from among My people Israel.

And when they say to you, ‘Why do you sigh and groan?’ you shall answer, ‘Because of the news that is coming; and every heart will melt and all hands will be frail, and every spirit will faint and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it comes and it will happen,’ says the Lord God.”

Then Daniel replied with discretion and wisdom to Arioch, the captain of the king’s bodyguard, who had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon;

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego answered the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to answer you on this point.

At the beginning of your supplications, the command [to give you an answer] was issued, and I have come to tell you, for you are highly regarded and greatly beloved. Therefore consider the message and begin to understand the [meaning of the] vision.

Then they will cry to the Lord,But He will not answer them;Instead, He will even hide His face from them at that time [withholding His mercy]Because they have practiced and tolerated and ignored evil acts.

The seers shall be ashamedAnd the diviners discredited and embarrassed;Indeed, they shall all cover their mouths [in shame]Because there is no answer from God.

“O My people, what have I done to you [since you have turned away from Me]?And how have I wearied you? Answer Me.

I will stand at my guard postAnd station myself on the tower;And I will keep watch to see what He will say to me,And what answer I will give [as His spokesman] when I am reproved.

“For the stone will cry out from the wall [to accuse you—built in sin!]And the rafter will answer it out of the woodwork.

And just as He called and they would not listen, so they called and I would not listen,” says the Lord of hosts;

And one will say to him, ‘What are these wounds between your arms?’ Then he will answer, ‘Those wounds I received in the house of my friends.’

“And I will bring the third part through the fire,Refine them as silver is refined,And test them as gold is tested.They will call on My name,And I will listen and answer them;I will say, ‘They are My people,’And they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’”

And having been warned [by God] in a dream not to go back to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.

But He did not say a word in answer to her. And His disciples came and asked Him [repeatedly], “Send her away, because she keeps shouting out after us.”

Jesus replied to them, “I will also ask you a question, and if you tell Me the answer, then I will tell you by what authority I do these things.

No one was able to say a word to Him in answer, nor from that day on did anyone dare to question Him again.

Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink?

Then they also [in their turn] will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or as a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister to You?’

The high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Have You no answer to give? What is it that these men are testifying against You?”

But when the charges were brought against Him by the chief priests and elders, He did not answer.

If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it’; and immediately he will send it here.”

Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one question, and you answer Me, and then I will tell you by what authority I do these things.

Was the baptism of John [the Baptist] from heaven [that is, ordained by God] or from men? Answer Me.”

And again He came back and found them sleeping, because their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know how to answer Him.

The high priest stood up and came forward and asked Jesus, “Have You no answer to give [in response] to what these men are testifying against You?”

But Jesus kept silent and gave no answer at all. Again the high priest was questioning Him, and saying to Him, “Are You the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed), the Son of the Blessed One?”

Then Pilate again asked Him, “Have You no answer [to give]? See how many charges they are bringing against You!”

But Jesus gave no further answer; so Pilate was perplexed.

and from inside he answers, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’

Once the head of the house gets up and closes the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door [again and again], saying, ‘Lord, open to us!’ then He will answer you, ‘I do not know where you are from [for you are not of My household].’

Jesus replied, “I will also ask you a question. You tell Me:

But if we say, ‘From men,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are firmly convinced that John was a prophet.”

So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves;

and if I ask a question, you will not answer.

Then they said to him, “Who are you? Tell us, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”

But when He said this, one of the officers who was standing nearby struck Jesus [in the face], saying, “Is that how You answer the high priest?”

He went into the Praetorium again and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus did not answer him.

They said, “Cornelius, a centurion, an upright and God-fearing man well spoken of by all the Jewish people, was divinely instructed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and hear what you have to say.”

When he knocked at the door of the gateway, a servant-girl named Rhoda came to answer.

On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers [arrogantly] back to God and dares to defy Him? Will the thing which is formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?”

So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

When we are slandered, we try to be conciliatory and answer softly. We have become like the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now.

For as many as are the promises of God, in Christ they are [all answered] “Yes.” So through Him we say our “Amen” to the glory of God.

Let your speech at all times be gracious and pleasant, seasoned with salt, so that you will know how to answer each one [who questions you].

Corresponding to that [rescue through the flood], baptism [which is an expression of a believer’s new life in Christ] now saves you, not by removing dirt from the body, but by an appeal to God for a good (clear) conscience, [demonstrating what you believe to be yours] through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,