'Back' in the Bible

The [wicked] dead will not live [again], the spirits of the dead will not rise and return;Therefore You have punished and destroyed them,And You have wiped out every memory of them [every trace of them].

A spirit of justice for him who sits in judgment [administering the law],A strength to those who drive back the battle at the gate.

“Because your raging against MeAnd your arrogance has come up to My ears,I will put My hook in your noseAnd My bridle in your mouth,And I will turn you back by the way you came.

Listen carefully, I will turn the shadow on the stairway [denoting the time of day] ten steps backward, the shadow on the stairway (sundial) of Ahaz.” And the sunlight went ten steps backward on the stairway where it had [previously] gone down.

“O Lord, by these things men live,And in all these is the life of my spirit;Restore me to health and let me live!

“Indeed, it was for my own well-being that I had such bitterness;But You have loved back my life from the pit of nothingness (destruction),For You have cast all my sins behind Your back.

Those who trust in carved idols will be turned back,And utterly put to shame,Who say to cast images,“You are our gods.”

“I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’And to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’Bring My sons from far wayAnd My daughters from the ends of the earth,

And now says the Lord, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,To bring Jacob back to Him and that Israel might be gathered to Him,—For I am honored in the eyes of the Lord,And My God is My strength—

I turned My back to those who strike Me,And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard;I did not hide My face from insults and spitting.

“I will put it into the hands of your tormentors,Who have said to you, ‘Lie down so that we may walk over you.’You have even made your back like the groundAnd like the street for those who walk over it.”

“For this reason, put on sackcloth [for mourning],Lament (mourn with expressions of grief for the dead) and wail,For the fierce anger of the LordHas not turned back from us.”

“For this reason the earth shall mournAnd the heavens above shall become dark,Because I have spoken, I have decided,And I will not change my mind (relent), nor will I turn back from it.”

‘But this people has a stubborn heart and a rebellious will [that draws them away from Me];They have turned away and have gone [into idolatry].

Thus says the Lord of hosts,“They will thoroughly gather like [fruit on] a vine what is left of Israel;Pass your hand [over the vine] again and again [Babylon, tool of destruction] like a grape gatherer,Over the branches [stripping the tendrils off the vine].”

They have returned to the wickedness of their ancestors who refused to hear My words; they have followed other gods [in order] to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken My [solemn] covenant which I made with their fathers.”

And it shall come about that after I have uprooted them, I will return and have compassion on them; and I will bring them back again, each one to his inheritance and each one to his land.

I will first doubly repay and punish them for their wickedness and their sin [before I return them to their land], because they have profaned My land; they have filled My inheritance with the carcasses of their detestable idols and with their abominations.”

‘I will scatter them like an east windBefore the enemy;I will show them My back and not My faceIn the day of their disaster [says the Lord].’”

‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, “Behold, I will turn back and dull the edge of the weapons of war that are in your hands, [those] with which you fight against the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the walls; and I will bring them into the center of this city (Jerusalem).

“The anger of the Lord will not turn backUntil He has set in motion and accomplished the thoughts and intentions of His heart;In the last days you will clearly understand it.

Then I said to the priests and to all these people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: Do not listen to the words of your [false] prophets who are prophesying to you, saying, ‘Behold, the articles of the Lord’s house will now shortly be brought back from Babylon’; for they are prophesying a lie to you.

‘They will be carried to Babylon and they will be there until the day that I visit them [with My favor],’ says the Lord. ‘Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.’”

Within two years I am going to bring back to this place all the articles of the Lord’s house, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon.

And I will also bring back to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, along with all the exiles from Judah who went to Babylon,’ says the Lord, ‘for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’”

and the prophet Jeremiah said, “Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord confirm and fulfill your words which you have prophesied to bring back the articles of the Lord’s house and all the captives, from Babylon to this place.

I will be found by you,’ says the Lord, ‘and I will restore your fortunes and I will [free you and] gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’ says the Lord, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’

The fierce (righteous) anger of the Lord will not turn backUntil He has fulfilled and until He has accomplishedThe intent of His heart (mind);In the latter days you will understand this.

“They will come with weeping [in repentance and for joy],And by [their] prayer [for the future] I will lead them;I will make them walk by streams of waters,On a straight path in which they will not stumble,For I am a Father to Israel,And Ephraim (Israel) is My firstborn.”

“There is [confident] hope for your future,” says the Lord;“Your children will come back to their own country.

“I have surely heard Ephraim (Israel) moaning and grieving,‘You have chastised me, and I was chastised,Like a bull unaccustomed to the yoke or an untrained calf;Bring me back that I may be restored,For You are the Lord my God.

“Place for yourself road signs [toward Canaan],Make for yourself guideposts;Turn your thought and attention to the highway,To the way by which you went [into exile].Retrace your steps, O virgin of Israel,Return to these your cities.

It may be that their supplication [for mercy] will come before the Lord, and everyone will turn from his evil way, for great is the anger and the wrath that the Lord has pronounced against this people.”

then you are to say to them, ‘I was presenting my [humble] petition and plea to the king so that he would not send me back to Jonathan’s house to die there.’”

While Jeremiah was still hesitating, the captain of the bodyguard said, “Go on back then to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has appointed [governor] over the cities of Judah, and stay with him among the people; or else go wherever it seems right for you to go.” So the captain of the bodyguard gave him an allowance of food and a gift and let him go.

So all the people whom Ishmael had taken captive from Mizpah turned around and came back, and joined Johanan the son of Kareah.

Then Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were with him took from Mizpah all the people whom he had rescued from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, after Ishmael had killed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam: the soldiers, the women, the children, and the high officials whom Johanan had brought back from Gibeon.

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.”

“Why have I seen it?They are terrifiedAnd have turned back,And their warriors are beaten down.They take flight in hasteWithout looking back;Terror is on every side!”Says the Lord.

“He will make many stumble and fall;Yes, they have fallen one on another.Then they said, ‘Arise, and let us go backTo our own people and to the land of our birth,Away from the sword of the oppressor.’

“Also her mercenaries in her armyAre like fattened calves,For they too have turned back and have fled together;They did not stand [their ground],Because the day of their disaster has come upon them,The time of their punishment.

“Because of the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of the war-horses [of the Babylonian king],The rattling of his chariots, and the rumbling of his wheels,The fathers have not looked and turned back for their children,So weak are their hands [with terror]

“Cursed is the one who does the work of the Lord negligently,And cursed is the one who restrains his sword from blood [in executing the judgment of the Lord].

“How it is broken down! How they have wailed! How Moab has turned his back in shame! So Moab will become a laughingstock and a [horrifying] terror to all who are around him.”

“Flee, turn back, dwell in the depths [of the desert to escape the judgment of Edom],O inhabitants of Dedan,For I will bring the destruction of Esau (Edom) upon himWhen I inspect and punish him.

All her people groan, seeking bread;They have exchanged their desirable and precious things for foodTo restore their lives.“See, O Lord, and considerHow despised and repulsive I have become!”

“From on high He sent fire into my bones,And it prevailed over them.He has spread a net for my feet;He has turned me back.He has made me desolate and hopelessly miserable,Faint all the day long.

In fierce anger He has cut off and destroyedEvery horn of Israel.He has withdrawn His right handFrom the presence of the enemy.And He has burned in Jacob like a flaming fireConsuming all around.

Regarding the form and appearance of their faces: they [each] had the face of a man [in front], and each had the face of a lion on the right side, and the face of an ox on the left side; all four also had the face of an eagle [at the back of their heads].

And the living beings moved rapidly back and forth like flashes of lightning.

And He spread it before me, and it was written on the front and on the back, and written on it were [words of] lamentation (funeral songs) and mourning and woe.

For the seller will not regain and return to what he sold, even were they yet alive; for the vision [of punishment] regarding all the multitude [of people] will not be turned back, nor will any one of them sustain his life because of his sin.

He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? Is it too slight a thing for the house of Judah to commit the repulsive acts which they have committed here, that they have filled the land with violence and repeatedly provoked Me to anger? And behold, they are putting the branch to their nose.

Therefore say, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give [back] to you the land of Israel.”’

Therefore, thus says the Lord God, ‘Because you have forgotten Me and cast Me behind your back, therefore bear now [the consequences of] your lewdness and prostitution.’”

“Then set the empty pot (Jerusalem) back on the coalsSo that it may be hotAnd its bronze may glowAnd its filthiness may be meltedAnd its rust (scum) may be consumed.

I the Lord have spoken; it is coming and I will act. I will not relent, and I will not have compassion and I will not be sorry; in accordance with your ways and in accordance with your deeds I will judge and punish you,” says the Lord God.’”

Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back (change your way of thinking), turn back [in repentance] from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’

if a wicked man returns [what he took as] a pledge, pays back what he had taken by robbery, walks in the statutes which ensure life, without committing injustice, he will certainly live; he will not die.

When the righteous turns back from his righteousness and commits injustice, he will also die because of it.

But when a wicked man turns back from his wickedness and practices what is just (fair) and right, he will live because of it.

“Son of man, those [back in Palestine] who inhabit these ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was [only] one man and he took possession of the land, but we are many; the land has [most certainly] been given to us [to possess] as property.’

You have not strengthened those who are weak, you have not healed the sick, you have not bandaged the crippled, you have not brought back those gone astray, you have not looked for the lost; but you have ruled them with force and violence.

“I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bandage the crippled, and strengthen the weak and the sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong [who have become hard-hearted and perverse]. I will feed them with judgment and punishment.

Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I will open your graves and make you come up out of your graves, My people; and I will bring you [back home] to the land of Israel.

I will turn you around and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them magnificently clothed in full armor, a great horde with buckler (small shield) and [large] shield, all of them wielding swords;

for they were in three stories and did not have pillars like the pillars of the [outer] courtyards; therefore the upper chambers were set back from the ground more than the lower and the middle ones.

Then He brought me back by the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces the east; and it was shut.

Then the king’s face grew pale, and his thoughts alarmed him; the joints and muscles of his hips and back weakened and his knees began knocking together.

After this I kept looking, and behold, another one (the Greek Empire of Alexander the Great), like a leopard, which had on its back four wings like those of a bird; the beast also had four heads (Alexander’s generals, his successors), and power to rule was given to it.

After this, he (Antiochus III the Great, King of Syria) will turn his attention to the islands and coastlands and capture many [of them]. But a commander (Lucius Scipio Asiaticus of Rome) will put an end to his aggression [toward Rome’s territorial interests]; in fact, he will repay his insolence and turn his audacity back upon him.

Then he will turn back toward the fortresses of his own land [of Syria], but he will stumble and fall and not be found.

For ships of Cyprus [in Roman hands] will come against him; therefore he will be discouraged and turn back [to Israel] and carry out his rage against the holy covenant and take action; so he will return and show favoritism toward those [Jews] who abandon (break) the holy covenant [with God].

“Therefore, I will return and take back My grain at harvest timeAnd My new wine in its season.I will also take away My wool and My flaxGiven to cover her nakedness.

They turn, but they do not turn upward to the Most High.They are like a poorly crafted bow [that misses the mark];Their princes shall fall by the swordBecause of the insolence of their tongue.This will be cause for their mockery and disdain in the land of Egypt.

I will not execute the fierceness of My anger;I will not return to Ephraim to destroy him again.For I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst [who will not revoke My covenant],And I will not come in wrath or enter the city [in judgment].

Moreover, what are you to Me, O Tyre and Sidon and all the [five small] regions of Philistia? Will you pay Me back for something [I have supposedly done to you]? Even if you do pay Me back, I will swiftly and speedily return your deed [of retaliation] on your own head.

Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Go, you seer, run for your life [from Israel] to the land of Judah [your own country] and eat bread and live as a prophet there!

“Because of this [coming judgment] will the land not quakeAnd everyone mourn who dwells in it?Indeed, all of it shall rise up like the Nile,And it will be tossed around [from the impact of judgment]And [afterward] subside again like the Nile of Egypt.

“Also I shall bring back the exiles of My people Israel,And they will rebuild the deserted and ruined cities and inhabit them:They will also plant vineyards and drink their wine,And make gardens and eat their fruit.

Though Nineveh was like a pool of water throughout her days,Now her inhabitants are fleeing;“Stop! Stop!” [a few cry,]But no one turns back.

The sun and moon stood in their places [as before Joshua];They went away at the light of Your [swift] arrows,At the radiance and gleam of Your glittering spear.

And those who have turned back from following the Lord,And those who have not sought the Lord [as their most important need] or inquired of Him.”

Then he said, “This is Wickedness (Godlessness)!” And he threw her back down into the middle of the ephah and threw the lead cover on its opening.

Then I will camp around My house [as a guard] because of an army,Because of him who passes by and returns;And no oppressor will again overrun them (Israel),For now My eyes are upon them [providentially protecting them].

“I will strengthen the house of Judah [making it superior],And I will save the house of Joseph.I will bring them back [and allow them to live securely],Because I have had compassion on them.They will be as though I had not rejected them,For I am the Lord their God, and I will listen and answer them.

“Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd,And against the Man, My Associate,”Declares the Lord of hosts.“Strike the Shepherd so that the sheep [of the flock] may be scattered;And I will turn My hand and stretch it out against the little ones [of the flock].

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.

leave your offering there at the altar and go. First make peace with your brother, and then come and present your offering.

Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it arrives, it finds the place unoccupied, swept, and put in order.

“If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens and pays attention to you, you have won back your brother.

Now early in the morning, as Jesus was coming back to the city, He was hungry.

Now when the owner of the vineyard comes back, what will he do to those tenants?”

Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his coat.

Now when Jesus was [back] in Bethany, at the home of Simon the leper,

Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back in its place; for all those who habitually draw the sword will die by the sword.

When Judas, His betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was gripped with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders,

And a great earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone [from the opening of the tomb], and sat on it.

Then He said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear. By your own standard of measurement [that is, to the extent that you study spiritual truth and apply godly wisdom] it will be measured to you [and you will be given even greater ability to respond]—and more will be given to you besides.

Jesus did not let him [come], but [instead] He said to him, “Go home to your family and tell them all the great things that the Lord has done for you, and how He has had mercy on you.”