'Behold' in the Bible

Then I said, “Alas, Lord God!Behold, I do not know how to speak,Because I am a youth.”

Then the Lord stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me,“Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.

For, behold, I am calling all the families of the kingdoms of the north,” declares the Lord; “and they will come and they will set each one his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all its walls round about and against all the cities of Judah.

Now behold, I have made you today as a fortified city and as a pillar of iron and as walls of bronze against the whole land, to the kings of Judah, to its princes, to its priests and to the people of the land.

Yet you said, ‘I am innocent;Surely His anger is turned away from me.’Behold, I will enter into judgment with youBecause you say, ‘I have not sinned.’

‘Will He be angry forever?Will He be indignant to the end?’Behold, you have spokenAnd have done evil things,And you have had your way.”

“Return, O faithless sons,I will heal your faithlessness.”“Behold, we come to You;For You are the Lord our God.

“Behold, he goes up like clouds,And his chariots like the whirlwind;His horses are swifter than eagles.Woe to us, for we are ruined!”

I looked on the earth, and behold, it was formless and void;And to the heavens, and they had no light.

I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were quaking,And all the hills moved to and fro.

I looked, and behold, there was no man,And all the birds of the heavens had fled.

I looked, and behold, the fruitful land was a wilderness,And all its cities were pulled downBefore the Lord, before His fierce anger.

Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of hosts,“Because you have spoken this word,Behold, I am making My words in your mouth fireAnd this people wood, and it will consume them.

“Behold, I am bringing a nation against you from afar, O house of Israel,” declares the Lord.“It is an enduring nation,It is an ancient nation,A nation whose language you do not know,Nor can you understand what they say.

To whom shall I speak and give warningThat they may hear?Behold, their ears are closedAnd they cannot listen.Behold, the word of the Lord has become a reproach to them;They have no delight in it.

“Hear, O earth: behold, I am bringing disaster on this people,The fruit of their plans,Because they have not listened to My words,And as for My law, they have rejected it also.

Therefore, thus says the Lord,“Behold, I am laying stumbling blocks before this people.And they will stumble against them,Fathers and sons together;Neighbor and friend will perish.”

Thus says the Lord,“Behold, a people is coming from the north land,And a great nation will be aroused from the remote parts of the earth.

“Behold, you are trusting in deceptive words to no avail.

Has this house, which is called by My name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Behold, I, even I, have seen it,” declares the Lord.

Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, My anger and My wrath will be poured out on this place, on man and on beast and on the trees of the field and on the fruit of the ground; and it will burn and not be quenched.”

“Therefore, behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when it will no longer be called Topheth, or the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of the Slaughter; for they will bury in Topheth because there is no other place.

“How can you say, ‘We are wise,And the law of the Lord is with us’?But behold, the lying pen of the scribesHas made it into a lie.

“The wise men are put to shame,They are dismayed and caught;Behold, they have rejected the word of the Lord,And what kind of wisdom do they have?

We waited for peace, but no good came;For a time of healing, but behold, terror!

“For behold, I am sending serpents against you,Adders, for which there is no charm,And they will bite you,” declares the Lord.

Behold, listen! The cry of the daughter of my people from a distant land:“Is the Lord not in Zion? Is her King not within her?”“Why have they provoked Me with their graven images, with foreign idols?”

Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts,“Behold, I will refine them and assay them;For what else can I do, because of the daughter of My people?

therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “behold, I will feed them, this people, with wormwood and give them poisoned water to drink.

“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “that I will punish all who are circumcised and yet uncircumcised—

For thus says the Lord,“Behold, I am slinging out the inhabitants of the landAt this time,And will cause them distress,That they may be found.”

The sound of a report! Behold, it comes—A great commotion out of the land of the north—To make the cities of JudahA desolation, a haunt of jackals.

Therefore thus says the Lord, “Behold I am bringing disaster on them which they will not be able to escape; though they will cry to Me, yet I will not listen to them.

therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold, I am about to punish them! The young men will die by the sword, their sons and daughters will die by famine;

Thus says the Lord concerning all My wicked neighbors who strike at the inheritance with which I have endowed My people Israel, “Behold I am about to uproot them from their land and will uproot the house of Judah from among them.

then say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Behold I am about to fill all the inhabitants of this land—the kings that sit for David on his throne, the priests, the prophets and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem—with drunkenness!

‘If I go out to the country,Behold, those slain with the sword!Or if I enter the city,Behold, diseases of famine!For both prophet and priestHave gone roving about in the land that they do not know.’”

Have You completely rejected Judah?Or have You loathed Zion?Why have You stricken us so that we are beyond healing?We waited for peace, but nothing good came;And for a time of healing, but behold, terror!

For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I am going to eliminate from this place, before your eyes and in your time, the voice of rejoicing and the voice of gladness, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride.

You too have done evil, even more than your forefathers; for behold, you are each one walking according to the stubbornness of his own evil heart, without listening to Me.

“Therefore behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when it will no longer be said, ‘As the Lord lives, who brought up the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’

“Behold, I am going to send for many fishermen,” declares the Lord, “and they will fish for them; and afterwards I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them from every mountain and every hill and from the clefts of the rocks.

“Therefore behold, I am going to make them know—This time I will make them knowMy power and My might;And they shall know that My name is the Lord.”

“Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel.

So now then, speak to the men of Judah and against the inhabitants of Jerusalem saying, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Behold, I am fashioning calamity against you and devising a plan against you. Oh turn back, each of you from his evil way, and reform your ways and your deeds.”’

and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “Behold I am about to bring a calamity upon this place, at which the ears of everyone that hears of it will tingle.

therefore, behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when this place will no longer be called Topheth or the valley of Ben-hinnom, but rather the valley of Slaughter.

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am about to bring on this city and all its towns the entire calamity that I have declared against it, because they have stiffened their necks so as not to heed My words.’”

For thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I am going to make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends; and while your eyes look on, they will fall by the sword of their enemies. So I will give over all Judah to the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will carry them away as exiles to Babylon and will slay them with the sword.

‘Thus says the Lord God of Israel, “Behold, I am about to turn back the weapons of war which are in your hands, with which you are warring against the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the wall; and I will gather them into the center of this city.

“You shall also say to this people, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death.

“Behold, I am against you, O valley dweller,O rocky plain,” declares the Lord,“You men who say, ‘Who will come down against us?Or who will enter into our habitations?’

Therefore thus says the Lord God of Israel concerning the shepherds who are tending My people: “You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them; behold, I am about to attend to you for the evil of your deeds,” declares the Lord.

“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord,“When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch;And He will reign as king and act wiselyAnd do justice and righteousness in the land.

“Therefore behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when they will no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt,’

“Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets,‘Behold, I am going to feed them wormwoodAnd make them drink poisonous water,For from the prophets of JerusalemPollution has gone forth into all the land.’”

“Behold, the storm of the Lord has gone forth in wrath,Even a whirling tempest;It will swirl down on the head of the wicked.

Therefore behold, I am against the prophets,” declares the Lord, “who steal My words from each other.

Behold, I am against the prophets,” declares the Lord, “who use their tongues and declare, ‘The Lord declares.’

Behold, I am against those who have prophesied false dreams,” declares the Lord, “and related them and led My people astray by their falsehoods and reckless boasting; yet I did not send them or command them, nor do they furnish this people the slightest benefit,” declares the Lord.

Therefore behold, I will surely forget you and cast you away from My presence, along with the city which I gave you and your fathers.

After Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and the officials of Judah with the craftsmen and smiths from Jerusalem and had brought them to Babylon, the Lord showed me: behold, two baskets of figs set before the temple of the Lord!

behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will send to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants and against all these nations round about; and I will utterly destroy them and make them a horror and a hissing, and an everlasting desolation.

For behold, I am beginning to work calamity in this city which is called by My name, and shall you be completely free from punishment? You will not be free from punishment; for I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth,” declares the Lord of hosts.’

Thus says the Lord of hosts,“Behold, evil is going forthFrom nation to nation,And a great storm is being stirred upFrom the remotest parts of the earth.

But as for me, behold, I am in your hands; do with me as is good and right in your sight.

Then I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: Do not listen to the words of your prophets who prophesy to you, saying, ‘Behold, the vessels of the Lord’s house will now shortly be brought again from Babylon’; for they are prophesying a lie to you.

Therefore thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I am about to remove you from the face of the earth. This year you are going to die, because you have counseled rebellion against the Lord.’”

thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Behold, I am sending upon them the sword, famine and pestilence, and I will make them like split-open figs that cannot be eaten due to rottenness.

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning Ahab the son of Kolaiah and concerning Zedekiah the son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying to you falsely in My name, ‘Behold, I will deliver them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will slay them before your eyes.

therefore thus says the Lord, “Behold, I am about to punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants; he will not have anyone living among this people, and he will not see the good that I am about to do to My people,” declares the Lord, “because he has preached rebellion against the Lord.”’”

For behold, days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel and Judah.’ The Lord says, ‘I will also bring them back to the land that I gave to their forefathers and they shall possess it.’”

‘Fear not, O Jacob My servant,’ declares the Lord,‘And do not be dismayed, O Israel;For behold, I will save you from afarAnd your offspring from the land of their captivity.And Jacob will return and will be quiet and at ease,And no one will make him afraid.

“Thus says the Lord,‘Behold, I will restore the fortunes of the tents of JacobAnd have compassion on his dwelling places;And the city will be rebuilt on its ruin,And the palace will stand on its rightful place.

Behold, the tempest of the Lord!Wrath has gone forth,A sweeping tempest;It will burst on the head of the wicked.

“Behold, I am bringing them from the north country,And I will gather them from the remote parts of the earth,Among them the blind and the lame,The woman with child and she who is in labor with child, together;A great company, they will return here.

“Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and with the seed of beast.

“Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,

“Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when the city will be rebuilt for the Lord from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate.

because Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, “Why do you prophesy, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Behold, I am about to give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will take it;

‘Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle is coming to you, saying, “Buy for yourself my field which is at Anathoth, for you have the right of redemption to buy it.”’

‘Ah Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You,

Behold, the siege ramps have reached the city to take it; and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans who fight against it, because of the sword, the famine and the pestilence; and what You have spoken has come to pass; and behold, You see it.

“Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is anything too difficult for Me?”

Therefore thus says the Lord, “Behold, I am about to give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will take it.

Behold, I will gather them out of all the lands to which I have driven them in My anger, in My wrath and in great indignation; and I will bring them back to this place and make them dwell in safety.

Behold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them; and I will reveal to them an abundance of peace and truth.

‘Behold, days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will fulfill the good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and the house of Judah.

“Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Go and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah and say to him: “Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I am giving this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it with fire.

“Therefore thus says the Lord, ‘You have not obeyed Me in proclaiming release each man to his brother and each man to his neighbor. Behold, I am proclaiming a release to you,’ declares the Lord, ‘to the sword, to the pestilence and to the famine; and I will make you a terror to all the kingdoms of the earth.

Behold, I am going to command,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will bring them back to this city; and they will fight against it and take it and burn it with fire; and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without inhabitant.’”

Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am bringing on Judah and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the disaster that I have pronounced against them; because I spoke to them but they did not listen, and I have called them but they did not answer.’”

he went down to the king’s house, into the scribe’s chamber. And behold, all the officials were sitting there—Elishama the scribe, and Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, and Elnathan the son of Achbor, and Gemariah the son of Shaphan, and Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the other officials.

“Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Thus you are to say to the king of Judah, who sent you to Me to inquire of Me: “Behold, Pharaoh’s army which has come out for your assistance is going to return to its own land of Egypt.

So King Zedekiah said, “Behold, he is in your hands; for the king can do nothing against you.”

‘Then behold, all of the women who have been left in the palace of the king of Judah are going to be brought out to the officers of the king of Babylon; and those women will say,“Your close friendsHave misled and overpowered you;While your feet were sunk in the mire,They turned back.”

“Go and speak to Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “Behold, I am about to bring My words on this city for disaster and not for prosperity; and they will take place before you on that day.

But now, behold, I am freeing you today from the chains which are on your hands. If you would prefer to come with me to Babylon, come along, and I will look after you; but if you would prefer not to come with me to Babylon, never mind. Look, the whole land is before you; go wherever it seems good and right for you to go.”

Now as for me, behold, I am going to stay at Mizpah to stand for you before the Chaldeans who come to us; but as for you, gather in wine and summer fruit and oil and put them in your storage vessels, and live in your cities that you have taken over.”

Then Jeremiah the prophet said to them, “I have heard you. Behold, I am going to pray to the Lord your God in accordance with your words; and I will tell you the whole message which the Lord will answer you. I will not keep back a word from you.”