'Break' in the Bible

But you shall live by your sword,And serve your brother;However it shall come to pass when you break loose [from your anger and hatred],That you will tear his yoke off your neck [and you will be free of him].”

It is to be eaten inside one house; you shall not take any of the meat outside the house, nor shall you break any of its bones.

Every firstborn of a donkey you shall redeem by [substituting] a lamb [as a sacrifice for it], but if you do not [wish to] redeem it, then you shall break its neck; and every firstborn among your sons you shall redeem [that is, “buy back” from God with a suitable sacrifice].

Then the Lord spoke to Moses, “Go down, warn the people, so that they do not break through [the barriers around the mountain] to the Lord to see [Me], and many of them perish [as a result].

Also have the priests who approach the Lord consecrate (sanctify, set apart) themselves [for My sacred purpose], or else the Lord will break forth [in judgment] against them [and destroy them].”

Then the Lord said to him, “Go down and come up again, you and Aaron with you; but do not let the priests and the people break through [the barriers] to come up to the Lord, or He will break forth [in judgment] against them [and destroy them].”

You shall not bow down to worship their gods, nor serve them, nor do [anything] in accordance with their practices. You shall completely overthrow them and break down their [sacred] pillars and images [of pagan worship].

You shall redeem the firstborn of a donkey with a lamb; but if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck. You shall redeem all the firstborn of your sons. None of you are to appear before Me empty-handed.

You are to break it into pieces, and you shall pour oil on it; it is a grain offering.

As for any earthenware container into which any of these [crawling things] falls, whatever is in it becomes unclean, and you shall break the container.

if, instead, you reject My statutes, and if your soul rejects My ordinances, so that you will not [obediently] do all My commandments, and in this way break My covenant,

I will break your pride in your power, and I will make your sky like iron [giving no rain and blocking all prayers] and your ground like bronze [hard to plow and yielding no produce].

When I break your staff of bread [that is, cut off your supply of food], ten women will bake your bread in one oven, and they will ration your bread; and you will eat and not be satisfied.

Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, nor will I so despise them as to destroy them, breaking My covenant with them; for I am the Lord their God.

They shall leave none of it until morning nor break any of its bones; in accordance with all the statutes of the Passover they shall observe it.

“I see Him, but not now;I behold Him, but not near.A star shall come forth from [the descendants of] Jacob,A scepter shall rise out of [the descendants of] IsraelAnd shall crush the forehead of MoabAnd destroy all the sons of Sheth.

If a man makes a vow to the Lord or swears an oath to bind himself with a pledge [of abstinence], he shall not break (violate, profane) his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.

But this is how you shall deal with them: you shall tear down their altars and smash to pieces their sacred pillars, and cut down their Asherim (symbols of the goddess Asherah), and burn their carved or sculpted images in the fire.

You shall tear down their altars and smash their [idolatrous] pillars and burn their Asherim in the fire; you shall cut down the carved and sculpted images of their gods and obliterate their name from that place.

and the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a [river] valley with running water, which has not been plowed or planted, and shall break the heifer’s neck there in the valley.

The Lord said to Moses, “Behold, you are about to lie down [in death] with your fathers; and this people will arise and play the prostitute (commit apostasy) with the foreign gods [of the people] of the land, where they go to be among them. They will abandon (turn away from) Me and break My covenant which I have made with them.

For when I bring them into the land which I have sworn to their fathers, a land [of plenty] flowing with milk and honey, and they have eaten and are satisfied and become prosperous, then they will turn to other gods and serve them, and despise and reject Me and break My covenant.

Now the Angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up from Egypt and led you to the land which I swore [to give] to your fathers; and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you,

and as for you, you shall not make a covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed Me; what is this that you have done?

So Gideon said also to the men of Penuel, “When I come again in peace, I will tear down this tower.”

But the men would not listen to him. So the man took the Levite’s concubine and brought her outside to them; and they had relations with her and abused her all night until morning; and when daybreak came, they let her go.

“Let there be a treaty between me and you, as there was between my father and your father. Behold, I have sent you a gift of silver and gold; go, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.”

When the king of Moab saw that the battle was too fierce for him, he took with him seven hundred swordsmen to break through to the king of Edom; but they could not.

“Let there be a treaty between you and me, as there was between my father and your father. Look, I am sending you silver and gold; go, break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel, so that he will withdraw from me.”

shall we again break Your commandments and intermarry with the peoples who practice these repulsive acts? Would You not be angry with us to the point of total destruction, so that there would be no remnant nor survivor?

Now Tobiah the Ammonite was beside him, and he said, “Even what they are building—if a fox should get up on it, he would break down their stone wall.”

“How long will you torment and exasperate meAnd crush me with words?

“He breaks open (mine) shafts far away from where people live,[In places] forgotten by the [human] foot;They dangle [in the mines] and hang away from men.

“They break up and clutter my path [upsetting my plans],They profit from my destruction;No one restrains them.

“Let us break apart their [divine] bands [of restraint]And cast away their cords [of control] from us.”

‘You shall break them with a rod of iron;You shall shatter them [in pieces] like earthenware.’”

Break the arm of the wicked and the evildoer,Seek out his wickedness until You find no more.

Because they have no regard for the works of the LordNor the deeds of His hands,He will tear them down and not rebuild them.

But God will break you down forever;He will take you away and tear you away from your tent,And uproot you from the land of the living. Selah.

O God, break their teeth in their mouth;Break out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord.

If they break My statutesAnd do not keep My commandments,

“Nevertheless, I will not break off My lovingkindness from him,Nor allow My faithfulness to fail.

“My covenant I will not violate,Nor will I alter the utterance of My lips.

Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth;Shout [in jubilation] and sing for joy and sing praises.

He who [willfully] separates himself [from God and man] seeks his own desire,He quarrels against all sound wisdom.

A time to kill and a time to heal;A time to tear down and a time to build up.

“So now let me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard:I will take away its thorn-hedge, and it will be burned up;I will break down its stone wall and it will be trampled down [by enemies].

“The whole earth is at rest and is quiet;They break into shouts of joy.

to break the Assyrian in My land, and on My mountains I will trample him underfoot. Then the Assyrian’s yoke will be removed from them (the people of Judah) and his burden removed from their shoulder.

“Whose collapse is like the smashing of a potter’s jar,Crushed so savagelythat there cannot be found among its pieces a potsherd [large enough]To take [coals of] fire from a fireplace,Or to scoop water from a cistern.”

Then the lame will leap like a deer,And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy.For waters will break forth in the wildernessAnd streams in the desert.

“A broken reed He will not break [off]And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish [He will not harm those who are weak and suffering];He will faithfully bring forth justice.

Shout for joy, O heavens, for the Lord has done it!Shout in triumph, you depths of the earth;Break forth into jubilant rejoicing, you mountains,O forest, and every tree in it!For the Lord has redeemed Jacob,And He shows His glory in Israel.

“I will go before you and level the mountains;I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron.

Shout for joy, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth,And break forth into singing, O mountains!For the Lord has comforted His peopleAnd will have compassion on His afflicted.

Break forth, shout joyfully together,You ruins of Jerusalem;For the Lord has comforted His people,He has redeemed Jerusalem.

“Shout for joy, O barren one, she who has not given birth;Break forth into joyful shouting and rejoice, she who has not gone into labor [with child]!For the [spiritual] sons of the desolate one will be more numerousThan the sons of the married woman,” says the Lord.

“For you will go out [from exile] with joyAnd be led forth [by the Lord Himself] with peace;The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you,And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.

“[Rather] is this not the fast which I choose,To undo the bonds of wickedness,To tear to pieces the ropes of the yoke,To let the oppressed go freeAnd break apart every [enslaving] yoke?

“Then your light will break out like the dawn,And your healing (restoration, new life) will quickly spring forth;Your righteousness will go before you [leading you to peace and prosperity],The glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.

Then the Lord said to me, “Out of the north the evil [which the prophets foretold as the result of national sin] will reveal itself and spill out on all the people of the land.

But you [Jeremiah], gird up your loins [in preparation]! Get up and tell them all which I command you. Do not be distraught and break down at the sight of their [hostile] faces, or I will bewilder you before them and allow you to be overcome.

For this is what the Lord says to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem,“Plow your uncultivated ground [for a season],And do not sow among thorns.

“They will consume your harvest and [eat up] your bread;They will consume your sons and your daughters;They will consume your flocks and your herds;They will consume your vines and your fig trees.With the sword they will break down and demolish your fortified cities in which you trust.

“At that time,” says the Lord, “they [the Babylonian army] will bring out from their graves the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of its princes, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

Do not treat us with contempt and condemn us, for Your own name’s sake;Do not disgrace Your glorious throne;Remember [with consideration] and do not break Your [solemn] covenant with us.

“Can anyone crush iron,The iron from the north, or bronze?

At one moment I might [suddenly] speak concerning a nation or kingdom, that I will uproot and break down and destroy;

“Then you are to break the jar in the sight of the men who accompany you,

and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “This is the way I will break this people and this city as one breaks a potter’s vessel, so that it cannot be mended. They will bury [corpses] in Topheth until there is no more room left [in that place] to bury [the dead].

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.’”

Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Even so within two full years I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations.’” Then the prophet Jeremiah went his way.

‘It shall come about on that day,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘that I will break the yoke off your neck and I will tear off your bonds and force apart your shackles; and strangers will no longer make slaves of the people [of Israel].

It will be that as I have watched over them to uproot and to break down, to overthrow, destroy, and afflict with disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant [with good],” says the Lord.

“Thus says the Lord, ‘If you can break My covenant for the day and My covenant for the night, so that day and night do not take place at their appointed times,

Nebuchadnezzar will also break the images and shatter the obelisks of Heliopolis in the land of Egypt; and he will burn down the temples of the gods of Egypt.”’”

Say this to him, ‘The Lord speaks in this way, “Behold, what I have built I will break down, and that which I have planted I will uproot, that is, the whole land.”

Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “when I will send to Moab those who will tip him over and who will empty his vessels and break his [earthenware] jars in pieces.

“Thus says the Lord of hosts,‘Behold (listen carefully), I am going to break the bow of Elam,The finest [weapon] of their strength.

“You [Cyrus of Persia, soon to conquer Babylon] are My battle-axe and weapon of war—For with you I shatter nations,With you I destroy kingdoms.

“With you I shatter the horse and his rider,With you I shatter the chariot and its driver,

With you I shatter man and woman,With you I shatter old man and youth,With you I shatter young man and virgin,

With you I shatter the shepherd and his flock,With you I shatter the farmer and his yoke of oxen,And with you I shatter governors and commanders.

Moreover, He said to me, “Son of man, behold (listen carefully), I am going to break the staff of bread [that supports life] in Jerusalem; and they shall eat bread [rationed] by weight and [eat it] with anxiety and fear, and drink water by measure and [drink it] in horror [of the impending starvation],

When I send against them the deadly arrows of hunger which were for the destruction of those whom I will send to destroy you, then I will increase the famine upon you and break your staff of bread.

So I will tear down the wall which you have plastered with whitewash and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundations will be exposed; when it falls, you will perish in its midst. And you shall know and understand fully that I am the Lord.

“Son of man, if a land sins against Me by committing unfaithfulness, and I stretch out My hand against it and destroy its source of bread and send famine on it and cut off from it both man and animal,

And I [the Lord God] will judge you like women who commit adultery or shed blood are judged; and I will bring on you the blood of wrath and jealousy.

But Zedekiah rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar by sending his ambassadors to Egypt so that they might give him horses and many troops. Will he succeed? Will he who does such things escape? Can he indeed break the covenant [with Babylon] and [still] escape?

They will destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers; and I will scrape her dust and debris from her and make her as bare as [the top of] a rock.

He will direct the [shocking] blow of his battering rams against your walls, and he will tear down your towers with his crowbars.

Also they will take your riches as spoil and plunder your merchandise, and tear down your walls and your pleasant houses, and throw your stones and your timber and the debris [from your city] out in the water.

“In Tehaphnehes the day will be darkWhen I break the yoke bars and dominion of Egypt there.Then the pride of her power will come to an end;A cloud [of disasters] will cover her,And her daughters will go into captivity.

Therefore thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt and will break his arms, both the strong one and the broken, and I will make the sword fall from his hand.

I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put My sword in his hand; but I will break Pharaoh’s arms and he will groan before him (Nebuchadnezzar) with the groanings of a [mortally] wounded man.

“Son of man, take up a dirge (funeral poem to be sung) over Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him,‘You have compared yourself to a young lion among the nations,But you are like a monster in the seas;You burst into your riversAnd disturbed and muddied the waters with your feetAnd fouled their rivers [the source of their prosperity].’”

Then a fourth kingdom (Rome) will be strong as iron, for iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things; and like iron which crushes things in pieces, it will break and crush all these [others].

In the days of those [final ten] kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will its sovereignty be left for another people; but it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it will stand forever.

Therefore, O king, let my advice to you be [considered and found] acceptable; break away now from your sins and exhibit your repentance by doing what is right, and from your wickedness by showing mercy to the poor, so that [if you repent] there may possibly be a continuance of your prosperity and tranquility and a healing of your error.’

“Thus the angel said, ‘The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which will be different from all other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth and tread it down, and crush it.