'Build' in the Bible

They said, “Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth.”

If you make an altar of stone for Me, you shall not build it of cut stones, for if you wield your tool on it, you will profane it.

Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars for me here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me here.”

Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars for me here and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me here.”

Then they came near to him and said, “We will build here sheepfolds for our livestock and cities for our little ones;

Build yourselves cities for your little ones, and sheepfolds for your sheep, and do what you have promised.”

“Then it shall come about when the Lord your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you, great and splendid cities which you did not build,

“When you build a new house, you shall make a parapet for your roof, so that you will not bring bloodguilt on your house if anyone falls from it.

then his brother’s wife shall come to him in the sight of the elders, and pull his sandal off his foot and spit in his face; and she shall declare, ‘Thus it is done to the man who does not build up his brother’s house.’

Moreover, you shall build there an altar to the Lord your God, an altar of stones; you shall not wield an iron tool on them.

You shall build the altar of the Lord your God of uncut stones, and you shall offer on it burnt offerings to the Lord your God;

You shall betroth a wife, but another man will violate her; you shall build a house, but you will not live in it; you shall plant a vineyard, but you will not use its fruit.

“Therefore we said, ‘Let us build an altar, not for burnt offering or for sacrifice;

and build an altar to the Lord your God on the top of this stronghold in an orderly manner, and take a second bull and offer a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah which you shall cut down.”

But I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and in My soul; and I will build him an enduring house, and he will walk before My anointed always.

“Go and say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Are you the one who should build Me a house to dwell in?

He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.

For You, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have made a revelation to Your servant, saying, ‘I will build you a house’; therefore Your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to You.

Then Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” And David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, in order to build an altar to the Lord, that the plague may be held back from the people.”

Now the king sent and called for Shimei and said to him, “Build for yourself a house in Jerusalem and live there, and do not go out from there to any place.

“You know that David my father was unable to build a house for the name of the Lord his God because of the wars which surrounded him, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet.

Behold, I intend to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord spoke to David my father, saying, ‘Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, he will build the house for My name.’

So Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders and the Gebalites cut them, and prepared the timbers and the stones to build the house.

Now it came about in the four hundred and eightieth year after the sons of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the Lord.

‘Since the day that I brought My people Israel from Egypt, I did not choose a city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house that My name might be there, but I chose David to be over My people Israel.’

Now it was in the heart of my father David to build a house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.

But the Lord said to my father David, ‘Because it was in your heart to build a house for My name, you did well that it was in your heart.

Nevertheless you shall not build the house, but your son who will be born to you, he will build the house for My name.’

Now this is the account of the forced labor which King Solomon levied to build the house of the Lord, his own house, the Millo, the wall of Jerusalem, Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer.

and all the storage cities which Solomon had, even the cities for his chariots and the cities for his horsemen, and all that it pleased Solomon to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land under his rule.

Then it will be, that if you listen to all that I command you and walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight by observing My statutes and My commandments, as My servant David did, then I will be with you and build you an enduring house as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you.

Now Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David with cedar trees, masons and carpenters, to build a house for him.

“Go and tell David My servant, ‘Thus says the Lord, “You shall not build a house for Me to dwell in;

even from the day that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel. And I will subdue all your enemies.Moreover, I tell you that the Lord will build a house for you.

He shall build for Me a house, and I will establish his throne forever.

For You, O my God, have revealed to Your servant that You will build for him a house; therefore Your servant has found courage to pray before You.

Then the angel of the Lord commanded Gad to say to David, that David should go up and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

Then David said to Ornan, “Give me the site of this threshing floor, that I may build on it an altar to the Lord; for the full price you shall give it to me, that the plague may be restrained from the people.”

So David gave orders to gather the foreigners who were in the land of Israel, and he set stonecutters to hew out stones to build the house of God.

Then he called for his son Solomon, and charged him to build a house for the Lord God of Israel.

David said to Solomon, “My son, I had intended to build a house to the name of the Lord my God.

But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘You have shed much blood and have waged great wars; you shall not build a house to My name, because you have shed so much blood on the earth before Me.

He shall build a house for My name, and he shall be My son and I will be his father; and I will establish the throne of his kingdom over Israel forever.’

Now, my son, the Lord be with you that you may be successful, and build the house of the Lord your God just as He has spoken concerning you.

Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God; arise, therefore, and build the sanctuary of the Lord God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord and the holy vessels of God into the house that is to be built for the name of the Lord.”

Then King David rose to his feet and said, “Listen to me, my brethren and my people; I had intended to build a permanent home for the ark of the covenant of the Lord and for the footstool of our God. So I had made preparations to build it.

But God said to me, ‘You shall not build a house for My name because you are a man of war and have shed blood.’

He said to me, ‘Your son Solomon is the one who shall build My house and My courts; for I have chosen him to be a son to Me, and I will be a father to him.

Consider now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be courageous and act.”

O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided to build You a house for Your holy name, it is from Your hand, and all is Yours.

and give to my son Solomon a perfect heart to keep Your commandments, Your testimonies and Your statutes, and to do them all, and to build the temple, for which I have made provision.”

Now Solomon decided to build a house for the name of the Lord and a royal palace for himself.

Then Solomon sent word to Huram the king of Tyre, saying, “As you dealt with David my father and sent him cedars to build him a house to dwell in, so do for me.

Behold, I am about to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, dedicating it to Him, to burn fragrant incense before Him and to set out the showbread continually, and to offer burnt offerings morning and evening, on sabbaths and on new moons and on the appointed feasts of the Lord our God, this being required forever in Israel.

The house which I am about to build will be great, for greater is our God than all the gods.

But who is able to build a house for Him, for the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain Him? So who am I, that I should build a house for Him, except to burn incense before Him?

to prepare timber in abundance for me, for the house which I am about to build will be great and wonderful.

Then Huram continued, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who has made heaven and earth, who has given King David a wise son, endowed with discretion and understanding, who will build a house for the Lord and a royal palace for himself.

Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

He began to build on the second day in the second month of the fourth year of his reign.

‘Since the day that I brought My people from the land of Egypt, I did not choose a city out of all the tribes of Israel in which to build a house that My name might be there, nor did I choose any man for a leader over My people Israel;

Now it was in the heart of my father David to build a house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.

But the Lord said to my father David, ‘Because it was in your heart to build a house for My name, you did well that it was in your heart.

Nevertheless you shall not build the house, but your son who will be born to you, he shall build the house for My name.’

and Baalath and all the storage cities that Solomon had, and all the cities for his chariots and cities for his horsemen, and all that it pleased Solomon to build in Jerusalem, in Lebanon, and in all the land under his rule.

For he said to Judah, “Let us build these cities and surround them with walls and towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours because we have sought the Lord our God; we have sought Him, and He has given us rest on every side.” So they built and prospered.

“Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all His people, may the Lord his God be with him, and let him go up!’”

“Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.

they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers’ households, and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we, like you, seek your God; and we have been sacrificing to Him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria, who brought us up here.”

But Zerubbabel and Jeshua and the rest of the heads of fathers’ households of Israel said to them, “You have nothing in common with us in building a house to our God; but we ourselves will together build to the Lord God of Israel, as King Cyrus, the king of Persia has commanded us.”

I told them how the hand of my God had been favorable to me and also about the king’s words which he had spoken to me. Then they said, “Let us arise and build.” So they put their hands to the good work.

So I answered them and said to them, “The God of heaven will give us success; therefore we His servants will arise and build, but you have no portion, right or memorial in Jerusalem.”

“His troops come together,And build up their way against meAnd camp around my tent.

“On the right hand their brood arises;They thrust aside my feet and build up against me their ways of destruction.

Because they do not regard the works of the LordNor the deeds of His hands,He will tear them down and not build them up.

By Your favor do good to Zion;Build the walls of Jerusalem.

For God will save Zion and build the cities of Judah,That they may dwell there and possess it.

I will establish your seed foreverAnd build up your throne to all generations.” Selah.

Where the birds build their nests,And the stork, whose home is the fir trees.

A Song of Ascents, of Solomon.Unless the Lord builds the house,They labor in vain who build it;Unless the Lord guards the city,The watchman keeps awake in vain.

Prepare your work outsideAnd make it ready for yourself in the field;Afterwards, then, build your house.

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

“If she is a wall,We will build on her a battlement of silver;But if she is a door,We will barricade her with planks of cedar.”

“I have aroused him in righteousnessAnd I will make all his ways smooth;He will build My city and will let My exiles go free,Without any payment or reward,” says the Lord of hosts.

And it will be said,“Build up, build up, prepare the way,Remove every obstacle out of the way of My people.”

“Foreigners will build up your walls,And their kings will minister to you;For in My wrath I struck you,And in My favor I have had compassion on you.

Go through, go through the gates,Clear the way for the people;Build up, build up the highway,Remove the stones, lift up a standard over the peoples.

“They will build houses and inhabit them;They will also plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

“They will not build and another inhabit,They will not plant and another eat;For as the lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people,And My chosen ones will wear out the work of their hands.

Thus says the Lord,“Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool.Where then is a house you could build for Me?And where is a place that I may rest?

“See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms,To pluck up and to break down,To destroy and to overthrow,To build and to plant.”

Or at another moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to build up or to plant it;

Who says, ‘I will build myself a roomy houseWith spacious upper rooms,And cut out its windows,Paneling it with cedar and painting it bright red.’

For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them again to this land; and I will build them up and not overthrow them, and I will plant them and not pluck them up.

‘Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce.

For he has sent to us in Babylon, saying, ‘The exile will be long; build houses and live in them and plant gardens and eat their produce.’”’”

“Again I will build you and you will be rebuilt,O virgin of Israel!Again you will take up your tambourines,And go forth to the dances of the merrymakers.

As I have watched over them to pluck up, to break down, to overthrow, to destroy and to bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” declares the Lord.

You shall not build a house, and you shall not sow seed and you shall not plant a vineyard or own one; but in tents you shall dwell all your days, that you may live many days in the land where you sojourn.’

nor to build ourselves houses to dwell in; and we do not have vineyard or field or seed.