'Cannot' in the Bible

Please listen, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have magnified your lovingkindness (mercy) to me by saving my life; but I cannot escape to the mountains, because the disaster will overtake me and I will be killed.

Hurry and take refuge there, for I cannot do anything [to punish Sodom] until you arrive there.” For this reason the town was named Zoar (few, small).

Then Laban and Bethuel answered, “The matter has come from the Lord; so we dare not speak bad or good [to you about it—we cannot interfere].

But they said, “We cannot [leave] until all the flocks are gathered together, and the shepherds roll the stone from the mouth of the well; then we will water the sheep.”

So Rachel said to her father, “Do not be displeased, my lord, that I cannot rise before you, for the manner of women is on me and I am unwell.” He searched [further] but did not find the household idols.

And You [Lord] said, ‘I will certainly make you prosper and make your descendants as [numerous as] the sand of the sea, which is too great to be counted.’”

They said to them, “We cannot do this thing and give our sister [in marriage] to one who is not circumcised, because that would be a disgrace to us.

So he returned to Judah, and said, “I cannot find her; also the local men said, ‘There was no prostitute around here.’”

But we said to my lord, ‘The young man cannot leave his father, for if he should leave his father, his father would die.’

But we said, ‘We cannot go down [to Egypt]. If our youngest brother is with us, then we will go down [there]; for we [were sternly told that we] cannot see the man’s face unless our youngest brother is with us.’

They shall cover the [visible] surface of the land, so that no one will be able to see the ground, and they will eat the rest of what has remained—that is, the vegetation left after the hail—and they will eat every one of your trees that grows in the field;

Moses said to the Lord, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai, because You warned us, saying, ‘Set barriers around the mountain and consecrate it.’”

‘But if he cannot afford a lamb, then he shall bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons as his guilt offering for his sin to the Lord, one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering.

‘But if he cannot afford to bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons, then he shall bring as his offering for his sin the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour as a sin offering; he shall not put [olive] oil or incense on it, for it is a sin offering.

“But if the cleansed leper is poor and his means are insufficient, then he is to take one lamb as a guilt offering to be waved to make atonement for him, and one tenth of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, and a log of oil,

All the offerings of the holy things, which the Israelites offer to the Lord I have given to you and to your sons and your daughters with you as a continual allotment. It is an everlasting covenant of salt [that cannot be dissolved or violated] before the Lord to you and to your descendants with you.”

Balaam answered the servants of Balak, “Even if Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything, either small or great, contrary to the command of the Lord my God.

“Behold, I have received His command to bless [Israel].He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it.

‘Even if Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the command of the Lord, to do either good or bad of my own accord. What the Lord speaks, that I will speak?’

everything that can stand fire, you shall pass through fire, and it shall be clean. Nevertheless, it shall also be purified with the water of purification [to remove its impurity]; and all that cannot stand fire [such as fabrics] you shall pass through water.

Moreover, your little ones whom you said would become prey, and your sons, who today have no knowledge of good or evil, shall enter Canaan, and I will give it to them and they shall possess it.

“The Lord will strike you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors and with the scab and the itch that you cannot heal.

The Lord will strike you on the knees and on the legs with sore boils that you cannot heal, from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head.

Then Joshua said to the people, “You will not be able to serve the Lord [if you serve any other gods], for He is a holy God; He is a jealous God [demanding what is rightfully and uniquely His]. He will not forgive your transgression [of His law] or your sins.

And when he saw her, he tore his clothes [in grief] and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me great disaster, and you are the cause of ruin to me; for I have made a vow to the Lord, and I cannot take it back.”

But if you are unable to tell me [the answer], then you shall give me thirty linen tunics (undergarments) and thirty changes of [outer] clothing.” And they said to him, “Ask your riddle, so that we may hear it.”

But we cannot give them wives from our daughters.” For the sons of Israel had sworn [an oath], “Cursed is he who gives a wife to [a man from the tribe of] Benjamin.”

The closest relative (redeemer) said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, because [by marrying a Moabitess] I would jeopardize my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption (purchase) yourself, because I cannot redeem it.”

You must not turn away, for then you would go after futile things which cannot profit or rescue, because they are futile.

Then David fastened his sword over his armor and tried to walk, [but he could not,] because he was not used to them. And David said to Saul, “I cannot go with these, because I am not used to them.” So David took them off.

When Saul saw David going out against the Philistine, he said to Abner the captain of the army, “Abner, whose son is this young man?” And Abner answered, “By your life, O king, I do not know.”

Now then, know this and consider what you should do, for evil is [already] planned against our master and against all his household; but he is such a worthless and wicked man that one cannot speak [reasonably] to him.”

Now the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who said to David, “You shall not enter here, for the blind and the lame [even the weakest among us] will turn you away”; they thought, “David cannot come in here [because the walls are impenetrable].”

For we will certainly die and are like water that is spilled on the ground and cannot be gathered up again. Yet God does not [simply] take away life, but devises plans so that the one who is banished is not driven away from Him.

“But the wicked and worthless are all to be thrown away like thorns,Because they cannot be taken with the hand;

Your servant is among Your people whom You have chosen, a great people who are too many to be numbered or counted.

But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You; how much less this house which I have built!

And as soon as I leave you, the Spirit of the Lord will carry you to a place I do not know; so when I come to tell Ahab and he does not find you, he will kill me. Yet your servant has [reverently] feared the Lord from my youth.

So he said to Ben-hadad’s messengers, “Tell my lord the king, ‘Every demand you first sent to your servant I will do, but I cannot do this [additional] thing [as a condition of peace].’” And the messengers left; then they brought him word again.

Tremble [reverently] before Him, all the earth;The world is firmly established, it will not be moved.

But who is able to build a house for Him, since the heavens and [even] the highest heavens cannot contain Him? Who am I to build a house for Him, except [as a place] to burn incense before Him?

“But will God actually dwell with mankind on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You; how much less this house which I have built!

Behold, God is with us at our head, and His priests [are here] with their signal trumpets to sound an alarm against you. O sons of Israel, do not fight against the Lord God of your fathers, for you cannot succeed.”

Then the Spirit of God came over Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, and he stood above the people and said to them, “This is what God has said: ‘Why do you transgress the commandments of the Lord so that you cannot prosper? Because you have abandoned (turned away from) the Lord, He has also abandoned (turned away from) you.’”

But there are many people and it is the season of heavy rain; so we are unable to stand outside. Nor can the task be done in a day or two, for we have transgressed greatly in this matter.

So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and cannot come down. Why should the work stop while I leave to come down to [meet with] you?”

Then Haman told Zeresh his wife and all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then his wise counselors and his wife Zeresh said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall in status, is of Jewish heritage, you will not overcome him, but will certainly fall before him.”

“He frustrates the devices and schemes of the crafty,So that their hands cannot attain success or achieve anything of [lasting] worth.

“Is there injustice or malice on my tongue?Can my palate not discern what is destructive?

“If one should want to contend or dispute with Him,He could not answer Him once in a thousand times.

“Behold, He tears down, and it cannot be rebuilt;He imprisons a man, and there can be no release.

“Since his days are determined,The number of his months is with You [in Your control],And You have made his limits so he cannot pass [his allotted time].

“He has walled up my way so that I cannot pass,And He has set darkness upon my paths.

Or darkness, so that you cannot see,And a flood of water covers you.

“Behold, I go forward (to the east), but He is not there;I go backward (to the west), but I cannot perceive Him;

To the left (north) He turns, but I cannot behold Him;He turns to the right hand (south), but I cannot see Him.

“A mother will forget him;The worm feeds on him until he is no longer remembered.And wickedness will be broken like a tree [which cannot be restored].

“It cannot be obtained for pure gold,Nor can silver be weighed as its price.

“It cannot be valued in [terms of] the gold of Ophir,In the precious onyx or beryl, or the sapphire.

“Gold and glass cannot equal wisdom,Nor can it be exchanged for articles of fine gold.

“The topaz of Ethiopia cannot compare with it,Nor can it be valued in pure gold.

“His flesh is so wasted away that it cannot be seen,And his bones which were not seen now stick out.

“Your wickedness affects only a man such as you,And your righteousness affects only a son of man [but it cannot affect God, who is sovereign].

“God thunders marvelously with His voice;He does great things which we cannot comprehend.

“Tell us [Job] what words [of man] shall we say to such a Being;We cannot state our case because of darkness [that is, our ignorance in the presence of the unsearchable God].

“Now people cannot look at the light when it is bright in the skies [without being blinded],When the wind has passed and cleared them.

“The Almighty—we cannot find Him;He is exalted in powerAnd He will not do violence to [nor disregard] justice and abundant righteousness.

“They are joined one to another;They stick together and cannot be separated.

“The folds of his flesh are joined together,Firm on him and immobile [when he moves].

“The sword that reaches him cannot avail,Nor [does] the spear, the dart, or the javelin.

“The arrow cannot make him flee;Slingstones are treated as stubble by him.

All the prosperous of the earth will eat and worship;All those who go down to the dust (the dead) will bow before Him,Even he who cannot keep his soul alive.

May their eyes be dimmed so that they cannot see,And make their loins shake continually [in terror and weakness].

You have held my eyelids open;I am so troubled that I cannot speak.

How long, O Lord? Will You be angry forever?Will Your jealousy [which cannot endure a divided allegiance] burn like fire?

You have put my friends far from me;You have made me an object of loathing to them.I am shut up and I cannot go out.

“Once [for all] I have sworn by My holiness, [My vow which cannot be violated];I will not lie to David.

The Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty and splendor;The Lord has clothed and encircled Himself with strength;the world is firmly established, it cannot be moved.

Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns;Indeed, the world is firmly and securely established, it shall not be moved;He will judge and rule the people with fairness.”

Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him I will silence;The one who has a haughty look and a proud (arrogant) heart I will not tolerate.

Those who trust in and rely on the Lord [with confident expectation]Are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but remains forever.

Such [infinite] knowledge is too wonderful for me;It is too high [above me], I cannot reach it.

He has also established them forever and ever;He has made a decree which shall not pass away.

For the wicked cannot sleep unless they do evil;And they are deprived of sleep unless they make someone stumble and fall.

So that she does not think [seriously] about the path of life;Her ways are aimless and unstable; you cannot know where her path leads.

The fear of the Lord leads to life,So that one may sleep satisfied, untouched by evil.

Under three things the earth is disquieted and quakes,And under four it cannot bear up:

All things are wearisome and all words are frail;Man cannot express it.The eye is not satisfied with seeing,Nor is the ear filled with hearing.

What is crooked cannot be straightened and what is defective and lacking cannot be counted.

He has made everything beautiful and appropriate in its time. He has also planted eternity [a sense of divine purpose] in the human heart [a mysterious longing which nothing under the sun can satisfy, except God]—yet man cannot find out (comprehend, grasp) what God has done (His overall plan) from the beginning to the end.

and I saw all the work of God, I concluded that man cannot discover the work that is done under the sun. Even though man may labor in seeking, he will not discover; and [more than that], though a wise man thinks and claims he knows, he will not be able to find it out.

“Many waters cannot quench love,Nor can rivers drown it.If a man would offer all the riches of his house for love,It would be utterly scorned and despised.”

“Do not bring worthless offerings again,[Your] incense is repulsive to Me;[Your] New Moon and Sabbath [observances], the calling of assemblies—I cannot endure wickedness [your sin, your injustice, your wrongdoing] and [the squalor of] the festive assembly.

Listen carefully, I will put the Medes [in motion] against them,Who have no regard for silver and do not delight in gold [and therefore cannot be bribed].

Therefore [continues Isaiah] my loins are filled with anguish;Pains have seized me like the pains of a woman in childbirth;I am so bent and bewildered that I cannot hear, I am so terrified that I cannot see.

The entire vision [of all these things] will be to you like the words of a scroll that is sealed, which they give to one who can read, saying, “Read this, please,” he shall say, “I cannot, for it is sealed.”

Then the book will be given to the one who cannot read, saying, “Read this, please.” And he will say, “I cannot read.”

“All will be ashamed because of a people (the Egyptians) who cannot benefit them,Who are not a help or benefit, but a shame and also a disgrace.”

A [mournful, inspired] oracle (a burden to be carried) concerning the beasts of the Negev (the South):Through a land of trouble and anguish,From where come lioness and lion, viper and [fiery] flying serpent,They carry their riches on the shoulders of young donkeysAnd their treasures on the humps of camels,To a people (Egyptians) who cannot benefit them.

“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.”