'Commands' in the Bible

Fortified cities will disappear from Ephraim, and Damascus will lose its kingdom. The survivors in Syria will end up like the splendor of the Israelites," says the Lord who commands armies.

At that time tribute will be brought to the Lord who commands armies, by a people that are tall and smooth-skinned, a people that are feared far and wide, a nation strong and victorious, whose land rivers divide. The tribute will be brought to the place where the Lord who commands armies has chosen to reside, on Mount Zion.

I will hand Egypt over to a harsh master; a powerful king will rule over them," says the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies.

But where, oh where, are your wise men? Let them tell you, let them find out what the Lord who commands armies has planned for Egypt.

At that time the Egyptians will be like women. They will tremble and fear because the Lord who commands armies brandishes his fist against them.

The land of Judah will humiliate Egypt. Everyone who hears about Judah will be afraid because of what the Lord who commands armies is planning to do to them.

At that time five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord who commands armies. One will be called the City of the Sun.

It will become a visual reminder in the land of Egypt of the Lord who commands armies. When they cry out to the Lord because of oppressors, he will send them a deliverer and defender who will rescue them.

The Lord who commands armies will pronounce a blessing over the earth, saying, "Blessed be my people, Egypt, and the work of my hands, Assyria, and my special possession, Israel!"

O my downtrodden people, crushed like stalks on the threshing floor, what I have heard from the Lord who commands armies, the God of Israel, I have reported to you.

For the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, has planned a day of panic, defeat, and confusion. In the Valley of Vision people shout and cry out to the hill.

At that time the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, called for weeping and mourning, for shaved heads and sackcloth.

The Lord who commands armies told me this: "Certainly this sin will not be forgiven as long as you live," says the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies.

This is what the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, says: "Go visit this administrator, Shebna, who supervises the palace, and tell him:

"At that time," says the Lord who commands armies, "the peg fastened into a solid place will come loose. It will be cut off and fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut off." Indeed, the Lord has spoken.

The Lord who commands armies planned it -- to dishonor the pride that comes from all her beauty, to humiliate all the dignitaries of the earth.

The full moon will be covered up, the bright sun will be darkened; for the Lord who commands armies will rule on Mount Zion in Jerusalem in the presence of his assembly, in majestic splendor.

The Lord who commands armies will hold a banquet for all the nations on this mountain. At this banquet there will be plenty of meat and aged wine -- tender meat and choicest wine.

At that time the Lord who commands armies will become a beautiful crown and a splendid diadem for the remnant of his people.

So now, do not mock, or your chains will become heavier! For I have heard a message about decreed destruction, from the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, against the entire land.

This also comes from the Lord who commands armies, who gives supernatural guidance and imparts great wisdom.

Judgment will come from the Lord who commands armies, accompanied by thunder, earthquake, and a loud noise, by a strong gale, a windstorm, and a consuming flame of fire.

Indeed, this is what the Lord says to me: "The Lord will be like a growling lion, like a young lion growling over its prey. Though a whole group of shepherds gathers against it, it is not afraid of their shouts or intimidated by their yelling. In this same way the Lord who commands armies will descend to do battle on Mount Zion and on its hill.

Just as birds hover over a nest, so the Lord who commands armies will protect Jerusalem. He will protect and deliver it; as he passes over he will rescue it.

"O Lord who commands armies, O God of Israel, who is enthroned on the cherubim! You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the sky and the earth.

"For a remnant will leave Jerusalem; survivors will come out of Mount Zion. The intense devotion of the Lord who commands armies will accomplish this.

Isaiah said to Hezekiah, "Listen to the word of the Lord who commands armies:

Who handed Jacob over to the robber? Who handed Israel over to the looters? Was it not the Lord, against whom we sinned? They refused to follow his commands; they disobeyed his law.

This is what the Lord, Israel's king, says, their protector, the Lord who commands armies: "I am the first and I am the last, there is no God but me.

It is me -- I stir him up and commission him; I will make all his ways level. He will rebuild my city; he will send my exiled people home, but not for a price or a bribe," says the Lord who commands armies.

says our protector -- the Lord who commands armies is his name, the Holy One of Israel.

Indeed, they live in the holy city; they trust in the God of Israel, whose name is the Lord who commands armies.

I am the Lord your God, who churns up the sea so that its waves surge. The Lord who commands armies is his name!

For your husband is the one who made you -- the Lord who commands armies is his name. He is your protector, the Holy One of Israel. He is called "God of the entire earth."

However, you must confess that you have done wrong, and that you have rebelled against the Lord your God. You must confess that you have given yourself to foreign gods under every green tree, and have not obeyed my commands,' says the Lord.

Consider this: When I spoke to your ancestors after I brought them out of Egypt, I did not merely give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices.

If you are careful to obey these commands, then the kings who follow in David's succession and ride in chariots or on horses will continue to come through the gates of this palace, as will their officials and their subjects.

But, if you do not obey these commands, I solemnly swear that this palace will become a pile of rubble. I, the Lord, affirm it!"

(Tsade) The Lord is right to judge me! Yes, I rebelled against his commands. Please listen, all you nations, and look at my suffering! My young women and men have gone into exile.

This is what the Lord says: "Because Judah has committed three covenant transgressions -- make that four! -- I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They rejected the Lord's law; they did not obey his commands. Their false gods, to which their fathers were loyal, led them astray.

Listen and warn the family of Jacob! The sovereign Lord, the God who commands armies, is speaking!

For here he is! He formed the mountains and created the wind. He reveals his plans to men. He turns the dawn into darkness and marches on the heights of the earth. The Lord, the God who commands armies, is his name!"

Seek good and not evil so you can live! Then the Lord, the God who commands armies, just might be with you, as you claim he is.

Hate what is wrong, love what is right! Promote justice at the city gate! Maybe the Lord, the God who commands armies, will have mercy on those who are left from Joseph.

Because of Israel's sins this is what the Lord, the God who commands armies, the sovereign One, says: "In all the squares there will be wailing, in all the streets they will mourn the dead. They will tell the field workers to lament and the professional mourners to wail.

and I will drive you into exile beyond Damascus," says the Lord. He is called the God who commands armies!

The sovereign Lord confirms this oath by his very own life. The Lord, the God who commands armies, is speaking: "I despise Jacob's arrogance; I hate their fortresses. I will hand over to their enemies the city of Samaria and everything in it."

"Look! I am about to bring a nation against you, family of Israel." The Lord, the God who commands armies, is speaking. "They will oppress you all the way from Lebo-Hamath to the Stream of the Arabah."

The sovereign Lord who commands armies will do this. He touches the earth and it dissolves; all who live on it mourn. The whole earth rises like the River Nile, and then grows calm like the Nile in Egypt.

Does the family of Jacob say, 'The Lord's patience can't be exhausted -- he would never do such things'? To be sure, my commands bring a reward for those who obey them,

Many nations will come, saying, "Come on! Let's go up to the Lord's mountain, to the temple of Jacob's God, so he can teach us his commands and we can live by his laws." For Zion will be the source of instruction; the Lord's teachings will proceed from Jerusalem.

Each will sit under his own grapevine or under his own fig tree without any fear. The Lord who commands armies has decreed it.

"I am against you!" declares the Lord who commands armies: "I will burn your chariots with fire; the sword will devour your young lions; you will no longer prey upon the land; the voices of your messengers will no longer be heard."

I am against you," declares the Lord who commands armies. "I will strip off your clothes! I will show your nakedness to the nations and your shame to the kingdoms;

Be sure of this! The Lord who commands armies has decreed: The nations' efforts will go up in smoke; their exhausting work will be for nothing.

Seek the Lord's favor, all you humble people of the land who have obeyed his commands! Strive to do what is right! Strive to be humble! Maybe you will be protected on the day of the Lord's angry judgment.

Therefore, as surely as I live," says the Lord who commands armies, the God of Israel, "be certain that Moab will become like Sodom and the Ammonites like Gomorrah. They will be overrun by weeds, filled with salt pits, and permanently desolate. Those of my people who are left will plunder their belongings; those who are left in Judah will take possession of their land."

This is how they will be repaid for their arrogance, for they taunted and verbally harassed the people of the Lord who commands armies.

So anyone who breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever obeys them and teaches others to do so will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

They were all amazed so that they asked each other, "What is this? A new teaching with authority! He even commands the unclean spirits and they obey him."

They were all amazed and began to say to one another, "What's happening here? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!"

Then he said to them, "Where is your faith?" But they were afraid and amazed, saying to one another, "Who then is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him!"

but he answered his father, 'Look! These many years I have worked like a slave for you, and I never disobeyed your commands. Yet you never gave me even a goat so that I could celebrate with my friends!

Therefore, although God has overlooked such times of ignorance, he now commands all people everywhere to repent,

These are all destined to perish with use, founded as they are on human commands and teachings.

For you know what commands we gave you through the Lord Jesus.

Reinforce these commands, so that they will be beyond reproach.

Before God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, I solemnly charge you to carry out these commands without prejudice or favoritism of any kind.

and not pay attention to Jewish myths and commands of people who reject the truth.