'Cut' in the Bible

So Abram brought all these to Him and cut them down the middle, and laid each half opposite the other; but he did not cut the birds.

Then you shall cut the ram into pieces, and wash its intestines and legs, and place them with its pieces and its head,

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Cut two tablets of stone like the first, and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you smashed [when you learned of Israel’s idolatry].

So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first ones, and he got up early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took the two tablets of stone in his hand.

But you shall tear down and destroy their [pagan] altars, smash in pieces their [sacred] pillars (obelisks, images) and cut down their Asherim

Then Bezalel and Oholiab hammered the gold [into thin sheets] and cut it into threads to work into the blue, purple, and scarlet fabric, and into the fine linen, the work of a skilled craftsman.

Then he shall skin the burnt offering and cut it into pieces.

He shall cut it into pieces, with its head and its fat, and the priest shall arrange them on the wood which is on the fire that is on the altar.

Then he shall tear it open by its wings, but shall not sever it. And the priest shall offer it up in smoke on the altar, on the wood that is on the fire. It is a burnt offering, an offering by fire, a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord.

When he had cut the ram into pieces, Moses offered up the head, the pieces, and the fat in smoke.

‘Any man from the house of Israel, or any stranger living temporarily among you, who eats any blood, against that person I shall set My face and I will cut him off from his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them].

I will also set My face against that man [opposing him, withdrawing My protection from him] and will cut him off from his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them], because he has given some of his children to Molech, so as to defile My sanctuary and profane My holy name.

then I shall set My face against that man and against his [extended] family, and I will cut off from their people both him and all who follow him in playing the prostitute (commit apostasy) with Molech.

‘As for the person who turns to mediums [who consult the dead] or to spiritists, to play the prostitute after them, I shall set My face against that person and will cut him off from his people [excluding him from the atonement made for them].

You shall not offer to the Lord any animal which has its testicles bruised or crushed or torn or cut off, or sacrifice it in your land.

I will destroy your high places [devoted to idolatrous worship], and cut down your incense altars, and heap your dead bodies upon the [crushed] bodies of your idols, and My soul will detest you [with deep and unutterable loathing].

“Do not cut off (eliminate, destroy) the tribe of the families of the Kohathites [who are only Levites and not priests], from among the Levites [by exposing them to the sin of touching the most holy things].

Then they came to the Valley of Eshcol (cluster of grapes), and from there cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes; and they carried it on a pole between two of them, with some of pomegranates and the figs.

That place was called the Valley of Eshcol (cluster of grapes) because of the cluster of grapes which the sons of Israel cut down there.

“You are the sons of the Lord your God; you shall not cut yourselves nor shave your forehead for the sake of the dead,

as [for example] when a man goes into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood, and his hand swings the axe to cut down the tree, but the iron head slips off the wooden handle and hits his companion and he dies—the offender may escape to one of these cities and live;

“When you besiege a city for a long time, making war against it in order to capture it, you shall not destroy its [fruit-bearing] trees by swinging an axe against them; for you may eat from them, and you shall not cut them down. For is the tree of the field a man, that it should be besieged (destroyed) by you?

Only the trees which you know are not fruit trees shall you destroy and cut down, so that you may build siegeworks against the city that is making war with you until it falls.

Now on that same night the Lord said to Gideon, “Take your father’s bull, the second bull seven years old, and tear down the altar of Baal that belongs to your father, and cut down the Asherah that is beside it;

and build an altar to the Lord your God on top of this mountain stronghold [with stones laid down] in an orderly way. Then take the second bull and offer a burnt sacrifice using the wood of the Asherah which you shall cut down.”

Early the next morning when the men of the city got up, they discovered that the altar of Baal was torn down, and the Asherah which was beside it was cut down, and the second bull was offered on the altar which had been built.

Then the men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son, so that he may be executed, because he has torn down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah which was beside it.”

So Abimelech went up to Mount Zalmon, he and all the people with him; and Abimelech took an axe in his hand and cut down a branch from the trees, picked it up, and laid it on his shoulder. And he said to the people with him, “What you have seen me do, hurry and do just as I have done.”

So everyone of the people also cut down his branch and followed Abimelech, and they put the branches on top of the inner chamber and set it on fire over those inside, so that all the people in the Tower of Shechem also died, about a thousand men and women.

So I took my concubine and cut her [corpse] in pieces and sent her [body parts] throughout the land of the inheritance of Israel; for the men of Gibeah have committed a lewd and disgraceful act in Israel.

He took a team of oxen and cut them in pieces, and sent them throughout the territory of Israel by the hand of messengers, saying, “Whoever does not come out to follow Saul and Samuel, the same shall be done to his oxen.” Then fear of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out [united] as one man [with one purpose].

When he cut the hair of his head (for at the end of each year he cut it, because its weight was heavy on him) he weighed the hair of his head at 200 shekels by the king’s weight.

All the doorways and doorposts [and windows] had squared [artistic] frames, and window was opposite window in three tiers.

Now let them give us two oxen, and let them choose one ox for themselves and cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it. I will prepare the other ox and lay it on the wood, and I will not put a fire under it.

So they cried out with a loud voice [to get Baal’s attention] and cut themselves with swords and lances in accordance with their custom, until the blood flowed out on them.

Then he laid out the wood and cut the ox in pieces and laid it on the wood.

Then one [of them] went into the field to gather herbs, and found a wild vine and gathered from it a lapful of wild gourds, and came and cut them up into the pot of stew, although they did not know what they were.

So he went with them; and when they came to the Jordan, they cut down [some of] the trees.

He removed the high places [of pagan worship], broke down the images (memorial stones) and cut down the Asherim. He also crushed to pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the Israelites had burned incense to it; and it was called Nehushtan [a bronze sculpture].

‘Through your messengers you have taunted and defied the Lord,And have said [boastfully], “With my many chariotsI came up to the heights of the mountains,To the remotest parts of Lebanon;I cut down its tall cedar trees and its choicest cypress trees.I entered its most distant lodging, its densest forest.

He broke in pieces the sacred pillars (cultic memorial stones, images) and cut down the Asherim and replaced them with human bones [to desecrate the places forever].

He carried out of there (Jerusalem) all the treasures of the house (temple) of the Lord, and the treasures of the house (palace) of the king, and cut in pieces all the articles of gold in the temple of the Lord, which Solomon king of Israel had made, just as the Lord had said.

Send me also cedar, cypress, and algum timber, for I know that your servants know how to cut timber in Lebanon. And indeed my servants will work with your servants

And I will give to your servants who cut timber, 20,000 measures of crushed wheat and 20,000 measures of barley, and 20,000 baths of wine and 20,000 baths of [olive] oil.”

We will cut whatever timber you need from Lebanon and bring it to you on rafts by sea to Joppa, so that you may take it up to Jerusalem.”

He removed the foreign altars and high places and tore down the [pagan] pillars (obelisks, memorial stones), and cut to pieces the Asherim [the symbols of the goddess Asherah].

He also removed Maacah, King Asa’s mother, from the position of queen mother, because she had made a repulsive image for [the goddess] Asherah. Asa cut down her idol, crushed it, and burned it at the Brook Kidron.

Then Ahaz collected the utensils of the house of God and he cut them in pieces; and he shut the doors of the house of the Lord and made altars for himself in every corner of Jerusalem.

Now when all of this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah, and smashed the [pagan] pillars (obelisks, memorial stones) in pieces, cut down the Asherim (wooden symbols of a female deity), and tore down the high places and the altars [of idolatry] throughout all Judah and Benjamin, as well as in Ephraim and Manasseh, until they had destroyed them all. Then all the sons (descendants) of Israel returned to their own cities, each to his own property.

“I wish that it would please God to crush me,That He would let loose His hand and cut me off.

“While it is still green (in flower) and not cut down,Yet it withers before any other plant [when without water].

“For there is hope for a tree,If it is cut down, that it will sprout again,And that the shoots of it will not cease nor fail, [but there is no such hope for man].

For they will wither quickly like the grass,And fade like the green herb.

Those who hate me without cause are more than the hairs of my head;Those who would destroy me are powerful, being my enemies wrongfully;I am forced to restore what I did not steal.

It is burned with fire, it is cut down;They perish at the rebuke of Your [angry] appearance.

For He has shattered the gates of bronzeAnd cut the bars of iron apart.

All nations encompassed me;In the name of the Lord I will surely cut them off.

They encompassed me, yes, they surrounded me [on every side];In the name of the Lord I will cut them off.

They swarmed around me like bees;They flare up and are extinguished like a fire of thorns;In the name of the Lord I will surely cut them off.

My zeal has [completely] consumed me,Because my enemies have forgotten Your words.

The Lord is righteous;He has cut in two the [thick] cords of the wicked [which enslaved the people of Israel].

The mouth of the righteous flows with [skillful and godly] wisdom,But the perverted tongue will be cut out.

“The bricks have fallen down,But we will rebuild [all the better] with ashlar (hewed stones);The sycamores have been cut down,But we will replace them with [expensive] cedars.”

He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an iron axe,And Lebanon (the Assyrian) will fall by the Mighty One.

Their bows will cut down the young men [of Babylon];They will take no pity on the fruit of the womb,Their eyes will not look with compassion on the children.

“How you have fallen from heaven,O star of the morning [light-bringer], son of the dawn!You have been cut down to the ground,You who have weakened the nations [king of Babylon]!

For before the harvest, when the blossom is overAnd the flower becomes a ripening grape,He will cut off the sprigs [without buds] with pruning knives,And [He will] remove and cut away the spreading branches.

“The peoples will be burned to lime,Like thorns cut down which are burned in the fire.

“Through your servants you have taunted and defied the Lord,And you have said, ‘With my many chariots I have gone up to the heights of the mountains,To the remotest parts of Lebanon.I cut down its tallest cedars and its choicest cypress trees;And I will go to its remotest height, its most luxuriant and thickest forest.

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

“For the sake of My Name I refrain from My wrath,And for My praise I restrain Myself from you,So that I do not cut you off.

Awake, awake, put on strength and might, O arm of the Lord;Awake as in the ancient days, as in the generations of long ago.Was it not You who cut Rahab (Egypt) in pieces,Who pierced the dragon [of Egypt]?

But I was like a gentle and tame lamb brought to the slaughter;And I did not know that they had devised plots and schemes against me, saying,“Let us destroy the tree with its fruit;Let us cut him off from the land of the living,That his name be remembered no longer.”

Both great men and small will die in this land; they will not be buried, nor will they be lamented (mourned over with expressions of grief in death), nor will anyone cut himself or shave his head for them [in mourning].

“For I will prepare and appoint destroyers [to execute My judgments] against you,Each with his weapons;And they will cut down your [palaces built of] choicest cedarsAnd throw them in the fire.

The men who have violated My covenant, who have not kept the terms of the solemn pledge which they made before Me when they split the [sacrificial] calf in half, and then afterwards walked between its separated pieces [sealing their pledge to Me by placing a curse on themselves should they violate the covenant—those men I will make like the calf]!

And after Jehudi had read three or four columns [of the scroll], King Jehoiakim would cut off that portion with a scribe’s knife and throw it into the fire that was in the brazier, until the [entire] scroll was consumed by the fire.

that eighty men came from Shechem, from Shiloh, and from Samaria with their beards shaved off and their clothes torn and their bodies cut, carrying in their hands grain offerings and incense to present at the [site of the] house of the Lord [in Jerusalem].

“The sound [of Egypt fleeing from the enemy] is like [the rustling of] an escaping serpent,For her foes advance with a mighty armyAnd come against her like woodcutters with axes.

“They have cut down her forest,” says the Lord;“Certainly it will no longer be found,Because they (the invaders) are more numerous than locustsAnd cannot be counted.

“The glory of Moab is no more;In Heshbon they planned evil against her,Saying, ‘Come, let us cut her off from being a nation!’You also, O [city of] Madmen, shall be silenced;The sword will pursue you.

[O Babylon] you who live by many waters,Rich in treasures,Your end has come,And the line measuring your life is cut.

Her princes were purer than snow,They were whiter than milk [in appearance];They were more ruddy in body than rubies,Their polishing was like lapis lazuli (sapphire).

I will set My face against that man [that hypocrite] and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from among My people; and you will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.

And as for your birth, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water for cleansing, nor were you rubbed with salt or even wrapped in cloths.

Turn O sword and cut right or cut left, whichever way your thirst for blood and your edge direct you.

And the horde will stone them with stones and cut them down with their swords; they will kill their sons and their daughters and burn down their houses with fire.

therefore, behold, I have stretched out My hand against you and will hand you over as prey and spoil to the nations. And I will cut you off from the peoples and will cause you to perish from the countries; I will destroy you. Then you shall know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.”

Alien tyrants of the nations have cut it down and left it; its foliage has fallen on the mountains and in all the valleys and its branches have been broken in all the ravines of the land. And all the nations of the earth have come from under its shade and have left it.

They will not take any wood from the field or cut down and gather [any] firewood from the forests, because they will make their fires using the weapons. And they will take the spoil from those who despoiled them and seize the plunder of those who plundered them,” says the Lord God.

Also they shall not shave their heads, yet they shall not allow their hair to grow long; they shall only cut short or trim their hair.

The king replied to the Chaldeans, “My command is firm and unchangeable: if you do not reveal to me the [content of the] dream along with its interpretation, you shall be cut into pieces and your houses shall be made a heap of rubbish.

As you were looking, a stone was cut out without [human] hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and crushed them.

Just as you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold, the great God has revealed to the king what will take place in the future; so the dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.”

Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, or language that speaks anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego shall be cut into pieces and their houses be made a heap of rubbish, for there is no other god who is able to save in this way!”

‘He shouted aloud and said this:“Cut down the tree and cut off its branches;Shake off its leaves and scatter its fruit;Let the living creatures run from under itAnd the birds fly from its branches.

In that the king saw an angelic watcher, a holy one, descending from heaven and saying, “Cut the tree down and destroy it; but leave the stump with its roots in the earth, but with a band of iron and bronze around it in the new grass of the field, and let him be wet with the dew of heaven, and let him feed with the beasts of the field until seven periods of time pass over him,”

This is what the Lord says,“Though they are at full strength and many in number,Even so, they will be cut off and pass away.Though I have afflicted you and caused you grief [O Jerusalem],I will afflict you no longer.

But there [in the very midst of these preparations] the fire will devour you;The sword will cut you down;It will devour you as the locust does.Multiply yourself like the creeping locusts;Multiply yourself like the swarming locusts.

And already the axe [of God’s judgment] is swinging toward the root of the trees; therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.