'Dear' in the Bible

Then he called out to the LORD and asked him, "LORD my God, have you also brought evil to this dear widow with whom I am living as her guest? Have you caused the death of her son?"

"Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he a darling child? Indeed, as often as I've spoken about him, I surely still remember him. Therefore I deeply yearn for him. I'll surely have great compassion on him," declares the LORD.

"How does that concern us, dear lady?" Jesus asked her. "My time hasn't come yet."

Jesus told her, "Believe me, dear lady, the hour is coming when you Samaritans will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.

Then Jesus stood up and asked her, "Dear lady, where are your accusers? Hasn't anyone condemned you?"

When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he kept loving standing there, he told his mother, "Dear lady, here is your son."

Jesus asked her, "Dear lady, why are you crying? Who are you looking for?" Thinking he was the gardener, she told him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will take him away."

So we have unanimously decided to choose men and send them to you with our dear Barnabas and Paul,

Do not take revenge, dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath. For it is written, "Vengeance belongs to me. I will pay them back, declares the Lord."

Greet also the church in their house. Greet my dear friend Epaenetus, who was the first convert to the Messiah in Asia.

Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord.

Greet Urbanus, our co-worker in the Messiah, and my dear friend Stachys.

Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa, who have worked hard for the Lord. Greet my dear friend Persis, who has toiled diligently for the Lord.

I'm not writing this to make you feel ashamed, but to warn you as my dear children.

That's why I sent Timothy to you. He is my dear and dependable son in the Lord and will help you remember how I live for the Messiah Jesus as I teach everywhere in every church.

And so, my dear friends, keep on running away from idolatry.

Therefore, my dear brothers, be steadfast, unmovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that the work that you do for the Lord isn't wasted.

Since we have these promises, dear friends, let's cleanse ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit by becoming mature in our holy fear of God.

Have you been thinking all along that we are trying to defend ourselves before you? We are speaking before God in the authority of the Messiah, and everything, dear friends, is meant to build you up.

So be imitators of God, as his dear children.

So that you may know what has happened to me and how I am doing, Tychicus, our dear brother and a faithful minister in service to the Lord, will tell you everything.

And so, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, not only when I was with you but even more now that I am absent, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.

Therefore, my dear brothers whom I long for, my joy and my victor's crown, this is how you must stand firm in the Lord, dear friends.

You learned about this gospel from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of the Messiah on your behalf.

Tychicus will tell you everything that has happened to me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister, and a fellow servant in the Lord.

He is coming with Onesimus, that faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. They will tell you everything that is happening here.

We cared so deeply for you that we were determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but our very lives. That is how dear you were to us.

Physical exercise is of limited value, but Godliness is very dear, a pledge of life, both there and here.

Moreover, those who have believing masters should be respectful to them, because they are fellow believers. In fact, they must serve them even better, because those who benefit from their service are believers and dear to them. These are the things you must teach and exhort.

To: Timothy, my dear child. May grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Messiah Jesus our Lord be yours!

1From: Paul, a prisoner of the Messiah Jesus, and Timothy our brother. To: Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker,

16no longer as a slave but better than a slave as a dear brother, especially to me, but even more so to you, both as a person and as a believer.

Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are convinced of better things in your case, things that point to salvation.

Do not be deceived, my dear brothers.

You must understand this, my dear brothers. Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.

Listen, my dear brothers! God has chosen the poor in the world to become rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who keep on loving him, has he not?

Dear friends, I urge you as aliens and exiles to keep on abstaining from the desires of the flesh that wage war against the soul.

Dear friends, do not be surprised by the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.

Dear friends, this is now the second of two letters I am writing to you, in which I have been trying to stimulate your pure minds by reminding you

Don't forget this fact, dear friends: With the Lord a single day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a single day.

So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to have the Lord find you at peace and without spot or fault.

Think of our Lord's patience as facilitating salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him.

And so, dear friends, since you already know these things, continuously be on your guard not to be carried away by the deception of lawless people. Otherwise, you may fall from your secure position.

Dear friends, I am not writing to you a new commandment, but an old commandment that you have had from the beginning. This old commandment is the word you have heard.

Dear friends, we are now God's children, but what we will be like has not been revealed yet. We know that when the Messiah is revealed, we will be like him, because we will see him as he is.

Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence in the presence of God.

Dear friends, stop believing every spirit. Instead, test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Dear friends, let us continuously love one another, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born from God and knows God.

Dear friends, if this is the way God loved us, we must also love one another.

Dear lady, I am now requesting of you that we all continue to love one another. It is not as though I am writing to give you a new commandment, but one that we have had from the beginning.

From: The Elder To: My dear friend Gaius, whom I genuinely love.

Dear friend, I pray that you are doing well in every way and that you are healthy, just as your soul is healthy.

Dear friend, you are faithful in whatever you do for the brothers, especially when they are strangers.

Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. The person who does what is good is from God. The person who does what is evil has never seen God.

Dear friends, although I was eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I found it necessary to write to you and urge you to continue your vigorous defense of the faith that was passed down to the saints once and for all.

But you, dear friends, must remember the statements and predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah.

But you, dear friends, must continue to build your most holy faith for your own benefit. Furthermore, continue to pray in the Holy Spirit.