'Enemy' in the Bible

When Abram heard that his nephew [Lot] had been captured, he armed and led out his trained men, born in his own house, [numbering] three hundred and eighteen, and went in pursuit as far [north] as Dan.

“Your right hand, O Lord, is glorious in power;Your right hand, O Lord, shatters the enemy.

“The enemy said, ‘I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil;My desire shall be satisfied against them;I will draw my sword, my hand shall dispossess them and drive them out.’

But if you will indeed listen to and truly obey His voice and do everything that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.

I will bring a sword on you that will execute vengeance for [breaking] the covenant; and when you gather together in your cities, I will send pestilence (virulent disease) among you, and you shall be handed over to the enemy.

When you go to war in your land against the enemy that attacks you, then sound an alarm with the trumpets, so that you may be remembered before the Lord your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies.

or without seeing him hit him [accidentally] with a stone object that could kill him, and he died, and [the offender] was not his enemy nor intending to harm him,

“The eternal God is your refuge and dwelling place,And underneath are the everlasting arms;He drove out the enemy from before you,And said, ‘Destroy!’

Now the Philistine lords gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god, and to celebrate, for they said,“Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hands!”

When the people saw Samson, they praised their god, for they said,“Our god has handed over our enemy to us,The ravager of our country,Who has killed many of us.”

Then Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, his armor bearer following after him. The enemy fell before Jonathan [in combat], and his armor bearer killed some of them after him.

Saul was even more afraid of David; and Saul became David’s constant enemy.

Saul said to Michal, “Why have you deceived me like this and let my enemy go, so that he has escaped?” Michal answered Saul, “He said to me, ‘Let me go! Why should I kill you?’”

You shall never cut off your lovingkindness and faithfulness from my house, not even when the Lord cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.”

David’s men said to him, “Behold, this is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will hand over your enemy to you, and you shall do to him as seems good to you.’” Then David arose [in the darkness] and stealthily cut off the hem (edge) of Saul’s robe.

For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away unharmed? So may the Lord reward you with good in return for what you have done for me this day.

Then Abishai said to David, “God has given your enemy into your hand this day; now then, please let me strike him with the spear driving it to the ground with one stroke, and I will not strike him the second time.”

Samuel said, “Why then do you ask me, since the Lord has left you and has become your enemy?

So David captured all the flocks and herds [which the enemy had], and [the people] drove those animals before him and said, “This is David’s spoil.”

They brought the head of Ish-bosheth to David at Hebron, and said to the king, “Look, the head of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, your enemy, who sought your life; thus the Lord has granted my lord the king vengeance this day on Saul and on his descendants.”

“He rescued me from my strong enemy,From those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me.

“When Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against You, and then they turn to You again and praise Your Name and pray and ask for Your favor and compassion in this house (temple),

“If there is famine in the land, or if there is pestilence (plague), blight, mildew, migratory locusts, or grasshoppers, if their enemy besieges them in the land of their cities, whatever affliction or plague, whatever sickness [there is],

“When Your people go out to battle against their enemy, by whatever way You send them, and they pray to the Lord toward the city which You have chosen and the house that I have built for Your Name and Presence,

“When they sin against You (for there is no man who does not sin) and You are angry with them and hand them over to the enemy, so that they are carried away captive to the enemy’s land, [whether] far away or near;

The sons of Israel were counted and given provisions, and they went to meet them. The Israelites camped before the enemy like two little flocks of goats [with everything against them, except God], and the Arameans filled the country.

Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me, O my enemy?” And he answered, “I have found you, because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the Lord.

Then the king of Moab took his eldest son, who was to reign in his place, and offered him [publicly] as a burnt offering [to Chemosh] on the [city] wall [horrifying everyone]. And there was great wrath against Israel, and Israel’s allies [Judah and Edom] withdrew from King Jehoram and returned to their own land.

“If Your people Israel have been defeated by an enemy because they have sinned against You, and they return to You and confess Your name, and pray and make supplication before You in this house,

But if you do go [in spite of this warning], be strong and courageous for battle; yet God will cause you to stumble and fall before the enemy, for God has power to help and to cause people to stumble.”

Under their command was an army of 307,500, who could wage war with great power, to help the king against the enemy.

But the eye of their God was on the elders of the Jews, so they [Tattenai and the others] did not stop them until a report could come before Darius, and then an answer was returned by letter concerning it.

For I was ashamed to request troops and horsemen from the king to protect us from the enemy along the way, because we had told the king, “The hand of our God is favorable toward all those who seek Him, but His power and His anger are against all those who abandon (turn away from) Him.”

We set out from the river Ahava on the twelfth [day] of the first month to go to Jerusalem; and the hand of our God was upon us, and He rescued us from the hand of the enemy and those who lay in ambushes along the way.

When I saw their fear, I stood and said to the nobles and officials and the rest of the people: “Do not be afraid of them; [confidently] remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and [with courage from Him] fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and for your homes.”

Then the king removed his signet ring from his hand [that is, the special ring which was used to seal his letters] and gave it to Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews.

Esther said, “An adversary and an enemy is Haman, this evil man.” Then Haman became terrified before the king and queen.

On that day King Ahasuerus (Xerxes) gave the house of Haman, the enemy of the Jews, to Queen Esther; and Mordecai came before the king, because Esther had disclosed what [relation] he was to her.

the ten sons of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Jews’ enemy; but they did not lay their hands on the plunder.

For Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast Pur, that is, the lot, [to find the right time] to disturb and destroy them.

“Why do You hide Your face [as if offended]And consider me Your enemy?

“May my enemy be as the wicked,And he who rises up against me be as the unrighteous (unjust).

“No, I have not allowed my mouth to sinBy cursing my enemy and asking for his life.

‘Behold, God finds pretexts against me;He counts me as His enemy.

“Shall one who hates justice [and is an enemy of right] govern?And will you condemn Him who is just and mighty?

If I have done evil to him who was at peace with me,Or without cause robbed him who was my enemy,

Let the enemy pursue me and overtake me;And let him trample my life to the groundAnd lay my honor in the dust. Selah.

Out of the mouths of infants and nursing babes You have established strengthBecause of Your adversaries,That You might silence the enemy and make the revengeful cease.

The enemy has been cut off and has vanished in everlasting ruins,You have uprooted their cities;The very memory of them has perished.

How long must I take counsel in my soul,Having sorrow in my heart day after day?How long will my enemy exalt himself and triumph over me?

And my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”And my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken.

He rescued me from my strong enemy,And from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me.

And You have not given me into the hand of the enemy;You have set my feet in a broad place.

By this I know that You favor and delight in me,Because my enemy does not shout in triumph over me.

I will say to God my rock, “Why have You forgotten me?Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?”

For You are the God of my strength [my stronghold—in whom I take refuge]; why have You rejected me?Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

You make us turn back from the enemy,And those who hate us have taken spoil for themselves.

Because of the voice of the taunter and reviler,Because of the presence of the enemy and the avenger.

Because of the voice of the enemy,Because of the pressure of the wicked;For they bring down trouble on me,And in anger they persecute me.

For it is not an enemy who taunts me—Then I could bear it;Nor is it one who has hated me who insolently exalts himself against me—Then I could hide from him.

Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint;Guard my life from the terror of the enemy.

When you lie down [to rest] among the sheepfolds,You [Israel] are like the wings of a dove [of victory] overlaid with silver,Its feathers glistening with gold [trophies taken from the enemy].

O God, how long will the adversary scoff?Is the enemy to revile Your name forever?

Remember this, O Lord, the enemy has scoffed,And a foolish and impious people has spurned Your name.

They did not remember [the miracles worked by] His [powerful] hand,Nor the day when He redeemed them from the enemy,

“The enemy will not outwit him,Nor will the wicked man afflict or humiliate him.

So He saved them from the hand of the one that hated them,And redeemed them from the hand of the [Egyptian] enemy.

For the enemy has persecuted me,He has crushed my life down to the ground;He has made me dwell in dark places, like those who have been long dead.

Do not rejoice and gloat when your enemy falls,And do not let your heart be glad [in self-righteousness] when he stumbles,

If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat;And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink;

Faithful are the wounds of a friend [who corrects out of love and concern],But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful [because they serve his hidden agenda].

Therefore I (Isaiah) will weep bitterly for Jazer, for the vines of Sibmah.I will drench you with my tears, O Heshbon and Elealeh;For the war-cry [of the enemy] has fallen on your summer fruits and your harvest.

But the multitude of your enemies [that assault you] will become like fine dust,And the multitude of the tyrants like the chaff which blows away;And it will happen in an instant, suddenly [that your enemy is destroyed].

For the tyrant will come to an end and the scorner will be finished,Indeed all who are intent on doing evil will be cut off—

At the sound of the tumult, the peoples flee;At the lifting up of Yourself nations scatter.

The highways are deserted, the traveler has ceased [to appear].The enemy has broken the covenant, he has rejected the cities,He has no regard for [any] man.

“Listen to Me in silence, you islands and coastlands,And let the nations gain their strength;Let them come near, then let them speak;Let us come together for judgment [and decide the issue between us concerning the enemy from the east].

So they will fear the name of the Lord from the westAnd His glory from the rising of the sun.For He will come in like a narrow, rushing streamWhich the breath of the Lord drives [overwhelming the enemy].

But they rebelledAnd grieved His Holy Spirit;Therefore He changed into their enemy,And He fought against them.

“Behold, the enemy comes up like clouds,His chariots like the whirlwind;His horses are swifter than eagles.Woe (judgment is coming) to us, for we are ruined!”

Do not go out into the fieldNor walk on the road,For the enemy is armed with the sword;Terror is on every side.

The Lord said, “Surely [it will go well for Judah’s obedient remnant for] I will set you free for good purposes;Surely [Jeremiah] I will [intercede for you with the enemy and I will] cause the enemy to plead with you [for help]In a time of disaster and a time of distress.

‘I will scatter them like an east windBefore the enemy;I will show them My back and not My faceIn the day of their disaster [says the Lord].’”

‘All your lovers (allies) have forgotten you;They do not seek and long for you.For I have injured you with the wound of an enemy,With the punishment of a cruel and merciless foe,Because your guilt is greatAnd your sins are glaring and innumerable.

Then King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the Jews [my former subjects] who have deserted to join the Chaldeans, for the enemy may put me into their hand and they will mock me and abuse me.”

Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will give Pharaoh Hophra king of Egypt into the hand of his enemies and into the hand of those who seek his life, just as I gave Zedekiah king of Judah into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who was his enemy and was seeking his life.’”

“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.

Her adversaries have become her masters,Her enemies prosper;For the Lord has caused her griefBecause of the multitude of her transgressions;Her young children have goneInto captivity before the enemy.

In the days of her affliction and homelessnessJerusalem remembers all her precious thingsThat she had from the days of old,When her people fell into the hand of the adversary,And no one helped her,The enemy saw her,They mocked at her downfall.

Her (ceremonial) uncleanness was on her skirts;She did not [seriously] consider her future.Therefore she has come down [from throne to slavery] in an astonishing manner;She has no comforter.“O Lord” [cries Jerusalem], “look at my affliction,For the enemy has magnified himself [in triumph]!”

“I weep for these things;My eyes overflow with tears,Because a comforter,One who could restore my soul, is far away from me.My children are desolate and perishing,For the enemy has prevailed.”

In fierce anger He has cut off and destroyedEvery horn of Israel.He has withdrawn His right handFrom the presence of the enemy.And He has burned in Jacob like a flaming fireConsuming all around.

He has bent His bow like an enemy;He has set His right hand like an adversaryAnd slain all that were delightful and pleasing to the eye;In the tent of the Daughter of ZionHe has poured out His wrath like fire.

The Lord has become like an enemy;He has swallowed up Israel.He has swallowed up all its palaces;He has destroyed its strongholdsAnd multiplied in the Daughter of JudahMourning and lamentation (expressions of grief).

The Lord has rejected His altar;He has abandoned His sanctuary.He has given into the hand of the enemyThe walls of her palaces;They have made a noise in the house of the LordAs on a day of an appointed feast.

The Lord has done what He planned;He has accomplished His wordWhich He commanded from days of old.He has demolished without sparing,And He has caused the enemy to rejoice over you;He has exalted the power of your enemies.

You [Lord] called as in the day of an appointed feastMy terrors (dangers) on every side;And there was no one who escaped or survivedIn the day of the Lord’s anger.Those I have cared for and brought up with tenderness,My enemy annihilated them.

The kings of the earth did not believe,Nor did any of the inhabitants of the earth,That the adversary (oppressor) and enemyCould enter the gates of Jerusalem.

The enemy hunted our steps,So that we could not walk in our streets;Our end drew near,Our days were finishedFor our end had come.

Thus says the Lord God, “Because the enemy has said of you, ‘Aha!’ and, ‘The ancient heights have become our property,’