'Flee' in the Bible

now behold, this town is near enough to flee to, and it is small. Please, let me escape there (is it not small?) that my life may be saved.”

Now therefore, my son, obey my voice, and arise, flee to Haran, to my brother Laban!

Why did you flee secretly and deceive me, and did not tell me so that I might have sent you away with joy and with songs, with timbrel and with lyre;

The one among the servants of Pharaoh who feared the word of the Lord made his servants and his livestock flee into the houses;

He caused their chariot wheels to swerve, and He made them drive with difficulty; so the Egyptians said, “Let us flee from Israel, for the Lord is fighting for them against the Egyptians.”

But if he did not lie in wait for him, but God let him fall into his hand, then I will appoint you a place to which he may flee.

I will set My face against you so that you will be struck down before your enemies; and those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee when no one is pursuing you.

As for those of you who may be left, I will also bring weakness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies. And the sound of a driven leaf will chase them, and even when no one is pursuing they will flee as though from the sword, and they will fall.

Then it came about when the ark set out that Moses said,“Rise up, O Lord!And let Your enemies be scattered,And let those who hate You flee before You.”

Therefore, flee to your place now. I said I would honor you greatly, but behold, the Lord has held you back from honor.”

The cities which you shall give to the Levites shall be the six cities of refuge, which you shall give for the manslayer to flee to; and in addition to them you shall give forty-two cities.

then you shall select for yourselves cities to be your cities of refuge, that the manslayer who has killed any person unintentionally may flee there.

These six cities shall be for refuge for the sons of Israel, and for the alien and for the sojourner among them; that anyone who kills a person unintentionally may flee there.

But if the manslayer at any time goes beyond the border of his city of refuge to which he may flee,

that a manslayer might flee there, who unintentionally slew his neighbor without having enmity toward him in time past; and by fleeing to one of these cities he might live:

You shall prepare the roads for yourself, and divide into three parts the territory of your land which the Lord your God will give you as a possession, so that any manslayer may flee there.

“Now this is the case of the manslayer who may flee there and live: when he kills his friend unintentionally, not hating him previously—

as when a man goes into the forest with his friend to cut wood, and his hand swings the axe to cut down the tree, and the iron head slips off the handle and strikes his friend so that he dies—he may flee to one of these cities and live;

“The Lord shall cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you; they will come out against you one way and will flee before you seven ways.

“The Lord shall cause you to be defeated before your enemies; you will go out one way against them, but you will flee seven ways before them, and you will be an example of terror to all the kingdoms of the earth.

Then I and all the people who are with me will approach the city. And when they come out to meet us as at the first, we will flee before them.

They will come out after us until we have drawn them away from the city, for they will say, ‘They are fleeing before us as at the first.’ So we will flee before them.

When the men of Ai turned back and looked, behold, the smoke of the city ascended to the sky, and they had no place to flee this way or that, for the people who had been fleeing to the wilderness turned against the pursuers.

that the manslayer who kills any person unintentionally, without premeditation, may flee there, and they shall become your refuge from the avenger of blood.

He shall flee to one of these cities, and shall stand at the entrance of the gate of the city and state his case in the hearing of the elders of that city; and they shall take him into the city to them and give him a place, so that he may dwell among them.

These were the appointed cities for all the sons of Israel and for the stranger who sojourns among them, that whoever kills any person unintentionally may flee there, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood until he stands before the congregation.

The sons of Benjamin said, “They are struck down before us, as at the first.” But the sons of Israel said, “Let us flee that we may draw them away from the city to the highways.”

Now Jonathan, Saul’s son, had a son crippled in his feet. He was five years old when the report of Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel, and his nurse took him up and fled. And it happened that in her hurry to flee, he fell and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth.

David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, “Arise and let us flee, for otherwise none of us will escape from Absalom. Go in haste, or he will overtake us quickly and bring down calamity on us and strike the city with the edge of the sword.”

I will come upon him while he is weary and exhausted and terrify him, so that all the people who are with him will flee. Then I will strike down the king alone,

But the people said, “You should not go out; for if we indeed flee, they will not care about us; even if half of us die, they will not care about us. But you are worth ten thousand of us; therefore now it is better that you be ready to help us from the city.”

So the people went by stealth into the city that day, as people who are humiliated steal away when they flee in battle.

So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, “Shall seven years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months before your foes while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days’ pestilence in your land? Now consider and see what answer I shall return to Him who sent me.”

Then King Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the forced labor, and all Israel stoned him to death. And King Rehoboam made haste to mount his chariot to flee to Jerusalem.

Then take the flask of oil and pour it on his head and say, ‘Thus says the Lord, “I have anointed you king over Israel.”’ Then open the door and flee and do not wait.”

Then King Rehoboam sent Hadoram, who was over the forced labor, and the sons of Israel stoned him to death. And King Rehoboam made haste to mount his chariot to flee to Jerusalem.

But I said, “Should a man like me flee? And could one such as I go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in.”

“Now my days are swifter than a runner;They flee away, they see no good.

“He may flee from the iron weapon,But the bronze bow will pierce him.

“For it will hurl at him without sparing;He will surely try to flee from its power.

“The arrow cannot make him flee;Slingstones are turned into stubble for him.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.In the Lord I take refuge;How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your mountain;

Because of all my adversaries, I have become a reproach,Especially to my neighbors,And an object of dread to my acquaintances;Those who see me in the street flee from me.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David. A Song.Let God arise, let His enemies be scattered,And let those who hate Him flee before Him.

“Kings of armies flee, they flee,And she who remains at home will divide the spoil!”

What ails you, O sea, that you flee?O Jordan, that you turn back?

Where can I go from Your Spirit?Or where can I flee from Your presence?

The wicked flee when no one is pursuing,But the righteous are bold as a lion.

“Until the cool of the day when the shadows flee away,Turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelleOr a young stag on the mountains of Bether.”

“Until the cool of the dayWhen the shadows flee away,I will go my way to the mountain of myrrhAnd to the hill of frankincense.

Now what will you do in the day of punishment,And in the devastation which will come from afar?To whom will you flee for help?And where will you leave your wealth?

And it will be that like a hunted gazelle,Or like sheep with none to gather them,They will each turn to his own people,And each one flee to his own land.

The nations rumble on like the rumbling of many waters,But He will rebuke them and they will flee far away,And be chased like chaff in the mountains before the wind,Or like whirling dust before a gale.

And you said, “No, for we will flee on horses,”Therefore you shall flee!“And we will ride on swift horses,”Therefore those who pursue you shall be swift.

One thousand will flee at the threat of one man;You will flee at the threat of five,Until you are left as a flag on a mountain topAnd as a signal on a hill.

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

And the ransomed of the Lord will returnAnd come with joyful shouting to Zion,With everlasting joy upon their heads.They will find gladness and joy,And sorrow and sighing will flee away.

Go forth from Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans!Declare with the sound of joyful shouting, proclaim this,Send it out to the end of the earth;Say, “The Lord has redeemed His servant Jacob.”

So the ransomed of the Lord will returnAnd come with joyful shouting to Zion,And everlasting joy will be on their heads.They will obtain gladness and joy,And sorrow and sighing will flee away.

“Flee for safety, O sons of Benjamin,From the midst of Jerusalem!Now blow a trumpet in TekoaAnd raise a signal over Beth-haccerem;For evil looks down from the north,And a great destruction.

Let not the swift man flee,Nor the mighty man escape;In the north beside the river EuphratesThey have stumbled and fallen.

“Flee, save your lives,That you may be like a juniper in the wilderness.

“Give wings to Moab,For she will flee away;And her cities will become a desolation,Without inhabitants in them.

“Flee away, turn back, dwell in the depths,O inhabitants of Dedan,For I will bring the disaster of Esau upon himAt the time I punish him.

“Damascus has become helpless;She has turned away to flee,And panic has gripped her;Distress and pangs have taken hold of herLike a woman in childbirth.

“Run away, flee! Dwell in the depths,O inhabitants of Hazor,” declares the Lord;“For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has formed a plan against youAnd devised a scheme against you.

“Cut off the sower from BabylonAnd the one who wields the sickle at the time of harvest;From before the sword of the oppressorThey will each turn back to his own peopleAnd they will each flee to his own land.

Flee from the midst of Babylon,And each of you save his life!Do not be destroyed in her punishment,For this is the Lord’s time of vengeance;He is going to render recompense to her.

‘He shouted out and spoke as follows:Chop down the tree and cut off its branches,Strip off its foliage and scatter its fruit;Let the beasts flee from under itAnd the birds from its branches.

“Even the bravest among the warriors will flee naked in that day,” declares the Lord.

Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Go, you seer, flee away to the land of Judah and there eat bread and there do your prophesying!

I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and He said,“Smite the capitals so that the thresholds will shake,And break them on the heads of them all!Then I will slay the rest of them with the sword;They will not have a fugitive who will flee,Or a refugee who will escape.

But Jonah rose up to flee to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. So he went down to Joppa, found a ship which was going to Tarshish, paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to Tarshish from the presence of the Lord.

Your guardsmen are like the swarming locust.Your marshals are like hordes of grasshoppersSettling in the stone walls on a cold day.The sun rises and they flee,And the place where they are is not known.

“Ho there! Flee from the land of the north,” declares the Lord, “for I have dispersed you as the four winds of the heavens,” declares the Lord.

You will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; yes, you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him!