'Gifts' in the Bible

but to the sons of his concubines [Hagar and Keturah], Abraham gave gifts while he was still living and he sent them to the east country, away from Isaac his son [of promise].

This is in addition to the [weekly] Sabbaths of the Lord, and in addition to your gifts and all your vowed offerings and all your freewill offerings, which you give to the Lord.

Out of all your gifts, you shall present every offering due to the Lord, from all the best of it, even the sacred part from them.’

And of Joseph he said,“Blessed by the Lord be his land,With the precious things of heaven, with the dew,And from the deep water that lies beneath,

King Solomon [in turn] gave to the queen of Sheba everything that she wanted, whatever she asked, besides what he gave to her from his royal bounty. So she returned to her own country, she and her servants.

Of the Levites, Ahijah was in charge of the treasuries of the house of God and the treasuries of the dedicated gifts.

This Shelomoth and his relatives were in charge of all the treasuries of the dedicated gifts which King David, the heads of the fathers’ households, the commanders of thousands and hundreds, and the commanders of the army, had dedicated.

From spoil won in battles they dedicated gifts to maintain and repair the house of the Lord.

and the plan of all that he had in mind, for the courts of the house of the Lord, and for all the surrounding rooms, for the storerooms of the house of God and for the storerooms for the dedicated gifts and offerings;

Some of the Philistines brought gifts and silver as tribute to Jehoshaphat; the Arabians also brought him flocks: 7,700 rams and 7,700 male goats.

Their father gave them many gifts of silver, gold, and valuable things, in addition to fortified cities in Judah; but he gave the kingdom to Jehoram because he was the firstborn.

And many brought gifts to the Lord at Jerusalem and valuable presents to Hezekiah king of Judah; so from then on he was exalted in the sight of all nations.

Then the king held a great banquet, Esther’s banquet, for all his officials and his servants; and he made a festival for the provinces and gave gifts in accordance with the resources of the king.

because on those days the Jews rid themselves of their enemies, and as the month which was turned for them from grief to joy and from mourning into a holiday; that they should make them days of feasting and rejoicing and sending choice portions of food to one another and gifts to the poor.

You have ascended on high, You have led away captive Your captives;You have received gifts among men,Even from the rebellious also, that the Lord God may dwell there.

Because of Your temple at Jerusalem[Pagan] kings will bring gifts to You [out of respect].

The kings of Tarshish and of the islands will bring offerings;The kings of Sheba and Seba will offer gifts.

He will not accept any ransom [offered to buy him off from demanding full punishment];Nor will he be satisfied though you offer him many gifts (bribes).

Many will seek the favor of a generous and noble man,And everyone is a friend to him who gives gifts.

Like clouds and wind without rainIs a man who boasts falsely of gifts [he does not give].

The king establishes (stabilizes) the land by justice,But a man who takes bribes overthrows it.

a man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God has not given him the power or capacity to enjoy them [all those things which are gifts from God], but a stranger [in whom he has no interest succeeds him and] enjoys them. This is vanity and it is a [cause of] great distress.

“You have gone to the king [of a pagan land] with oilAnd increased your perfumes;You have sent your messengers a great distanceAnd made them go down to Sheol (the realm of the dead).

Men give gifts to all prostitutes, but you give your gifts to all your lovers, bribing the pagan nations to come to you [as allies] from every direction for your obscene immoralities.

Thus says the Lord God, “Because your lewdness was poured out and your nakedness uncovered through your obscene immoralities with your lovers (pagan allies), and with all your [repulsive] idols, and because of the blood of your sons that you gave to them,

When you offer your gifts, when you make your sons pass through the fire, you are defiling yourselves with all your idols to this day. And shall I be asked by you [for an oracle], O house of Israel? As I live,” says the Lord God, “I will not be inquired of by you.

“As for you, O house of Israel,” thus says the Lord God, “Go, let everyone serve his idols; but later you shall most certainly listen to Me, and you shall no longer profane My holy name with your gifts and with your idols.

But if you tell [me] the [content of the] dream along with its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. So tell me the dream and its interpretation.”

Then the king promoted Daniel [to an exalted position] and gave him many great gifts, and he made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and chief governor over all the wise men of Babylon.

Then Daniel answered and said before the king, “Keep your gifts for yourself and give your rewards to someone else; however, I will read the writing to the king and reveal the interpretation to him.

Yes, even though [with presents] they hire allies among the nations,Now I will gather them up;And [in a little while] they will begin to grow weak and diminishBecause of the burden imposed by the king of princes [the king of Assyria].

As for My sacrificial offerings,They sacrifice the meat [as a mere formality] and eat it,But the Lord is not pleased with them and does not accept them.Now He will remember and take into account their wickedness and guilt,And punish them for their sins.They will return [in captivity] to [another] Egypt [that is, Assyria].

Therefore you will give parting giftsOn behalf of Moresheth-gath (Micah’s home);The houses of Achzib (Place of Deceit) will become a deceptionTo the kings of Israel.

And after entering the house, they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then, after opening their treasure chests, they presented to Him gifts [fit for a king, gifts] of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

If you then, evil (sinful by nature) as you are, know how to give good and advantageous gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven [perfect as He is] give what is good and advantageous to those who keep on asking Him.

Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over [with no space left for more]. For with the standard of measurement you use [when you do good to others], it will be measured to you in return.”

If you, then, being evil [that is, sinful by nature], know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask and continue to ask Him!”

Looking up, He saw the rich people putting their gifts into the treasury.

and a man who had been unable to walk from birth was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at that gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, so that he could beg alms from those entering the temple.

Cornelius was frightened and stared intently at him and said, “What is it, lord (sir)?” And the angel said to him, “Your prayers and gifts of charity have ascended as a memorial offering before God [an offering made in remembrance of His past blessings].

They also gave us many honors [gifts and courtesies expressing respect]; and when we were setting sail, they supplied us with all the things we needed.

For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable [for He does not withdraw what He has given, nor does He change His mind about those to whom He gives His grace or to whom He sends His call].

Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to use them accordingly: if [someone has the gift of] prophecy, [let him speak a new message from God to His people] in proportion to the faith possessed;

Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the [Holy] Spirit who is from God, so that we may know and understand the [wonderful] things freely given to us by God.

But the natural [unbelieving] man does not accept the things [the teachings and revelations] of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness [absurd and illogical] to him; and he is incapable of understanding them, because they are spiritually discerned and appreciated, [and he is unqualified to judge spiritual matters].

[You behave as if] you are already filled [with spiritual wisdom and in need of nothing more]. Already you have become rich [in spiritual gifts]! You [in your conceit] have ascended your thrones and become kings without us; and how I wish [that it were true and] that you did reign as kings, so that we might reign with you.

Now about the spiritual gifts [the special endowments given by the Holy Spirit], brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed.

Now there are [distinctive] varieties of spiritual gifts [special abilities given by the grace and extraordinary power of the Holy Spirit operating in believers], but it is the same Spirit [who grants them and empowers believers].

All these things [the gifts, the achievements, the abilities, the empowering] are brought about by one and the same [Holy] Spirit, distributing to each one individually just as He chooses.

But earnestly desire and strive for the greater gifts [if acquiring them is going to be your goal].And yet I will show you a still more excellent way [one of the choicest graces and the highest of them all: unselfish love].

Pursue [this] love [with eagerness, make it your goal], yet earnestly desire and cultivate the spiritual gifts [to be used by believers for the benefit of the church], but especially that you may prophesy [to foretell the future, to speak a new message from God to the people].

Now it is God who establishes and confirms us [in joint fellowship] with you in Christ, and who has anointed us [empowering us with the gifts of the Spirit];

Therefore it says,“When He ascended on high,He led captivity captive,And He bestowed gifts on men.”

And [His gifts to the church were varied and] He Himself appointed some as apostles [special messengers, representatives], some as prophets [who speak a new message from God to the people], some as evangelists [who spread the good news of salvation], and some as pastors and teachers [to shepherd and guide and instruct],

But I have received everything in full and more; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent me. They are the fragrant aroma of an offering, an acceptable sacrifice which God welcomes and in which He delights.

Do not scorn or reject gifts of prophecy or prophecies [spoken revelations—words of instruction or exhortation or warning].

[and besides this evidence] God also testifying with them [confirming the message of salvation], both by signs and wonders and by various miracles [carried out by Jesus and the apostles] and by [granting to believers the] gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.

For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed [to act] on behalf of men in things relating to God, so that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.

For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices; so it is essential for this One also to have something to offer.

Now if He were [still living] on earth, He would not be a priest at all, for there are priests who offer the gifts [to God] in accordance with the Law.

for this [first or outer tabernacle] is a symbol [that is, an archetype or paradigm] for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which are incapable of perfecting the conscience and renewing the [inner self of the] worshiper.

By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which it was testified of him that he was righteous (upright, in right standing with God), and God testified by accepting his gifts. And though he died, yet through [this act of] faith he still speaks.

Just as each one of you has received a special gift [a spiritual talent, an ability graciously given by God], employ it in serving one another as [is appropriate for] good stewards of God’s multi-faceted grace [faithfully using the diverse, varied gifts and abilities granted to Christians by God’s unmerited favor].