'Heaven' in the Bible

"Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia: 'Yahweh the God of heaven has given to me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has appointed me to build a house for him at Jerusalem, which [is] in Judah. Whoever [is] among you from all his people, may Yahweh his God go up with him.'"

And this is the answer they returned to us: 'We are servants of the God of heaven and earth, and we are building the house that was built formerly many years ago, [which] a great king of Israel had built and finished.

But because our ancestors angered the God of heaven, he gave them into the hand of the Chaldean King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. He destroyed this house and carried away the people to Babylonia.

Whatever may be needed--{young bulls}, young rams, sheep for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil for the priests in Jerusalem--let it be given to them day by day with no negligence,

that they may offer incense offerings to the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king and his children.

"I, even I, King Artaxerxes, issue forth a decree to all the treasurers who are in [the province] Beyond the River. Whatever the priest Ezra, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, may ask of you, let it be done with diligence,

All that is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be done with diligence for the house of the God of heaven, otherwise wrath will come on the kingdom of the king and his sons.

But if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, even though all of your outcasts are at the furthest parts of heaven, I will gather them and bring them to the place which I have chosen to make my name dwell.'

Then you came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven and gave them right judgments and true teachings, good regulations and commandments.

You gave them bread from heaven for their starvation, and you caused water to go out from a rock for their thirst. You told them to go in order to take into possession the land that you have sworn by your hand to give to them.

{It is higher than the heaven}; what can you do? [It is] deeper than Sheol; what can you know?

"But ask [the] animals, and they will teach you, and the birds of the heaven, and they will tell you;

Even though his stature mounts up to the heaven, and his head reaches to the clouds,

Thick clouds [are] a covering for him, so that he does not see; and he walks about on [the] dome of heaven.'

"[The] pillars of heaven tremble, and they are astounded at his rebuke.

It is hidden from [the] eyes of all living, and it is concealed from [the] birds of the heaven.

for he himself looks to [the] end of the earth; he sees under all the heaven.

From whose womb did the ice come forth, and who fathered [the] frost of heaven?

Yahweh looks down from heaven upon the children of humankind to see whether there is one who has insight, one who cares about God.

Now I know that Yahweh will help his anointed. He will answer him from his holy heaven with the victorious power of his right hand.

From heaven Yahweh looks; he sees all the children of humankind.

God looks down from heaven upon the children of humankind to see whether there is one who has insight, one who seeks God.

He will send from heaven and save me; he will reproach [the] one who tramples me. Selah God will send his loyal love and his faithfulness.

And your righteousness, O God, [is] to [the] height [of heaven]. You who have done great things, O God, who [is] like you?

From heaven you proclaimed judgment. [The] earth feared and was still

Nevertheless, he commanded [the] skies above and opened [the] doors of heaven,

and rained down on them manna to eat and gave them the grain of heaven.

Please return, O God [of] hosts. Observe from heaven and see, and pay attention to this vine,

Faithfulness will sprout from [the] ground, and righteousness will look down from heaven.

that he looked down from his holy height. Yahweh looked from heaven over [the] earth

They asked, and he brought quail, and satisfied them with [the] bread of heaven.

May you be blessed by Yahweh, who made heaven and earth.

Forever, O Yahweh, your word {is settled} in heaven.

My help [is] from Yahweh, maker of heaven and earth.

Our help [is] in the name of Yahweh, maker of heaven and earth.

May Yahweh bless you from Zion, [he who] made heaven and earth.

All that Yahweh desires, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all [the] depths.

Give thanks to the God of heaven, for his loyal love [endures] forever.

If I ascend to heaven, there you [are], and if I make my bed [in] Sheol, look! [There] you [are].

who made heaven and earth, the sea and all that [is] in them, the one who keeps faith forever,

As heaven is to height and the earth is to depth, so [is] the heart of kings--there is no searching.

Who has ascended [to] heaven and come down? Who has gathered [the] wind in the hollow of his hand? Who has wrapped water in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What [is] his name and what is the name of his child? For [surely] you know.

I also {explored} {the effects of indulging my flesh} with wine. My mind guiding me with wisdom, {I investigated} folly so that I might discover what [is] good under heaven for {humans} to do {during the days of their lives}.

For everything there [is] an appointed time, a time for every matter under heaven:

For no one knows [whether] the spirit of a human ascends [to heaven] and [whether] the spirit of the beast descends to the ground!

Do not be rash with your mouth, and do not let your heart be quick to utter a word before God. For God is in heaven, and you [are] on earth; therefore, let your words be few.

How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of dawn! You are cut down to the ground, conqueror of nations!

And you yourself said in your heart, 'I will ascend [to] heaven; I will raise up my throne above the stars of God; and I will sit on [the] mountain of assembly on the summit of Zaphon;

And this shall happen: The one who flees from the sound of the terror shall fall into the pit, and the one who goes up from {inside the pit} shall be caught in the snare, for [the] windows from heaven are opened, and [the] foundations of [the] earth tremble.

And this shall happen on that day: Yahweh will punish the host of heaven in heaven, and the kings of the earth on the earth.

and all the host of heaven shall rot. And the skies shall roll up like scroll, and all their host shall wither like the withering of a leaf from a vine, or like [the] withering from a fig tree.

For just as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and they do not return there except they have watered the earth thoroughly and cause it to bring forth and sprout, and give seed to the sower and bread to the eater,

Look from heaven, and see from the lofty residence of your holiness and glory. Where [are] your zeal and strength? {Your compassion} and mercy to me hold themselves back.

Thus says Yahweh: "Heaven [is] my throne, and the earth [is] the footstool for my feet. Where [is] this house that you would build for me? And where [is] this resting place for me?

The children [are] gathering wood, and the fathers [are] kindling the fire, and the women [are] kneading dough to make sacrificial cakes for the queen of heaven, and they pour out libations to other gods for the sake of provoking me to anger.

And they shall spread them out before the sun, and before the moon, and before all the host of heaven, which they have loved, and which they have served, and which they have gone after, and which they have inquired about, and to which they have bowed in worship. They shall not be gathered, and they shall not be buried; they will be like dung on the surface of the ground.

Even [the] stork in heaven knows its appointed time, and [the] turtledove, and [the] swallow, and [the] song bird, they observe the time of their coming. But my people do not know the ordinance of Yahweh.

For the mountains I lift up weeping and wailing, and for [the] pastures of [the] desert a lament, because they are laid waste so that no man passes through. And [the] sounds of cattle are not heard, from [the] birds of heaven to [the] animals they have fled, they are gone.

[He is] the maker of [the] earth by his power, [who] created the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding he stretched out heaven.

And I will lay waste the plans of Judah and Jerusalem in this place, and I will bring them to ruin by the sword {before} their enemies, and by the hand of those who seek their life, and I will give their dead bodies as food to the birds of heaven and to the animals of the earth.

And the houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be unclean like the place of Topheth, all the houses where they made smoke offerings upon their roofs to all the host of heaven, and [where] they poured out libations to other gods." '"

Or can a person hide himself in secret places and I cannot see him?" {declares} Yahweh. "[Do] I not fill up the heaven and the earth?" {declares} Yahweh.

As the host of heaven cannot be counted, and the sand of the sea cannot be measured, so I will make numerous the offspring of David my servant and the Levites [who] minister [to] me.'"

Thus says Yahweh: 'If my covenant [with] day and [with] night, [the] regulations of heaven and earth, I had not established,

But certainly we will do {everything} that went out from our mouths, to make smoke offerings to the queen of heaven and to pour out to her libations just as we did, we, and our ancestors, our kings, and our officials, in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, [for] then {we had enough to eat}, and we were well-off, and we did not see disaster.

But {since} we stopped making smoke offerings to the queen of heaven and pouring out libations to her, we have lacked everything, and by the sword and by the famine we have perished.

And indeed, [when] we [were] making smoke offerings to the queen of heaven and {pouring out} to her libations, [was it not] {with the consent of} our husbands [that] we made for her sacrificial cakes {marked with her image}, and we poured out to her libations?"

And I will bring to Elam four winds, from the four corners of heaven, and I will scatter them to all these winds, and there will not be a nation where the scattered people of Elam will not go.

Then [the] heaven and [the] earth and all that [is] in them will shout for joy over Babylon, for from [the] north the destroyers will come to it," {declares} Yahweh.

From heaven he sent fire, into my bones he let it descend. He spread out a net for my feet; he turned me back, he gave me devastation, fainting all day.

until Yahweh looks down and sees from heaven.

And he sent out [the] form of a hand, and he took me by a lock of hair of my head, and [the] Spirit lifted me between earth and heaven, and it brought me to Jerusalem in visions of God to the doorway of [the] inner gate {that faced north}, [at] which there [was] the seat of the image of jealousy, which was making jealous.

In its branches all the birds of the heaven made their nest, and under its branches all the animals of the field gave birth, and in its shadow all [the] many nations lived.

On its fallen trunk all the birds of the heaven [now] dwell, and all the animals of the field were on its branches.

And I will throw you on the ground; on the surface of the open field I will hurl you, and I will cause every bird of the heaven to dwell on you, and I will satisfy the animals of all of the world from you.

And the fish of the sea and the birds of the heaven and the animals of the field and all of the creeping things that creep on the earth and all of the humans who [are] on the surface of the earth will shake {at my presence}; and the mountains will be demolished, and the steep mountain sides will fall, and every wall on the earth will fall.

and [told them] to seek mercy {from the God of heaven} concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions, along with the remainder of the wise men of Babylon, would not be killed.

Then in a vision of the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel; then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.

But there is a God in heaven [who] reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what [it is] that will be at the end of days. This [is] your dream and the visions of your head on your bed.

You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power and the might and the glory,

and [also] {human beings wherever they dwell}, the animals of the field and the birds of heaven--he has given into your hand and made you ruler over all of them--you are the head of gold.

And {in the day of those kings}, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will {never} be destroyed, and the kingdom will not be left for another nation, and it will bring an end to all these kingdoms, but it will stand {forever}.

The tree grew and it became strong, and its height reached to heaven, and {it was visible to the end of the whole earth}.

Its foliage [was] beautiful, and its fruit abundant, and in it [was] provision for all. Under it the animals of the field sought shade, and in its branches the birds of heaven nested, and from it all the living beings were fed.

" 'I was looking in the vision of my head [as I lay] on my bed, and look, a watcher, and holy [one], came down from heaven.

But the stump of its roots leave in the earth, {along with} a band of iron and bronze; [leave it] in the grass of the field. And in the dew of heaven let it be watered, and with the animals let his lot [be] in [the] grass of the earth.

The tree that you saw, which grew and became strong and its height reached to heaven and {it was visible to the end of the whole earth},

and its foliage [was] beautiful and its fruit abundant, and [so there was] provision for all in it, [and] the animals of the field lived under it and in its branches nest [the] birds of heaven,

--it is you, O king, who have grown [great] and you have grown strong, and [so] your greatness has increased and it has reached to heaven and your sovereignty to the end of the earth.

And [inasmuch] that the king saw [the] watcher, a holy [one] coming down from heaven and he said, "Cut down the tree and destroy it, but the stump of its root in the earth leave with a band of iron and bronze in the grass of the field, and let it be watered with the dew of heaven and [let] his lot [be] with [the] animals of the field {until seven times have passed over him}."

you will be driven away {from human society} and {you will dwell} with the animals of the field, and you will be caused to graze grass like the oxen {yourself}, and you will be watered with the dew of heaven, and seven [periods of] time will pass over you until that you have acknowledged that the Most High [is] sovereign over the kingdom of humankind, and {to whom he wills} he gives it.

{And in that} they said to leave alone the stump of the tree's root, so your kingdom [will be] restored for you {when} you acknowledge that heaven [is] sovereign.

[While] the words [were] still in the mouth of the king, a voice from heaven came, [saying], 'To you, King Nebuchadnezzar, [it] is declared that the kingdom has departed from you,

{Immediately} the word was fulfilled {concerning} Nebuchadnezzar, and he was expelled from {human society} and he ate grass like oxen, and his body was bathed with the dew of heaven until his hair [was] like [the hair of] an eagle and his nails grew like bird's [claws].

"But at the end of {that period}, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes to heaven, and [then] my reason returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and {the one who lives forever} I praised and I honored. "For his sovereignty [is] [an] everlasting sovereignty, and his kingdom [continues] from generation to generation.

And all the dwellers of the earth are regarded as nothing, and he does {according to} his desire in the host of heaven and [among] the dwellers of earth, and there is not [one] who can hold back his hand, or {ask him}, 'What are you doing?'

Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and honor the king of heaven, for all his works [are] truth, and his ways [are] justice and that he is able to humble those who walk in pride."

And he was driven away {from human society} and his mind was made like the animals and his dwelling [was] with the wild asses; [and] {he was given} grass like oxen to eat, and with the dew of heaven his body was bathed, until he acknowledged that the Most High God [is] sovereign over the kingdom of humankind, and {whoever} he wants he sets over it.

And [now] you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven, and the vessels of his temple you have brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines, have been drinking wine from them, and you have praised the gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone that [do] not see and [do] not hear and [do] not know, but the God {who holds your life in his hand} and all of your ways {come from him}, you have not honored.

Daniel {explained} and said, "I was looking in my vision in the night, and look, the four winds of heaven were stirring [up] the great sea.