'House' in the Bible

This is the law of the temple: Its entire area all around on the top of the mountain (Mount Moriah) shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the temple.

Then He brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the house; I looked, and behold, the glory and brilliance of the Lord filled the house of the Lord, and I fell face downward.

The Lord said to me, “Son of man, pay careful attention, see with your eyes and hear with your ears all that I say to you concerning all the statutes of the house of the Lord and all its laws; and pay careful attention to the entering of the house [by people], with all the departures from the sanctuary [of people, those who are allowed to enter the temple and all those who are excluded from the sanctuary].

You shall say to the rebellious ones, to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Enough of all your repulsive acts, O house of Israel!

In that you brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in My sanctuary to pollute and profane it—My house—when you offered My bread, the fat, and the blood; and they made My covenant void —this in addition to all your other repulsive acts.

Because the priests ministered to them before their idols and became a stumbling block of sin to the house of Israel, therefore I have lifted up My hand and have sworn [an oath] against them,” says the Lord God, “that they shall bear the punishment for their sin and guilt.

And they shall not marry a widow or a divorced woman; but they shall marry virgins of the descendants of the house of Israel, or a widow who was previously married to a priest.

The first of all the first fruits of every kind, and every contribution and offering of every kind, from all your contributions and offerings, shall belong to the priests. You shall also give to the priest the first of your coarse meal and bread dough, so that a blessing may rest on your house.

“You shall give the city possession of an area 5,000 cubits wide and 25,000 cubits long, alongside the portion set aside as a holy section. It shall belong to the whole house of Israel.

This shall be his land for a possession in Israel; so My princes shall no longer oppress My people, but they shall give the rest of the land to the house of Israel according to their tribes.”

It shall be the prince’s responsibility to provide the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the drink offerings at the feasts, on the New Moons and on the Sabbaths, at all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel. He shall prepare and provide the sin offering, the grain offering, the burnt offering and the peace offerings, to make atonement for the house of Israel.”

Then he [my guide] brought me back to the door of the house [the temple of the Lord]; and behold, water was flowing from under the threshold of the house (temple) toward the east, for the front of the temple was facing east. And the water was flowing down from under, from the right side of the house, from south of the altar.

The Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles of the house of God; and he brought them into the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and brought the articles into the treasury of his god.

Then Daniel returned to his house and discussed the matter with Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions,

“I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at rest in my house and prospering in my palace.

Then they brought in the gold and silver vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God which was in Jerusalem; and the king and his nobles, his wives and his concubines drank from them.

Now the queen [mother], overhearing the [excited] words of the king and his nobles, came into the banquet area. The queen [mother] spoke and said, “O king, live forever! Do not be alarmed at your thoughts or let your face be changed.

And you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven, and the vessels of His house have been brought before you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines have been drinking wine from them; and you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or understand. But the God who holds in His hand your breath of life and your ways you have not honored and glorified [but have dishonored and defied].

Now when Daniel knew that the document was signed, he went into his house (now in his roof chamber his windows were open toward Jerusalem); he continued to get down on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously.

And the Lord said to him, “Name him Jezreel; for yet in a little while I will avenge the blood [that was shed in the Valley] of Jezreel and inflict the punishment for it on the house of Jehu, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel.

Then Gomer conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. And the Lord said to Hosea, “Name her Lo-Ruhamah (not shown mercy), for I will no longer have mercy on the house of Israel, that I would ever forgive them.

But I will have mercy on the house of Judah and will rescue them by the Lord their God, and will not rescue them by bow, sword, war, horses, or horsemen.”

Hear this and pay close attention, O priests!Give heed, O house of Israel!Listen, O house of the king!For the [pronounced] judgment pertains to you and is meant for you to hear,Because you have been a snare at MizpahAnd a net spread out over Tabor (military strongholds on either side of the Jordan River).

Therefore I am like a moth to EphraimAnd like dry rot to the house of Judah [in My judgment against them].

For I will be like a lion to EphraimAnd like a young lion to the house of Judah.I, even I, will tear to pieces and go on [tearing];I will carry off [the prey] and there will be no one to rescue them.

I have seen a horrible thing [sins of every kind] in the house of Israel!Ephraim’s prostitution (idolatry) is there; Israel has defiled itself.

Set the trumpet to your lips [announcing impending judgment]!Like a [great] vulture the enemy comes against the house of the Lord,Because they have broken My covenantAnd transgressed and rebelled against My law.

They will not pour out drink offerings of wine to the Lord;Their sacrifices will not please Him.Their bread will be like mourners’ bread [eaten at funerals];All who eat it will be [ceremonially] unclean,For their bread will be for themselves;It will not enter the house of the Lord [to be consecrated].

Ephraim was a watchman with my God, a [true] prophet [to warn the nation];But the snare of a bird catcher was laid in all his paths.And there is only deep hostility in the house of his God (the land of Israel).

All their wickedness [says the Lord] is focused in Gilgal;Indeed, I came to hate them there!Because of the wickedness of their [idolatrous] practicesI will drive them out of My house (the land of Israel)!I will love them no longer;All their princes are rebels.

The people of Samaria will fear and trembleFor the [idolatrous] calf of Beth-aven (House of Wickedness).Indeed, its people will mourn over itAnd its idolatrous priests will cry out and wail over it,Over its glory, because the glory [of their calf god] has departed from it.

Also the high places of Aven (Beth-aven), the sin of Israel, will be destroyed;The thorn and the thistle will grow on their [pagan] altars,And [in despair] they will say to the mountains,“Cover us!” And to the hills, “Fall on us!”

Ephraim surrounds Me with liesAnd the house of Israel with deceit;Judah is also unruly against God,Even against the faithful Holy One.

The [daily] grain offering and the drink offering are cut offFrom the house of the Lord;The priests mournWho minister to the Lord.

Clothe yourselves with sackclothAnd lament (cry out in grief), O priests;Wail, O ministers of the altar!Come, spend the night in sackcloth [and pray without ceasing],O ministers of my God,For the grain offering and the drink offeringAre withheld from the house of your God.

Consecrate a fast,Proclaim a solemn assembly,Gather the eldersAnd all the inhabitants of the landTo the house of the Lord your God,And cry out to the Lord [in penitent pleadings].

Has not the food been cut off before our eyes,Joy and gladness from the house of our God?

And in that dayThe mountains will drip with sweet wineAnd the hills will flow with milk;And all the brooks and riverbeds of Judah will flow with water,And a fountain will go out from the house of the LordTo water the [desert] Valley of Shittim.

“So I will send a fire [of war, conquest, and destruction] upon the house of Hazael,And it shall devour the palaces and strongholds of Ben-hadad (Hazael’s son).

“They stretch out beside every [pagan] altar on clothes taken in pledge [to secure a loan, disregarding God’s command],And in the house of their God [in contempt of Him] they frivolously drink the wine [which has been] taken from those who have been fined.

“Hear and testify against the house of Jacob,”Says the Lord God, the God of hosts,

“And I shall tear down the winter house with the summer house;And the houses of ivory shall also perishAnd the great houses shall come to an end,”Says the Lord.

Hear this word which I take up for you as a funeral song, O house of Israel:

For thus says the Lord God,“The city which goes forth a thousand strongWill have a hundred left,And the one which goes forth a hundred strongWill have ten left to the house of Israel.”

For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel,“Seek Me [search diligently for Me and regard Me as more essential than food] so that you may live.

“But do not resort to Bethel [to worship the golden calf]Nor enter [idolatrous] Gilgal,Nor cross over to Beersheba [and its idols];For Gilgal will certainly go into captivity and exile,And Bethel will come to nothing.

“Seek the Lord [search diligently for Him and long for Him as your most essential need] so that you may live,Or He will rush down like a [devouring] fire, O house of Joseph,And there will be no one to quench the flame for [idolatrous] Bethel,

It is as if a man runs from a lion [escaping one danger]And a bear meets him [so he dies anyway],Or goes home, and leans with his hand against the wallAnd a snake bites him.

“Did you bring Me sacrifices and grain offerings during those forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? [Certainly not!]

Woe (judgment is coming) to those who are at ease and carefree in Zion (Judah)And to those on the mountain of Samaria who feel secure,The distinguished men of the foremost of nations,To whom the house of Israel comes.

And it shall come to pass that if there remain ten men in one house, they shall die [by the pestilence that comes with war].

Then one’s uncle, or his undertaker, shall come to bring the [disease-infected] body out of the house, [to cremate it], and he will say to another in the farthest part of the house, “Is there anyone else with you?” And that one will say, “No one.” Then he will respond, “Hush! Keep quiet! For the name of the Lord is not to be mentioned [even casually, for fear that we might invoke even more punishment].”

For behold, the Lord is going to command that the great house be smashed to pieces and the small house to fragments.

“For behold, I am going to stir up a nation against you,O house of Israel,” says the Lord, the God of hosts,“And they will afflict and torment you [to the entire limits of Israel] from the entrance of Hamath [in the north]To the brook of the Arabah [in the south].”

“And the [idolatrous] high places of Isaac (Israel) will be devastated and deserted,And the sanctuaries of Israel will be in ruins.Then I shall rise up against the house of Jeroboam with the sword [and destroy the monarchy].”

Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel [site of the golden calf shrine], sent word to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel; the land is unable to endure all his words.

Now therefore, listen to the word of the Lord: You say, ‘You shall not prophesy against Israel nor shall you speak against the house of Isaac.’

“Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are on the sinful [northern] kingdom [of Israel’s ten tribes]And I shall destroy it from the face of the earth;But I shall not totally destroy the house of Jacob [that is, the entire nation of Israel],”Says the Lord.

“For behold, I am commanding,And I shall shake and sift the house of Israel among all nations [and cause it to tremble]Like grain is shaken in a sieve [removing the chaff],But not a kernel [of the faithful remnant] shall fall to the ground and be lost [from My sight].

“But on Mount Zion [in Jerusalem] there shall be [deliverance for] those who escape,And it shall be holy [no pagan will defile it];And the house of Jacob shall possess their [former] possessions.

“Then the house of Jacob shall be a fireAnd the house of Joseph a flame [in executing God’s wrath];But the house of Esau will be like stubble.They (Jacob) shall set them on fire and consume them (the Edomites),So that there shall be no survivor of the house of Esau,”For the Lord has spoken.

All this is because of the rebellion and apostasy of JacobAnd for the sins of the house of Israel (the Northern Kingdom).What is the rebellion and apostasy of Jacob?Is it not [the abandonment of God in order to worship the idols of] Samaria?What are the high places [of idolatry] in Judah (the Southern Kingdom)?Are they not Jerusalem [the capital and center of corruption]?

Announce it not in Gath [in Philistia],Weep not at all [and in this way betray your grief to Gentiles];In Beth-le-aphrah (House of Dust) roll in the dust [among your own people].

They covet fields and seize them,And houses, and take them away.They oppress and rob a man and his house,A man and his inheritance.

“Is it being said, O house of Jacob:‘Is the Spirit of the Lord impatient?Or are these [prophesied judgments] His doings?’Do not My words do goodTo the one walking uprightly?

And I said,“Hear now, heads of JacobAnd rulers of the house of Israel.Is it not for you to know and administer justice?

Now hear this, you heads of the house of JacobAnd rulers of the house of Israel,Who hate and reject justiceAnd twist everything that is straight,

Therefore, on account of youZion shall be plowed like a field,Jerusalem shall become a heap of ruins,And the mountain of the house [of the Lord] shall become like a densely wooded hill.

But it shall come about in the last daysThat the mountain of the house of the LordShall be established as the highest and chief of the mountains;It shall be above the hills,And peoples shall flow [like a river] to it.

And many nations shall come and say,“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,To the house of the God of Jacob,That He may teach us about His waysAnd that we may walk in His paths.”For the law shall go forward from Zion,And the word of the Lord [the revelation about Him and His truth] from Jerusalem.

“For I brought you up from the land of EgyptAnd ransomed you from the house of slavery,And I sent before you Moses [to lead you], Aaron [the high priest], and Miriam [the prophetess].

“Are there not still treasures gained by wickednessIn the house of the wicked,And a short (inaccurate) measure [for grain] that is cursed?

“For [you have kept] the statutes of Omri [the idolatrous king],And all the works of the [wicked] house (dynasty) of Ahab;And you walk in their counsels and policies.Therefore, I shall hand you over for destruction and horrorAnd your [city’s] inhabitants for ridicule,And you shall bear the rebuke and scorn of My people.”

For the son dishonors the father and treats him contemptuously,The daughter rises up [in hostility] against her mother,The daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—A man’s enemies are the men (members) of his own household.

The Lord has given a command concerning you [O king of Nineveh]:“Your name will no longer be perpetuated.I will cut off the carved idols and cast imagesFrom the temple of your gods;I will prepare your grave,For you are vile and unworthy.”

“Woe (judgment is coming) to him who obtains wicked gain for his house [and thinks by so doing]To set his nest on high,That he may be rescued from the hand of evil.

“You have devised a shameful thing for your houseBy cutting off and putting an end to many peoples;So you are sinning against your own life and forfeiting it.

You went forth for the salvation of Your people,For the salvation and rescue of Your anointed [people Israel].You struck the head from the house of the wickedTo lay him open from the thigh to the neck. Selah (pause, and calmly think of that).

“On that day I will also punish all those who leap over the temple threshold,Who fill their [pagan] lord’s temple with violence and deceit.

The seacoast will belongTo the remnant of the house of Judah;They will pasture [their flocks] on it.In the [deserted] houses of Ashkelon [in Philistia] they [of Judah] will lie down and rest in the evening,For the Lord their God will care for them;And restore their fortune [permitting them to occupy the land].

“Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘These people say, “The time has not come that the Lord’s house (temple) should be rebuilt.”’”

“Is it time for you yourselves to live in your [expensive] paneled houses while this house [of the Lord] lies in ruins?”

Go up to the hill country, bring lumber and rebuild My house (temple), that I may be pleased with it and be glorified,” says the Lord [accepting it as done for My glory].

You look for much [harvest], but it comes to little; and even when you bring that home, I blow it away. Why?” says the Lord of hosts. “Because of My house, which lies in ruins while each of you runs to his own house [eager to enjoy it].

So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God,

‘Who is left among you who saw this house (temple) in its former glory? And how do you see it now? Does it not seem to you like nothing in comparison?

I will shake all the nations; and they will come with the desirable and precious things of all nations, and I will fill this house with glory and splendor,’ says the Lord of hosts.

‘The latter glory of this house will be greater than the former,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘and in this place I shall give [the ultimate] peace and prosperity,’ declares the Lord of hosts.”

Therefore, thus says the Lord, “I have returned to Jerusalem with mercy and compassion. My house shall be built in it,” says the Lord of hosts, “and a measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem.”’

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘If you will walk in My ways [that is, remain faithful] and perform My service, then you will also govern My house and have charge of My courts, and I will give you free access [to My presence] among these who are standing here.

“The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundations of this house, and his hands will finish it. Then you will know (recognize, understand fully) that the Lord of hosts has sent me [as His messenger] to you.

I will send the curse out,” declares the Lord of hosts, “and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of the one who swears falsely by My name; and it will spend the night in that house and consume it, both its timber and its stones.”

And he said to me, “To the land of Shinar (Babylon) to build a temple for her; and when it is prepared, she shall be set there on her own pedestal.”

“Take an offering from the exiles, from Heldai, from Tobijah, and from Jedaiah [as representatives]; and you go the same day and enter the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah, where they have arrived from Babylon.

speaking to the priests who belong to the house of the Lord of hosts and to the prophets, saying, “[Now that I am returned from exile] shall I weep in the fifth month [mourning the destruction of the temple], and fast as I have done these many years [in Babylon]?”

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Let your hands be strong, you who in these days hear these words from the mouths of the prophets who, on the day that the foundation of the house of the Lord of hosts was laid, foretold that the temple might be rebuilt.

And as you have been a curse among the nations, O house of Judah (Southern Kingdom) and house of Israel (Northern Kingdom), so I will save you, that you may be a blessing. Fear not; let your hands be strong.’

so I have again planned in these days to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Do not fear!

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘The fast of the fourth [month to mourn the breaching of Jerusalem’s walls], the fast of the fifth [month to mourn the temple’s destruction], the fast of the seventh [month to mourn Gedaliah’s assassination], and the fast of the tenth [month to mourn the siege of Jerusalem] will become times of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts for the house of Judah; so [to bring this about] love truth and peace.’

Then I will camp around My house [as a guard] because of an army,Because of him who passes by and returns;And no oppressor will again overrun them (Israel),For now My eyes are upon them [providentially protecting them].