'Little' in the Bible

Please let a little water be brought and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree;

Then the servant ran to meet her, and said, “Please let me drink a little water from your jar.”

behold, I am standing by the spring, and may it be that the maiden who comes out to draw, and to whom I say, “Please let me drink a little water from your jar”;

For you had little before I came and it has increased to a multitude, and the Lord has blessed you wherever I turned. But now, when shall I provide for my own household also?”

and they captured and looted all their wealth and all their little ones and their wives, even all that was in the houses.

So it came about when they had finished eating the grain which they had brought from Egypt, that their father said to them, “Go back, buy us a little food.”

Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the lad with me and we will arise and go, that we may live and not die, we as well as you and our little ones.

Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: take some of the best products of the land in your bags, and carry down to the man as a present, a little balm and a little honey, aromatic gum and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds.

We said to my lord, ‘We have an old father and a little child of his old age. Now his brother is dead, so he alone is left of his mother, and his father loves him.’

Our father said, ‘Go back, buy us a little food.’

Now you are ordered, ‘Do this: take wagons from the land of Egypt for your little ones and for your wives, and bring your father and come.

Then Jacob arose from Beersheba; and the sons of Israel carried their father Jacob and their little ones and their wives in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him.

Joseph provided his father and his brothers and all his father’s household with food, according to their little ones.

At the harvest you shall give a fifth to Pharaoh, and four-fifths shall be your own for seed of the field and for your food and for those of your households and as food for your little ones.”

and all the household of Joseph and his brothers and his father’s household; they left only their little ones and their flocks and their herds in the land of Goshen.

So therefore, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” So he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.

Then he said to them, “Thus may the Lord be with you, if ever I let you and your little ones go! Take heed, for evil is in your mind.

Then Pharaoh called to Moses, and said, “Go, serve the Lord; only let your flocks and your herds be detained. Even your little ones may go with you.”

The sons of Israel did so, and some gathered much and some little.

When they measured it with an omer, he who had gathered much had no excess, and he who had gathered little had no lack; every man gathered as much as he should eat.

So Moses cried out to the Lord, saying, “What shall I do to this people? A little more and they will stone me.”

I will drive them out before you little by little, until you become fruitful and take possession of the land.

and the little owl and the cormorant and the great owl,

Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?”

So they got back from around the dwellings of Korah, Dathan and Abiram; and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the doorway of their tents, along with their wives and their sons and their little ones.

The sons of Israel captured the women of Midian and their little ones; and all their cattle and all their flocks and all their goods they plundered.

Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man intimately.

Then they came near to him and said, “We will build here sheepfolds for our livestock and cities for our little ones;

but we ourselves will be armed ready to go before the sons of Israel, until we have brought them to their place, while our little ones live in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land.

Build yourselves cities for your little ones, and sheepfolds for your sheep, and do what you have promised.”

Our little ones, our wives, our livestock and all our cattle shall remain there in the cities of Gilead;

Moreover, your little ones who you said would become a prey, and your sons, who this day have no knowledge of good or evil, shall enter there, and I will give it to them and they shall possess it.

do not provoke them, for I will not give you any of their land, even as little as a footstep because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession.

But your wives and your little ones and your livestock (I know that you have much livestock) shall remain in your cities which I have given you,

The Lord your God will clear away these nations before you little by little; you will not be able to put an end to them quickly, for the wild beasts would grow too numerous for you.

the little owl, the great owl, the white owl,

“You shall bring out much seed to the field but you will gather in little, for the locust will consume it.

your little ones, your wives, and the alien who is within your camps, from the one who chops your wood to the one who draws your water,

Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle shall remain in the land which Moses gave you beyond the Jordan, but you shall cross before your brothers in battle array, all your valiant warriors, and shall help them,

There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded which Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel with the women and the little ones and the strangers who were living among them.

He said to her, “Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” So she opened a bottle of milk and gave him a drink; then she covered him.

Then they turned and departed, and put the little ones and the livestock and the valuables in front of them.

And the congregation sent 12,000 of the valiant warriors there, and commanded them, saying, “Go and strike the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the little ones.

And she said, ‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.’ Thus she came and has remained from the morning until now; she has been sitting in the house for a little while.”

And his mother would make him a little robe and bring it to him from year to year when she would come up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.

Then Jonathan said, “My father has troubled the land. See now, how my eyes have brightened because I tasted a little of this honey.

Then Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done.” So Jonathan told him and said, “I indeed tasted a little honey with the end of the staff that was in my hand. Here I am, I must die!”

Samuel said, “Is it not true, though you were little in your own eyes, you were made the head of the tribes of Israel? And the Lord anointed you king over Israel,

Now it came about in the morning that Jonathan went out into the field for the appointment with David, and a little lad was with him.

“But the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lambWhich he bought and nourished;And it grew up together with him and his children.It would eat of his bread and drink of his cup and lie in his bosom,And was like a daughter to him.

I also gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your care, and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added to you many more things like these!

Therefore David said to Ittai, “Go and pass over.” So Ittai the Gittite passed over with all his men and all the little ones who were with him.

Now when David had passed a little beyond the summit, behold, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him with a couple of saddled donkeys, and on them were two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred clusters of raisins, a hundred summer fruits, and a jug of wine.

Now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant king in place of my father David, yet I am but a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in.

The young men who grew up with him spoke to him, saying, “Thus you shall say to this people who spoke to you, saying, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, now you make it lighter for us!’ But you shall speak to them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s loins!

So he arose and went to Zarephath, and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks; and he called to her and said, “Please get me a little water in a jar, that I may drink.”

But she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have no bread, only a handful of flour in the bowl and a little oil in the jar; and behold, I am gathering a few sticks that I may go in and prepare for me and my son, that we may eat it and die.”

Then Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go, do as you have said, but make me a little bread cake from it first and bring it out to me, and afterward you may make one for yourself and for your son.

In a little while the sky grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy shower. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel.

The sons of Israel were mustered and were provisioned and went to meet them; and the sons of Israel camped before them like two little flocks of goats, but the Arameans filled the country.

Please, let us make a little walled upper chamber and let us set a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lampstand; and it shall be, when he comes to us, that he can turn in there.”

Now the Arameans had gone out in bands and had taken captive a little girl from the land of Israel; and she waited on Naaman’s wife.

So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child and he was clean.

Hazael said, “Why does my lord weep?” Then he answered, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the sons of Israel: their strongholds you will set on fire, and their young men you will kill with the sword, and their little ones you will dash in pieces, and their women with child you will rip up.”

Then Jehu gathered all the people and said to them, “Ahab served Baal a little; Jehu will serve him much.

The young men who grew up with him spoke to him, saying, “Thus you shall say to the people who spoke to you, saying, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you make it lighter for us.’ Thus you shall say to them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s loins!

The genealogical enrollment included all their little children, their wives, their sons and their daughters, for the whole assembly, for they consecrated themselves faithfully in holiness.

Then I proclaimed a fast there at the river of Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God to seek from Him a safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions.

But now for a brief moment grace has been shown from the Lord our God, to leave us an escaped remnant and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our bondage.

“Would He not let my few days alone?Withdraw from me that I may have a little cheer

“They send forth their little ones like the flock,And their children skip about.

“They are exalted a little while, then they are gone;Moreover, they are brought low and like everything gathered up;Even like the heads of grain they are cut off.

“Wait for me a little, and I will show youThat there is yet more to be said in God’s behalf.

Yet You have made him a little lower than God,And You crown him with glory and majesty!

Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more;And you will look carefully for his place and he will not be there.

Better is the little of the righteousThan the abundance of many wicked.

How blessed will be the one who seizes and dashes your little onesAgainst the rock.

“A little sleep, a little slumber,A little folding of the hands to rest”—

The tongue of the righteous is as choice silver,The heart of the wicked is worth little.

Better is a little with the fear of the LordThan great treasure and turmoil with it.

Better is a little with righteousnessThan great income with injustice.

“A little sleep, a little slumber,A little folding of the hands to rest,”

The sleep of the working man is pleasant, whether he eats little or much; but the full stomach of the rich man does not allow him to sleep.

Dead flies make a perfumer’s oil stink, so a little foolishness is weightier than wisdom and honor.

“Catch the foxes for us,The little foxes that are ruining the vineyards,While our vineyards are in blossom.”

“We have a little sister,And she has no breasts;What shall we do for our sisterOn the day when she is spoken for?

For in a very little while My indignation against you will be spent and My anger will be directed to their destruction.”

And the wolf will dwell with the lamb,And the leopard will lie down with the young goat,And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together;And a little boy will lead them.

Their little ones also will be dashed to piecesBefore their eyes;Their houses will be plunderedAnd their wives ravished.

Come, my people, enter into your roomsAnd close your doors behind you;Hide for a little whileUntil indignation runs its course.

“For He says,‘Order on order, order on order,Line on line, line on line,A little here, a little there.’”

So the word of the Lord to them will be,“Order on order, order on order,Line on line, line on line,A little here, a little there,”That they may go and stumble backward, be broken, snared and taken captive.

Is it not yet just a little whileBefore Lebanon will be turned into a fertile field,And the fertile field will be considered as a forest?

Your holy people possessed Your sanctuary for a little while,Our adversaries have trodden it down.

“Moab is broken,Her little ones have sounded out a cry of distress.

Therefore hear the plan of the Lord which He has planned against Edom, and His purposes which He has purposed against the inhabitants of Teman: surely they will drag them off, even the little ones of the flock; surely He will make their pasture desolate because of them.

Therefore hear the plan of the Lord which He has planned against Babylon, and His purposes which He has purposed against the land of the Chaldeans: surely they will drag them off, even the little ones of the flock; surely He will make their pasture desolate because of them.

For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:“The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floorAt the time it is stamped firm;Yet in a little while the time of harvest will come for her.”

Her adversaries have become her masters,Her enemies prosper;For the Lord has caused her griefBecause of the multitude of her transgressions;Her little ones have gone awayAs captives before the adversary.

My eyes fail because of tears,My spirit is greatly troubled;My heart is poured out on the earthBecause of the destruction of the daughter of my people,When little ones and infants faintIn the streets of the city.