'Live' in the Bible

“As I live,” says the Lord God, “most certainly with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out, I shall be King over you.

“Now as for you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus you have said, “Truly our transgressions and our sins are on us, and we are rotting away because of them; how then can we live?”’

Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back (change your way of thinking), turn back [in repentance] from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’

And you, son of man, say to the sons of your people, ‘The righteousness of the righteous man will not save him in the day of his transgression; and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he will not stagger because of it in the day that he turns from his wickedness, whereas a righteous man will not be able to live because of his [previous acts of] righteousness on the day when he commits sin.’

When I say to the righteous that he will most certainly live, and he trusts in his [previous acts of] righteousness [to save him] and commits injustice, none of his righteous deeds will be remembered; but he will die for his injustice that he committed.

if a wicked man returns [what he took as] a pledge, pays back what he had taken by robbery, walks in the statutes which ensure life, without committing injustice, he will certainly live; he will not die.

None of his sins that he has committed will be remembered against him. He has practiced that which is just (fair) and right; he will most certainly live.

But when a wicked man turns back from his wickedness and practices what is just (fair) and right, he will live because of it.

You shall say this to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “As I live, those who are in the ruins certainly will fall by the sword, and I will give whoever is in the open field to the [predatory] animals to be devoured, and those who are in strongholds and in caves will die of virulent diseases.

“As I live,” says the Lord God, “certainly because My flock has become prey, My flock has even become food for every predator of the field for lack of a shepherd, and My shepherds did not search for My flock, but rather the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock;

therefore, as I live,” says the Lord God, “I will hand you over to bloodshed, and bloodshed will pursue you since you have not hated bloodshed, bloodshed will pursue you.

therefore, as I live,” says the Lord God, “I will deal with you in accordance with the anger and envy you showed because of your hatred for them; and I will make Myself known among them [as Judge] when I judge and punish you.

And He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, You know.”

Thus says the Lord God to these bones, ‘Behold, I will make breath enter you so that you may come to life.

I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin, and I will put breath in you so that you may come alive; and you will know that I am the Lord.’”

Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.”’”

I will put My Spirit in you and you will come to life, and I will place you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and fulfilled it,” says the Lord.’”

And another portion of land 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 cubits wide shall be for the Levites, the ministers of the temple (house), and they shall possess it as a place in which to live.

It will come about that every living creature which swarms in every place where the river goes, will live. And there will be a very great number of fish, because these waters go there so that the waters of the sea are healed and become fresh; so everything will live wherever the river goes.

Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell the dream to your servants, and we will declare the interpretation.”

They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever!

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.

Then these commissioners and satraps agreed to approach the king and said to him, “King Darius, live forever!

Then Daniel spoke to the king, “O king, live forever!

“After two days He will revive us;On the third day He will raise us upThat we may live before Him.

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.

“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,

Seek (long for, require) good and not evil, that you may live;And so may the Lord God of hosts be with you,Just as you have said!

Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Go, you seer, run for your life [from Israel] to the land of Judah [your own country] and eat bread and live as a prophet there!

Therefore now, O Lord, just take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

When the sun came up God prepared a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he fainted and he wished to die, and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”

“Writhe in pain and labor to give birth,O Daughter of Zion,Like a woman in childbirth;For now you shall go out of the city,Live in the field,And go to Babylon.There you will be rescued;There the Lord shall redeem youFrom the hand of your enemies.

“Look at the proud one,His soul is not right within him,But the righteous will live by his faith [in the true God].

“Because you [king of Babylon] have looted many nations,All peoples who are left will loot you—Because of human bloodshed and for the violence done to the land,To the city and all its inhabitants.

“Therefore, as I live,” declares the Lord of hosts,The God of Israel,“Moab will in fact become like SodomAnd the sons of Ammon like Gomorrah,A land possessed by nettles and salt pits,And a perpetual desolation.The remnant of My people will plunder themAnd what is left of My nation will inherit them [as their own].”

“Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever?

“When I scatter them among the nations,They will remember Me in far countries,And with their children they will live and come back [to Me and the land I gave them].

And if anyone still [appears as a prophet and falsely] prophesies, then his father and his mother who gave birth to him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you have spoken lies in the name of the Lord’; and his father and his mother who gave birth to him shall pierce him through when he prophesies.

But Jesus replied, “It is written and forever remains written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God.’”

And His sisters, are they not [living here] among us? Where then did this Man get all this [wisdom and power]?”

and begged anxiously with Him, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death; [please] come and lay Your hands on her, so that she will be healed and live.”

where their worm [that feeds on the dead] does not die, and the fire is not put out.

For they all contributed from their surplus, but she, from her poverty, put in all she had, all she had to live on.”

Jesus replied to him, “It is written and forever remains written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’”

But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing [entirely unsuited for the harsh wilderness]? Those who wear splendid clothing and live in luxury are in royal palaces!

Jesus said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this habitually and you will live.”

for they all put in gifts from their abundance; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”

for it will come upon all those who live on the face of all the earth.

so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life [after physical death, and will actually live forever].

Jesus said to him, “Go; your son lives!” The man believed what Jesus said to him and started home.

Then the father realized that it was at that very hour when Jesus had said to him, “Your son lives”; and he and his entire household believed and confidently trusted [in Him as Savior].

Just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life [and allows them to live on], even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes.

I assure you and most solemnly say to you, a time is coming and is [here] now, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear it will live.

I am the Living Bread that came down out of heaven. If anyone eats of this Bread [believes in Me, accepts Me as Savior], he will live forever. And the Bread that I will give for the life of the world is My flesh (body).”

Just as the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, even so the one who feeds on Me [believes in Me, accepts Me as Savior] will also live because of Me.

This is the Bread which came down out of heaven. It is not like [the manna that] our fathers ate and they [eventually] died; the one who eats this Bread [believes in Me, accepts Me as Savior] will live forever.”

So Jesus was saying to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you abide in My word [continually obeying My teachings and living in accordance with them, then] you are truly My disciples.

I am the Door; anyone who enters through Me will be saved [and will live forever], and will go in and out [freely], and find pasture (spiritual security).

Jesus said to her, “I am the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in (adheres to, trusts in, relies on) Me [as Savior] will live even if he dies;

and everyone who lives and believes in Me [as Savior] will never die. Do you believe this?”

I have come as Light into the world, so that everyone who believes and trusts in Me [as Savior—all those who anchor their hope in Me and rely on the truth of My message] will not continue to live in darkness.

After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also.

Remain in Me, and I [will remain] in you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself without remaining in the vine, neither can you [bear fruit, producing evidence of your faith] unless you remain in Me.

If you remain in Me and My words remain in you [that is, if we are vitally united and My message lives in your heart], ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you.

If you keep My commandments and obey My teaching, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love.

Jesus said to him, “If I want him to stay alive until I come [again], what is that to you? You follow Me!”

So this word went out among the brothers that this disciple (John) was not going to die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not going to die, but only, “If I want him to stay alive until I come [again], what is that to you?”

“For in the book of Psalms it is written,‘Let his place of residence become desolate,And let there be no one to live in it’;and [again],‘Let another take his position as overseer.’

And he answered, “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory [the Shekinah, the radiance of God] appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran,

This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness together with the Angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and who was with our fathers; and he received living oracles [divine words that still live] to be handed down to you.

For in Him we live and move and exist [that is, in Him we actually have our being], as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’

Now they have been told about you, that you are teaching all the Jews who are living among the Gentiles to turn away from [the Law of] Moses, advising them not to circumcise their children or to live according to the [Mosaic] customs.

They listened to Paul until [he made] this [last] statement, but now they raised their voices and shouted, “Away with such a man from the earth! He is not fit to live!”

Then Festus said, “King Agrippa and all you gentlemen present with us, you see this man [Paul] about whom all the Jewish people appealed to me, both at Jerusalem and here, loudly insisting that he ought not to live any longer.

but I openly proclaimed first to those at Damascus, then at Jerusalem and throughout the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they should repent [change their inner self—their old way of thinking] and turn to God, doing deeds and living lives which are consistent with repentance.

When the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they began saying to one another, “Undoubtedly this man is a murderer, and though he has been saved from the sea, Justice [the avenging goddess] has not permitted him to live.”

When we entered Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself [in rented quarters] with the soldier who was guarding him.

For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith [disclosed in a way that awakens more faith]. As it is written and forever remains written, “The just and upright shall live by faith.”

Certainly not! How can we, the very ones who died to sin, continue to live in it any longer?

We have therefore been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory and power of the Father, we too might walk habitually in newness of life [abandoning our old ways].

Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live [together] with Him,

What then [are we to conclude]? Shall we sin because we are not under Law, but under [God’s] grace? Certainly not!

Therefore there is now no condemnation [no guilty verdict, no punishment] for those who are in Christ Jesus [who believe in Him as personal Lord and Savior].

so that the [righteous and just] requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us who do not live our lives in the ways of the flesh [guided by worldliness and our sinful nature], but [live our lives] in the ways of the Spirit [guided by His power].

So then, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation, but not to our flesh [our human nature, our worldliness, our sinful capacity], to live according to the [impulses of the] flesh [our nature without the Holy Spirit]—

for if you are living according to the [impulses of the] flesh, you are going to die. But if [you are living] by the [power of the Holy] Spirit you are habitually putting to death the sinful deeds of the body, you will [really] live forever.

For Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on law [with all its intricate demands] shall live by it.

For from Him [all things originate] and through Him [all things live and exist] and to Him are all things [directed]. To Him be glory and honor forever! Amen.

Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty [conceited, self-important, exclusive], but associate with humble people [those with a realistic self-view]. Do not overestimate yourself.

If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

Let us conduct ourselves properly and honorably as in the [light of] day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and irresponsibility, not in quarreling and jealousy.

If we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord. So then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.

For it is written [in Scripture],“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me,And every tongue shall give praise to God.”

Now may the God who gives endurance and who supplies encouragement grant that you be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus,

To the rest I declare—I, not the Lord [since Jesus did not discuss this]—that if any [believing] brother has a wife who does not believe [in Christ], and she consents to live with him, he must not leave her.

And if any [believing] woman has an unbelieving husband, and he consents to live with her, she must not leave him.

So also [on the same principle] the Lord directed those who preach the gospel to get their living from the gospel.

[For that matter] why are we [running such risks and putting ourselves] in danger [nearly] every hour [if there is no resurrection]?

For we who live are constantly [experiencing the threat of] being handed over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the [resurrection] life of Jesus also may be evidenced in our mortal body [which is subject to death].

and He died for all, so that all those who live would no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and was raised for their sake.