'Look' in the Bible

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was delightful to look at, and a tree to be desired in order to make one wise and insightful, she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate.

And the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you so angry? And why do you look annoyed?

When the rainbow is in the clouds and I look at it, I will [solemnly] remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”

The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had left him, “Now lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are standing, northward and southward and eastward and westward;

And Abram continued, “Since You have given no child to me, one (a servant) born in my house is my heir.”

And the Lord brought Abram outside [his tent into the night] and said, “Look now toward the heavens and count the stars—if you are able to count them.” Then He said to him, “So [numerous] shall your descendants be.”

See here, I have two daughters who have not known a man [intimately]; please let me bring them out to you [instead], and you can do as you please with them; only do nothing to these men, because they have in fact come under the shelter of my roof [for protection].”

When they had brought them outside, one [of the angels] said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, or stop anywhere in the entire valley; escape to the mountains [of Moab], or you will be consumed and swept away.”

The men of the place asked him about his wife, and he said, “She is my sister,” for he was afraid to say, “my wife”—thinking, “the men of the place might kill me on account of Rebekah, since she is very beautiful.”

He said, ‘Look up and see, all the rams which are mating [with the flock] are streaked, speckled, and spotted; for I have seen all that Laban has been doing to you.

So he asked Pharaoh’s officials who were in confinement with him in his master’s house, “Why do you look so down-hearted today?”

Now when Jacob (Israel) learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why are you staring at one another [in bewilderment and not taking action]?”

Do not be concerned with your goods, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’”

Then He said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

And the foremen said to them, “May the Lord look upon you and judge you, because you have made us odious (something hated) in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and you have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”

The priest shall look at the diseased spot on the skin of his body, and if the hair in the infection has turned white and the infection appears deeper than the skin of his body, it is an infection of leprosy; when the priest has looked at him, he shall pronounce him [ceremonially] unclean.

On the seventh day the priest shall examine the diseased spot; if the scale has not spread and has no yellow hair in it, and the scale does not look deeper than the skin,

Then on the seventh day the priest shall look at the scale; if the scale has not spread on the skin and appears to be no deeper than the skin, the priest shall pronounce him clean; he shall wash his clothes and be clean.

then the priest shall examine him, and if the scale has spread on the skin, the priest need not look for the yellowish hair; he is unclean.

then the priest shall look, and if the bright spots on the skin of their bodies is a dull white, it is [only] a rash that has broken out on the skin; he is clean.

The priest shall return on the seventh day and look; and if the mark has spread on the walls of the house,

then the priest shall come and look again, and if the mark has spread in the house, it is a malignant leprosy in the house; it is [ceremonially] unclean.

It shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, to do them, so that you do not follow after [the desires of] your own heart and eyes, [desires] after which you used to follow and play the prostitute,

Remember [with compassion] Your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; do not look at the stubbornness of this people or at their wickedness or at their sin,

Look down from Your holy dwelling above, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel, and the land which You have given us, as You have sworn to our fathers, a land [of plenty] flowing with milk and honey.’

“Go up to this mountain of the Abarim, Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab opposite Jericho, and look at the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the sons of Israel as a possession.

And he said to them, “Look at me, then do likewise. When I come to the edge of the camp, do just as I do.

When Gaal saw the people, he said to Zebul, “Look, people are coming down from the mountaintops.” But Zebul said to him, “You are only seeing the shadow of the mountains as if they were men.”

She made a vow, saying, “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction (suffering) of Your maidservant and remember, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life; a razor shall never touch his head.”

Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul’s father, had wandered off and were lost. Kish said to his son Saul, “Please take one of the servants with you and arise, go look for the donkeys.”

Saul’s uncle said to him and to his servant, “Where did you go?” And Saul said, “To look for the donkeys. And when we saw that they were nowhere to be found, we went to Samuel [for help].”

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

And I will send a boy, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I specifically say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you, get them,’ then come [back to my father’s table]; for it is safe for you and there is no danger, as the Lord lives.

But if I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,’ then go, for the Lord has sent you away.

Again Mephibosheth lay himself face down and said, “What is your servant, that you would be concerned for a dead dog like me?”

Perhaps the Lord will look on the wrong done to me [by Shimei, if he is acting on his own]; and [in that case perhaps] the Lord will this day return good to me in place of his cursing.”

So when all [the ten northern tribes of] Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people replied to the king, saying,“What portion do we have in David?We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse;To your tents, O Israel!Look now after your own house, David!” Then Israel went back to their tents.

and he said to his servant, “Go up, look toward the sea.” So he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.” Elijah said, “Go back” seven times.

Elisha said, “As the Lord of hosts (armies) lives, before whom I stand, were it not that I have regard for Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not look at you nor see you [king of Israel].

Now the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “Look now, the place where we live near you is too small for us.

Now Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. And the king sent a man ahead of him [to behead Elisha]; but before the messenger arrived, Elisha told the elders, “Do you see how this son of [Jezebel] a murderer has sent [a man] to remove my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and hold it securely against him. Is not the sound of his master’s feet [just] behind him?”

When you arrive there, look for Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi, and go in and have him arise from among his brothers, and take him into an inner room.

Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash (Joash) the son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, “Come, let us face each other [in combat].”

David went out to meet them and said to them, “If you have come peacefully to me to help me, my heart shall be united with you; but if you have come to betray me to my adversaries, since there is no violence or wrong in my hands, may the God of our fathers look on [what you are doing] and punish [you].”

Then Amaziah king of Judah took counsel and sent word to Joash the son of Jehoahaz the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, “Come [to battle], let us face each other.”

So the king said to me, “Why do you look sad when you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of heart.” Then I was very frightened,

“Let the stars of its early dawn be dark;Let the morning wait in vain for the light,Let it not see the eyelids of morning (the day’s dawning),

“Now please look at me,And see if I lie to your face [for you know that I would not].

“Will You never turn Your gaze away from me [it plagues me],Nor let me alone until I swallow my spittle?

“But the eyes of the wicked will fail,And they will not escape [the justice of God];And their hope is to breathe their last [and die].”

“But if I look to Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) as my home,If I make my bed in the darkness,

“He does not look at the rivers,The flowing streams of honey and butter [to enjoy his wealth].

“Look at me and be astonished and appalled;And put your hand over your mouth.

“I have made a covenant (agreement) with my eyes;How then could I gaze [lustfully] at a virgin?

“If I have withheld from the poor what they desired,Or have caused the eyes of the widow to look in vain [for relief],

“Look to the heavens and see;And behold the skies which are [much] higher than you.

“Now people cannot look at the light when it is bright in the skies [without being blinded],When the wind has passed and cleared them.

“Out of the north comes golden splendor [and people can hardly look on it];Around God is awesome splendor and majesty [far too glorious for man’s eyes].

“Pour out the overflowings of your wrath,And look at everyone who is proud and make him low.

Look at everyone who is proud, and humble him,And [if you are so able] tread down the wicked where they stand.

Indeed, none of those who [expectantly] wait for You will be ashamed;Those who turn away from what is right and deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed (humiliated, embarrassed).

Lord, how long will You look on [without action]?Rescue my life from their destructions,My only life from the young lions.

For those who do evil will be cut off,But those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land.

For yet a little while and the wicked one will be gone [forever];Though you look carefully where he used to be, he will not be [found].

“O look away from me, that I may smile and again know joyBefore I depart and am no more.”

For innumerable evils have encompassed me;My sins have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see.They are more numerous than the hairs of my head,And my heart has failed me.

My God in His [steadfast] lovingkindness will meet me;God will let me look triumphantly on my enemies [who lie in wait for me].

Why do you look with envy, mountains with many peaks,At the mountain [of the city of Zion] which God has desired for His dwelling place?Yes, the Lord will dwell there forever.

Do not let those who wait [confidently] for You be ashamed through me, O Lord God of hosts;Do not let those who seek You [as necessary for life itself] be dishonored through me, O God of Israel,

Turn again [in favor to us], O God of hosts;Look down from heaven and see, and take care of this vine,

See our shield, O God,And look at the face of Your anointed [the king as Your representative].

Truth springs from the earth,And righteousness looks down from heaven.

Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him I will silence;The one who has a haughty look and a proud (arrogant) heart I will not tolerate.

My eyes will be on the faithful (honorable) of the land, that they may dwell with me;He who walks blamelessly is the one who will minister to and serve me.

Turn to me and be gracious to me and show me favor,As is Your way to those who love Your name.

Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master,And as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,So our eyes look to the Lord our God,Until He is gracious and favorable toward us.

Look to the right [the point of attack] and see;For there is no one who has regard for me [to act in my favor].Escape has failed me and I have nowhere to run;No one cares about my life.

Let your eyes look directly ahead [toward the path of moral courage]And let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you [toward the path of integrity].

A proud look [the attitude that makes one overestimate oneself and discount others], a lying tongue,And hands that shed innocent blood,

Do not look at wine when it is red,When it sparkles in the glass,When it goes down smoothly.

Be diligent to know the condition of your flocks,And pay attention to your herds;

“Do not gaze at me because I am deeply tanned,[I have worked in] the sun; it has left its mark on me.My mother’s sons were angry with me;They made me keeper of the vineyards,But my own vineyard (my complexion) I have not kept.”

“You have ravished my heart and given me courage, my sister, my [promised] bride;You have ravished my heart and given me courage with a single glance of your eyes,With one jewel of your necklace.

“I went down to the orchard of nut treesTo see the flowers of the valley,To see whether the grapevine had buddedAnd the pomegranates were in flower.

(The Chorus)“Return, return, O Shulammite;Return, return, that we may gaze at you.”

And I will wait for the Lord who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob; and I will look eagerly for Him.

They [who consult mediums and soothsayers] will pass through the land deeply distressed and hungry, and when they are hungry, they will become enraged and will curse their king and their God as they look upward.

Then they will look to the earth, they will see only distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish; and they will be driven away into darkness and overwhelming night.

In that day man will have regard for his Maker,And his eyes will regard the Holy One of Israel [with awe-inspired reverence].

And he will not have regard for the [idolatrous] altars, the work of his hands,Nor will he look to that which his fingers have made,Neither the Asherim (symbols of the goddess Asherah) nor the incense altars.

All you inhabitants of the world, you who dwell on the earth,When a banner is raised on the mountains, you will see it!When a trumpet is blown, you will hear it!

For this is what the Lord has said to me,“I will be quiet and I will look on from My dwelling place,Like shimmering heat above the sunshine,Like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”

Therefore I say, “Look away from me;Let me weep bitterly.Do not try to comfort me over the destruction of the daughter of my people.”

You also made a reservoir between the two wallsFor the waters of the Old Pool,But you did not look to its Maker,Nor did you recognize Him who planned it long ago.

Now look at the land of the Chaldeans (Babylonia)—this is the people which was not; the Assyrians allocated Tyre for desert creatures—they set up their siege towers, they stripped its palaces, they made it a ruin.

Therefore the Lord waits [expectantly] and longs to be gracious to you,And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you.For the Lord is a God of justice;Blessed (happy, fortunate) are all those who long for Him [since He will never fail them].

Woe (judgment is coming) to those who go down to Egypt for help,Who rely on horsesAnd trust in chariots because they are many,And in horsemen because they are very strong,But they do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek and consult the Lord!

Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts and observances;Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a undisturbed settlement,A tent which will not be taken down;Not one of its stakes will ever be pulled up,Nor any of its ropes be severed.

But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him]Will gain new strength and renew their power;They will lift up their wings [and rise up close to God] like eagles [rising toward the sun];They will run and not become weary,They will walk and not grow tired.

‘Do not fear [anything], for I am with you;Do not be afraid, for I am your God.I will strengthen you, be assured I will help you;I will certainly take hold of you with My righteous right hand [a hand of justice, of power, of victory, of salvation].’