'Love' in the Bible

"Your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me your gracious love in how you have dealt with me by keeping me alive. I cannot escape to the hills, because I'm afraid the disaster will overtake me, and I'll die.

And when God sent me wandering from my father's house, I said to her, Let this be the sign of your love for me; wherever we go, say of me, He is my brother.

“Take your son,” He said, “your only son Isaac, whom you love, go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.”

That's when he prayed, "LORD God of my master Abraham, help me to succeed today. Please show your gracious love to my master Abraham.

May it be that the young woman to whom I ask, "Please, lower your jug so that I may drink,' responds, "Have a drink, and I'll water your camels as well.' May she be the one whom you have chosen for your servant Isaac. This is how I'll know that you have shown your gracious love to my master."

"Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hasn't held back his gracious love and faithfulness from my master! The LORD has led me to the house of my master's relatives!"

So now, if you wish to show gracious love and truth toward my master, tell me so. But if not, tell me, so that I may go elsewhere."

And Isaac took Rebekah into his tent and she became his wife; and in his love for her, Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.

Now Isaac's love was for Esau, because Esau's meat was greatly to his taste: but Rebekah had more love for Jacob.

And make me savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die.

It was clear to Esau that his father had no love for the women of Canaan,

Since Jacob had fallen in love with Rachel, he said, "I'll serve you seven years in exchange for your younger daughter Rachel."

And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her.

Then Jacob took Rachel as his wife, and his love for her was greater than his love for Leah; and he went on working for Laban for another seven years.

And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the LORD hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me.

Now at the time of wheat harvest Reuben [the eldest child] went and found some mandrakes in the field, and brought them to his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, “Please give me some of your son’s mandrakes.”

But Leah said to her, Is it a small thing that you have taken my husband from me? and now would you take my son's love-fruits? Then Rachel said, You may have him tonight in exchange for your son's love-fruits.

In the evening, when Jacob came in from the field, Leah went out to him and said, Tonight you are to come to me, for I have given my son's love-fruits as a price for you. And he went in to her that night.

I'm unworthy of all your gracious love, your faithfulness, and everything that you've done for your servant. When I first crossed over this river, I had only my staff. But now I've become two groups.

And Jacob said, Not so; but if I have grace in your eyes, take them as a sign of my love, for I have seen your face as one may see the face of God, and you have been pleased with me.

Then he became very attached to Dinah, Jacob's daughter. He fell in love with the young woman and spoke romantically to her.

But Hamor made this appeal to them: "My son Shechem is in love with your daughter. Please give her to him as his wife.

Now the love which Israel had for Joseph was greater than his love for all his other children, because he got him when he was an old man: and he had a long coat made for him.

But the LORD was with Joseph. He extended gracious love to him, causing the prison warden to be pleased with Joseph.

When the time drew near for him to die, he called his son Joseph and said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, put your hand under my thigh and promise me that you will deal with me in kindness and faithfulness. Do not bury me in Egypt.

And when the days of weeping for him were past, Joseph said to the servants of Pharaoh, If now you have love for me, say these words to Pharaoh:

But see that they make the same number of bricks as before, and no less: for they have no love for work; and so they are crying out and saying, Let us go and make an offering to our God.

But he said, You have no love for work: that is why you say, Let us go and make an offering to the Lord.

You will lead the peopleYou have redeemedwith Your faithful love;You will guide them to Your holy dwellingwith Your strength.

And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free:

If you see the ass of one who has no love for you bent down to the earth under the weight which is put on it, you are to come to its help, even against your desire.

and He saith, 'I cause all My goodness to pass before thy face, and have called concerning the Name of Jehovah before thee, and favoured him whom I favour, and loved him whom I love.'

Then the Lord passed in front of him and proclaimed:Yahweh—Yahweh is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in faithful love and truth,

maintaining faithful love to a thousand generations, forgiving wrongdoing, rebellion, and sin. But He will not leave the guilty unpunished, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ wrongdoing on the children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generation.

Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.

But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

The Lord is slow to anger and rich in faithful love, forgiving wrongdoing and rebellion. But He will not leave the guilty unpunished, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ wrongdoing on the children to the third and fourth generation.

Please pardon the wrongdoing of this people, in keeping with the greatness of Your faithful love, just as You have forgiven them from Egypt until now.”

And because of his love for your fathers, he took their seed and made it his, and he himself, present among you, took you out of Egypt by his great power;

And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.

And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people:

Rather it is because of his love for you and his faithfulness to the promise he solemnly vowed to your ancestors that the Lord brought you out with great power, redeeming you from the place of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;

"If you pay attention to these laws and obey them, then the LORD your God will continue his covenant of gracious love with you that he promised with an oath to your ancestors.

And he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee: he will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which he sware unto thy fathers to give thee.

And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,

Only the LORD had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day.

He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing.

Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.

Therefore thou shalt love the LORD thy God, and keep his charge, and his statutes, and his judgments, and his commandments, alway.

And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,

For if ye shall diligently keep all these commandments which I command you, to do them, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cleave unto him;

Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

If thou shalt keep all these commandments to do them, which I command thee this day, to love the LORD thy God, and to walk ever in his ways; then shalt thou add three cities more for thee, beside these three:

And let the girl's father say to the responsible men, I gave my daughter to this man for his wife, but he has no love for her;

But the Lord your God would not give ear to Balaam, but let the curse be changed into a blessing to you, because of his love for you.

And if the second husband has no love for her and, giving her a statement in writing, sends her away; or if death comes to the second husband to whom she was married;

And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.

In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.

That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

About Levi he said: "Let your Thummim and Urim be with the man to whom you showed gracious love, whom you tested at Massah and with whom you struggled at the waters of Meribah,

But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye love the LORD your God.

So let all thine enemies perish, O LORD: but let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. And the land had rest forty years.

And they showed no gracious love to the household of Jerubbaal also known as Gideon despite all the good that he had done for Israel.

So Samson’s wife came to him, weeping, and said, “You hate me and don’t love me! You told my people the riddle, but haven’t explained it to me.”“Look,” he said, “I haven’t even explained it to my father or mother, so why should I explain it to you?”

Some time later, he fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who lived in the Sorek Valley.

And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth.

She said to them, “Each of you go back to your mother’s home. May the Lord show faithful love to you as you have shown to the dead and to me.

Naomi replied, "May the one who hasn't abandoned his gracious love to the living or to the dead be blessed by the LORD." Naomi added, "This man is closely related to us, our related redeemer, as a matter of fact!"

He replied, "May you be blessed by the LORD, my daughter. You've added to the gracious love you've already demonstrated by not pursuing younger men, whether rich or poor.

He will be a giver of new life to you, and your comforter when you are old, for your daughter-in-law, who, in her love for you, is better than seven sons, has given birth to him.

And his sons did not go in his ways, but moved by the love of money took rewards, and were not upright in judging.

Saul said to the Kenites, "Go, leave! Withdraw from among the Amalekites so that I do not destroy you with them. You have shown loyal love to all the {Israelites} when they came up from Egypt." So the Kenites left from among [the] Amalekites.

Then Jonathan and David made an agreement together, because of Jonathan's love for David.

and all Israel and Judah love David when he is going out and coming in before them.

And Saul's daughter Michal was in love with David: and Saul had word of it and was pleased.

And Saul commanded his servants, saying, Commune with David secretly, and say, Behold, the king hath delight in thee, and all his servants love thee: now therefore be the king's son in law.

So you must show loyal love to your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of Yahweh with you. But if there [is] guilt in me, [then] kill me yourself! But why should you bring me to your father?"

If I continue to live, treat me with the Lord’s faithful love, but if I die,

don’t ever withdraw your faithful love from my household—not even when the Lord cuts off every one of David’s enemies from the face of the earth.”

Jonathan once again swore to David in his love for him, because he loved him as he loved himself.

Then Saul was moved to wrath against Jonathan, and he said to him, You son of an evil and uncontrolled woman, have I not seen how you have given your love to the son of Jesse, to your shame and the shame of your mother?

I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women.

So David sent messengers to the people of Jabesh-gilead and told them, "May the LORD bless you, because you showed gracious love like this to your lord Saul by burying him.

Now may the Lord reward you with gracious love, as well as faithfulness, to you, too! And I will also reward you because you did this good thing.

{Abner became very angry} at the words of Ish-Bosheth, and he said, "[Am] I the head of a dog which [is] for Judah today? Do I not continue to show loyal love with the house of Saul your father, to his brothers, and to his friends? I have not let you fall into the hands of David, yet you have {accused me of sin with this woman} today.

But My faithful love will never leave him as I removed it from Saul; I removed him from your way.

Later on, David asked, "Is there anyone left alive from Saul's household to whom I can show gracious love in memory of Jonathan?"

At this the king asked, "Isn't there still someone left from Saul's household to whom I may show God's gracious love?" "There's Jonathan's son. He has maimed feet," Ziba answered.

"Don't be afraid," David reassured him, "because I'm going to show gracious love to you in memory of your father Jonathan. I'm going to restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you'll always have a place at my table!"

so David told himself, "I will be loyal to Nahash's son Hanun, since in his loyalty his father showed gracious love to me." So David sent a delegation to Hanun to console him about his loss of his father.

Sometime after this, David's son Amnon fell in love with David's other son Absalom's beautiful sister Tamar.

And he was so deeply in love that he became ill because of his sister Tamar; for she was a virgin, and so it seemed hard to Amnon to do anything to her.

And he said unto him, Why art thou, being the king's son, lean from day to day? wilt thou not tell me? And Amnon said unto him, I love Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister.

Then Amnon hated her exceedingly; so that the hatred wherewith he hated her was greater than the love wherewith he had loved her. And Amnon said unto her, Arise, be gone.

It seems only yesterday that you arrived, so should I make you wander around with us while I go wherever I can? Go back, and take your brothers with you. May gracious love and truth accompany you!"

Absalom said to Hushai, "This [is] your loyal love with your friend? Why did you not go with your friend?"