'Love' in the Bible

“Do not turn away from her (Wisdom) and she will guard and protect you;Love her, and she will watch over you.

Let her be as a loving hind and graceful doe,Let her breasts refresh and satisfy you at all times;Always be exhilarated and delight in her love.

“Come, let us drink our fill of love until morning;Let us console and delight ourselves with love.

“I love those who love me;And those who seek me early and diligently will find me.

That I may cause those who love me to inherit wealth and true riches,And that I may fill their treasuries.

“But he who fails to find me or sins against me injures himself;All those who hate me love and court death.”

Do not correct a scoffer [who foolishly ridicules and takes no responsibility for his error] or he will hate you;Correct a wise man [who learns from his error], and he will love you.

Hatred stirs up strife,But love covers and overwhelms all transgressions [forgiving and overlooking another’s faults].

A scoffer [unlike a wise man] resents one who rebukes him and tries to teach him;Nor will he go to the wise [for counsel and instruction].

Better is a dinner of vegetables and herbs where love is presentThan a fattened ox served with hatred.

By mercy and lovingkindness and truth [not superficial ritual] wickedness is cleansed from the heart,And by the fear of the Lord one avoids evil.

He who covers and forgives an offense seeks love,But he who repeats or gossips about a matter separates intimate friends.

Do not love [excessive] sleep, or you will become poor;Open your eyes [so that you can do your work] and you will be satisfied with bread.

Like a [common] clay vessel covered with the silver dross [making it appear silver when it has no real value]Are burning lips [murmuring manipulative words] and a wicked heart.

Better is an open reprimand [of loving correction]Than love that is hidden.

A time to love and a time to hate;A time for war and a time for peace.

For I have taken all this to heart, exploring and examining it all, how the righteous (those in right standing with God) and the wise and their deeds are in the hands of God. No man knows whether it will be love or hatred; anything awaits him.

Indeed their love, their hatred and their zeal have already perished, and they will no longer have a share [in this age] in anything that is done under the sun.

Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given you under the sun—all the days of vanity and futility. For this is your reward in life and in your work in which you have labored under the sun.

(The Shulammite Bride)“May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!” [Solomon arrives, she turns to him, saying,]“For your love is better than wine.

“The aroma of your oils is fragrant and pleasing;Your name is perfume poured out;Therefore the maidens love you.

“Draw me away with you and let us run together!Let the king bring me into his chambers.”

“To me, my love, you are likeMy [favorite] mare among the chariots of Pharaoh.

(The Bridegroom)“Behold, how beautiful you are, my darling,Behold, how beautiful you are!Your eyes are dove’s eyes.”

(The Bridegroom)“Like the lily among the thorns,So are you, my darling, among the maidens.”

“He has brought me to his banqueting place,And his banner over me is love [waving overhead to protect and comfort me].

“Sustain me with raisin cakes,Refresh me with apples,Because I am sick with love.

(The Bridegroom)“I command that you take an oath, O daughters of Jerusalem,By the gazelles or by the does of the field [which run free],That you do not rouse nor awaken my loveUntil she pleases.”

“My beloved speaks and says to me,‘Arise, my love, my fair one,And come away.

‘The fig tree has budded and ripens her figs,And the vines are in blossom and give forth their fragrance.Arise, my love, my fair one,And come away [to climb the rocky steps of the hillside].’”

(The Chorus)“Catch the foxes for us,The little foxes that spoil and ruin the vineyards [of love],While our vineyards are in blossom.”

(The Shulammite Bride)“On my bed night after night [I dreamed that] I sought the oneWhom my soul loves;I sought him but did not find him.

(The Bridegroom)“I command that you take an oath, O daughters of Jerusalem,By the gazelles or by the does of the field,That you do not rouse nor awaken my loveUntil she pleases.”

(The Bridegroom)“How fair and beautiful you are, my darling,How very beautiful!Your eyes behind your veil are like those of a dove;Your hair is like [the shimmering black fleece of] a flock of [Arabian] goatsThat have descended from Mount Gilead [beyond the Jordan].

“O my love, you are altogether beautiful and fair.There is no flaw nor blemish in you!

“How beautiful is your love, my sister, my [promised] bride!How much better is your love than wine,And the fragrance of your oilsThan all kinds of balsam and spices.

(The Bridegroom)“I have come into my garden, my sister, my [promised] bride;I have gathered my myrrh along with my balsam and spice [from your sweet words].I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey;I have drunk my wine with my milk.Eat, friends;Drink and drink deeply, O lovers.”

(The Shulammite Bride)“I was asleep, but my heart was awake.A voice [in my dream]! My beloved was knocking:‘Open to me, my sister, my darling,My dove, my perfect one!For my head is drenched with the [heavy night] dew;My hair [is covered] with the dampness of the night.’

“I command that you take an oath, O daughters of Jerusalem,If you find my beloved,As to what you tell him—[Say that] I am sick from love [sick from being without him].”

(The Bridegroom)“You are as beautiful as Tirzah, my darling,As lovely as Jerusalem,As majestic as an army with banners!

“How beautiful and how delightful you are,My love, with all your delights!

“Let us go out early to the vineyards;Let us see whether the vine has buddedAnd its blossoms have opened,And whether the pomegranates have flowered.There I will give you my love.

(The Bridegroom)“I command you to take an oath, O daughters of Jerusalem,That you do not rouse nor awaken my loveUntil she pleases.”

(The Shulammite Bride)“Under the apple tree I awakened you [to my love];There your mother was in labor with you,There she was in labor and gave you birth.“Put me like a seal on your heart,Like a seal on your arm;For love is as strong as death,Jealousy is as severe and cruel as Sheol (the place of the dead).Its flashes are flashes of fire,[A most vehement flame] the very flame of the Lord!

“Many waters cannot quench love,Nor can rivers drown it.If a man would offer all the riches of his house for love,It would be utterly scorned and despised.”

then the Lord will create over the entire site of Mount Zion and over her assemblies, a cloud by day, smoke, and the brightness of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory and brilliance will be a canopy [a defense, a covering of His divine love and protection].

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].

“Because you are precious in My sight,You are honored and I love you,I will give other men in return for you and other peoples in exchange for your life.

“Now, then, hear this, you who live a luxuriant life,You who dwell safely and securely,Who say in your heart (mind),‘I am [the queen], and there is no one besides me.I shall not sit as a widow,Nor know the loss of children.’

“In an outburst of wrathI hid My face from you for a moment,But with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you,”Says the Lord your Redeemer.

“For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake,But My lovingkindness will not be removed from you,Nor will My covenant of peace be shaken,”Says the Lord who has compassion on you.

Let the wicked leave (behind) his wayAnd the unrighteous man his thoughts;And let him return to the Lord,And He will have compassion (mercy) on him,And to our God,For He will abundantly pardon.

“Also the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,To minister to Him, and to love the name of the Lord,To be His servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath without profaning itAnd holds fast to My covenant [by conscientious obedience];

Israel’s watchmen are blind,They are all without knowledge.They are all mute dogs, they cannot bark;Panting, lying down, they love to slumber.

“Foreigners will build up your walls,And their kings will serve you;For in My [righteous] wrath I struck you,But in My favor and grace I have had compassion on you.

For I, the Lord, love justice;I hate robbery with a burnt offering.And I will faithfully reward them,And make an everlasting covenant with them.

In all their distress He was distressed,And the angel of His presence saved them,In His love and in His compassion He redeemed them;And He lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

“Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her, all you who love her;Rejoice greatly with her, all you who mourn over her,

“Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord,“I remember [earnestly] the lovingkindness and devotion of your youth,Your time of betrothal [like that of a bride during the early years in Egypt and again at Sinai],When you followed Me in the wilderness,Through a land not sown.

“How well you prepare your pathTo seek and obtain [adulterous] love!Even the most wicked of womenHave learned [indecent] ways from you.

The prophets prophesy falsely,And the priests rule on their own authority;And My people love [to have] it so!But what will you do when the end comes?

For thus says the Lord, “Do not enter a house of mourning, nor go to lament (express grief) or bemoan [the dead], for I have taken My peace away from this people,” says the Lord, “even My lovingkindness and compassion.

The Lord appeared to me (Israel) from ages past, saying,“I have loved you with an everlasting love;Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you and continued My faithfulness to you.

the [sound of the] voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the [song-filled] voice of those who say,“Give praise and thanks to the Lord of hosts,For the Lord is good;For His [steadfast] lovingkindness (mercy) endures forever”;and of those who bring a thank offering into the house of the Lord. For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were at first,’ says the Lord.

then I would [also] reject the descendants of Jacob and David My servant, not taking from his descendants rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But I will restore their fortunes, and will have mercy on them.’”

“Then I passed by you [again] and looked on you; behold, you were maturing and at the time for love, and I spread My skirt over you and covered your nakedness. Yes, I swore [an oath] to you and entered into a covenant with you,” says the Lord God, “and you became Mine.”

The Babylonians came to her to the bed of love and they defiled her with their evil desire; and when she had been defiled by them, she (Jerusalem) broke the relationship and pushed them away from her in disgust.

They come to you as people come, and they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not practice them; for with their mouth they express loving devotion, but their heart goes after their (unlawful) gain.

Behold, you are to them like a love song by one who has a pleasant voice and plays well on a stringed instrument [merely to entertain them]; for they hear your words but do not practice them.

I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed and said, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and extends lovingkindness toward those who love Him and keep His commandments,

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.”

“Also, I will have no mercy on her children,Because they are the children of prostitution.

“And I will betroth you (Israel) to Me forever;Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice,In lovingkindness and loyalty, and in compassion.

“I will sow her for Myself in the land.I will also have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy;And I will say to those who were not My people,‘You are My people,’And they will say, ‘You are my God!’”

Then the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a woman (Gomer) who is beloved by her husband and yet is an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love the raisin cakes [used in the feasts in pagan worship].”

Hear the word of the Lord, you children of Israel,For the Lord has a [legal] case with the inhabitants of the land,Because there is no faithfulness [no steadfast love, no dependability] or loyalty or kindnessOr knowledge of God [from personal experience with Him] in the land.

When their liquor is gone [and their drinking parties are over],They habitually go to play the prostitute;Ephraim’s rulers continue to dearly love shame [more than her glory which is the Lord, Israel’s God].

O Ephraim, what shall I do with you?O Judah, what shall I do with you?For your [wavering] loyalty and kindness are [transient] like the morning cloudAnd like the dew that goes away early.

For I desire and delight in [steadfast] loyalty [faithfulness in the covenant relationship], rather than sacrifice,And in the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

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.

I led them gently with cords of a man, with bonds of love [guiding them],And I was to them as one who lifts up and eases the yoke [of the law] over their jaws;And I bent down to them and fed them.

Therefore, return [in repentance] to your God,Observe and highly regard kindness and justice,And wait [expectantly] for your God continually.

“Assyria will not save us;We will not ride on horses [relying on military might],Nor will we say again to [the idols who are] the work of our hands,‘You are our gods.’For in You [O Lord] the orphan finds love and compassion and mercy.”

I will heal their apostasy and faithlessness;I will love them freely,For My anger has turned away from Israel.

Hate evil and love good,And establish justice in the [court of the city] gate.Perhaps the Lord God of hostsWill be gracious to the remnant of Joseph [that is, those who remain after God’s judgment].

“You who hate good and love evil,Who tear the skin off my peopleAnd their flesh from their bones;

He has told you, O man, what is good;And what does the Lord require of youExcept to be just, and to love [and to diligently practice] kindness (compassion),And to walk humbly with your God [setting aside any overblown sense of importance or self-righteousness]?

“You shall eat, but you will not be satisfied,And your emptiness shall be among you;You will [try to] remove [your goods and those you love] for safekeepingBut you will fail to save anything,And what you do save I shall give to the sword.

O Lord, I have heard the report about You and I fear.O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years,In the midst of the years make it known;In wrath [earnestly] remember compassion and love.

“The Lord your God is in your midst,A Warrior who saves.He will rejoice over you with joy;He will be quiet in His love [making no mention of your past sins],He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.

And let none of you devise or even imagine evil in your heart against another, and do not love lying or half-truths; for all these things I hate,’ declares the Lord.”

“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.’

but [in comparison with My love for Jacob] I have hated Esau (Edom), and I have made his mountains a wasteland, and have given his inheritance to the jackals of the wilderness.”