'Love' in the Bible

God said, "Take your son -- your only son, whom you love, Isaac -- and go to the land of Moriah! Offer him up there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I will indicate to you."

saying "Praised be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not abandoned his faithful love for my master! The Lord has led me to the house of my master's relatives!"

Now, if you will show faithful love to my master, tell me. But if not, tell me as well, so that I may go on my way."

Then prepare for me some tasty food, the kind I love, and bring it to me. Then I will eat it so that I may bless you before I die."

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

So Jacob worked for seven years to acquire Rachel. But they seemed like only a few days to him because his love for her was so great.

So Leah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Reuben, for she said, "The Lord has looked with pity on my oppressed condition. Surely my husband will love me now."

I am not worthy of all the faithful love you have shown your servant. With only my walking stick I crossed the Jordan, but now I have become two camps.

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.

By your loyal love you will lead the people whom you have redeemed; you will guide them by your strength to your holy dwelling place.

and showing covenant faithfulness to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

But if the servant should declare, 'I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,'

The Lord passed by before him and proclaimed: "The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, and abounding in loyal love and faithfulness,

keeping loyal love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. But he by no means leaves the guilty unpunished, responding to the transgression of fathers by dealing with children and children's children, to the third and fourth generation."

You must not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the children of your people, but you must love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.

The foreigner who resides with you must be to you like a native citizen among you; so you must love him as yourself, because you were foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.

The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in loyal love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children until the third and fourth generations.'

Please forgive the iniquity of this people according to your great loyal love, just as you have forgiven this people from Egypt even until now."

You must love the Lord your God with your whole mind, your whole being, and all your strength.

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.

So realize that the Lord your God is the true God, the faithful God who keeps covenant faithfully with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,

He will love and bless you, and make you numerous. He will bless you with many children, with the produce of your soil, your grain, your new wine, your oil, the offspring of your oxen, and the young of your flocks in the land which he promised your ancestors to give you.

Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you except to revere him, to obey all his commandments, to love him, to serve him with all your mind and being,

So you must love the resident foreigner because you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

You must love the Lord your God and do what he requires; keep his statutes, ordinances, and commandments at all times.

Now, if you pay close attention to my commandments that I am giving you today and love the Lord your God and serve him with all your mind and being,

For if you carefully observe all of these commandments I am giving you and love the Lord your God, live according to his standards, and remain loyal to him,

You must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer, for the Lord your God will be testing you to see if you love him with all your mind and being.

and then you are careful to observe all these commandments I am giving you today (namely, to love the Lord your God and to always walk in his ways), then you must add three more cities to these three.

The Lord your God will also cleanse your heart and the hearts of your descendants so that you may love him with all your mind and being and so that you may live.

What I am commanding you today is to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, and to obey his commandments, his statutes, and his ordinances. Then you will live and become numerous and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you are about to possess.

I also call on you to love the Lord your God, to obey him and be loyal to him, for he gives you life and enables you to live continually in the land the Lord promised to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."

But carefully obey the commands and instructions Moses the Lord's servant gave you. Love the Lord your God, follow all his instructions, obey his commands, be loyal to him, and serve him with all your heart and being!"

Watch yourselves carefully! Love the Lord your God!

May all your enemies perish like this, O Lord! But may those who love you shine like the rising sun at its brightest!" And the land had rest for forty years.

So Samson's bride cried on his shoulder and said, "You must hate me; you do not love me! You told the young men a riddle, but you have not told me the solution." He said to her, "Look, I have not even told my father or mother. Do you really expect me to tell you?"

After this Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who lived in the Sorek Valley.

She said to him, "How can you say, 'I love you,' when you will not share your secret with me? Three times you have deceived me and have not told me what makes you so strong."

I grieve over you, my brother Jonathan! You were very dear to me. Your love was more special to me than the love of women.

But my loyal love will not be removed from him as I removed it from Saul, whom I removed from before you.

Now David's son Absalom had a beautiful sister named Tamar. In the course of time David's son Amnon fell madly in love with her.

He asked Amnon, "Why are you, the king's son, so depressed every morning? Can't you tell me?" So Amnon said to him, "I'm in love with Tamar the sister of my brother Absalom."

Then Amnon greatly despised her. His disdain toward her surpassed the love he had previously felt toward her. Amnon said to her, "Get up and leave!"

It seems like you arrived just yesterday. Today should I make you wander around by going with us? I go where I must go. But as for you, go back and take your men with you. May genuine loyal love protect you!"

You seem to love your enemies and hate your friends! For you have as much as declared today that leaders and servants don't matter to you. I realize now that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead today, it would be all right with you.

May the Lord your God be praised because he favored you by placing you on the throne of Israel! Because of the Lord's eternal love for Israel, he made you king so you could make just and right decisions."

King Solomon fell in love with many foreign women (besides Pharaoh's daughter), including Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good and his loyal love endures.

Joining them were Heman, Jeduthun, and the rest of those chosen and designated by name to give thanks to the Lord. (For his loyal love endures!)

I will become his father and he will become my son. I will never withhold my loyal love from him, as I withheld it from the one who ruled before you.

The trumpeters and musicians played together, praising and giving thanks to the Lord. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals, and other instruments, they loudly praised the Lord, singing: "Certainly he is good; certainly his loyal love endures!" Then a cloud filled the Lord's temple.

When all the Israelites saw the fire come down and the Lord's splendor over the temple, they got on their knees with their faces downward toward the pavement. They worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, "Certainly he is good; certainly his loyal love endures!"

The priests stood in their assigned spots, along with the Levites who had the musical instruments used for praising the Lord. (These were the ones King David made for giving thanks to the Lord and which were used by David when he offered praise, saying, "Certainly his loyal love endures.") Opposite the Levites, the priests were blowing the trumpets, while all Israel stood there.

May the Lord your God be praised because he favored you by placing you on his throne as the one ruling on his behalf! Because of your God's love for Israel and his lasting commitment to them, he made you king over them so you could make just and right decisions."

He met with the people and appointed musicians to play before the Lord and praise his majestic splendor. As they marched ahead of the warriors they said: "Give thanks to the Lord, for his loyal love endures."

With antiphonal response they sang, praising and glorifying the Lord: "For he is good; his loyal love toward Israel is forever." All the people gave a loud shout as they praised the Lord when the temple of the Lord was established.

Then I said, "Please, O LORD God of heaven, great and awesome God, who keeps his loving covenant with those who love him and obey his commandments,

They refused to obey and did not recall your miracles that you had performed among them. Instead, they rebelled and appointed a leader to return to their bondage in Egypt. But you are a God of forgiveness, merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and unfailing in your loyal love. You did not abandon them,

Then I directed the Levites to purify themselves and come and guard the gates in order to keep the Sabbath day holy. For this please remember me, O my God, and have pity on me in keeping with your great love.

All my closest friends detest me; and those whom I love have turned against me.

You men, how long will you try to turn my honor into shame? How long will you love what is worthless and search for what is deceptive? (Selah)

The Lord approves of the godly, but he hates the wicked and those who love to do violence.

For the music director; by the Lord's servant David, who sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord rescued him from the power of all his enemies, including Saul. He said: "I love you, Lord, my source of strength!

O Lord, I love the temple where you live, the place where your splendor is revealed.

Love the Lord, all you faithful followers of his! The Lord protects those who have integrity, but he pays back in full the one who acts arrogantly.

Do you want to really live? Would you love to live a long, happy life?

O Lord, your loyal love reaches to the sky; your faithfulness to the clouds.

How precious is your loyal love, O God! The human race finds shelter under your wings.

Extend your loyal love to your faithful followers, and vindicate the morally upright!

I have not failed to tell about your justice; I spoke about your reliability and deliverance; I have not neglected to tell the great assembly about your loyal love and faithfulness.

O Lord, you do not withhold your compassion from me. May your loyal love and faithfulness continually protect me!

May all those who seek you be happy and rejoice in you! May those who love to experience your deliverance say continually, "May the Lord be praised!"

By day the Lord decrees his loyal love, and by night he gives me a song, a prayer to the living God.

Rise up and help us! Rescue us because of your loyal love!

For the music director; according to the tune of "Lilies;" by the Korahites, a well-written poem, a love song. My heart is stirred by a beautiful song. I say, "I have composed this special song for the king; my tongue is as skilled as the stylus of an experienced scribe."

You love justice and hate evil. For this reason God, your God has anointed you with the oil of joy, elevating you above your companions.

We reflect on your loyal love, O God, within your temple.

For the music director; a psalm of David, written when Nathan the prophet confronted him after David's affair with Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, because of your loyal love! Because of your great compassion, wipe away my rebellious acts!

For the music director; a well-written song by David. It was written when Doeg the Edomite went and informed Saul: "David has arrived at the home of Ahimelech." Why do you boast about your evil plans, O powerful man? God's loyal love protects me all day long!

You love evil more than good, lies more than speaking the truth. (Selah)

You love to use all the words that destroy, and the tongue that deceives.

But I am like a flourishing olive tree in the house of God; I continually trust in God's loyal love.

May he send help from heaven and deliver me from my enemies who hurl insults! (Selah) May God send his loyal love and faithfulness!

For your loyal love extends beyond the sky, and your faithfulness reaches the clouds.

As for me, I will sing about your strength; I will praise your loyal love in the morning. For you are my refuge and my place of shelter when I face trouble.

Deliver by your power and answer me, so that the ones you love may be safe.

May he reign forever before God! Decree that your loyal love and faithfulness should protect him.

They spend all their time planning how to bring him down. They love to use deceit; they pronounce blessings with their mouths, but inwardly they utter curses. (Selah)

and you, O Lord, demonstrate loyal love. For you repay men for what they do.

Because experiencing your loyal love is better than life itself, my lips will praise you.

God deserves praise, for he did not reject my prayer or abandon his love for me!

O Lord, may you hear my prayer and be favorably disposed to me! O God, because of your great loyal love, answer me with your faithful deliverance!

Answer me, O Lord, for your loyal love is good! Because of your great compassion, turn toward me!

May all those who seek you be happy and rejoice in you! May those who love to experience your deliverance say continually, "May God be praised!"

Has his loyal love disappeared forever? Has his promise failed forever?

O Lord, show us your loyal love! Bestow on us your deliverance!

Loyal love and faithfulness meet; deliverance and peace greet each other with a kiss.

For you will extend your great loyal love to me, and will deliver my life from the depths of Sheol.

But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and merciful God. You are patient and demonstrate great loyal love and faithfulness.