'Loves' in the Bible

Go now to the flock and bring me two good and suitable young goats, and I will make them into a savory dish [of meat] for your father, the kind he loves [to eat].

We said to my lord, ‘We have an old father and a young [brother, Benjamin, the] child of his old age. Now his brother [Joseph] is dead, and he alone is left of [the two sons born of] his mother, and his father loves him.’

But because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath which He swore to your fathers, the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed (bought) you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the stranger (resident alien, foreigner) by giving him food and clothing.

Now if the servant says to you, ‘I will not leave you,’ because he loves you and your household, since he is doing well with you;

Nevertheless, the Lord your God was not willing to listen to Balaam, but the Lord your God turned the curse into a blessing for you because the Lord your God has loved you.

“Indeed, He loves His people;All Your holy ones are in Your hand.They followed in Your steps;They accept and receive direction from You.

May he also be to you one who restores life and sustains your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.”

Then Hiram, king of Tyre replied in a letter sent to Solomon: “Because the Lord loves His people, He has made you king over them.”

The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked,And His soul hates the [malevolent] one who loves violence.

For the Lord is [absolutely] righteous, He loves righteousness (virtue, morality, justice);The upright shall see His face.

He loves righteousness and justice;The earth is full of the lovingkindness of the Lord.

He chooses our inheritance for us,The glory and excellence of Jacob whom He loves. Selah.

The Lord loves the gates of ZionMore than all the dwellings of Jacob (Israel).

The strength of the King loves justice and righteous judgment;You have established fairness;You have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob (Israel).

Just as a father loves his children,So the Lord loves those who fear and worship Him [with awe-filled respect and deepest reverence].

Your word is very pure (refined);Therefore Your servant loves it.

The Lord opens the eyes of the blind;The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;The Lord loves the righteous [the upright in heart].

For those whom the Lord loves He corrects,Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.

Whoever loves instruction and discipline loves knowledge,But he who hates reproof and correction is stupid.

He who withholds the rod [of discipline] hates his son,But he who loves him disciplines and trains him diligently and appropriately [with wisdom and love].

The way [of life] of the wicked is hateful and exceedingly offensive to the Lord,But He loves one who pursues righteousness [personal integrity, moral courage and honorable character].

Righteous lips are the delight of kings,And he who speaks right is loved.

A friend loves at all times,And a brother is born for adversity.

He who loves transgression loves strife and is quarrelsome;He who [proudly] raises his gate seeks destruction [because of his arrogant pride].

He who gains wisdom and good sense loves (preserves) his own soul;He who keeps understanding will find good and prosper.

He who loves [only selfish] pleasure will become a poor man;He who loves and is devoted to wine and [olive] oil will not become rich.

He who loves purity of heartAnd whose speech is gracious will have the king as his friend.

A man who loves [skillful and godly] wisdom makes his father joyful,But he who associates with prostitutes wastes his wealth.

He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its gain. This too is vanity (emptiness).

“Tell me, O you whom my soul loves,Where do you pasture your flock,Where do you make it lie down at noon?For why should I be like one who is veiledBeside the flocks of your companions?”

“I said ‘So I must arise now and go out into the city;Into the streets and into the squares [places I do not know]I must seek him whom my soul loves.’I sought him but I did not find him.

“The watchmen who go around the city found me,And I said, ‘Have you seen him whom my soul loves?’

“Scarcely had I passed themWhen I found him whom my soul loves.I held on to him and would not let him goUntil I had brought him to my mother’s house,And into the chamber of her who conceived me.”

Your rulers are rebelsAnd companions of thieves;Everyone loves bribesAnd chases after gifts.They do not defend the fatherless,Nor does the widow’s cause come before them [instead they delay or turn a deaf ear].

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].”

A merchant, in whose hand are false and fraudulent balances;He loves to oppress and exploit.

Judah has been treacherous (disloyal), and an repulsive act has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the Lord which He loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god.

“He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.

because he loves our nation and he built us our synagogue [at his own expense].”

Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.”

The Father loves the Son and has given and entrusted all things into His hand.

For the Father dearly loves the Son and shows Him everything that He Himself is doing; and the Father will show Him greater works than these, so that you will be filled with wonder.

For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My [own] life so that I may take it back.

The one who loves his life [eventually] loses it [through death], but the one who hates his life in this world [and is concerned with pleasing God] will keep it for life eternal.

The person who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who [really] loves Me; and whoever [really] loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him [I will make Myself real to him].”

Jesus answered, “If anyone [really] loves Me, he will keep My word (teaching); and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling place with him.

for the Father Himself [tenderly] loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came from the Father.

So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these [others do—with total commitment and devotion]?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You [with a deep, personal affection, as for a close friend].” Jesus said to him, “Feed My lambs.”

Again He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me [with total commitment and devotion]?” He said to Him, “Yes, Lord; You know that I love You [with a deep, personal affection, as for a close friend].” Jesus said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.”

Owe nothing to anyone except to love and seek the best for one another; for he who [unselfishly] loves his neighbor has fulfilled the [essence of the] law [relating to one’s fellowman].

But if anyone loves God [with awe-filled reverence, obedience and gratitude], he is known by Him [as His very own and is greatly loved].

Let each one give [thoughtfully and with purpose] just as he has decided in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver [and delights in the one whose heart is in his gift].

Even so husbands should and are morally obligated to love their own wives as [being in a sense] their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself.

However, each man among you [without exception] is to love his wife as his very own self [with behavior worthy of respect and esteem, always seeking the best for her with an attitude of lovingkindness], and the wife [must see to it] that she respects and delights in her husband [that she notices him and prefers him and treats him with loving concern, treasuring him, honoring him, and holding him dear].

For the Lord disciplines and corrects those whom He loves,And He punishes every son whom He receives and welcomes [to His heart].”

The one who loves and unselfishly seeks the best for his [believing] brother lives in the Light, and in him there is no occasion for stumbling or offense [he does not hurt the cause of Christ or lead others to sin].

Do not love the world [of sin that opposes God and His precepts], nor the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

Beloved, let us [unselfishly] love and seek the best for one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves [others] is born of God and knows God [through personal experience].

And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should also [unselfishly] love his brother and seek the best for him.

Everyone who believes [with a deep, abiding trust in the fact] that Jesus is the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed) is born of God [that is, reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, and set apart for His purpose], and everyone who loves the Father also loves the child born of Him.

and from Jesus Christ, the faithful and trustworthy Witness, the Firstborn of the dead, and the Ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who [always] loves us and who [has once for all] freed us [or washed us] from our sins by His own blood (His sacrificial death)—

Outside are the dogs [the godless, the impure, those of low moral character] and the sorcerers [with their intoxicating drugs, and magic arts], and the immoral persons [the perverted, the molesters, and the adulterers], and the murderers, and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying (deception, cheating).