'Man' in the Bible

"And you, son of man, groan with an aching heart and bitterness; groan before their eyes.

"Son of man, prophesy and say: 'This is what the Lord says: "'A sword, a sword is sharpened, and also polished.

Cry out and moan, son of man, for it is wielded against my people; against all the princes of Israel. They are delivered up to the sword, along with my people. Therefore, strike your thigh.

"And you, son of man, prophesy, and clap your hands together. Let the sword strike twice, even three times! It is a sword for slaughter, a sword for the great slaughter surrounding them.

"You, son of man, mark out two routes for the king of Babylon's sword to take; both of them will originate in a single land. Make a signpost and put it at the beginning of the road leading to the city.

"As for you, son of man, prophesy and say, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says concerning the Ammonites and their coming humiliation; say: "'A sword, a sword drawn for slaughter, polished to consume, to flash like lightning --

"As for you, son of man, are you willing to pronounce judgment, are you willing to pronounce judgment on the bloody city? Then confront her with all her abominable deeds!

"Son of man, the house of Israel has become slag to me. All of them are like bronze, tin, iron, and lead in the furnace; they are the worthless slag of silver.

"Son of man, say to her: 'You are a land that receives no rain or showers in the day of my anger.'

"I looked for a man from among them who would repair the wall and stand in the gap before me on behalf of the land, so that I would not destroy it, but I found no one.

"Son of man, there were two women who were daughters of the same mother.

The Lord said to me: "Son of man, are you willing to pronounce judgment on Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominable deeds!

"Son of man, write down the name of this day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day.

"Son of man, realize that I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you with a jolt, but you must not mourn or weep or shed tears.

"And you, son of man, this is what will happen on the day I take from them their stronghold -- their beautiful source of joy, the object in which their eyes delight, and the main concern of their lives, as well as their sons and daughters:

"Son of man, turn toward the Ammonites and prophesy against them.

"Son of man, because Tyre has said about Jerusalem, 'Aha, the gateway of the peoples is broken; it has swung open to me. I will become rich, now that she has been destroyed,'

"You, son of man, sing a lament for Tyre.

"Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: "'Your heart is proud and you said, "I am a god; I sit in the seat of gods, in the heart of the seas" -- yet you are a man and not a god, though you think you are godlike.

Will you still say, "I am a god," before the one who kills you -- though you are a man and not a god -- when you are in the power of those who wound you?

"Son of man, sing a lament for the king of Tyre, and say to him, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: "'You were the sealer of perfection, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.

"Son of man, turn toward Sidon and prophesy against it.

"Son of man, turn toward Pharaoh king of Egypt, and prophesy against him and against all Egypt.

"Son of man, King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre. Every head was rubbed bald and every shoulder rubbed bare; yet he and his army received no wages from Tyre for the work he carried out against it.

"Son of man, prophesy and say, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: "'Wail, "Alas, the day is here!"

"Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Look, it has not been bandaged for healing or set with a dressing so that it might become strong enough to grasp a sword.

"Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and his hordes: "'Who are you like in your greatness?

"Son of man, sing a lament for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say to him: "'You were like a lion among the nations, but you are a monster in the seas; you thrash about in your streams, stir up the water with your feet, and muddy your streams.

"Son of man, wail over the horde of Egypt. Bring it down; bring her and the daughters of powerful nations down to the lower parts of the earth, along with those who descend to the pit.

"Son of man, speak to your people, and say to them, 'Suppose I bring a sword against the land, and the people of the land take one man from their borders and make him their watchman.

"As for you, son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you must warn them on my behalf.

When I say to the wicked, 'O wicked man, you must certainly die,' and you do not warn the wicked about his behavior, the wicked man will die for his iniquity, but I will hold you accountable for his death.

But if you warn the wicked man to change his behavior, and he refuses to change, he will die for his iniquity, but you have saved your own life.

"And you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, 'This is what you have said: "Our rebellious acts and our sins have caught up with us, and we are wasting away because of them. How then can we live?"'

"And you, son of man, say to your people, 'The righteousness of the righteous will not deliver him if he rebels. As for the wicked, his wickedness will not make him stumble if he turns from it. The righteous will not be able to live by his righteousness if he sins.'

When a righteous man turns from his godliness and commits iniquity, he will die for it.

"Son of man, the ones living in these ruins in the land of Israel are saying, 'Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land, but we are many; surely the land has been given to us for a possession.'

"But as for you, son of man, your people (who are talking about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses) say to one another, 'Come hear the word that comes from the Lord.'

"Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them -- to the shepherds: 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not shepherds feed the flock?

"Son of man, turn toward Mount Seir, and prophesy against it.

"As for you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel, and say: 'O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord!

"Son of man, when the house of Israel was living on their own land, they defiled it by their behavior and their deeds. In my sight their behavior was like the uncleanness of a woman having her monthly period.

He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" I said to him, "Sovereign Lord, you know."

He said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, -- prophesy, son of man -- and say to the breath: 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these corpses so that they may live.'"

Then he said to me, "Son of man, these bones are all the house of Israel. Look, they are saying, 'Our bones are dry, our hope has perished; we are cut off.'

"As for you, son of man, take one branch, and write on it, 'For Judah, and for the Israelites associated with him.' Then take another branch and write on it, 'For Joseph, the branch of Ephraim and all the house of Israel associated with him.'

"Son of man, turn toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. Prophesy against him

"Therefore, prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog: 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: On that day when my people Israel are living securely, you will take notice

"As for you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say: 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal!

"As for you, son of man, this is what the sovereign Lord says: Tell every kind of bird and every wild beast: 'Assemble and come! Gather from all around to my slaughter which I am going to make for you, a great slaughter on the mountains of Israel! You will eat flesh and drink blood.

When he brought me there, I saw a man whose appearance was like bronze, with a linen cord and a measuring stick in his hand. He was standing in the gateway.

The man said to me, "Son of man, watch closely, listen carefully, and pay attention to everything I show you, for you have been brought here so that I can show it to you. Tell the house of Israel everything you see."

I heard someone speaking to me from the temple, while the man was standing beside me.

He said to me: "Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place for the soles of my feet, where I will live among the people of Israel forever. The house of Israel will no longer profane my holy name, neither they nor their kings, by their spiritual prostitution or by the pillars of their kings set up when they die.

"As for you, son of man, describe the temple to the house of Israel, so that they will be ashamed of their sins and measure the pattern.

Then he said to me: "Son of man, this is what the sovereign Lord says: These are the statutes of the altar: On the day it is built to offer up burnt offerings on it and to sprinkle blood on it,

The Lord said to me: "Son of man, pay attention, watch closely and listen carefully to everything I tell you concerning all the statutes of the Lord's house and all its laws. Pay attention to the entrances to the temple with all the exits of the sanctuary.

When the man went out toward the east with a measuring line in his hand, he measured 1,750 feet, and then he led me through water, which was ankle deep.

He said to me, "Son of man, have you seen this?" Then he led me back to the bank of the river.

The wise men replied to the king, "There is no man on earth who is able to disclose the king's secret, for no king, regardless of his position and power, has ever requested such a thing from any magician, astrologer, or wise man.

So Arioch quickly ushered Daniel into the king's presence, saying to him, "I have found a man from the captives of Judah who can make known the interpretation to the king."

There is a man in your kingdom who has within him a spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father, he proved to have insight, discernment, and wisdom like that of the gods. King Nebuchadnezzar your father appointed him chief of the magicians, astrologers, wise men, and diviners.

Thus there was found in this man Daniel, whom the king renamed Belteshazzar, an extraordinary spirit, knowledge, and skill to interpret dreams, solve riddles, and decipher knotty problems. Now summon Daniel, and he will disclose the interpretation."

So these men concluded, "We won't find any pretext against this man Daniel unless it is in connection with the law of his God."

I was watching in the night visions, "And with the clouds of the sky one like a son of man was approaching. He went up to the Ancient of Days and was escorted before him.

While I, Daniel, was watching the vision, I sought to understand it. Now one who appeared to be a man was standing before me.

So he approached the place where I was standing. As he came, I felt terrified and fell flat on the ground. Then he said to me, "Understand, son of man, that the vision pertains to the time of the end."

yes, while I was still praying, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen previously in a vision, was approaching me in my state of extreme weariness, around the time of the evening offering.

I looked up and saw a man clothed in linen; around his waist was a belt made of gold from Upaz.

One said to the man clothed in linen who was above the waters of the river, "When will the end of these wondrous events occur?"

Then I heard the man clothed in linen who was over the waters of the river as he raised both his right and left hands to the sky and made an oath by the one who lives forever: "It is for a time, times, and half a time. Then, when the power of the one who shatters the holy people has been exhausted, all these things will be finished."

The Lord said to me, "Go, show love to your wife again, even though she loves another man and continually commits adultery. Likewise, the Lord loves the Israelites although they turn to other gods and love to offer raisin cakes to idols."

Then I told her, "You must live with me many days; you must not commit adultery or have sexual intercourse with another man, and I also will wait for you."

The prophet is considered a fool -- the inspired man is viewed as a madman -- because of the multitude of your sins and your intense animosity.

When Israel was a young man, I loved him like a son, and I summoned my son out of Egypt.

I cannot carry out my fierce anger! I cannot totally destroy Ephraim! Because I am God, and not man -- the Holy One among you -- I will not come in wrath!

They trample on the dirt-covered heads of the poor; they push the destitute away. A man and his father go to the same girl; in this way they show disrespect for my moral purity.

Disaster will be inescapable, as if a man ran from a lion only to meet a bear, then escaped into a house, leaned his hand against the wall, and was bitten by a poisonous snake.

So they cried out to the Lord, "Oh, please, Lord, don't let us die on account of this man! Don't hold us guilty of shedding innocent blood. After all, you, Lord, have done just as you pleased."

He has told you, O man, what is good, and what the Lord really wants from you: He wants you to promote justice, to be faithful, and to live obediently before your God.

Indeed, wine will betray the proud, restless man! His appetite is as big as Sheol's; like death, he is never satisfied. He gathers all the nations; he seizes all peoples.

I was attentive that night and saw a man seated on a red horse that stood among some myrtle trees in the ravine. Behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses.

Then the man standing among the myrtle trees spoke up and said, "These are the ones whom the Lord has sent to walk about on the earth."

I looked again, and there was a man with a measuring line in his hand.

and said to him, "Hurry, speak to this young man as follows: 'Jerusalem will no longer be enclosed by walls because of the multitude of people and animals there.

The Lord said to Satan, "May the Lord rebuke you, Satan! May the Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you! Isn't this man like a burning stick snatched from the fire?"

Then say to him, 'The Lord who rules over all says, "Look -- here is the man whose name is Branch, who will sprout up from his place and build the temple of the Lord.

Before that time there was no compensation for man or animal, nor was there any relief from adversity for those who came and went, because I had pitted everybody -- each one -- against everyone else.

Instead he will say, 'I am no prophet -- indeed, I am a farmer, for a man has made me his indentured servant since my youth.'

"Awake, sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is my associate," says the Lord who rules over all. Strike the shepherd that the flock may be scattered; I will turn my hand against the insignificant ones.

"They will belong to me," says the Lord who rules over all, "in the day when I prepare my own special property. I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.

Because Joseph, her husband to be, was a righteous man, and because he did not want to disgrace her, he intended to divorce her privately.

But he answered, "It is written, 'Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

"Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them is like a wise man who built his house on rock.

Everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.

For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I say to this one, 'Go' and he goes, and to another 'Come' and he comes, and to my slave 'Do this' and he does it."

Jesus said to him, "Foxes have dens, and the birds in the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."

Then some of the experts in the law said to themselves, "This man is blaspheming!"

But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins" -- then he said to the paralytic -- "Stand up, take your stretcher, and go home."

As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax booth. "Follow me," he said to him. And he got up and followed him.