'Nation' in the Bible

“Has a nation [ever] changed godsEven though they were not gods [but merely man-made objects]?But My people have exchanged their Glory (the true God)For that [man-made idol] which does not benefit [them].

‘Return, O faithless children [of the twelve tribes],’ says the Lord,‘For I am a master and husband to you,And I will take you [not as a nation, but individually]—one from a city and two from a [tribal] family—And I will bring you to Zion.’

“But the shameful act [of idolatry] has consumed the labor of our fathers since our youth—their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.

“Shall I not punish them [for these things]?” says the Lord;“Shall I not avenge MyselfOn a nation such as this?”

“Behold, I am bringing a nation against you from far away, O house of Israel,” says the Lord.“It is a mighty and enduring nation,It is an ancient nation,A nation whose language you do not know,Whose words you do not comprehend.

‘Shall I not punish them [for these things]?’ says the Lord.‘Shall I not avenge MyselfOn such a nation as this?’

Thus says the Lord,“Behold, a people is coming from the north country,And a great nation shall be stirred up and put into action from the remote parts of the earth.

You shall say to them, ‘This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the Lord their God or accept correction and warning; truth and faithfulness have perished and have completely vanished from their mouths.

And death will be chosen rather than life by all the remnant of those who remain of this evil family (nation), who remain in all the places to which I have driven them,” says the Lord of hosts.

“Shall I not punish them for these things?” says the Lord.“Shall I not avenge MyselfOn such a nation as this?

“Woe to me because of my [spiritual] brokenness!” [says Jeremiah, speaking for the nation.]“My wound is incurable.”But I said, “Surely this sickness and suffering and grief are mine,And I must bear it.”

But if [any nation] will not listen and obey, I will [completely] uproot and destroy that nation, says the Lord.”

At one moment I might [suddenly] speak concerning a nation or kingdom, that I will uproot and break down and destroy;

if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent and reverse My decision concerning the devastation that I intended to do.

Or at another time I might [suddenly] speak about a nation or kingdom that I will build up or establish;

‘Then when seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans (Babylonia),’ says the Lord, ‘for their wickedness, and will make the land [of the Chaldeans] a perpetual waste.

Thus says the Lord of hosts,“Behold, evil is going forthFrom nation to nation,And a great whirling tempest is risingFrom the remotest part of the earth.

“But any nation or kingdom that will not serve this same Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation I will punish,” says the Lord, “with the sword, with famine and with pestilence (virulent disease), until I have destroyed it by Nebuchadnezzar’s hand.

But the nation which will bow its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, that nation I will let remain on its own land,” says the Lord, “to cultivate it and live in it.”’”

Why will you die, you and your people, by the sword, by famine and by virulent disease, as the Lord has spoken to any nation which will not serve the king of Babylon?

‘After I turned away [from You], I repented;After I was instructed, I struck my thigh [in remorse];I was ashamed and even humiliatedBecause I carried the disgrace of my youth [as a nation].’

“If this fixed order departsFrom before Me,” says the Lord,“Then the descendants of Israel also will ceaseFrom being a nation before Me forever.”

“Have you not noticed what this people have spoken, saying, ‘The two families [Israel the northern kingdom, and Judah the southern kingdom] which the Lord chose, He has rejected’? Thus they despise My [chosen] people, no longer are they [considered] as a nation in their sight.

“The glory of Moab is no more;In Heshbon they planned evil against her,Saying, ‘Come, let us cut her off from being a nation!’You also, O [city of] Madmen, shall be silenced;The sword will pursue you.

“Moab will be destroyed from being a nation (people)Because he has become arrogant and magnified himself against the Lord.

“Arise [Nebuchadnezzar], go up against a nation which is at ease,Which lives securely,” says the Lord,“A nation which has neither gates nor bars;They dwell apart and alone.

‘And I will bring upon Elam the four windsFrom the four corners of heaven;And I will scatter them toward all those winds,And there will be no nationTo which the outcasts of Elam will not go.

For out of the north a nation (Media) has come against her which will make her land desolate, and no one will live there. They have fled, they have gone away—both man and animal.

“Behold, a people is coming from the north,And a great nation and many kingsWill be stirring from the remote parts of the earth.