'Nations' in the Bible

Thus Manasseh misled Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord destroyed before the sons of Israel.

Furthermore, all the officials of the priests and the people were very unfaithful following all the abominations of the nations; and they defiled the house of the Lord which He had sanctified in Jerusalem.

and the rest of the nations which the great and honorable Osnappar deported and settled in the city of Samaria, and in the rest of the region beyond the River. Now

The sons of Israel who returned from exile and all those who had separated themselves from the impurity of the nations of the land to join them, to seek the Lord God of Israel, ate the Passover.

I said to them, “We according to our ability have redeemed our Jewish brothers who were sold to the nations; now would you even sell your brothers that they may be sold to us?” Then they were silent and could not find a word to say.

Again I said, “The thing which you are doing is not good; should you not walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the nations, our enemies?

Moreover, there were at my table one hundred and fifty Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations that were around us.

In it was written, “It is reported among the nations, and Gashmu says, that you and the Jews are planning to rebel; therefore you are rebuilding the wall. And you are to be their king, according to these reports.

When all our enemies heard of it, and all the nations surrounding us saw it, they lost their confidence; for they recognized that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God.

Did not Solomon king of Israel sin regarding these things? Yet among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel; nevertheless the foreign women caused even him to sin.

“He makes the nations great, then destroys them;He enlarges the nations, then leads them away.

Why are the nations in an uproarAnd the peoples devising a vain thing?

‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance,And the very ends of the earth as Your possession.

You have rebuked the nations, You have destroyed the wicked;You have blotted out their name forever and ever.

The nations have sunk down in the pit which they have made;In the net which they hid, their own foot has been caught.

The wicked will return to Sheol,Even all the nations who forget God.

Arise, O Lord, do not let man prevail;Let the nations be judged before You.

Put them in fear, O Lord;Let the nations know that they are but men. Selah.

The Lord is King forever and ever;Nations have perished from His land.

You have delivered me from the contentions of the people;You have placed me as head of the nations;A people whom I have not known serve me.

Therefore I will give thanks to You among the nations, O Lord,And I will sing praises to Your name.

All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord,And all the families of the nations will worship before You.

For the kingdom is the Lord’sAnd He rules over the nations.

The Lord nullifies the counsel of the nations;He frustrates the plans of the peoples.

You with Your own hand drove out the nations;Then You planted them;You afflicted the peoples,Then You spread them abroad.

You give us as sheep to be eatenAnd have scattered us among the nations.

You make us a byword among the nations,A laughingstock among the peoples.

The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered;He raised His voice, the earth melted.

“Cease striving and know that I am God;I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

He subdues peoples under usAnd nations under our feet.

God reigns over the nations,God sits on His holy throne.

I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples;I will sing praises to You among the nations.

You, O Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel,Awake to punish all the nations;Do not be gracious to any who are treacherous in iniquity. Selah.

But You, O Lord, laugh at them;You scoff at all the nations.

He rules by His might forever;His eyes keep watch on the nations;Let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah.

That Your way may be known on the earth,Your salvation among all nations.

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy;For You will judge the peoples with uprightnessAnd guide the nations on the earth. Selah.

And let all kings bow down before him,All nations serve him.

May his name endure forever;May his name increase as long as the sun shines;And let men bless themselves by him;Let all nations call him blessed.

He also drove out the nations before themAnd apportioned them for an inheritance by measurement,And made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents.

A Psalm of Asaph.O God, the nations have invaded Your inheritance;They have defiled Your holy temple;They have laid Jerusalem in ruins.

Pour out Your wrath upon the nations which do not know You,And upon the kingdoms which do not call upon Your name.

Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”Let there be known among the nations in our sight,Vengeance for the blood of Your servants which has been shed.

You removed a vine from Egypt;You drove out the nations and planted it.

Arise, O God, judge the earth!For it is You who possesses all the nations.

All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord,And they shall glorify Your name.

He who chastens the nations, will He not rebuke,Even He who teaches man knowledge?

Tell of His glory among the nations,His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.

Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns;Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved;He will judge the peoples with equity.”

The Lord has made known His salvation;He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations.

So the nations will fear the name of the LordAnd all the kings of the earth Your glory.

He gave them also the lands of the nations,That they might take possession of the fruit of the peoples’ labor,

And that He would cast their seed among the nationsAnd scatter them in the lands.

But they mingled with the nationsAnd learned their practices,

Then He gave them into the hand of the nations,And those who hated them ruled over them.

Save us, O Lord our God,And gather us from among the nations,To give thanks to Your holy nameAnd glory in Your praise.

I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples,And I will sing praises to You among the nations.

He will judge among the nations,He will fill them with corpses,He will shatter the chief men over a broad country.

He has made known to His people the power of His works,In giving them the heritage of the nations.

The Lord is high above all nations;His glory is above the heavens.

Why should the nations say,“Where, now, is their God?”

Praise the Lord, all nations;Laud Him, all peoples!

All nations surrounded me;In the name of the Lord I will surely cut them off.

Then our mouth was filled with laughterAnd our tongue with joyful shouting;Then they said among the nations,“The Lord has done great things for them.”

He smote many nationsAnd slew mighty kings,

The idols of the nations are but silver and gold,The work of man’s hands.

To execute vengeance on the nationsAnd punishment on the peoples,

He who says to the wicked, “You are righteous,”Peoples will curse him, nations will abhor him;

Now it will come about thatIn the last daysThe mountain of the house of the LordWill be established as the chief of the mountains,And will be raised above the hills;And all the nations will stream to it.

And He will judge between the nations,And will render decisions for many peoples;And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.Nation will not lift up sword against nation,And never again will they learn war.

Yet it does not so intend,Nor does it plan so in its heart,But rather it is its purpose to destroyAnd to cut off many nations.

Then in that dayThe nations will resort to the root of Jesse,Who will stand as a signal for the peoples;And His resting place will be glorious.

And He will lift up a standard for the nationsAnd assemble the banished ones of Israel,And will gather the dispersed of JudahFrom the four corners of the earth.

A sound of tumult on the mountains,Like that of many people!A sound of the uproar of kingdoms,Of nations gathered together!The Lord of hosts is mustering the army for battle.

Which used to strike the peoples in fury with unceasing strokes,Which subdued the nations in anger with unrestrained persecution.

“Sheol from beneath is excited over you to meet you when you come;It arouses for you the spirits of the dead, all the leaders of the earth;It raises all the kings of the nations from their thrones.

“How you have fallen from heaven,O star of the morning, son of the dawn!You have been cut down to the earth,You who have weakened the nations!

“All the kings of the nations lie in glory,Each in his own tomb.

This is the plan devised against the whole earth; and this is the hand that is stretched out against all the nations.

For the fields of Heshbon have withered, the vines of Sibmah as well;The lords of the nations have trampled down its choice clustersWhich reached as far as Jazer and wandered to the deserts;Its tendrils spread themselves out and passed over the sea.

Alas, the uproar of many peoplesWho roar like the roaring of the seas,And the rumbling of nationsWho rush on like the rumbling of mighty waters!

The nations rumble on like the rumbling of many waters,But He will rebuke them and they will flee far away,And be chased like chaff in the mountains before the wind,Or like whirling dust before a gale.

And were on many waters.The grain of the Nile, the harvest of the River was her revenue;And she was the market of nations.

Therefore a strong people will glorify You;Cities of ruthless nations will revere You.

And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples,Even the veil which is stretched over all nations.

And the multitude of all the nations who wage war against Ariel,Even all who wage war against her and her stronghold, and who distress her,Will be like a dream, a vision of the night.

It will be as when a hungry man dreams—And behold, he is eating;But when he awakens, his hunger is not satisfied,Or as when a thirsty man dreams—And behold, he is drinking,But when he awakens, behold, he is faintAnd his thirst is not quenched.Thus the multitude of all the nations will beWho wage war against Mount Zion.

His breath is like an overflowing torrent,Which reaches to the neck,To shake the nations back and forth in a sieve,And to put in the jaws of the peoples the bridle which leads to ruin.

At the sound of the tumult peoples flee;At the lifting up of Yourself nations disperse.

Draw near, O nations, to hear; and listen, O peoples!Let the earth and all it contains hear, and the world and all that springs from it.

For the Lord’s indignation is against all the nations,And His wrath against all their armies;He has utterly destroyed them,He has given them over to slaughter.

Beware that Hezekiah does not mislead you, saying, “The Lord will deliver us.” Has any one of the gods of the nations delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria?

Did the gods of those nations which my fathers have destroyed deliver them, even Gozan and Haran and Rezeph and the sons of Eden who were in Telassar?

Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,And are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales;Behold, He lifts up the islands like fine dust.

All the nations are as nothing before Him,They are regarded by Him as less than nothing and meaningless.

“Who has aroused one from the eastWhom He calls in righteousness to His feet?He delivers up nations before himAnd subdues kings.He makes them like dust with his sword,As the wind-driven chaff with his bow.

“Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold;My chosen one in whom My soul delights.I have put My Spirit upon Him;He will bring forth justice to the nations.

“I am the Lord, I have called You in righteousness,I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You,And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people,As a light to the nations,

All the nations have gathered togetherSo that the peoples may be assembled.Who among them can declare thisAnd proclaim to us the former things?Let them present their witnesses that they may be justified,Or let them hear and say, “It is true.”

Thus says the Lord to Cyrus His anointed,Whom I have taken by the right hand,To subdue nations before himAnd to loose the loins of kings;To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut: