'People' in the Bible

A day of darkness and gloom,A day of clouds and thick darkness.As the dawn is spread over the mountains,So there is a great and mighty people;There has never been anything like it,Nor will there be again after itTo the years of many generations.

With a noise as of chariotsThey leap on the tops of the mountains,Like the crackling of a flame of fire consuming the stubble,Like a mighty people arranged for battle.

Before them the people are in anguish;All faces turn pale.

Gather the people, sanctify the congregation,Assemble the elders,Gather the children and the nursing infants.Let the bridegroom come out of his roomAnd the bride out of her bridal chamber.

Let the priests, the Lord’s ministers,Weep between the porch and the altar,And let them say, “Spare Your people, O Lord,And do not make Your inheritance a reproach,A byword among the nations.Why should they among the peoples say,‘Where is their God?’”

Then the Lord will be zealous for His landAnd will have pity on His people.

The Lord will answer and say to His people,“Behold, I am going to send you grain, new wine and oil,And you will be satisfied in full with them;And I will never again make you a reproach among the nations.

“You will have plenty to eat and be satisfiedAnd praise the name of the Lord your God,Who has dealt wondrously with you;Then My people will never be put to shame.

“Thus you will know that I am in the midst of Israel,And that I am the Lord your God,And there is no other;And My people will never be put to shame.

I will gather all the nationsAnd bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat.Then I will enter into judgment with them thereOn behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel,Whom they have scattered among the nations;And they have divided up My land.

“They have also cast lots for My people,Traded a boy for a harlotAnd sold a girl for wine that they may drink.

The Lord roars from ZionAnd utters His voice from Jerusalem,And the heavens and the earth tremble.But the Lord is a refuge for His peopleAnd a stronghold to the sons of Israel.