'People' in the Bible

Indeed, the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have observed the command of their father which he commanded them, but this people has not listened to Me.’”’

So you go and read from the scroll which you have written at my dictation the words of the Lord to the people in the Lord’s house on a fast day. And also you shall read them to all the people of Judah who come from their cities.

Perhaps their supplication will come before the Lord, and everyone will turn from his evil way, for great is the anger and the wrath that the Lord has pronounced against this people.”

Now in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, all the people in Jerusalem and all the people who came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem proclaimed a fast before the Lord.

Then Baruch read from the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the Lord in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the scribe, in the upper court, at the entry of the New Gate of the Lord’s house, to all the people.

Micaiah declared to them all the words that he had heard when Baruch read from the book to the people.

Then all the officials sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, “Take in your hand the scroll from which you have read to the people and come.” So Baruch the son of Neriah took the scroll in his hand and went to them.

But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the Lord which He spoke through Jeremiah the prophet.

Now Jeremiah was still coming in and going out among the people, for they had not yet put him in the prison.

that Jeremiah went out from Jerusalem to go to the land of Benjamin in order to take possession of some property there among the people.

Moreover Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “In what way have I sinned against you, or against your servants, or against this people, that you have put me in prison?

Now Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchijah heard the words that Jeremiah was speaking to all the people, saying,

Then the officials said to the king, “Now let this man be put to death, inasmuch as he is discouraging the men of war who are left in this city and all the people, by speaking such words to them; for this man is not seeking the well-being of this people but rather their harm.”

The Chaldeans also burned with fire the king’s palace and the houses of the people, and they broke down the walls of Jerusalem.

As for the rest of the people who were left in the city, the deserters who had gone over to him and the rest of the people who remained, Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard carried them into exile in Babylon.

But some of the poorest people who had nothing, Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard left behind in the land of Judah, and gave them vineyards and fields at that time.

they even sent and took Jeremiah out of the court of the guardhouse and entrusted him to Gedaliah, the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, to take him home. So he stayed among the people.

and the Lord has brought it on and done just as He promised. Because you people sinned against the Lord and did not listen to His voice, therefore this thing has happened to you.

As Jeremiah was still not going back, he said, “Go on back then to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon has appointed over the cities of Judah, and stay with him among the people; or else go anywhere it seems right for you to go.” So the captain of the bodyguard gave him a ration and a gift and let him go.

Then Jeremiah went to Mizpah to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam and stayed with him among the people who were left in the land.

Then Ishmael took captive all the remnant of the people who were in Mizpah, the king’s daughters and all the people who were left in Mizpah, whom Nebuzaradan the captain of the bodyguard had put under the charge of Gedaliah the son of Ahikam; thus Ishmael the son of Nethaniah took them captive and proceeded to cross over to the sons of Ammon.

Now as soon as all the people who were with Ishmael saw Johanan the son of Kareah and the commanders of the forces that were with him, they were glad.

So all the people whom Ishmael had taken captive from Mizpah turned around and came back, and went to Johanan the son of Kareah.

Then Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were with him took from Mizpah all the remnant of the people whom he had recovered from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, after he had struck down Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, that is, the men who were soldiers, the women, the children, and the eunuchs, whom he had brought back from Gibeon.

Then all the commanders of the forces, Johanan the son of Kareah, Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people both small and great approached

Then he called for Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were with him, and for all the people both small and great,

But as soon as Jeremiah, whom the Lord their God had sent, had finished telling all the people all the words of the Lord their God—that is, all these words—

So Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces, and all the people, did not obey the voice of the Lord to stay in the land of Judah.

Then all the men who were aware that their wives were burning sacrifices to other gods, along with all the women who were standing by, as a large assembly, including all the people who were living in Pathros in the land of Egypt, responded to Jeremiah, saying,

Then Jeremiah said to all the people, to the men and women—even to all the people who were giving him such an answer—saying,

“As for the smoking sacrifices that you burned in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you and your forefathers, your kings and your princes, and the people of the land, did not the Lord remember them and did not all this come into His mind?

Then Jeremiah said to all the people, including all the women, “Hear the word of the Lord, all Judah who are in the land of Egypt,

“They have repeatedly stumbled;Indeed, they have fallen one against another.Then they said, ‘Get up! And let us go backTo our own people and our native landAway from the sword of the oppressor.’

“The daughter of Egypt has been put to shame,Given over to the power of the people of the north.”

“Moab will be destroyed from being a peopleBecause he has become arrogant toward the Lord.

“Woe to you, Moab!The people of Chemosh have perished;For your sons have been taken away captiveAnd your daughters into captivity.

Concerning the sons of Ammon. Thus says the Lord:“Does Israel have no sons?Or has he no heirs?Why then has Malcam taken possession of GadAnd his people settled in its cities?

“My people have become lost sheep;Their shepherds have led them astray.They have made them turn aside on the mountains;They have gone along from mountain to hillAnd have forgotten their resting place.

“Cut off the sower from BabylonAnd the one who wields the sickle at the time of harvest;From before the sword of the oppressorThey will each turn back to his own peopleAnd they will each flee to his own land.

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

“Come forth from her midst, My people,And each of you save yourselvesFrom the fierce anger of the Lord.

On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land.

Then Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried away into exile some of the poorest of the people, the rest of the people who were left in the city, the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon and the rest of the artisans.

He also took from the city one official who was overseer of the men of war, and seven of the king’s advisers who were found in the city, and the scribe of the commander of the army who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men of the people of the land who were found in the midst of the city.

These are the people whom Nebuchadnezzar carried away into exile: in the seventh year 3,023 Jews;

in the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried into exile 745 Jewish people; there were 4,600 persons in all.

How lonely sits the cityThat was full of people!She has become like a widowWho was once great among the nations!She who was a princess among the provincesHas become a forced laborer!

In the days of her affliction and homelessnessJerusalem remembers all her precious thingsThat were from the days of old,When her people fell into the hand of the adversaryAnd no one helped her.The adversaries saw her,They mocked at her ruin.

All her people groan seeking bread;They have given their precious things for foodTo restore their lives themselves.“See, O Lord, and look,For I am despised.”

My eyes fail because of tears,My spirit is greatly troubled;My heart is poured out on the earthBecause of the destruction of the daughter of my people,When little ones and infants faintIn the streets of the city.

I have become a laughingstock to all my people,Their mocking song all the day.

My eyes run down with streams of waterBecause of the destruction of the daughter of my people.

Even jackals offer the breast,They nurse their young;But the daughter of my people has become cruelLike ostriches in the wilderness.

For the iniquity of the daughter of my peopleIs greater than the sin of Sodom,Which was overthrown as in a moment,And no hands were turned toward her.

The hands of compassionate womenBoiled their own children;They became food for themBecause of the destruction of the daughter of my people.

Then He said to me, “Son of man, I am sending you to the sons of Israel, to a rebellious people who have rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day.

For you are not being sent to a people of unintelligible speech or difficult language, but to the house of Israel,

Go to the exiles, to the sons of your people, and speak to them and tell them, whether they listen or not, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’”

The king will mourn, the prince will be clothed with horror, and the hands of the people of the land will tremble. According to their conduct I will deal with them, and by their judgments I will judge them. And they will know that I am the Lord.’”

And He said to them, “Defile the temple and fill the courts with the slain. Go out!” Thus they went out and struck down the people in the city.

Moreover, the Spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the Lord’s house which faced eastward. And behold, there were twenty-five men at the entrance of the gate, and among them I saw Jaazaniah son of Azzur and Pelatiah son of Benaiah, leaders of the people.

that they may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and do them. Then they will be My people, and I shall be their God.

Then say to the people of the land, ‘Thus says the Lord God concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the land of Israel, “They will eat their bread with anxiety and drink their water with horror, because their land will be stripped of its fullness on account of the violence of all who live in it.

“Son of man, what is this proverb you people have concerning the land of Israel, saying, ‘The days are long and every vision fails’?

“So My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divinations. They will have no place in the council of My people, nor will they be written down in the register of the house of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel, that you may know that I am the Lord God.

It is definitely because they have misled My people by saying, ‘Peace!’ when there is no peace. And when anyone builds a wall, behold, they plaster it over with whitewash;

“Now you, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who are prophesying from their own inspiration. Prophesy against them

and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Woe to the women who sew magic bands on all wrists and make veils for the heads of persons of every stature to hunt down lives! Will you hunt down the lives of My people, but preserve the lives of others for yourselves?

For handfuls of barley and fragments of bread, you have profaned Me to My people to put to death some who should not die and to keep others alive who should not live, by your lying to My people who listen to lies.”’”

I will also tear off your veils and deliver My people from your hands, and they will no longer be in your hands to be hunted; and you will know that I am the Lord.

therefore, you women will no longer see false visions or practice divination, and I will deliver My people out of your hand. Thus you will know that I am the Lord.”

I will set My face against that man and make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from among My people. So you will know that I am the Lord.

“But if the prophet is prevailed upon to speak a word, it is I, the Lord, who have prevailed upon that prophet, and I will stretch out My hand against him and destroy him from among My people Israel.

in order that the house of Israel may no longer stray from Me and no longer defile themselves with all their transgressions. Thus they will be My people, and I shall be their God,”’ declares the Lord God.”

Say, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Will it thrive? Will he not pull up its roots and cut off its fruit, so that it withers—so that all its sprouting leaves wither? And neither by great strength nor by many people can it be raised from its roots again.

As for his father, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother and did what was not good among his people, behold, he will die for his iniquity.

Cry out and wail, son of man; for it is against My people, it is against all the officials of Israel. They are delivered over to the sword with My people, therefore strike your thigh.

The people of the land have practiced oppression and committed robbery, and they have wronged the poor and needy and have oppressed the sojourner without justice.

So I spoke to the people in the morning, and in the evening my wife died. And in the morning I did as I was commanded.

The people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things that you are doing mean for us?”

I will lay My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Israel. Therefore, they will act in Edom according to My anger and according to My wrath; thus they will know My vengeance,” declares the Lord God.

With the hoofs of his horses he will trample all your streets. He will slay your people with the sword; and your strong pillars will come down to the ground.

then I will bring you down with those who go down to the pit, to the people of old, and I will make you dwell in the lower parts of the earth, like the ancient waste places, with those who go down to the pit, so that you will not be inhabited; but I will set glory in the land of the living.

Ethiopia, Put, Lud, all Arabia, Libya and the people of the land that is in league will fall with them by the sword.”

“He and his people with him,The most ruthless of the nations,Will be brought in to destroy the land;And they will draw their swords against EgyptAnd fill the land with the slain.

“Son of man, speak to the sons of your people and say to them, ‘If I bring a sword upon a land, and the people of the land take one man from among them and make him their watchman,

and he sees the sword coming upon the land and blows on the trumpet and warns the people,

But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet and the people are not warned, and a sword comes and takes a person from them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require from the watchman’s hand.’

They come to you as people come, and sit before you as My people and hear your words, but they do not do them, for they do the lustful desires expressed by their mouth, and their heart goes after their gain.

Then they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are My people,” declares the Lord God.

therefore prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “For good reason they have made you desolate and crushed you from every side, that you would become a possession of the rest of the nations and you have been taken up in the talk and the whispering of the people.”’”

But you, O mountains of Israel, you will put forth your branches and bear your fruit for My people Israel; for they will soon come.

Yes, I will cause men—My people Israel—to walk on you and possess you, so that you will become their inheritance and never again bereave them of children.’

When they came to the nations where they went, they profaned My holy name, because it was said of them, ‘These are the people of the Lord; yet they have come out of His land.’

You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers; so you will be My people, and I will be your God.

Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, My people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel.

Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves and caused you to come up out of your graves, My people.

When the sons of your people speak to you saying, ‘Will you not declare to us what you mean by these?’

They will no longer defile themselves with their idols, or with their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. And they will be My people, and I will be their God.

My dwelling place also will be with them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people.