'Pleasant' in the Bible
God saw that the light was good (pleasing, useful) and He affirmed and sustained it; and God separated the light [distinguishing it] from the darkness.
to rule over the day and the night, and to separate the light from the darkness; and God saw that it was good and He affirmed and sustained it.
So God made the wild animals of the earth according to their kind, and the cattle according to their kind, and everything that creeps and crawls on the earth according to its kind; and God saw that it was good (pleasing, useful) and He affirmed and sustained it.
God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good and He validated it completely. And there was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.
And [in that garden] the Lord God caused to grow from the ground every tree that is desirable and pleasing to the sight and good (suitable, pleasant) for food; the tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the [experiential] knowledge (recognition) of [the difference between] good and evil.
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was delightful to look at, and a tree to be desired in order to make one wise and insightful, she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate.
“When he saw that the resting place was goodAnd that the land was pleasant,He bowed his shoulder to bear [burdens],And became a servant at forced labor.
then make an offering by fire to the Lord, a burnt offering or a sacrifice to fulfill a special vow, or as a freewill offering or in your appointed feasts, to make a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord, from the herd or from the flock.
and you shall bring as the drink offering one-half a hin of wine as an offering by fire, as a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord.
All who are native-born shall do these things in this way, in presenting an offering by fire, as a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord.
then it shall be, if it was done unintentionally without the knowledge of the congregation, that all the congregation shall offer one young bull as a burnt offering, as a sweet and soothing aroma to the Lord, with its grain offering and its drink offering, according to the ordinance, and one male goat as a sin offering.
and a tenth [of an ephah] of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering for each lamb, as a burnt offering of a sweet and soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the Lord.
These are in addition to the burnt offering of the New Moon and its grain offering, and the continual burnt offering and its grain offering, and their drink offerings, according to the ordinance for them, as a sweet and soothing aroma, an offering by fire to the Lord.
She said to them, “Do not call me Naomi (sweetness); call me Mara (bitter), for the Almighty has caused me great grief and bitterness.
“I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan;You have been a good friend to me.Your love toward me was more wonderfulThan the love of women.
Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Look, this city is in a pleasant place, as my lord [Elisha] sees; but the water is bad and the land is barren.”
The [boundary] lines [of the land] have fallen for me in pleasant places;Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.
Then they despised the pleasant land [of Canaan];They did not believe in His word nor rely on it,
Behold, how good and how pleasant it isFor brothers to dwell together in unity!
Their [wicked, godless] judges are thrown down the sides of the rocky cliff,And they [who followed them] will hear my words, for they are pleasant (just).
For [skillful and godly] wisdom will enter your heartAnd knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
Let her be as a loving hind and graceful doe,Let her breasts refresh and satisfy you at all times;Always be exhilarated and delight in her love.
“Stolen waters (pleasures) are sweet [because they are forbidden];And bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”
Pleasant words are like a honeycomb,Sweet and delightful to the soul and healing to the body.
For it will be pleasant if you keep them in mind [incorporating them as guiding principles];Let them be ready on your lips [to guide and strengthen yourself and others].
And by knowledge its rooms are filledWith all precious and pleasant riches.
The light is sweet and pleasant, and it is good for the eyes to see the sun.
(The Chorus)“We will rejoice and be glad in you;We will remember and extol your love more [sweet and fragrant] than wine.Rightly do they love you.”(The Shulammite Bride)“I am deeply tanned but lovely,O daughters of Jerusalem,[I am dark] like the tents of [the Bedouins of] Kedar,Like the [beautiful] curtains of Solomon.
“How beautiful and how delightful you are,My love, with all your delights!
For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house (nation) of IsraelAnd the men of Judah are His delightful planting [which He loves].So He looked for justice, but in fact, [He saw] bloodshed and lawlessness;[He looked] for righteousness, but in fact, [He heard] a cry of distress and oppression.
Hyenas will howl in their castles,And jackals in their luxurious palaces.Babylon’s time has nearly come,And her days will not be prolonged.
Because you [Judah] have forgotten the God of your salvationAnd have not remembered the Rock of your Stronghold—Therefore you plant lovely plantsAnd set the grounds with vine slips of a strange god,
Beat your breasts [in mourning] for the beautiful fields, for the fruitful vine,
Our holy and beautiful house [the temple built by Solomon],Where our fathers praised You,Has been burned by fire;And all our precious objects are in ruins.
“Then I said,‘How [gloriously and honorably] I would set you among My childrenAnd give you a pleasant land—a wonderful heritage,The most beautiful inheritance of the nations!’And I said, ‘You shall call Me, My FatherAnd not turn away from following Me.’
“Many shepherds (invaders) have destroyed My vineyard (Judah),They have trampled My field underfoot;They have made My pleasant fieldA desolate wilderness.
In the days of her affliction and homelessnessJerusalem remembers all her precious thingsThat she had from the days of old,When her people fell into the hand of the adversary,And no one helped her,The enemy saw her,They mocked at her downfall.
I will accept you [graciously] as a pleasant and soothing aroma when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands in which you have been scattered; and I will prove Myself holy and manifest My holiness among you in the sight of the nations.
Also they will take your riches as spoil and plunder your merchandise, and tear down your walls and your pleasant houses, and throw your stones and your timber and the debris [from your city] out in the water.
Behold, you are to them like a love song by one who has a pleasant voice and plays well on a stringed instrument [merely to entertain them]; for they hear your words but do not practice them.
I ate no tasty food, nor did any meat or wine enter my mouth; and I did not anoint (refresh, groom) myself at all for the full three weeks.
Instead, he will honor a god of fortresses, a god whom his fathers did not know; he will honor him with gold and silver, with precious stones and with expensive things.
Ephraim, as I have seen,Is planted in a pleasant [and prosperous] meadow like Tyre;But Ephraim will bring out his children to the executioner [for slaughter].
Therefore, because you impose heavy rent on the poorAnd demand a tribute (food-tax) of grain from them,Though you have built [luxurious] houses of square stone,You will not live in them;You have planted beautiful vineyards, but you will not drink their wine.
“You evict the women (widows) of My people,Each one from her pleasant house;From her [young, fatherless] children you take away My splendor and blessing forever [by putting them among the pagans, away from Me].
“but I scattered them with a storm wind among all the nations whom they have not known. Thus the land was desolate after they had gone, so that no one passed through or returned, for they [by their sins] had made the pleasant land desolate and deserted.”