'Root' in the Bible

so that there will not be among you a man or woman, or family or tribe, whose heart turns away today from the Lord our God, to go and serve the [false] gods of these nations; so that there will not be among you a root [of idolatry] bearing poisonous fruit and wormwood (bitterness).

‘The whole land is brimstone and salt, a burning waste, unsown and unproductive, and no grass grows in it; it is like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord overthrew in His anger and wrath.’

“From Ephraim those whose root is in Amalek came down,After you, Benjamin, with your relatives;From Machir came down commanders and rulers,And from Zebulun those who handle the scepter of the [office of] scribe.

“The Lord will strike Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water; and He will uproot Israel from this good land which He gave to their fathers, and He will scatter them beyond the [Euphrates] River, because they have made their Asherim, provoking the Lord to anger.

The survivors who remain of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward.

“I have seen the foolish taking root [and outwardly prospering],But I cursed his dwelling immediately [for his destruction was certain].

“If you say, ‘How shall we [continue to] persecute him?’And ‘What pretext for a case against him can we find [since we claim the root of these afflictions is found in him]?’

‘My root is spread out and open to the waters,And the dew lies all night upon my branch.

“For it is a fire which consumes to Abaddon (destruction, ruin, final torment);And [illicit passion] would burn and rage and uproot all my [life’s] increase [destroying everything].

You cleared away the ground before it,And it took deep root and filled the land.

Morning after morning I will destroy all the wicked in the land,That I may cut off from the city of the Lord all those who do evil.

A man will not be established by wickedness,But the root of the [consistently] righteous will not be moved.

The wicked desire the plunder of evil men,But the root of the righteous yields richer fruit.

When all has been heard, the end of the matter is: fear God [worship Him with awe-filled reverence, knowing that He is almighty God] and keep His commandments, for this applies to every person.

Therefore, as the tongue of fire consumes the stubble [from straw]And the dry grass collapses into the flame,So their root will become like rot and their blossom blow away like fine dust;Because they have rejected the law of the Lord of hostsAnd despised and discarded the word of the Holy One of Israel.

Then in that dayThe nations will make supplications to the Root of JesseWho will stand as a signal for the peoples;And His resting place will be glorious.

“Do not rejoice, O Philistia, any of you,Because the rod [of Judah] that struck you is broken;For out of the serpent’s root will come a viper [King Hezekiah of Judah],And its offspring will be a flying serpent.

“The firstborn of the helpless [of Judah] will feed [on My meadows],And the needy will lie down in safety;But I will kill your root with famine,And your survivors will be put to death.

In the generations to come Jacob will take root;Israel will blossom and sprout,And they will fill the surface of the world with fruit.

The surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root downward and bear fruit upward.

Scarcely have they been planted,Scarcely have they been sown,Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth,But He merely blows on them, and they wither,And a strong wind carries them away like stubble.

For He [the Servant of God] grew up before Him like a tender shoot (plant),And like a root out of dry ground;He has no stately form or majestic splendorThat we would look at Him,Nor [handsome] appearance that we would be attracted to Him.

“See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms,To uproot and break down,To destroy and to overthrow,To build and to plant.”

You have planted them, they have also taken root;They grow, they have even produced fruit.You are honored by their [hypocritical] lipsBut [You are] far from their heart and mind.

therefore thus says the Lord God, “I will also stretch out My hand against Edom and I will cut off and destroy man and beast. I will make it desolate; from Teman even to Dedan they will fall by the sword.

‘So it was beautiful in its greatness, in the length of its branches;For its roots extended [downward] to great waters.

Ephraim is stricken, their root is dried up,They will bear no fruit.Even though they give birth,I will slay the precious children of their womb.

“I will root out your Asherim (symbols of the goddess Asherah) from among youAnd destroy your cities [which are the centers of pagan worship].

“For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, and all the arrogant (proud, self-righteous, haughty), and every evildoer shall be stubble; and the day that is coming shall set them on fire,” says the Lord of hosts, “so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.