'Saying' in the Bible

And God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let the birds multiply on the earth."

And Yahweh God commanded the man, saying, "From every tree of the garden {you may freely eat},

And he called his name Noah, saying, "This one {shall relieve us} from our work, and from the hard labor of our hands, from the ground which Yahweh had cursed.

And God spoke to Noah, saying:

After these things the word of Yahweh came to Abram in a vision, saying: "Do not be afraid, Abram; I [am] your shield, [and] your reward [shall be] very great."

And behold, the word of Yahweh [came] to him saying, "This [person] will not {be your heir}, but {your own son will be your heir}."

On that day Yahweh {made} a covenant with Abram saying, "To your offspring I will give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates river,

Then Abram fell upon his face and God spoke with him, saying,

So Sarah laughed to herself saying, "After I am worn out and my husband is old, shall [this] pleasure be to me?"

Then Yahweh said to Abraham, "What [is] this [that] Sarah laughed, saying, 'Is it indeed true [that] I will bear a child, now [that] I have grown old?'

But Sarah denied [it], saying, "I did not laugh," because she was afraid. He said, "No, but you did laugh."

And as the dawn came up the angels urged Lot saying, "Get up, take your wife and your two daughters {who are staying with you}, lest you be destroyed with the punishment of the city."

And he spoke with them, saying, "{If you are willing} [that] I bury my dead from before me, hear me and intercede for me with Ephron the son of Zohar,

And he spoke to Ephron in the hearing of the people of the land, saying, "{If only you will hear me}--I give the price of the field. Take [it] from me that I may bury my dead there."

And Ephron answered Abraham, saying to him

Yahweh, the God of heaven who took me from the house of my father and from the land of my family, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, 'to your offspring I will give this land,' he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there.

And my master made me swear, saying, 'Do not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose land I am living.

Then Abimelech instructed all the people, saying, "The [one who] touches this man or his wife shall certainly die."

Then the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with the herdsmen of Isaac, saying, "The water is ours." And he called the name of the well Esek, because they contended with him.

Rebekah said to Jacob her son, "Look, I heard your father speaking to Esau your brother saying,

Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan-Aram, to take for himself a wife from there, and he blessed him and instructed him, saying, "You must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan,"

And Jacob made a vow saying, "If God will be with me and protect me on this way that I am going, and gives me food to eat and clothing to wear,

And she called his name Joseph, saying, "Yahweh has added to me another son."

Now he heard the words of the sons of Laban, saying, "Jacob has taken all that our father has," and "From that which [was] our father's he has gained all this wealth."

{It is in my power} to do harm to you, but the God of your father spoke to me last night saying, '{Take care} from speaking with Jacob, whether good or evil.'

And he instructed them, saying, "Thus you must say to my lord, to Esau, 'Thus says your servant Jacob, I have dwelled as an alien with Laban, and I have remained [there] until now.

And he instructed the foremost, saying, "When Esau my brother comes upon you and asks you, saying, 'Whose [are] you and where are you going? To whom do these [animals] belong ahead of you?'

And he also instructed the second [servant] and the third, and everyone [else] who [was] behind the herds, saying, "You must speak to Esau according to this word when you find him.

So Shechem said to Hamor his father, saying, "Get this girl for me as a wife."

And Hamor spoke with them saying, "Shechem my son {is in love with} your daughter. Please give her to him for a wife.

Then Hamor and his son Shechem came to the gate of their city, and they spoke to the men of their city, saying,

And the man said, "They have moved on from here, for I heard [them] saying, 'Let us go to Dothan.'" Then Joseph went after his brothers and found them in Dothan.

And it was told to Tamar, saying, "Look, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep."

So he asked the men of her place, saying, "Where [is] that cult prostitute [that was] at Eynayim by the roadside?" And they said, "There is no cult prostitute here."

She was brought out, but she sent to her father-in-law saying, "By the man to whom these [belong] I have conceived." And she said, "Now discern to whom these [belong]: the seal and cord and the staff."

And it happened [that] at her labor one [child] put out a hand. And the midwife took [it] and tied a crimson thread on his hand saying, "This [one] came out first."

Then she spoke to him according to these words, saying, "The Hebrew slave that you brought to us came to me to make fun of me.

Then the chief of the cupbearers spoke with Pharaoh, saying, "I remember my sins today.

Then Joseph answered Pharaoh saying, "{It is not in my power}; God will answer [concerning] the well-being of Pharaoh."

Then Reuben answered them, saying, "Did I not say to you, do not sin against the boy? But you did not listen, and now, behold, his blood has been sought."

And when they came to Jacob their father in the land of Canaan they told him everything [that] had happened to them, saying,

Then Judah said to him, "The man solemnly admonished us, saying, 'You shall not see my face unless your brother [is] with you.'

And they said, "The man asked explicitly about us and about our family, saying, 'Is your father still alive? Do you have a brother?' And we answered him according to these words. How could we know that he would say, 'Bring down your brother'?"

Then he commanded [the one] who [was] over his household, saying, "Fill the sacks of the men [with] food as much as they are able to carry, and put each one's money in the mouth of his sack.

My lord had asked his servants, saying, 'Do you have a father or a brother?'

For your servant is pledged as surety for the boy by my father, saying, If I do not bring him to you, then I shall be culpable to my father forever.

Then the report was heard [in] the house of Pharaoh, saying, "Joseph's brothers have come." And it pleased Pharaoh and his servants.

And they spoke to him, saying, "Joseph [is] still alive, and he [is] ruler over all the land of Egypt." And his heart {went numb}, because he did not believe him.

And when the money was spent in the land of Egypt and from the land of Canaan, all of Egypt came to Joseph, saying, "Give us food! Why should we die before you? For the money is used up."

So he blessed them that day, saying, Through you Israel shall pronounce blessing, saying, 'May God make you like Ephraim and like Manasseh.'" So he put Ephraim before Manasseh.

When the days of his weeping had passed, Joseph spoke to the household of Pharaoh, saying, "If I have found favor in your eyes, please speak in the hearing of Pharaoh, saying,

'My father made me swear, saying, "Behold, I [am about] to die. In the tomb that I have hewed out for myself in the land of Canaan--there you must bury me." So then, please let me go up and let me bury my father; then I will return.'"

So they sent [word] to Joseph saying, "Your father commanded [us] before his death, saying,

Then Joseph made the sons of Israel swear an oath, saying, "God will surely visit you, and you shall bring up my bones from here."