'Sea' in the Bible

Now the Chaldeans broke into pieces the pillars of bronze which belonged to the house of the Lord, and the bronze pedestals [which supported the ten basins] and the [enormous] bronze Sea, which were in the house of the Lord, and carried all the bronze to Babylon.

The two pillars, the one [enormous] Sea (basin), and the twelve bronze bulls under the Sea, and the stands, which King Solomon had made for the house of the Lord—the bronze of all these things was beyond weighing.

How shall I console you?To what shall I compare you,O Daughter of Jerusalem?With what shall I compare you, so that I may comfort you,O Virgin Daughter of Zion?For your ruin is as vast as the sea;Who can heal you?

therefore, thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and I will cause many nations to come up against you, as the sea makes its waves crest.

Her island in the midst of the sea will become a dry place to spread nets, for I have spoken,’ says the Lord God, ‘and she will become a prey and a spoil for the nations.

Then all the princes of the sea will go down from their thrones and remove their robes and take off their embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves with trembling; they will sit on the ground, tremble again and again, and be appalled at you.

They will take up a dirge (funeral poem to be sung) for you and say to you,‘How you have perished and vanished, O renowned city,From the seas, O renowned city,Which was mighty on the sea,She and her inhabitants,Who imposed her terrorOn all who lived there!

‘Now the coastlands will trembleOn the day of your fall;Yes, the coastlands which are by the seaWill be terrified at your departure.’”

and say to Tyre, who lives at the entrance to the sea, merchant of the peoples to many coastlands, ‘Thus says the Lord God,“O Tyre, you have said, ‘I am perfect in beauty.’

“The elders of Gebal and its skilled and wise men were with you, repairing your leaks;All the ships of the sea with their mariners were with you to deal in your merchandise.

“All who handle the oar,The mariners and all the pilots of the seaWill come down from their ships;They will stand on the shore,

“In their wailing they will take up a dirge (funeral poem to be sung) for youAnd sing a dirge for you:‘Who is like Tyre,Like her who is silent [destroyed] in the midst of the sea?

so that the fishes of the sea, the birds of the sky, the animals of the field, all the creatures that crawl on the earth, and all the men that are on the face of the earth will tremble and shake at My presence; the mountains will crumble, the steep places will fall, and every wall will fall to the ground.

“And on that day I will give Gog a place for burial there in Israel, the valley of those who pass through east of the sea, and it will block the way of those who would pass through. So they will bury Gog there with all his hordes, and they will call it the Valley of Hamon-gog (the multitude of Gog).

Then he said to me, “These waters go out toward the eastern region and go down into the Arabah (the Jordan Valley); then they go toward the sea, being made to flow into the sea, and the waters of the Dead Sea shall be healed and become fresh.

It will come about that every living creature which swarms in every place where the river goes, will live. And there will be a very great number of fish, because these waters go there so that the waters of the sea are healed and become fresh; so everything will live wherever the river goes.

And it will come about that fishermen will stand beside it [at the banks of the Dead Sea]; from Engedi to Eneglaim there will be dry places to spread nets. Their fish will be of very many kinds, like the fish of the Great [Mediterranean] Sea.

“And this shall be the boundary of the land on the north side: from the Great [Mediterranean] Sea by way of Hethlon to the entrance of Zedad,

So the boundary will extend from the [Mediterranean] Sea to Hazar-enan at the border of Damascus, and on the north, northward, is the border of Hamath. This is the north side.

“The east side, from between Hauran, Damascus, Gilead, and the land of Israel, shall be the Jordan; from the north border to the eastern sea you shall measure. This is the east side.

“The south side, southward, from Tamar [near the Dead Sea] shall extend as far as the waters of Meribath-kadesh, to the Brook of Egypt and to the Great [Mediterranean] Sea. This is the south side toward the south.

“The west side shall be the Great [Mediterranean] Sea, from the south border to a point opposite Lebo-hamath [north of Mount Hermon]. This is the west side.

And beside the border of Gad, at the south side, southward, the border shall extend from Tamar to the waters of Meribath-kadesh, to the Brook [of Egypt], to the Great [Mediterranean] Sea.

Daniel said, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea (the nations).

And four great beasts, each different from the other, were coming up out of the sea [in succession].

His body also was like beryl [with a golden luster], his face had the appearance of lightning, his eyes were like flaming torches, his arms and his feet like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words was like the noise of a multitude [of people or the roaring of the sea].

Yet the number of the sons of IsraelShall be like the sand of the sea,Which cannot be measured or numbered;And in the placeWhere it is said to them,“You are not My people,”It will be said to them,“You are the sons of the living God.”

Therefore the land [continually] mourns,And everyone who lives in it languishes [in tragic suffering]Together with the animals of the open country and the birds of the heavens;Even the fish of the sea disappear.

“But I will remove the northern army far away from you,And I will drive it into a parched and desolate land,With its forward guard into the eastern sea (Dead Sea)And with its rear guard into the western sea (Mediterranean Sea).And its stench will arise and its foul odor of decay will come up [this is the fate of the northern army in the final day of the Lord],For He has done great things.”

He who made the [cluster of stars called] Pleiades and [the constellation] Orion,Who turns deep darkness into the morningAnd darkens the day into night,Who calls for the waters of the seaAnd pours them out on the surface of the earth,The Lord is His name.

“People shall stagger from sea to sea [to the very ends of the earth]And from the north even to the east;They will roam here and there to seek the word of the Lord [longing for it as essential for life],But they will not find it.

“Though they hide on the summit of [Mount] Carmel,I will track them down and take them from there;And though they hide from My sight on the floor of the sea,From there I shall command the serpent and it will bite them.

It is He who builds His upper chambers in the heavensAnd has established His vaulted dome (the firmament of heaven) over the earth,He who calls to the waters of the seaAnd pours them out on the face of the earth—The Lord is His name.

But the Lord hurled a great wind toward the sea, and there was a violent tempest on the sea so that the ship was about to break up.

Then the sailors were afraid, and each man cried out to his god; and to lighten the ship [and diminish the danger] they threw the ship’s cargo into the sea. But Jonah had gone below into the hold of the ship and had lain down and was sound asleep.

So he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I [reverently] fear and worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”

Then they said to him, “What should we do to you, so that the sea will become calm for us?”—for the sea was becoming more and more violent.

Jonah said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea. Then the sea will become calm for you, for I know that it is because of me that this great storm has come upon you.”

Nevertheless, the men rowed hard [breaking through the waves] to return to land, but they could not, because the sea became even more violent [surging higher] against them.

So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped its raging.

It shall be a day when the Gentiles will come to youFrom Assyria and from the cities of Egypt,And from Egypt even to the river Euphrates,From sea to sea and from mountain to mountain.

He shall again have compassion on us;He will subdue and tread underfoot our wickedness [destroying sin’s power].Yes, You will cast all our sinsInto the depths of the sea.

He rebukes the sea and dries it up;He dries up all the rivers [illustrating His judgment].Bashan [on the east] and [Mount] Carmel [on the west] wither,And [in the north] the blossoms of Lebanon fade.

Are you better than Thebes,Which was situated by the waters of the Nile,With water surrounding her,Whose defense was the sea (the Nile),Whose wall consisted of the sea?

Why do You make men like the fish of the sea,Like reptiles and creeping things that have no ruler [and are helpless against their enemies]?

“But [the time is coming when] the earth shall be filledWith the knowledge of the glory of the Lord,As the waters cover the sea.

Did the Lord rage against the rivers,Or was Your anger against the rivers,Or was Your wrath against the [Red] Sea,That You rode on Your horses,On Your chariots of salvation?

You have trampled on the sea with Your horses,On the surge of many waters.

“I will consume and sweep away man and beast;I will consume and sweep away the birds of the airAnd the fish of the sea,And the stumbling blocks (idols) along with the wicked;And I will cut off and destroy man from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.

For thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Once more, in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.

Behold, the Lord will dispossess herAnd throw her wealth into the sea;And Tyre will be devoured by fire.

I will cut off the [war] chariot from EphraimAnd the [war] horse from Jerusalem,And the bow of war will be cut off.And He will speak [words of] peace to the nations,And His dominion shall be from sea to sea [absolutely endless],And from the River [Euphrates] to the ends of the earth.

“And they will pass through the sea of distress and anxiety [with the Lord leading His people, as at the Red Sea]And He will strike the waves in the sea,So that all the depths of the Nile will dry up;And the pride of Assyria will be brought downAnd the scepter [of the taskmasters] of Egypt will pass away.

And in that day living waters will flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea (Dead Sea) and half of them to the western sea (the Mediterranean); it will be in summer as well as in winter.

And leaving Nazareth, He went and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the country of Zebulun and Naphtali.

“The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee [in the district] of the Gentiles—

As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He noticed two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.

Large crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and the other side of the Jordan.

And suddenly a violent storm arose on the sea, so that the boat was being covered by the waves; but Jesus was sleeping.

He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was [at once] a great and wonderful calm [a perfect peacefulness].

The men wondered in amazement, saying, “What kind of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”

And He said to them, “Go!” So they came out [of the men] and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and died in the water.

for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

That same day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting beside the sea [of Galilee].

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet which was lowered into the sea, and gathered fish of every kind,

But the boat [by this time] was already a long distance from land, tossed and battered by the waves; for the wind was against them.

And in the fourth watch of the night (3:00-6:00 a.m.) Jesus came to them, walking on the sea.

When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear.

Jesus went on from there and passed along by [the eastern shore of] the Sea of Galilee. Then He went up on the hillside and was sitting there.

When the disciples reached the other side of the sea, they realized that they had forgotten to bring bread.

However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel. Take it and give it to them [to pay the temple tax] for you and Me.”

but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble and sin [by leading him away from My teaching], it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone [as large as one turned by a donkey] hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Jesus replied to them, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, if you have faith [personal trust and confidence in Me] and do not doubt or allow yourself to be drawn in two directions, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen [if God wills it].

“Woe to you, [self-righteous] scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel over sea and land to make a single proselyte (convert to Judaism), and when he becomes a convert, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.

As Jesus was walking by the shore of the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon [Peter] and Simon’s brother, Andrew, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen.

Again Jesus began to teach beside the sea [of Galilee]. And a very large crowd gathered around Him, so He got into a boat [anchoring it a short distance out] on the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the shore.

And He got up and [sternly] rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still (muzzled)!” And the wind died down [as if it had grown weary] and there was [at once] a great calm [a perfect peacefulness].

They were filled with great fear, and said to each other, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”

They came to the other side of the sea, to the region of the Gerasenes.

Jesus gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out [of the man] and entered the pigs. The herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea; and they were drowned [one after the other] in the sea.

Seeing the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them, at about the fourth watch of the night (3:00-6:00 a.m.) He came to them, walking on the sea. And [acted as if] He intended to pass by them.

But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost, and cried out [in horror];

Soon after this Jesus left the region of Tyre, and passed through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, through the region of Decapolis [the ten Hellenistic cities].

“But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe and trust in Me to stumble [that is, to sin or lose faith], it would be better for him if a heavy millstone [one requiring a donkey’s strength to turn it] were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.

I assure you and most solemnly say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea!’ and does not doubt in his heart [in God’s unlimited power], but believes that what he says is going to take place, it will be done for him [in accordance with God’s will].

Now it happened that while Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret (Sea of Galilee), with the people crowding all around Him and listening to the word of God;

Now on one of those days Jesus and His disciples got into a boat, and He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake (Sea of Galilee).” So they set out.

And He said to them, “Where is your faith [your confidence in Me]?” They were afraid and astonished, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the sea, and they obey Him?”

Then all the people of the country of the Gerasenes and the surrounding district asked Him to leave them, because they were overwhelmed with fear. So Jesus got into the boat and returned [to the west side of the Sea of Galilee].

It would be better for him if a millstone [as large as one turned by a donkey] were hung around his neck and he were hurled into the sea, than for him to cause one of these little ones to stumble [in sin and lose faith].

And the Lord said, “If you have [confident, abiding] faith in God [even as small] as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree [which has very strong roots], ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea’; and [if the request was in agreement with the will of God] it would have obeyed you.

“There will be signs (attesting miracles) in the sun and moon and stars; and on the earth [there will be] distress and anguish among nations, in perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea and the waves,

After this, Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee (or Sea of Tiberias).

When evening came, His disciples went down to the sea,

and they got into a boat and started to cross the sea to Capernaum. It was already dark, and Jesus had still not come [back] to them.

The sea was getting rough and rising high because a strong wind was blowing.

Then, when they had rowed three or four miles [and were near the center of the sea], they saw Jesus walking on the sea and approaching the boat; and they were [terribly] frightened.

The next day the crowd that stood on the other side of the sea realized that there had been only one small boat there, and that Jesus had not boarded the boat with His disciples, but that His disciples had gone away alone.

After this Jesus revealed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias (Galilee). And He did it in this way:

Then that disciple (John) whom Jesus loved (esteemed) said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” So when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer tunic (for he was stripped for work) and threw himself into the sea [and swam ashore].