'Seas' in the Bible

God called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He called seas; and God saw that this was good (pleasing, useful) and He affirmed and sustained it.

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

‘These you may eat, whatever is in the water: whatever has fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, these you may eat;

but whatever does not have fins and scales in the seas and in the rivers, of all the teeming life in the waters, and of all the living creatures that are in the waters, they are [to be considered] detestable to you.

“They will call the peoples to the mountain (Mount Carmel);There they will offer sacrifices of righteousness;For they will draw out the abundance of the seas,And the hidden treasures of the sand.”

[And Ezra said],“You are the Lord, You alone;You have made the heavens,The heaven of heavens with all their host (the heavenly bodies),The earth and everything that is on it,The seas and everything that is in them.You give life to all of them,And the heavenly host is bowing down [in worship] to You.

The birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.

For He has founded it upon the seasAnd established it upon the streams and the rivers.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should changeAnd though the mountains be shaken and slip into the heart of the seas,

By awesome and wondrous things You answer us in righteousness, O God of our salvation,You who are the trust and hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest sea;

Who stills the roaring of the seas,The roaring of their waves,And the tumult of the peoples,

Let heaven and earth praise Him,The seas and everything that moves in them.

He rained meat upon them like the dust,And winged birds (quail) like the sand of the seas.

Whatever the Lord pleases, He does,In the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all deeps—

Oh, the uproar of many peoplesWho roar like the roaring of the seas,And the noise of nationsWho roar like the rumbling of mighty waters!

“I will make their widows more numerous before MeThan the sand of the seas;I will bring against them, against the mother of the young men,A destroyer at noonday;I will suddenly cause anguish and terrorTo fall on her.

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!

“Your borders are in the heart of the seas;Your builders have perfected your beauty.

Javan (Greece), Tubal and Meshech (Asia Minor) traded with you; with the lives of men [taken as slaves] and vessels of bronze they paid for your merchandise.

The ships of Tarshish were the caravans for your merchandise,And you [Tyre] were replenished and very glorious [heavily laden with an imposing fleet]In the heart of the seas.

“Your rowers have brought youInto great and deep waters;The east wind has broken and shipwrecked youIn the heart of the seas.

“Your riches, your wares, your merchandiseYour oarsmen and your pilots,Your caulkers, your dealers in merchandise,And all your men of war who are with you,With all your company that is in your midst,Will sink in the heart of the seasOn the day of your ruin.

‘When your wares went out to the sea,You met the desire, and the demand, and the necessities of many people;You enriched the kings of the earthWith your abundant wealth and merchandise.

‘Now you are shattered by the seasIn the depths of the waters;Your merchandise and all your crewHave gone down with you.

“Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, ‘Thus says the Lord God,“Because your heart is lifted upAnd you have said and thought, ‘I am a god,I sit in the seat of the godsIn the heart of the seas’;Yet you are [only] a man [weak, feeble, made of earth] and not God,Though you [imagine yourself to be more than mortal and] think your mind is as [wise as] the mind of God—

‘They will bring you down to the pit [of destruction],And you will die the death of all those who dieIn the heart of the seas.

“Son of man, take up a dirge (funeral poem to be sung) over Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him,‘You have compared yourself to a young lion among the nations,But you are like a monster in the seas;You burst into your riversAnd disturbed and muddied the waters with your feetAnd fouled their rivers [the source of their prosperity].’”

He will pitch his palatial tents between the seas and the glorious Holy Mountain (Zion); yet he will come to his end with no one to help him [in his final battle with God].

“For You cast me into the deep,Into the [deep] heart of the seas,And the currents surrounded and engulfed me;All Your breakers and billowing waves passed over me.

But striking a reef with waves breaking in on either side, they ran the ship aground. The prow (forward point) stuck fast and remained immovable, while the stern began to break up under the [violent] force of the waves.