'Soldiers' in the Bible

So the Philistines fought; Israel was defeated and every man fled to his tent. It was a very great defeat, for thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell.

David captured from him 1,700 horsemen and 20,000 foot soldiers. David also hamstrung all the chariot horses (making them lame), but reserved enough of them for a hundred chariots.

When the Ammonites saw that they had become an object of hatred to David, they sent word and hired the Arameans (Syrians) of Beth-rehob and the Arameans of Zobah, 20,000 foot soldiers, and the king of Maacah with 1,000 men, and the men of Tob with 12,000 men [to fight for them].

But Solomon did not make slaves of the sons of Israel; for they were men of war (soldiers), his servants, his officers, his captains, his chariot commanders, and his horsemen.

So they camped opposite each other for seven days. Then on the seventh day the battle began, and the sons of Israel killed 100,000 of the Aramean foot soldiers in a single day.

David took from him 1,000 chariots, 7,000 horsemen, and 20,000 foot soldiers (infantrymen). David also hamstrung [nearly] all the chariot horses [to make them lame and useless], but left enough of them for 100 chariots.

The rest of the soldiers he placed in the hand of Abishai his brother, and they lined up against the Ammonites.

But the Arameans fled before Israel, and David killed of the Arameans 7,000 charioteers and 40,000 foot soldiers, and put to death Shophach the commander of the army.

He had large supplies in the cities of Judah, and soldiers, courageous men, in Jerusalem.

But the troops whom Amaziah sent back, those not allowed to go with him to battle, attacked and raided the cities of Judah, from Samaria to Beth-horon, and struck down 3,000 men and took a large amount of spoil.

For I was ashamed to request troops and horsemen from the king to protect us from the enemy along the way, because we had told the king, “The hand of our God is favorable toward all those who seek Him, but His power and His anger are against all those who abandon (turn away from) Him.”

“I chose a way for them and sat as chief,And dwelt as a king among his soldiers,As one who comforts mourners.

Heshbon and Elealeh [cities claimed by Moab] cry out;Their voice is heard as far as Jahaz.Therefore the armed men of Moab cry out;Moab’s soul trembles within him.

Therefore the princes (court officials) said to the king, “Please [we implore you] let this man [Jeremiah] be put to death; for [speaking] in this way he discourages and weakens [the will of] the soldiers who remain in this city and he discourages and weakens [the will of] all the people by speaking such words to them; for this man is not seeking the well-being of these people, but rather their harm.”

Ishmael also killed all the Jews who were [at the banquet] with Gedaliah at Mizpah, in addition to the Chaldean soldiers who were there.

Then Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces that were with him took from Mizpah all the people whom he had rescued from Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, after Ishmael had killed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam: the soldiers, the women, the children, and the high officials whom Johanan had brought back from Gibeon.

“Therefore, her young men will fall in her streets,And all her men of war will be destroyed in that day,” says the Lord of hosts.

“Therefore her young men will fall in her streets,And all her soldiers will be destroyed on that day,” says the Lord.

Then the city was broken into, and all the soldiers fled. They left the city at night [as Ezekiel prophesied] passing through the gate between the two walls by the king’s garden, though the Chaldeans were all around the city. They fled by way of the Arabah (the Jordan Valley).

He also took out of the city one official who was overseer of the soldiers, and seven of the king’s advisers who were found in the city, and the scribe of the commander of the army who mustered the people of the land, and sixty men who were still in the city.

You will eat your fill at My table with horses and riders, with mighty men, and with all the men of war,” says the Lord God.

For I also am a man subject to authority [of a higher rank], with soldiers subject to me; and I say to one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”

The king was enraged [when he heard this], and sent his soldiers and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium, and they gathered the whole Roman cohort around Him.

Pilate said to them, “You have a guard [of soldiers]; go [with them], make the tomb as secure as you know how.”

So they went and made the tomb secure, and along with [stationing] a guard of soldiers [to be on watch] they set a seal on the stone.

And when the chief priests had gathered with the elders and had consulted together [to develop a plan of deception], they gave a sufficient sum of money [as a bribe] to the soldiers,

So the king immediately sent for an executioner and commanded him to bring back John’s head. And he went and had John beheaded in the prison,

The soldiers led Him away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium), and they called together the entire [Roman] battalion [of 600 soldiers].

Some soldiers asked him, “And what about us, what are we to do?” And he replied to them, “Do not extort money from anyone or harass or blackmail anyone, and be satisfied with your wages.”

For I also am a man subject to authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

And Herod with his soldiers, after treating Him with contempt and mocking and ridiculing Him, dressed Him in a gorgeous robe and sent Him back to Pilate.

The soldiers also mocked Him, coming up to Him and [cruelly] offering Him sour wine,

So Judas, having obtained the Roman cohort and some officers from the high priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons.

And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and put a purple robe around Him;

Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His outer clothes and made four parts, a part for each soldier, and also the tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven [in one piece] from the top throughout.

So they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, to decide whose it will be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture, “They divided My outer clothing among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.”

So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man, and of the other who had been crucified with Him.

But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came [flowing] out.

When he had seized Peter, he put him in prison, turning him over to four squads of soldiers of four each to guard him [in rotation throughout the night], planning after the Passover to bring him out before the people [for execution].

The very night before Herod was to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries were in front of the door guarding the prison.

Now when day came, there was no small disturbance among the soldiers over what had become of Peter.

So he immediately took soldiers and centurions and ran down among them. When the people saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.

When Paul got to the steps, he was carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the mob;

So the soldiers, in compliance with their orders, took Paul and brought him to Antipatris during the night.

Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men remain on the ship, you cannot be saved.”

Then the soldiers cut away the ropes that held the skiff and let it fall and drift away.

The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, so that none of them would dive overboard and swim [to land] and escape;