'Soon' in the Bible

Now as soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely left the presence of Isaac his father, Esau his brother came in from his hunting.

That the dream was repeated twice to Pharaoh [and in two different ways] indicates that this matter is fully determined and established by God, and God will bring it to pass very quickly.

As soon as the morning was light, the men were sent away, they and their donkeys.

When they came to Reuel (Jethro) their father, he said, “How is it that you have come back so soon today?”

Moses said to him, “As soon as I leave the city, I will stretch out my hands to the Lord; the thunder will cease and there will be no more hail, so that you may know [without any doubt] and acknowledge that the earth is the Lord’s.

And as soon as he approached the camp and he saw the calf and the dancing, Moses’ anger burned; and he threw the tablets from his hands and smashed them at the foot of the mountain.

As soon as Moses finished speaking all these words, the ground under them split open;

I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today, that you will soon utterly perish from the land which you are crossing the Jordan to possess. You shall not live long on it, but will be utterly destroyed.

So the [king’s] men pursued them on the road to the Jordan as far as the fords [east of Jericho]; as soon as the pursuers had gone out after them, the gate [of the city] was shut.

Then it came about, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the Israelites again played the prostitute with the Baals, and made Baal-berith their god.

Then in the morning, at sunrise, you will get up early and rush upon and attack the city; and when Gaal and the people who are with him come out against you, you shall do to them whatever you can.”

As soon as the boy was gone, David got up from the south side [beside the mound of stones] and fell on his face to the ground [in submission and respect], and bowed three times. Then they kissed one another and wept together, but David wept more.

So now, get up early in the morning with your master’s servants who have come with you, and as soon as you are up in the morning and have light, leave.”

But Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, you shall say, ‘Absalom is king in Hebron.’”

But Amasa [who had replaced Joab as David’s commander] was off guard and not attentive to the sword in Joab’s hand. So Joab struck Amasa in the abdomen with the sword, spilling his intestines to the ground. Without another blow Amasa died. Then Joab and Abishai his brother pursued Sheba the son of Bichri.

“Foreigners pretend obedience to me;As soon as they hear [me], they obey me.

As soon as he was king, Baasha struck down all the household of Jeroboam. He did not leave for Jeroboam anyone alive, but he destroyed them in accordance with the word of the Lord which He had spoken through His servant Ahijah the Shilonite—

When he became king, as soon as he sat on his throne, he killed the entire household of Baasha; he did not leave a single male [alive], either of his relatives or his friends.

And as soon as I leave you, the Spirit of the Lord will carry you to a place I do not know; so when I come to tell Ahab and he does not find you, he will kill me. Yet your servant has [reverently] feared the Lord from my youth.

Then the prophet said to him, “Because you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, behold, as soon as you leave me, a lion will kill you.” And as soon as he left him, a lion found him and killed him.

“Now as soon as this letter comes to you, since your master’s sons (male descendants) are with you, as well as chariots and horses and a fortified city and weapons,

Then it came about, as soon as he had finished offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guards and to the royal officers, “Go in and kill them; let no one come out.” And they killed them with the edge of the sword; and the guard and the royal officers threw their bodies out, and went to the inner room of the house of Baal.

As soon as the kingdom was firmly in Amaziah’s hand, he executed his servants who had killed his father the king.

As soon as the king’s order spread, the Israelites gave in abundance the first fruits of grain, new wine, [olive] oil, honey, and of all the produce of the field; and they brought in the tithe of everything abundantly.

If I call out to the pit (grave), ‘You are my father’;And to the worm [that feeds on decay], ‘You are my mother and my sister [because I will soon be closest to you],’

“For I do not know how to flatter, [in an appropriate way, and I fear that],My Maker would soon take me away.

Kiss (pay respect to) the Son, so that He does not become angry, and you perish in the way,For His wrath may soon be kindled and set aflame.How blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored by God] are all those who take refuge in Him!

As soon as they hear me, they respond and obey me;Foreigners feign obedience to me.

For they will wither quickly like the grass,And fade like the green herb.

The wicked are estranged from the womb;These go astray from birth, speaking lies [even twisted partial truths].

You have swept them away like a flood, they fall asleep [forgotten as soon as they are gone];In the morning they are like grass which grows anew—

For all our days pass away in Your wrath;We have finished our years like a whispered sigh.

The days of our life are seventy years—Or even, if because of strength, eighty years;Yet their pride [in additional years] is only labor and sorrow,For it is soon gone and we fly away.

If the Lord had not been my help,I would soon have dwelt in [the land of] silence.

Do not rush out to argue your case [before magistrates or judges];Otherwise what will you do in the end [when your case is lost and]When your neighbor (opponent) humiliates you?

Stop and take some time and wonder [at this prophecy],Blind yourselves and be blinded [at its fulfillment by your spiritual incompetence].They are drunk, but not from wine;They stagger, but not from strong drink.

This is what the Lord says,“Maintain justice and do righteousness,For My salvation is soon to come,And My righteousness and justice is soon to be revealed.

“Who has heard of such a thing? Who has seen such things?Can a land be born in one day?Or can a nation be brought forth in a moment?As soon as Zion was in labor, she also brought forth her sons.

“You [Cyrus of Persia, soon to conquer Babylon] are My battle-axe and weapon of war—For with you I shatter nations,With you I destroy kingdoms.

Yet you have not merely walked in their ways or behaved in accordance with their pagan practices; but, as if that were too little, you [soon] acted more corruptly in all your ways than they.

When she saw [the sketches of] them, she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea.

But you, O mountains of Israel, will put out your branches and bear your fruit to My people Israel; for they will soon come [home].

But as soon as he (Alexander) has risen, his kingdom will be broken [by his death] and divided toward the four winds of heaven [the north, south, east, and west], but not to his descendants, nor according to the [Grecian] authority with which he ruled, for his kingdom will be torn out and uprooted and given to others (his four generals) to the exclusion of these.

Thus the Lord God showed me [a vision], and behold, there was a basket of [overripe] summer fruit.