'Swords' in the Bible

Now on the third day [after the circumcision], when all the men were [terribly] sore and in pain, two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s [full] brothers, took their swords, boldly entered the city [without anyone suspecting them of evil intent], and they killed every male.

“Simeon and Levi are brothers [equally headstrong, deceitful, vindictive, and cruel];Their swords are weapons of violence and revenge.

When three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers, they held the torches in their left hands, and the trumpets in their right hands to blow, and they shouted, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!”

Now no blacksmith (metal-worker) could be found in all the land of Israel, for the Philistines said, “Otherwise the Hebrews will make swords or spears.”

But Amaziah would not listen. So Jehoash king of Israel went up; and he and Amaziah king of Judah faced each other [in combat] at Beth-shemesh, which belongs to Judah.

So I stationed armed men behind the wall in the lowest places, at the open positions [where it was least protected]; and I stationed the people in families with their swords, spears, and bows.

The sword [of the ungodly] will enter their own heart,And their bow will be broken.

The words of his mouth were smoother than butter,But his heart was hostile;His words were softer than oil,Yet they were drawn swords.

My life is among lions;I must lie among those who breathe out fire—The sons of men whose teeth are spears and arrows,And their tongue a sharp sword.

Look how they belch out [insults] with their mouths;Swords [of sarcasm, ridicule, slander, and lies] are in their lips,For they say, “Who hears us?”

There is a generation (class of people) whose teeth are like swordsAnd whose jaw teeth are like knives,To devour the afflicted from the earthAnd the needy from among men.

And He will judge between the nations,And will mediate [disputes] for many peoples;And they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.Nation will not lift up the sword against nation,And never again will they learn war.

For they have fled from the swords,From the drawn sword, from the bent bowAnd from the press of battle and grief of war.

They will also incite a crowd against you and they will stone you and slaughter you with their swords.

And the horde will stone them with stones and cut them down with their swords; they will kill their sons and their daughters and burn down their houses with fire.

Therefore, behold, I will bring strangers (Babylonians) upon you,The most ruthless and violent of the nations.And they will draw their swordsAgainst the beauty of your wisdom [O Tyre]And defile your splendor.

“He and his people with him,The most violent and ruthless of the nations,Will be brought in to destroy the land,And they will draw their swords against EgyptAnd fill the land with the slain.

I will make your horde [of people] fall by the swords of the mighty—all of them are tyrants among the nations,And they will devastate the pride and presumption of Egypt,And all its hordes will be destroyed.

Nor do they lie beside the fallen heroes of the uncircumcised, who went down to Sheol with their weapons of war, whose swords were laid [with honors] under their heads. The punishment for their sins rested on their bones, for the terror of these heroes was once in the land of the living.

I will turn you around and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them magnificently clothed in full armor, a great horde with buckler (small shield) and [large] shield, all of them wielding swords;

Beat your plowshares into swordsAnd your pruning hooks into spears;Let the weak say, “I am strong!”

And He will judge between many peoplesAnd render decisions for strong and distant nations.Then they shall hammer their swords into plowsharesAnd their spears into pruning hooks [so that the implements of war may become the tools of agriculture];Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,Nor shall they ever again train for war.