'Upright' in the Bible

Then the Lord said to Noah, “Come into the ark, you with all your household, for you [alone] I have seen as righteous (doing what is right) before Me in this generation.

Abraham approached [the Lord] and said, “Will You really sweep away the righteous (those who do right) with the wicked (those who do evil)?

So the Lord said, “If I find within the city of Sodom fifty righteous [people], then I will spare the entire place for their sake.”

we [brothers] were binding sheaves [of grain stalks] in the field, and lo, my sheaf [suddenly] got up and stood upright and remained standing; and behold, your sheaves stood all around my sheaf and bowed down [in respect].”

“Then you shall make the boards for the tabernacle of acacia wood, standing upright [as a trellis-like frame].

Bezalel made boards of acacia wood for the upright framework of the tabernacle.

“Who can count the dust (the descendants) of JacobAnd the number of even the fourth part of Israel?Let me die the death of the righteous [those who are upright and in right standing with God],And let my end be like his!”

Or what great nation has statutes and judgments so righteous (upright, just) as this whole law which I am placing before you today?

He said to David, “You are more righteous and upright [in God’s eyes] than I; for you have done good to me, but I have done evil to you.

Then Achish called David and said to him, “As the Lord lives, you have been upright (righteous), and your behavior in the army is pleasing in my sight. For from the day you came to me to this day I have found no evil in you. Nevertheless, the [Philistine] lords do not approve of you.

“With the loving and loyal You show Yourself loving and loyal,With the blameless You show Yourself blameless.

But there were too few priests and they were unable to skin all the burnt offerings; so until the other priests had consecrated themselves, their brothers, the Levites, helped them until the work was done. For the Levites were more upright in heart and more conscientious than the priests in consecrating themselves.

There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God [with reverence] and abstained from and turned away from evil [because he honored God].

The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered and reflected on My servant Job? For there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God [with reverence] and abstains from and turns away from evil [because he honors God].”

The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered and reflected on My servant Job? For there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God [with reverence] and abstains from and turns away from evil [because he honors God]. And still he maintains and holds tightly to his integrity, although you incited Me against him to destroy him without cause.”

“Remember now, who, being innocent, ever perished?Or where [and in what circumstances] were those upright and in right standing with God destroyed?

Then, if you are pure and upright,Surely now He will awaken for youAnd restore your righteous place.

For though I were righteous, I could not answer.I must appeal for mercy to my Opponent and Judge.

“I am a joke to my friends;I, one whom God answered when he called upon Him—A just and blameless man is a joke [and laughed to scorn].

“The upright will be [astonished and] appalled at this,And the innocent will stir himself up against the godless and polluted.

“Nevertheless the righteous will hold to his ways,And he who has clean hands will grow stronger and stronger.

“Is it any pleasure or joy to the Almighty that you are righteous?Or is it of benefit to Him that you make your ways perfect?

“There the righteous and upright could reason with Him;So I would be acquitted forever by my Judge.

So these three men ceased answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes [and could not be persuaded otherwise by them].

“If there is an angel as a mediator for him,One out of a thousand,To explain to a man what is right for him [that is, how to be in right standing with God],

“He does not withdraw His eyes from the righteous [those in right standing with Him];But with kings upon the throneHe has seated them forever, and they are exalted.

Therefore the wicked will not stand [unpunished] in the judgment,Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

For You, O Lord, bless the righteous man [the one who is in right standing with You];You surround him with favor as with a shield.

Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous [those in right standing with You];For the righteous God tries the hearts and minds.

My shield and my defense depend on God,Who saves the upright in heart.

For look, the wicked are bending the bow;They take aim with their arrow on the stringTo shoot [by stealth] in darkness at the upright in heart.

For the Lord is [absolutely] righteous, He loves righteousness (virtue, morality, justice);The upright shall see His face.

There they tremble with great fear,For God is with the [consistently] righteous generation.

Let my verdict of vindication come from Your presence;May Your eyes look with equity and behold things that are just.

I was blameless before Him,And I kept myself free from my sin.

With the kind (merciful, faithful, loyal) You show Yourself kind,With the blameless You show Yourself blameless,

They have bowed down and fallen,But we have risen and stood upright.

Good and upright is the Lord;Therefore He instructs sinners in the way.

Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous [who actively seek right standing with Him];Shout for joy, all you upright in heart.

Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous ones;Praise is becoming and appropriate for those who are upright [in heart—those with moral integrity and godly character].

O continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You,And Your righteousness (salvation) to the upright in heart.

Do not worry because of evildoers,Nor be envious toward wrongdoers;

The wicked plots against the righteousAnd gnashes at him with his teeth.

The Lord knows the days of the blameless,And their inheritance will continue forever.

Mark the blameless man [who is spiritually complete], and behold the upright [who walks in moral integrity];There is a [good] future for the man of peace [because a life of honor blesses one’s descendants].

Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead);Death will be their shepherd;And the upright shall rule over them in the morning,And their form and beauty shall be for Sheol to consume,So that they have no dwelling [on earth].

The righteous will rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in Him;All the upright in heart will glory and offer praise.

May they be blotted out of the book of life [and their lives come to an end]And may they not be recorded with the righteous (those in right standing with God).

Truly God is good to Israel,To those who are pure in heart.

So David shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart;And guided them with his skillful hands.

The righteous will flourish like the date palm [long-lived, upright and useful];They will grow like a cedar in Lebanon [majestic and stable].

[They are living memorials] to declare that the Lord is upright and faithful [to His promises];He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

For judgment will again be righteous,And all the upright in heart will follow it.

Light is sown [like seed] for the righteous and illuminates their path,And [irrepressible] joy [is spread] for the upright in heart [who delight in His favor and protection].

Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous ones [those whose moral and spiritual integrity places them in right standing with God],And praise and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.

The upright see it and rejoice;But all unrighteousness shuts its mouth.

Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart,In the company of the upright and in the congregation.

His descendants will be mighty on earth;The generation of the upright will be blessed.

Light arises in the darkness for the upright;He is gracious and compassionate and righteous (upright—in right standing with God).

He will never be shaken;The righteous will be remembered forever.

How blessed and favored by God are those whose way is blameless [those with personal integrity, the upright, the guileless],Who walk in the law [and who are guided by the precepts and revealed will] of the Lord.

Tsadhe.Righteous are You, O Lord,And upright are Your judgments.

Surely the righteous will give thanks to Your name;The upright will dwell in Your presence.

The Lord opens the eyes of the blind;The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;The Lord loves the righteous [the upright in heart].

The Lord protects the strangers;He supports the fatherless and the widow;But He makes crooked the way of the wicked.

He stores away sound wisdom for the righteous [those who are in right standing with Him];He is a shield to those who walk in integrity [those of honorable character and moral courage],

So you will walk in the way of good men [that is, those of personal integrity, moral courage and honorable character],And keep to the paths of the righteous.

For the upright [those who are in right standing with God] will live in the landAnd those [of integrity] who are blameless [in God’s sight] will remain in it;

For the devious are repulsive to the Lord;But His private counsel is with the upright [those with spiritual integrity and moral courage].

“All the words of my mouth are in righteousness (upright, in right standing with God);There is nothing contrary to truth or perverted (crooked) in them.

Give instruction to a wise man and he will become even wiser;Teach a righteous man and he will increase his learning.

Blessings are on the head of the righteous [the upright, those in right standing with God],But the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

The wages of the righteous [the upright, those in right standing with God] is [a worthwhile, meaningful] life,The income of the wicked, punishment.

The tongue of the righteous is like precious silver (greatly valued);The heart of the wicked is worth little.

The hope of the righteous [those of honorable character and integrity] is joy,But the expectation of the wicked [those who oppose God and ignore His wisdom] comes to nothing.

The way of the Lord is a stronghold to the upright,But it is ruin to those who do evil.

The integrity and moral courage of the upright will guide them,But the crookedness of the treacherous will destroy them.

The righteousness of the upright will rescue them,But the treacherous will be caught by their own greed.

By the blessing [of the influence] of the upright the city is exalted,But by the mouth of the wicked it is torn down.

The [malevolent] words of the wicked lie in wait for [innocent] blood [to slander],But the mouth of the upright will rescue and protect them.

Righteousness (being in right standing with God) guards the one whose way is blameless,But wickedness undermines and overthrows the sinner.

Adversity pursues sinners,But the [consistently] upright will be rewarded with prosperity.

Fools mock sin [but sin mocks the fools],But among the upright there is good will and the favor and blessing of God.

The house of the wicked will be overthrown,But the tent of the upright will thrive.

The sacrifice of the wicked is hateful and exceedingly offensive to the Lord,But the prayer of the upright is His delight!

The Lord is far from the wicked [and distances Himself from them],But He hears the prayer of the [consistently] righteous [that is, those with spiritual integrity and moral courage].

The highway of the upright turns away and departs from evil;He who guards his way protects his life (soul).

The name of the Lord is a strong tower;The righteous runs to it and is safe and set on high [far above evil].

When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous (the upright, the one in right standing with God),But to the evildoers it is disaster.

The wicked become a ransom for the righteous,And the treacherous in the place of the upright [for they fall into their own traps].

A wicked man puts on a bold face,But as for the upright, he considers, directs, and establishes his way [with the confidence of integrity].

The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice,And he who sires a wise child will have joy in him.

Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous;Do not destroy his resting place;

But to those [honorable judges] who rebuke the wicked, it will go well with them and they will find delight,And a good blessing will come upon them.

He who leads the upright astray on an evil pathWill himself fall into his own pit,But the blameless will inherit good.

The bloodthirsty hate the blameless [because of his integrity],But the upright are concerned for his life.

An unjust man is repulsive to the righteous,And he who is upright in the way [of the Lord] is repulsive to the wicked.

which I am still seeking but have not found. I have found one man among a thousand [who pleases God], but I have not found [such] a woman among all these [a thousand in my harem].

Behold, I have found only this [as a reason]: God made man upright and uncorrupted, but they [both men and women] have sought out many devices [for evil].”

For I have taken all this to heart, exploring and examining it all, how the righteous (those in right standing with God) and the wise and their deeds are in the hands of God. No man knows whether it will be love or hatred; anything awaits him.