'Violence' in the Bible

Now the earth was corrupt in the sight of God, and the earth was filled with violence.

Then God said to Noah, “The end of all flesh has come before Me; for the earth is filled with violence because of them; and behold, I am about to destroy them with the earth.

“Simeon and Levi are brothers;Their swords are implements of violence.

so that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood might be laid on Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and on the men of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to kill his brothers.

My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge;My savior, You save me from violence.

“You will be hidden from the scourge of the tongue,And you will not be afraid of violence when it comes.

“You will laugh at violence and famine,And you will not be afraid of wild beasts.

Although there is no violence in my hands,And my prayer is pure.

“Behold, I cry, ‘Violence!’ but I get no answer;I shout for help, but there is no justice.

“The Almighty—we cannot find Him;He is exalted in powerAnd He will not do violence to justice and abundant righteousness.

His mischief will return upon his own head,And his violence will descend upon his own pate.

The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked,And the one who loves violence His soul hates.

Do not deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries,For false witnesses have risen against me,And such as breathe out violence.

Confuse, O Lord, divide their tongues,For I have seen violence and strife in the city.

No, in heart you work unrighteousness;On earth you weigh out the violence of your hands.

He will rescue their life from oppression and violence,And their blood will be precious in his sight;

Therefore pride is their necklace;The garment of violence covers them.

Consider the covenant;For the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.

So are the ways of everyone who gains by violence;It takes away the life of its possessors.

Do not envy a man of violenceAnd do not choose any of his ways.

For they eat the bread of wickednessAnd drink the wine of violence.

Blessings are on the head of the righteous,But the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,But the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

From the fruit of a man’s mouth he enjoys good,But the desire of the treacherous is violence.

A man of violence entices his neighborAnd leads him in a way that is not good.

The violence of the wicked will drag them away,Because they refuse to act with justice.

For their minds devise violence,And their lips talk of trouble.

He cuts off his own feet and drinks violenceWho sends a message by the hand of a fool.

His grave was assigned with wicked men,Yet He was with a rich man in His death,Because He had done no violence,Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.

Their webs will not become clothing,Nor will they cover themselves with their works;Their works are works of iniquity,And an act of violence is in their hands.

“Violence will not be heard again in your land,Nor devastation or destruction within your borders;But you will call your walls salvation, and your gates praise.

“As a well keeps its waters fresh,So she keeps fresh her wickedness.Violence and destruction are heard in her;Sickness and wounds are ever before Me.

For each time I speak, I cry aloud;I proclaim violence and destruction,Because for me the word of the Lord has resultedIn reproach and derision all day long.

Thus says the Lord, “Do justice and righteousness, and deliver the one who has been robbed from the power of his oppressor. Also do not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow; and do not shed innocent blood in this place.

“May the violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon,”The inhabitant of Zion will say;And, “May my blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea,”Jerusalem will say.

“Now so that your heart does not grow faint,And you are not afraid at the report that will be heard in the land—For the report will come one year,And after that another report in another year,And violence will be in the landWith ruler against ruler—

Violence has grown into a rod of wickedness. None of them shall remain, none of their people, none of their wealth, nor anything eminent among them.

‘Make the chain, for the land is full of bloody crimes and the city is full of violence.

He said to me, “Do you see this, son of man? Is it too light a thing for the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they have committed here, that they have filled the land with violence and provoked Me repeatedly? For behold, they are putting the twig to their nose.

Then say to the people of the land, ‘Thus says the Lord God concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem in the land of Israel, “They will eat their bread with anxiety and drink their water with horror, because their land will be stripped of its fullness on account of the violence of all who live in it.

Her priests have done violence to My law and have profaned My holy things; they have made no distinction between the holy and the profane, and they have not taught the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they hide their eyes from My sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.

“By the abundance of your tradeYou were internally filled with violence,And you sinned;Therefore I have cast you as profaneFrom the mountain of God.And I have destroyed you, O covering cherub,From the midst of the stones of fire.

‘Thus says the Lord God, “Enough, you princes of Israel; put away violence and destruction, and practice justice and righteousness. Stop your expropriations from My people,” declares the Lord God.

There is swearing, deception, murder, stealing and adultery.They employ violence, so that bloodshed follows bloodshed.

Ephraim feeds on wind,And pursues the east wind continually;He multiplies lies and violence.Moreover, he makes a covenant with Assyria,And oil is carried to Egypt.

Egypt will become a waste,And Edom will become a desolate wilderness,Because of the violence done to the sons of Judah,In whose land they have shed innocent blood.

But they do not know how to do what is right,” declares the Lord, “these who hoard up violence and devastation in their citadels.”

Do you put off the day of calamity,And would you bring near the seat of violence?

“Because of violence to your brother Jacob,You will be covered with shame,And you will be cut off forever.

But both man and beast must be covered with sackcloth; and let men call on God earnestly that each may turn from his wicked way and from the violence which is in his hands.

“For the rich men of the city are full of violence,Her residents speak lies,And their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.

How long, O Lord, will I call for help,And You will not hear?I cry out to You, “Violence!”Yet You do not save.

Why do You make me see iniquity,And cause me to look on wickedness?Yes, destruction and violence are before me;Strife exists and contention arises.

“All of them come for violence.Their horde of faces moves forward.They collect captives like sand.

“Because you have looted many nations,All the remainder of the peoples will loot you—Because of human bloodshed and violence done to the land,To the town and all its inhabitants.

“Woe to him who builds a city with bloodshedAnd founds a town with violence!

“For the violence done to Lebanon will overwhelm you,And the devastation of its beasts by which you terrified them,Because of human bloodshed and violence done to the land,To the town and all its inhabitants.

“And I will punish on that day all who leap on the temple threshold,Who fill the house of their lord with violence and deceit.

Her prophets are reckless, treacherous men;Her priests have profaned the sanctuary.They have done violence to the law.