'War' in the Bible

Amaziah killed 10,000 [men] of Edom in the Valley of Salt, and took Sela (rock) by war, and renamed it Joktheel, to this day.

Then Rezin the king of Aram (Syria) and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, came up to Jerusalem to wage war. They besieged Ahaz, but could not overcome and conquer him.

You say (but they are only empty words) ‘I have counsel and strength for the war.’ Now on whom do you rely, that you have rebelled against me?

When the king heard them say concerning Tirhakah king of Ethiopia, “Behold, he has come out to make war against you,” he sent messengers again to Hezekiah, saying,

And the king of Babylon brought as exiles to Babylon all the brave men, seven thousand [of them], and the craftsmen and the smiths, a thousand [of them], all strong and fit for war.

And from the city [of Jerusalem] he took an officer who was in command of the men of war, and five men from the king’s personal advisors who were found in the city, and the scribe of the captain of the army who mustered the people of the land [for military service] and sixty men from the people of the land who were found in the city.

In the days of King Saul they made war with the Hagrites, who fell by their hands; and they lived in their tents throughout all the land east of Gilead.

The sons of Reuben, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh—valiant men able to bear shield and sword, and to shoot with the bow, and skillful in war—were 44,760 who went to war.

And these Israelites, [on the east side of the Jordan River] made war with the Hagrites [a tribe of northern Arabia], Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab.

With them by their generations according to their fathers’ households were 36,000 troops of the army for war, for they had many wives and children.

All these were the sons of Jediael, according to the heads of their fathers’ households, 17,200 courageous men of valor, fit for military service.

All these were sons (descendants) of Asher, heads of their fathers’ houses, choice men, courageous men, chiefs of the leaders. Their number, enrolled by genealogies for service in war, was 26,000 men.

These are the ones who came to David at Ziklag, while he still concealed himself from Saul the son of Kish; they were among the courageous men who helped him in battle.

Courageous men from the Gadites came over to David in the stronghold in the wilderness, men trained for war, who could handle shield and spear, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and who were swift as gazelles on the mountains.

Those of the tribe of Judah who carried shield and spear were 6,800, armed for war;

of the tribe of Zebulun, there were 50,000 in military service who could draw up in battle formation with all kinds of weapons of war and helped David, men with an undivided heart.

From the other side [east] of the Jordan River, of [the tribes of] Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh, 120,000 men, armed with all kinds of weapons of war for the battle.

All these, being men of war arrayed in battle formation, came to Hebron with a perfect (committed) heart to make David king over all Israel; and all the rest of Israel were also of one mind to make David king.

Now it came about after this that war broke out at Gezer with the Philistines; then Sibbecai the Hushathite killed Sippai, one of the descendants of the giants, and they were subdued.

There was war again with the Philistines, and Elhanan the son of Jair killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam.

Again there was war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature who had twenty-four fingers and toes, six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot; and he also was descended from the giants.

But God said to me, ‘You shall not build a house for My Name (Presence), because you are a man of war and have shed blood.’

“When Your people go out to war against their enemies, by the way that You send them, and they pray to You facing this city [Jerusalem] which You have chosen and the house which I have built for Your Name,

But Solomon did not make slaves of the Israelites for his work; they were men of war, his chief captains, and commanders of his chariots and his horsemen.

He reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Micaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah.And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam [of Israel].

Abijah began the battle with an army of brave soldiers, 400,000 chosen men. Jeroboam drew up in battle formation against him with 800,000 chosen men, valiant men.

He built fortified cities in Judah, since the land was at rest, and there was no one at war with him in those years, because the Lord had given him rest.

And there was no war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.

Now the dread of the Lord was on all the kingdoms of the lands surrounding Judah, so that they did not make war against Jehoshaphat.

and next to him was Jehozabad, and with him 180,000 armed and ready for military service.

Ahab king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, “Will you go with me to [fight against] Ramoth-gilead?” He answered, “I am as you are, and my people as your people [your hopes and concerns are ours]; we will be with you in the battle.”

He also walked in accordance with their advice, and he went with Jehoram the son of Ahab king of Israel to wage war against Hazael king of Aram (Syria) at Ramoth-gilead. And the Arameans wounded Joram (Jehoram).

Amaziah assembled [the men of] Judah and appointed them in accordance with their fathers’ (ancestors’) households under commanders of thousands and of hundreds throughout Judah and Benjamin. He numbered them from twenty years old and above and found there to be 300,000 choice men fit for war and able to handle spear and shield.

Moreover, Uzziah had an army ready for battle, which went into combat by divisions according to the number of their muster as recorded by Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the official, under the direction of Hananiah, one of the king’s commanders.

Then some of the heads of the Ephraimites (Israel)—Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai—took a stand against those who were returning from the battle,

He also appointed military officers over the people and gathered them to him in the square at the city gate, and spoke encouragingly to them, saying,

But Neco sent messengers to Josiah, saying, “What business do we have with each other, O King of Judah? I am not coming against you today, but against the house with which I am at war, and God has ordered me to hurry. Stop for your own sake from interfering with God who is with me, so that He will not destroy you.”

“In famine He will redeem you from death,And in war from the power of the sword.

Which I have reserved for the time of trouble,For the day of battle and war?

“With fierceness and rage he races to devour the ground,And he does not stand still at the sound of the [war] trumpet.

He trains my hands for war,So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

Though an army encamp against me,My heart will not fear;Though war arise against me,Even in this I am confident.

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.

Rebuke the beasts [living] among the reeds [in Egypt],The herd of bulls (the leaders) with the calves of the peoples;Trampling underfoot the pieces of silver;He has scattered the peoples who delight in war.

There He broke the flaming arrows,The shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah.

The fire [of war] devoured His young men,And His [bereaved] virgins had no wedding songs.

I am for peace, but when I speak,They are for war.

Blessed be the Lord, my Rock and my great strength,Who trains my hands for warAnd my fingers for battle;

Plans are established by counsel;So make war [only] with wise guidance.

For by wise guidance you can wage your war,And in an abundance of [wise] counselors there is victory and safety.

The strutting rooster, the male goat also,And the king when his army is with him.

A time to love and a time to hate;A time for war and a time for peace.

Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good.

“All of them handle the sword,All expert in war;Each man has his sword at his thigh,Guarding against the terrors of the night.

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.

The brave man and the warrior [He is also removing],The judge and the prophet,The diviner and the elder,

Now it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin king of Aram (Syria) and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but they could not conquer it.

“Be broken [in pieces], O peoples, and be shattered!Listen, all you [our enemies from the] far countries.Prepare yourselves [for war], and be shattered;Prepare yourselves [for war], and be shattered.

For every boot of the marching warrior in the battle tumult,And [every soldier’s] garment rolled in blood, will be used for burning, fuel for the fire.

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

And Sennacherib king of Assyria, heard them say concerning Tirhakah king of Cush (Ethiopia), “He has come out to fight against you.” And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,

“You shall search for those who quarrel with you, but will not find them;They who war against you will be as nothing, as nothing at all.

My soul, my soul! I writhe in anguish and pain! Oh, the walls of my heart!My heart is pounding and throbbing within me;I cannot be silent,For you have heard, O my soul,The sound of the trumpet,The alarm of war.

They have lied about and denied the LordBy saying, “It is not He [who speaks through His prophets];Misfortune and evil shall not come on us,Nor will we see war or famine.

“[They shout], ‘Prepare for war against her;Arise, let us [take her by surprise and] attack her at noon.But alas, the daylight pales,The evening shadows grow long.

And let that man be like the citiesWhich the Lord overthrew without regret.Let him hear an outcry in the morningAnd a shout of alarm at noon;

“Please inquire of the Lord for us, because Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the Lord will deal [favorably] with us according to all His wonderful works and force him to withdraw from us.”

‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, “Behold, I will turn back and dull the edge of the weapons of war that are in your hands, [those] with which you fight against the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the walls; and I will bring them into the center of this city (Jerusalem).

He who remains in this city [of Jerusalem] will die by the sword and by famine and by virulent disease. But he who goes outside and surrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you will live, and his life will be like a prize of war to him.

The prophets who were before me and before you from ancient times prophesied against many lands and against great kingdoms, of war and of disaster and of virulent disease.

“So says the Lord, ‘He who remains in this city will die by the sword, by famine, and by virulent disease (pestilence), but he who goes out to the Chaldeans [of Babylon] will live and have his [own] life as a reward and stay alive.’

When Zedekiah the king of Judah and all the men of war saw them, they fled and escaped from the city at night by way of the king’s garden, through the gate between the two walls; and the king went out toward the Arabah (Jordan Valley).

saying, “No, but we will go to the land of Egypt, where we will not see war or hear the sound of the [warrior’s] trumpet or hunger for bread, and we will stay there,”

And do you seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them; for behold, I will bring disaster on all flesh,’ says the Lord, ‘but I will give your life to you [as your only reward and] as a prize of war wherever you go.’”

“How can you say, ‘We are great warriorsAnd valiant men in war?’

“Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord,“When I will cause an alarm of war to be heardAgainst Rabbah of the Ammonites;And it [along with the high ground on which it stands] will become a desolate heap,And its villages will be set on fire.Then will Israel take possession of his possessors,”Says the Lord.

“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.

Lift up a signal in the land [to spread the news]!Blow the trumpet among the nations!Dedicate the nations [for war] against her;Call against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz.Appoint a marshal against her;Cause the horses to come up like bristly locusts [with their wings not yet released from their cases].

Prepare and dedicate the nations for war against her—The kings of Media,With their governors and commanders,And every land of their dominion.

And that the fords [across the Euphrates] have been blocked and [the ferries] seized,And they have set the [great] marshes on fire,And the men of war are terrified.

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).

Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company will not help him in the war, when they (the Babylonians) put up ramps and build siege walls to destroy many lives.

In his right hand is the lot marked for Jerusalem: to set battering rams, to open the mouth calling for destruction, to lift up the voice with a war cry, to set battering rams against the gates, to put up assault ramps, and to build siege walls.

“Persia and Lud and Put (Libya) were in your army as your men of war. They hung the shield and the helmet on you; they gave you splendor.

“Your riches, your wares, your merchandiseYour oarsmen and your pilots,Your caulkers, your dealers in merchandise,And all your men of war who are with you,With all your company that is in your midst,Will sink in the heart of the seasOn the day of your ruin.

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.

As I kept looking, that horn was making war with the saints (believers) and overpowering them

Then after the sixty-two weeks [of years] the Anointed One will be cut off [and denied His Messianic kingdom] and have nothing [and no one to defend Him], and the people of the [other] prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.

Also he will carry off to Egypt their [Syrian] gods with their cast images and their precious and costly treasure of silver and of gold, and he will refrain from waging war against the king of the North for some years.

“His sons will prepare for battle and assemble a multitude of great forces; which will keep on coming and overflow [the land], and pass through, so that they may again wage war as far as his fortress.

He will stir up his strength and courage against [his former Egyptian ally] the king of the South (Ptolemy VI) with a great army; so the king of the South will prepare an extremely great and powerful army to wage war, but he will not stand, for schemes will be devised against him.

But I will have mercy on the house of Judah and will rescue them by the Lord their God, and will not rescue them by bow, sword, war, horses, or horsemen.”

They run like warriors;They climb the wall like soldiers.They each march [straight ahead] in line,And they do not deviate from their paths.

Proclaim this among the [pagan] nations:Prepare a war! Stir up the mighty men!Let all the men of war come near, let them come up!

“So I will send a fire [of war, conquest, and destruction] upon the house of Hazael,And it shall devour the palaces and strongholds of Ben-hadad (Hazael’s son).

And it shall come to pass that if there remain ten men in one house, they shall die [by the pestilence that comes with war].

“But lately My people have stood up as an enemy [and have made Me their antagonist].You strip the ornaments off the garmentOf those unsuspecting passers-by,Like those returned from war.

Thus says the Lord concerning the [false] prophets who lead my people astray;When they have something good to bite with their teeth,They call out, “Peace,”But against the one who gives them nothing to eat,They declare a holy war.

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.

I will cut off the [war] chariot from EphraimAnd the [war] horse from Jerusalem,And the bow of war will be cut off.And He will speak [words of] peace to the nations,And His dominion shall be from sea to sea [absolutely endless],And from the River [Euphrates] to the ends of the earth.