'Yes' in the Bible

They do no unrighteousness;They walk in His ways.

Give me understanding [a teachable heart and the ability to learn], that I may keep Your law;And observe it with all my heart.

Therefore I love Your commandments more than gold,Yes, more than refined gold.

Therefore I esteem as right all Your precepts concerning everything;I hate every false way.

Indeed, may you see your [family perpetuated in your] children’s children.Peace be upon Israel!

By the rivers of Babylon,There we [captives] sat down and wept,When we remembered Zion [the city God imprinted on our hearts].

Yes, they will sing of the ways of the Lord [joyfully celebrating His wonderful acts],For great is the glory and majesty of the Lord.

How blessed and favored are the people in such circumstance;How blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored] are the people whose God is the Lord!

Every day I will bless You and lovingly praise You;Yes, [with awe-inspired reverence] I will praise Your name forever and ever.

Yes, if you cry out for insight,And lift up your voice for understanding;

He guards the paths of justice;And He preserves the way of His saints (believers).

Then you will understand righteousness and justice [in every circumstance]And integrity and every good path.

When you lie down, you will not be afraid;When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

“My fruit is better than gold, even pure gold,And my yield is better than choicest silver.

Drive out the scoffer, and contention will go away;Even strife and dishonor will cease.

Yes, my heart will rejoiceWhen your lips speak right things.

And you will be [as unsteady] as one who lies down in the middle of the sea,And [as vulnerable to disaster] as one who lies down on the top of a ship’s mast, saying,

Correct your son, and he will give you comfort;Yes, he will delight your soul.

The leech has two daughters,“Give, give!”There are three things that are never satisfied,Four that do not say, “It is enough”:

There are three things which are too astounding and unexpectedly wonderful for me,Four which I do not understand:

There are three things which are stately in step,Even four which are stately in their stride:

She opens and extends her hand to the poor,And she reaches out her filled hands to the needy.

I spoke with my heart, saying, “Behold, I have acquired great [human] wisdom and experience, more than all who were over Jerusalem before me; and my mind has observed a wealth of [moral] wisdom and [scientific] knowledge.”

For the [earthly] fate of the sons of men and the fate of animals is the same. As one dies, so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath and there is no preeminence or advantage for man [in and of himself] over an animal, for all is vanity.

There was a certain man—without a dependent, having neither a child nor a brother, yet there was no end to all his labor. Indeed, his eyes were not satisfied with riches and he never asked, “For whom do I labor and deprive myself of pleasure?” This too is vanity (a wisp of smoke, self-conceit); yes, it is a painful effort and an unhappy task.

Wisdom along with an inheritance is goodAnd an [excellent] advantage for those who see the sun.

and I saw all the work of God, I concluded that man cannot discover the work that is done under the sun. Even though man may labor in seeking, he will not discover; and [more than that], though a wise man thinks and claims he knows, he will not be able to find it out.

Give a portion to seven, or even [divide it] to eight, for you do not know what misfortune may occur on the earth.

Yes, if a man should live many years, let him rejoice in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness, for they will be many. All that is to come will be futility.

(The Shulammite Bride)“Behold, how fair and handsome you are, my beloved;And so delightful!Our arbor is green and luxuriant.

(The Bridegroom)“I have come into my garden, my sister, my [promised] bride;I have gathered my myrrh along with my balsam and spice [from your sweet words].I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey;I have drunk my wine with my milk.Eat, friends;Drink and drink deeply, O lovers.”

“His mouth is full of sweetness;Yes, he is altogether lovely and desirable.This is my beloved and this is my friend,O daughters of Jerusalem.” Cross references: Song of Solomon 5:1 : John 16:33 Song of Solomon 5:2 : Job 11:13-15 Song of Solomon 5:3 : Is 32:9; Heb 3:15 Song of Solomon 5:8 : Ps 63:1 Song of Solomon 5:9 : John 10:26 Song of Solomon 5:10 : Ps 45:2; John 1:14 Song of Solomon 5:16 : Ps 92:15; Col 1:15 end of crossrefs

But my dove, my perfect one, stands alone [above them all];She is her mother’s only daughter;She is the pure child of the one who bore her.The maidens saw her and called her blessed and happy,The queens and the concubines also, and they praised her, saying,

“Oh, that you were like a brother to me,Who nursed at the breasts of my mother.If I found you out of doors, I would kiss you;No one would blame me or despise me, either.

“Behold, God, my salvation!I will trust and not be afraid,For the Lord God is my strength and song;Yes, He has become my salvation.”

“Even the cypress trees rejoice over you [kings of Babylon], even the cedars of Lebanon, saying,‘Since you were laid low, no woodcutter comes up against us.’

“And it will be like the reaper gathering the standing grain,As his arm harvests the ears of grain;Yes, it will be like one gleaning ears of grainIn the [fertile] Valley of Rephaim.

‘Listen carefully, the Lord is about to hurl you away violently, O man;And He is about to grasp you firmly

From the ends of the earth we hear songs, “Glory and honor to the Righteous One,”But I say, “I waste away, I waste away. Woe to me!The treacherous deal treacherously,Indeed, the treacherous deal very treacherously.”

Indeed, in the path of Your judgments, O Lord,We have waited expectantly for You;Your name, even Your memory, is the desire and deep longing of our souls.

In the night my soul longs for You [O Lord],Indeed, my spirit within me seeks You diligently;For [only] when Your judgments are experienced on the earthWill the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.

Though Your hand is lifted up [to strike], O Lord, the wicked do not see it.Let them see Your zeal for Your people and be put to shame;Indeed, let the fire reserved for Your enemies consume them.

“Or let him (Israel) cling to My strength and rely on My protection [My stronghold],Let him make peace with Me,Let him make peace with Me.”

For Topheth [in Hinnom] has long been ready;Indeed, it has been prepared for the [Assyrian] king.He has made it deep and wide,A pit of fire with plenty of wood;The breath of the Lord, like a river of brimstone (blazing sulfur), kindles and fans it.

For the land of my people growing over with thorns and briars—Yes, [mourn] for all the houses of joy in the joyous city.

A highway will be there, and a roadway;And it will be called the Holy Way.The unclean will not travel on it,But it will be for those who walk on the way [the redeemed];And fools will not wander on it.

Scarcely have they been planted,Scarcely have they been sown,Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth,But He merely blows on them, and they wither,And a strong wind carries them away like stubble.

‘Do not fear [anything], for I am with you;Do not be afraid, for I am your God.I will strengthen you, be assured I will help you;I will certainly take hold of you with My righteous right hand [a hand of justice, of power, of victory, of salvation].’

Tell us the things that are to come afterward,That we may know that you are gods;Indeed, you should do something good or do evil, that we may be afraid and fear [you] together [as we observe the miracle].

Who [among the idols] has declared this from the beginning, so that we could know?Or from earlier times, so that we could say, “He is [unquestionably] right!”?In fact, there was no one who declared it,Indeed, there was no one who proclaimed it;There was no one at all who heard you speak [for you pagan gods are speechless].

The Lord will go forth like a warrior,He will stir up His zeal like a man of war;He will shout out, yes, He will raise a war cry.He will prevail [mightily] against His enemies.

Who is blind but My servant [Israel],Or deaf like My messenger whom I send?Who is blind like the one who is at peace with Me [in a covenant relationship],Or so blind as the servant of the Lord?

“Even from eternity I am He,And there is no one who can rescue from My hand;I act, and who can revoke or reverse it?”

Then it becomes fuel for a man to burn, so he takes one of them and warms himself; he also kindles a fire to bake bread. He also makes a god [from the same wood] and worships it. He makes it into a carved idol [with his own hands] and falls down and worships it!

They will be put to shame and also humiliated, all of them;They who make idols will go away together in humiliation.

“Declare and present your defense of idols;Indeed, let them consult together.Who announced this [rise of Cyrus and his conquests] long before it happened?Who declared it long ago?Was it not I, the Lord?And there is no other God besides Me,A [consistently and uncompromisingly] just and righteous God and a Savior;There is none except Me.

Even to your old age I am He,And even to your advanced old age I will carry you!I have made you, and I will carry you;Be assured I will carry you and I will save you.

“Those who lavish gold from the bagAnd weigh out silver on the scalesHire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;They bow down, indeed they worship it.

Calling a bird of prey from the east,From a far country, the man (Cyrus) of My purpose.Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass.I have planned it, be assured I will do it.

“I bring near My righteousness [in the salvation of Israel], it is not far away;And My salvation will not delay.And I will grant salvation in Zion,And My glory for Israel.

“You have not heard, you have not known;Even from long ago your ear has not been open.For I [the Lord] knew that you [Israel] would act very treacherously;You have been called a transgressor and a rebel from birth.

“My hand founded and established the earth,And My right hand spread out the heavens;When I call to them, they stand together [in obedience to carry out My decrees].

“I, even I, have spoken; indeed, I have called Cyrus;I have brought him, and will make his way successful.

[The Lord answered] “Can a woman forget her nursing childAnd have no compassion on the son of her womb?Even these may forget, but I will not forget you.

“Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters;And you who have no money come, buy grain and eat.Come, buy wine and milkWithout money and without cost [simply accept it as a gift from God].

And the dogs are greedy; they never have enough.They are shepherds who have no understanding;They have all turned to their own way,Each one to his unlawful gain, without exception.

We grope for a wall like the blind,We grope like those who have no eyes.We stumble at midday as in the twilight;Among those who are healthy we are like dead men.

Yes, truth is missing;And he who turns away from evil makes himself a prey.Now the Lord saw it,And it displeased Him that there was no justice.

“For the nation or the kingdom which will not serve you [Jerusalem] shall perish,And the nations [that refuse to serve] shall be utterly ruined.

“Indeed, it is written before Me,I will not keep silent, but I will repay;I will even repay it [directly] into their arms,

‘They are fat and they are sleek (prosperous),They excel in acts of wickedness;They do not plead the cause,The cause of the orphan, so that they [the wicked] may prosper,And they do not defend the rights of the poor.

“I will destroy the Daughter of Zion (Jerusalem), the lovely and delicate one [so like a luxurious pasture].

“Even the stork in the skyKnows her seasons [of migration],And the turtledove, the swallow and the craneObserve the time of their return.But My people do not knowThe law of the Lord.

Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not know nor recognize YouAnd on the families that do not call Your name.For they have devoured Jacob;They have devoured him and consumed himAnd made his land a desolate waste.

You have planted them, they have also taken root;They grow, they have even produced fruit.You are honored by their [hypocritical] lipsBut [You are] far from their heart and mind.

“For even your [tribal] brothers and the household of your father,Even they have dealt treacherously (unfaithfully) with you;Indeed they are [like a pack of hounds] howling after you.Do not believe them, although they may say kind words and promise you good things.”

“The doe in the field has given birth only to abandon her youngBecause there is no grass.

“Therefore,” [says the Lord] “behold, I will make them know—This time I will make them knowMy power and My might;And they will know and recognize [without any doubt] that My Name is the Lord.”

Yes, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the articles which remain in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem,

The Lord appeared to me (Israel) from ages past, saying,“I have loved you with an everlasting love;Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you and continued My faithfulness to you.

‘After I turned away [from You], I repented;After I was instructed, I struck my thigh [in remorse];I was ashamed and even humiliatedBecause I carried the disgrace of my youth [as a nation].’

I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul.

“He will make many stumble and fall;Yes, they have fallen one on another.Then they said, ‘Arise, and let us go backTo our own people and to the land of our birth,Away from the sword of the oppressor.’

“I will punish and judge Bel [the handmade god] in BabylonAnd take out of his mouth what he has swallowed up [the stolen sacred articles and the captives of Judah and elsewhere].The nations will no longer flow to him.Yes, the wall of Babylon has fallen down!

Jerusalem sinned greatly;Therefore she has become an unclean thing [and has been removed].All who honored her [now] despise herBecause they have seen her nakedness;Even she herself groans and turns [her face] away.

The enemy hunted our steps,So that we could not walk in our streets;Our end drew near,Our days were finishedFor our end had come.

And I will stretch out My hand against them and make the land a more desolate waste than the wilderness toward Diblah [the Moabite city], throughout all the places where they live; and they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord.”’”

“When I passed by you and saw you squirming in your [newborn] blood, I said to you while you were there in your blood, ‘Live!’ Yes, I said to you while you were there in your blood, ‘Live!’

“Then I passed by you [again] and looked on you; behold, you were maturing and at the time for love, and I spread My skirt over you and covered your nakedness. Yes, I swore [an oath] to you and entered into a covenant with you,” says the Lord God, “and you became Mine.”

“Then I washed you with water; yes, I [thoroughly] washed away from you the [clinging] blood and anointed you with oil.

You prostituted yourself with the Assyrians because you were not satisfied; you prostituted yourself with them and still were not satisfied.

Also bear your disgrace [as punishment], having made judgment favorable for your sisters, for [you virtually absolved them] because of your sins in which you behaved more repulsively than they; they are more in the right than you. Yes, be ashamed and bear your disgrace, for you made your [pagan] sisters seem righteous.

Yes, thus says the Lord God, “I will also deal with you as you have done, you who have despised the oath by breaking the covenant.

Though it is planted, will it thrive and grow? Will it not completely wither when the east wind touches it? It will wither in the beds where it grew.”’”

“Therefore, son of man, prophesy and strike your hands together; and let the sword be doubled the third time [in intensity], the sword for the slain. It is the sword for the great slaughter which surrounds them [so that no one can escape, even by hiding in their inner rooms],

I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you will be melted in the midst of it.

The people of the land have practiced oppression and extortion and have committed robbery; they have wronged the poor and needy and they have oppressed the stranger without justice.

‘Now the coastlands will trembleOn the day of your fall;Yes, the coastlands which are by the seaWill be terrified at your departure.’”

They shall live in it securely; and they will build houses, plant vineyards and live securely when I execute judgment on all those around them who despise them. Then they will know [with clarity and confidence] that I am the Lord their God.”’”

They also went down to Sheol with it to those who were slain by the sword; those who were its strength lived under its shade among the nations.