'Blessing' in the Bible

Then I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and I will make your name great, so that you will exemplify divine blessing.

My father may touch me! Then he'll think I'm mocking him and I'll bring a curse on myself instead of a blessing."

Isaac had just finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely left his father's presence, when his brother Esau returned from the hunt.

But Isaac replied, "Your brother came in here deceitfully and took away your blessing."

Esau exclaimed, "'Jacob' is the right name for him! He has tripped me up two times! He took away my birthright, and now, look, he has taken away my blessing!" Then he asked, "Have you not kept back a blessing for me?"

Esau said to his father, "Do you have only that one blessing, my father? Bless me too!" Then Esau wept loudly.

So Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing his father had given to his brother. Esau said privately, "The time of mourning for my father is near; then I will kill my brother Jacob!"

May he give you and your descendants the blessing he gave to Abraham so that you may possess the land God gave to Abraham, the land where you have been living as a temporary resident."

From the time Potiphar appointed him over his household and over all that he owned, the Lord blessed the Egyptian's household for Joseph's sake. The blessing of the Lord was on everything that he had, both in his house and in his fields.

These are the twelve tribes of Israel. This is what their father said to them when he blessed them. He gave each of them an appropriate blessing.

Moses said, "You have been consecrated today for the Lord, for each of you was against his son or against his brother, so he has given a blessing to you today."

I will command my blessing for you in the sixth year so that it may yield the produce for three years,

Indeed, may the Lord, the God of your ancestors, make you a thousand times more numerous than you are now, blessing you just as he said he would!

Take note -- I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse:

the blessing if you take to heart the commandments of the Lord your God that I am giving you today,

When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are to possess, you must pronounce the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal.

Every one of you must give as you are able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God that he has given you.

But the Lord your God refused to listen to Balaam and changed the curse to a blessing, for the Lord your God loves you.

The Lord will decree blessing for you with respect to your barns and in everything you do -- yes, he will bless you in the land he is giving you.

Today I invoke heaven and earth as a witness against you that I have set life and death, blessing and curse, before you. Therefore choose life so that you and your descendants may live!

This is the blessing Moses the man of God pronounced upon the Israelites before his death.

And this is the blessing to Judah. He said, Listen, O Lord, to Judah's voice, and bring him to his people. May his power be great, and may you help him against his foes.

with the harvest of the earth and its fullness and the pleasure of him who resided in the burning bush. May blessing rest on Joseph's head, and on the top of the head of the one set apart from his brothers.

Of Naphtali he said: O Naphtali, overflowing with favor, and full of the Lord's blessing, possess the west and south.

All the people, rulers, leaders, and judges were standing on either side of the ark, in front of the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord. Both resident foreigners and native Israelites were there. Half the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim and the other half in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the Lord's servant had previously instructed to them to do for the formal blessing ceremony.

When David finished offering the burnt sacrifices and peace offerings, he pronounced a blessing over the people in the name of the Lord of hosts.

When David went home to pronounce a blessing on his own house, Michal, Saul's daughter, came out to meet him. She said, "How the king of Israel has distinguished himself this day! He has exposed himself today before his servants' slave girls the way a vulgar fool might do!"

Now be willing to bless your servant's dynasty so that it may stand permanently before you, for you, O sovereign Lord, have spoken. By your blessing may your servant's dynasty be blessed on into the future!"

he sent his son Joram to King David to extend his best wishes and to pronounce a blessing on him for his victory over Hadadezer, for Toi had been at war with Hadadezer. He brought with him various items made of silver, gold, and bronze.

Then the king turned around and pronounced a blessing over the whole Israelite assembly as they stood there.

When he stood up, he pronounced a blessing over the entire assembly of Israel, saying in a loud voice:

When David finished offering burnt sacrifices and peace offerings, he pronounced a blessing over the people in the Lord's name.

Then all the people returned to their homes, and David went to pronounce a blessing on his family.

he sent his son Hadoram to King David to extend his best wishes and to pronounce a blessing on him for his victory over Hadadezer, for Tou had been at war with Hadadezer. He also sent various items made of gold, silver, and bronze.

Then the king turned around and pronounced a blessing over the whole Israelite assembly as they stood there.

The Levites -- Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah -- said, "Stand up and bless the LORD your God!" "May you be blessed, O LORD our God, from age to age. May your glorious name be blessed; may it be lifted up above all blessing and praise.

The people gave their blessing on all the men who volunteered to settle in Jerusalem.

for they had not met the Israelites with food and water, but instead had hired Balaam to curse them. (Our God, however, turned the curse into blessing.)

the blessing of the dying man descended on me, and I made the widow's heart rejoice;

He pronounces this blessing on himself while he is alive: "May men praise you, for you have done well!"

Those who pass by will not say, "May you experience the Lord's blessing! We pronounce a blessing on you in the name of the Lord."

It is like the dew of Hermon, which flows down upon the hills of Zion. Indeed that is where the Lord has decreed a blessing will be available -- eternal life.

The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the reputation of the wicked will rot.

The blessing from the Lord makes a person rich, and he adds no sorrow to it.

A city is exalted by the blessing provided from the upright, but it is destroyed by the counsel of the wicked.

But there will be delight for those who convict the guilty, and a pleasing blessing will come on them.

At that time Israel will be the third member of the group, along with Egypt and Assyria, and will be a recipient of blessing in the earth.

The Lord who commands armies will pronounce a blessing over the earth, saying, "Blessed be my people, Egypt, and the work of my hands, Assyria, and my special possession, Israel!"

For I will pour water on the parched ground and cause streams to flow on the dry land. I will pour my spirit on your offspring and my blessing on your children.

Whoever pronounces a blessing in the earth will do so in the name of the faithful God; whoever makes an oath in the earth will do so in the name of the faithful God. For past problems will be forgotten; I will no longer think about them.

The Lord said to his people: "You are standing at the crossroads. So consider your path. Ask where the old, reliable paths are. Ask where the path is that leads to blessing and follow it. If you do, you will find rest for your souls." But they said, "We will not follow it!"

My blessing is on those people who trust in me, who put their confidence in me.

Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that everything comes -- both calamity and blessing?

I will turn them and the regions around my hill into a blessing. I will make showers come down in their season; they will be showers that bring blessing.

The first of all the first fruits and all contributions of any kind will be for the priests; you will also give to the priest the first portion of your dough, so that a blessing may rest on your house.

Who knows? Perhaps he will be compassionate and grant a reprieve, and leave blessing in his wake -- a meal offering and a drink offering for you to offer to the Lord your God!

And it will come about that just as you (both Judah and Israel) were a curse to the nations, so I will save you and you will be a blessing. Do not be afraid! Instead, be strong!'

I am enraged at the shepherds and will punish the lead-goats. For the Lord who rules over all has brought blessing to his flock, the house of Judah, and will transform them into his majestic warhorse.

"Bring the entire tithe into the storehouse so that there may be food in my temple. Test me in this matter," says the Lord who rules over all, "to see if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until there is no room for it all.