'Breath' in the Bible

Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

Behold, I, even I am bringing the flood of water upon the earth, to destroy all flesh in which is the breath of life, from under heaven; everything that is on the earth shall perish.

So they went into the ark to Noah, by twos of all flesh in which was the breath of life.

of all that was on the dry land, all in whose nostrils was the breath of the spirit of life, died.

“Then the channels of the sea appeared,The foundations of the world were laid bareBy the rebuke of the Lord,At the blast of the breath of His nostrils.

Now it came about after these things that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became sick; and his sickness was so severe that there was no breath left in him.

“By the breath of God they perish,And by the blast of His anger they come to an end.

“Remember that my life is but breath;My eye will not again see good.

“I waste away; I will not live forever.Leave me alone, for my days are but a breath.

“He will not allow me to get my breath,But saturates me with bitterness.

In whose hand is the life of every living thing,And the breath of all mankind?

“He will not escape from darkness;The flame will wither his shoots,And by the breath of His mouth he will go away.

“My breath is offensive to my wife,And I am loathsome to my own brothers.

“By His breath the heavens are cleared;His hand has pierced the fleeing serpent.

For as long as life is in me,And the breath of God is in my nostrils,

“But it is a spirit in man,And the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding.

“The Spirit of God has made me,And the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

“If He should determine to do so,If He should gather to Himself His spirit and His breath,

“From the breath of God ice is made,And the expanse of the waters is frozen.

“His breath kindles coals,And a flame goes forth from his mouth.

Then the channels of water appeared,And the foundations of the world were laid bareAt Your rebuke, O Lord,At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,And by the breath of His mouth all their host.

“Behold, You have made my days as handbreadths,And my lifetime as nothing in Your sight;Surely every man at his best is a mere breath. Selah.

“With reproofs You chasten a man for iniquity;You consume as a moth what is precious to him;Surely every man is a mere breath. Selah.

Men of low degree are only vanity and men of rank are a lie;In the balances they go up;They are together lighter than breath.

The Lord knows the thoughts of man,That they are a mere breath.

They have ears, but they do not hear,Nor is there any breath at all in their mouths.

Man is like a mere breath;His days are like a passing shadow.

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.Praise the Lord!

For the fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts is the same. As one dies so dies the other; indeed, they all have the same breath and there is no advantage for man over beast, for all is vanity.

Who knows that the breath of man ascends upward and the breath of the beast descends downward to the earth?

“I said, ‘I will climb the palm tree,I will take hold of its fruit stalks.’Oh, may your breasts be like clusters of the vine,And the fragrance of your breath like apples,

Stop regarding man, whose breath of life is in his nostrils;For why should he be esteemed?

But with righteousness He will judge the poor,And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth;And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth,And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.

For You have been a defense for the helpless,A defense for the needy in his distress,A refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat;For the breath of the ruthlessIs like a rain storm against a wall.

His breath is like an overflowing torrent,Which reaches to the neck,To shake the nations back and forth in a sieve,And to put in the jaws of the peoples the bridle which leads to ruin.

For Topheth has long been ready,Indeed, it has been prepared for the king.He has made it deep and large,A pyre of fire with plenty of wood;The breath of the Lord, like a torrent of brimstone, sets it afire.

“You have conceived chaff, you will give birth to stubble;My breath will consume you like a fire.

The grass withers, the flower fades,When the breath of the Lord blows upon it;Surely the people are grass.

Thus says God the Lord,Who created the heavens and stretched them out,Who spread out the earth and its offspring,Who gives breath to the people on itAnd spirit to those who walk in it,

“When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you.But the wind will carry all of them up,And a breath will take them away.But he who takes refuge in Me will inherit the landAnd will possess My holy mountain.”

“For I will not contend forever,Nor will I always be angry;For the spirit would grow faint before Me,And the breath of those whom I have made.

For I heard a cry as of a woman in labor,The anguish as of one giving birth to her first child,The cry of the daughter of Zion gasping for breath,Stretching out her hands, saying,“Ah, woe is me, for I faint before murderers.”

Every man is stupid, devoid of knowledge;Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols;For his molten images are deceitful,And there is no breath in them.

All mankind is stupid, devoid of knowledge;Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,For his molten images are deceitful,And there is no breath in them.

The breath of our nostrils, the Lord’s anointed,Was captured in their pits,Of whom we had said, “Under his shadowWe shall live among the nations.”

Thus says the Lord God to these bones, ‘Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life.

I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will know that I am the Lord.’”

And I looked, and behold, sinews were on them, and flesh grew and skin covered them; but there was no breath in them.

Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they come to life.”’”

So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they came to life and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

but you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your nobles, your wives and your concubines have been drinking wine from them; and you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which do not see, hear or understand. But the God in whose hand are your life-breath and all your ways, you have not glorified.

For how can such a servant of my lord talk with such as my lord? As for me, there remains just now no strength in me, nor has any breath been left in me.”

“Woe to him who says to a piece of wood, ‘Awake!’To a mute stone, ‘Arise!’And that is your teacher?Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver,And there is no breath at all inside it.

nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things;

Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming;

But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God came into them, and they stood on their feet; and great fear fell upon those who were watching them.

And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed.