'Commands' in the Bible

Keep your father's commands, my son, and never forsake your mother's rules,

My son, obey my words,and treasure my commands.

Keep my commands and live;protect my teachingsas the pupil of your eye.

A wise heart accepts commands,but foolish lips will be destroyed.

The one who keeps commands preserves himself;one who disregards his ways will die.

Whoever obeys his commands will not experience harm, and the wise in heart will discern both the appropriate time and response.

When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is: fear God and keep His commands, because this is for all humanity.

If the Lord who commands armies had not left us a few survivors, we would have quickly become like Sodom, we would have become like Gomorrah.

Therefore, the sovereign Lord who commands armies, the powerful ruler of Israel, says this: "Ah, I will seek vengeance against my adversaries, I will take revenge against my enemies.

Indeed, the Lord who commands armies has planned a day of judgment, for all the high and mighty, for all who are proud -- they will be humiliated;

Look, the sovereign Lord who commands armies is about to remove from Jerusalem and Judah every source of security, including all the food and water,

Why do you crush my people and grind the faces of the poor?" The sovereign Lord who commands armies has spoken.

I'll make it a wasteland, and it won't be pruned or cultivated. Instead, briers and thorns will grow up. I'll also issue commands to the clouds, that they drop no rain upon it."

Indeed Israel is the vineyard of the Lord who commands armies, the people of Judah are the cultivated place in which he took delight. He waited for justice, but look what he got -- disobedience! He waited for fairness, but look what he got -- cries for help!

The Lord who commands armies told me this: "Many houses will certainly become desolate, large, impressive houses will have no one living in them.

The Lord who commands armies will be exalted when he punishes, the sovereign God's authority will be recognized when he judges.

Therefore, as flaming fire devours straw, and dry grass disintegrates in the flames, so their root will rot, and their flower will blow away like dust. For they have rejected the law of the Lord who commands armies, they have spurned the commands of the Holy One of Israel.

They called out to one another, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord who commands armies! His majestic splendor fills the entire earth!"

I said, "Too bad for me! I am destroyed, for my lips are contaminated by sin, and I live among people whose lips are contaminated by sin. My eyes have seen the king, the Lord who commands armies."

You must recognize the authority of the Lord who commands armies. He is the one you must respect; he is the one you must fear.

Look, I and the sons whom the Lord has given me are reminders and object lessons in Israel, sent from the Lord who commands armies, who lives on Mount Zion.

The people did not return to the one who struck them, they did not seek reconciliation with the Lord who commands armies.

Because of the anger of the Lord who commands armies, the land was scorched, and the people became fuel for the fire. People had no compassion on one another.

For this reason the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, will make his healthy ones emaciated. His majestic glory will go up in smoke.

The sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, is certainly ready to carry out the decreed destruction throughout the land.

So here is what the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, says: "My people who live in Zion, do not be afraid of Assyria, even though they beat you with a club and lift their cudgel against you as Egypt did.

The Lord who commands armies is about to beat them with a whip, similar to the way he struck down Midian at the rock of Oreb. He will use his staff against the sea, lifting it up as he did in Egypt.

Look, the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, is ready to cut off the branches with terrifying power. The tallest trees will be cut down, the loftiest ones will be brought low.

There is a loud noise on the mountains -- it sounds like a large army! There is great commotion among the kingdoms -- nations are being assembled! The Lord who commands armies is mustering forces for battle.

So I will shake the heavens, and the earth will shake loose from its foundation, because of the fury of the Lord who commands armies, in the day he vents his raging anger.

"I will rise up against them," says the Lord who commands armies. "I will blot out all remembrance of Babylon and destroy all her people, including the offspring she produces," says the Lord.

"I will turn her into a place that is overrun with wild animals and covered with pools of stagnant water. I will get rid of her, just as one sweeps away dirt with a broom," says the Lord who commands armies.

The Lord who commands armies makes this solemn vow: "Be sure of this: Just as I have intended, so it will be; just as I have planned, it will happen.

Indeed, the Lord who commands armies has a plan, and who can possibly frustrate it? His hand is ready to strike, and who can possibly stop it?

Fortified cities will disappear from Ephraim, and Damascus will lose its kingdom. The survivors in Syria will end up like the splendor of the Israelites," says the Lord who commands armies.

At that time tribute will be brought to the Lord who commands armies, by a people that are tall and smooth-skinned, a people that are feared far and wide, a nation strong and victorious, whose land rivers divide. The tribute will be brought to the place where the Lord who commands armies has chosen to reside, on Mount Zion.

I will hand Egypt over to a harsh master; a powerful king will rule over them," says the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies.

But where, oh where, are your wise men? Let them tell you, let them find out what the Lord who commands armies has planned for Egypt.

At that time the Egyptians will be like women. They will tremble and fear because the Lord who commands armies brandishes his fist against them.

The land of Judah will humiliate Egypt. Everyone who hears about Judah will be afraid because of what the Lord who commands armies is planning to do to them.

At that time five cities in the land of Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the Lord who commands armies. One will be called the City of the Sun.

It will become a visual reminder in the land of Egypt of the Lord who commands armies. When they cry out to the Lord because of oppressors, he will send them a deliverer and defender who will rescue them.

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!"

O my downtrodden people, crushed like stalks on the threshing floor, what I have heard from the Lord who commands armies, the God of Israel, I have reported to you.

For the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, has planned a day of panic, defeat, and confusion. In the Valley of Vision people shout and cry out to the hill.

At that time the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, called for weeping and mourning, for shaved heads and sackcloth.

The Lord who commands armies told me this: "Certainly this sin will not be forgiven as long as you live," says the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies.

This is what the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, says: "Go visit this administrator, Shebna, who supervises the palace, and tell him:

"At that time," says the Lord who commands armies, "the peg fastened into a solid place will come loose. It will be cut off and fall, and the load hanging on it will be cut off." Indeed, the Lord has spoken.

The Lord who commands armies planned it -- to dishonor the pride that comes from all her beauty, to humiliate all the dignitaries of the earth.

The full moon will be covered up, the bright sun will be darkened; for the Lord who commands armies will rule on Mount Zion in Jerusalem in the presence of his assembly, in majestic splendor.

The Lord who commands armies will hold a banquet for all the nations on this mountain. At this banquet there will be plenty of meat and aged wine -- tender meat and choicest wine.

At that time the Lord who commands armies will become a beautiful crown and a splendid diadem for the remnant of his people.

So now, do not mock, or your chains will become heavier! For I have heard a message about decreed destruction, from the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, against the entire land.

This also comes from the Lord who commands armies, who gives supernatural guidance and imparts great wisdom.

Judgment will come from the Lord who commands armies, accompanied by thunder, earthquake, and a loud noise, by a strong gale, a windstorm, and a consuming flame of fire.

Indeed, this is what the Lord says to me: "The Lord will be like a growling lion, like a young lion growling over its prey. Though a whole group of shepherds gathers against it, it is not afraid of their shouts or intimidated by their yelling. In this same way the Lord who commands armies will descend to do battle on Mount Zion and on its hill.

Just as birds hover over a nest, so the Lord who commands armies will protect Jerusalem. He will protect and deliver it; as he passes over he will rescue it.

"O Lord who commands armies, O God of Israel, who is enthroned on the cherubim! You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the sky and the earth.

"For a remnant will leave Jerusalem; survivors will come out of Mount Zion. The intense devotion of the Lord who commands armies will accomplish this.

Isaiah said to Hezekiah, "Listen to the word of the Lord who commands armies:

Who handed Jacob over to the robber? Who handed Israel over to the looters? Was it not the Lord, against whom we sinned? They refused to follow his commands; they disobeyed his law.

This is what the Lord, Israel's king, says, their protector, the Lord who commands armies: "I am the first and I am the last, there is no God but me.

It is me -- I stir him up and commission him; I will make all his ways level. He will rebuild my city; he will send my exiled people home, but not for a price or a bribe," says the Lord who commands armies.

says our protector -- the Lord who commands armies is his name, the Holy One of Israel.

Indeed, they live in the holy city; they trust in the God of Israel, whose name is the Lord who commands armies.

If only you had paid attention to My commands.Then your peace would have been like a river,and your righteousness like the waves of the sea.

I am the Lord your God, who churns up the sea so that its waves surge. The Lord who commands armies is his name!

For your husband is the one who made you -- the Lord who commands armies is his name. He is your protector, the Holy One of Israel. He is called "God of the entire earth."

“For all these things My hand has made,So all these things came into being [by and for Me],” declares the Lord.“But to this one I will look [graciously],To him who is humble and contrite in spirit, and who [reverently] trembles at My word and honors My commands.

However, you must confess that you have done wrong, and that you have rebelled against the Lord your God. You must confess that you have given yourself to foreign gods under every green tree, and have not obeyed my commands,' says the Lord.

Consider this: When I spoke to your ancestors after I brought them out of Egypt, I did not merely give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices.

If you are careful to obey these commands, then the kings who follow in David's succession and ride in chariots or on horses will continue to come through the gates of this palace, as will their officials and their subjects.

But, if you do not obey these commands, I solemnly swear that this palace will become a pile of rubble. I, the Lord, affirm it!"

"But what Rechab's son Jonadab commanded his sons about not drinking wine is observed, and they haven't drunk wine until this day. Indeed, they obey the commands of their ancestor. But I've spoken to you again and again, and you haven't obeyed me.

Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites: “This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Because you have obeyed the command of your ancestor Jonadab and have kept all his commands and have done all that he commanded you,

The LORD is in the right, but I rebelled against his commands. Listen, please, all you people, and look at my pain my young men and women have gone into captivity.

And I pray to Jehovah my God, and confess, and say: 'I beseech Thee, O Lord God, the great and the fearful, keeping the covenant and the kindness to those loving Him, and to those keeping His commands;

"Lord! Great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant and gracious love for those who love him and obey his commandments, we've sinned, we've practiced evil, we've acted wickedly, and we've rebelled, turning away from your commands and from your regulations.

This is what the Lord says: "Because Judah has committed three covenant transgressions -- make that four! -- I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They rejected the Lord's law; they did not obey his commands. Their false gods, to which their fathers were loyal, led them astray.

Listen and warn the family of Jacob! The sovereign Lord, the God who commands armies, is speaking!

For here he is! He formed the mountains and created the wind. He reveals his plans to men. He turns the dawn into darkness and marches on the heights of the earth. The Lord, the God who commands armies, is his name!"

Seek good and not evil so you can live! Then the Lord, the God who commands armies, just might be with you, as you claim he is.

Hate what is wrong, love what is right! Promote justice at the city gate! Maybe the Lord, the God who commands armies, will have mercy on those who are left from Joseph.

Because of Israel's sins this is what the Lord, the God who commands armies, the sovereign One, says: "In all the squares there will be wailing, in all the streets they will mourn the dead. They will tell the field workers to lament and the professional mourners to wail.

and I will drive you into exile beyond Damascus," says the Lord. He is called the God who commands armies!

The sovereign Lord confirms this oath by his very own life. The Lord, the God who commands armies, is speaking: "I despise Jacob's arrogance; I hate their fortresses. I will hand over to their enemies the city of Samaria and everything in it."

For the Lord commands:The large house will be smashed to pieces,and the small house to rubble.

"Look! I am about to bring a nation against you, family of Israel." The Lord, the God who commands armies, is speaking. "They will oppress you all the way from Lebo-Hamath to the Stream of the Arabah."

The sovereign Lord who commands armies will do this. He touches the earth and it dissolves; all who live on it mourn. The whole earth rises like the River Nile, and then grows calm like the Nile in Egypt.

Does the family of Jacob say, 'The Lord's patience can't be exhausted -- he would never do such things'? To be sure, my commands bring a reward for those who obey them,

Many nations will come, saying, "Come on! Let's go up to the Lord's mountain, to the temple of Jacob's God, so he can teach us his commands and we can live by his laws." For Zion will be the source of instruction; the Lord's teachings will proceed from Jerusalem.

Each will sit under his own grapevine or under his own fig tree without any fear. The Lord who commands armies has decreed it.

"I am against you!" declares the Lord who commands armies: "I will burn your chariots with fire; the sword will devour your young lions; you will no longer prey upon the land; the voices of your messengers will no longer be heard."

I am against you," declares the Lord who commands armies. "I will strip off your clothes! I will show your nakedness to the nations and your shame to the kingdoms;

Be sure of this! The Lord who commands armies has decreed: The nations' efforts will go up in smoke; their exhausting work will be for nothing.

Seek the Lord, all you humble of the earth,who carry out what He commands.Seek righteousness, seek humility;perhaps you will be concealedon the day of the Lord’s anger.

Therefore, as surely as I live," says the Lord who commands armies, the God of Israel, "be certain that Moab will become like Sodom and the Ammonites like Gomorrah. They will be overrun by weeds, filled with salt pits, and permanently desolate. Those of my people who are left will plunder their belongings; those who are left in Judah will take possession of their land."

This is how they will be repaid for their arrogance, for they taunted and verbally harassed the people of the Lord who commands armies.

But my words and my statutes that I gave as commands to my servants the prophets did they not overwhelm your ancestors? And they returned to me: "The LORD of the Heavenly Armies acted toward us just as he planned to do in keeping with our lifestyles and in keeping with our actions.'"