'Contend' in the Bible

“If men fight with each other and injure a pregnant woman so that she gives birth prematurely [and the baby lives], yet there is no further injury, the one who hurt her must be punished with a fine [paid] to the woman’s husband, as much as the judges decide.

And the Lord said to me, ‘Do not harass [the descendants of] Moab, nor provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land as a possession, because I have given Ar to the sons (Moab and Ammon) of Lot as a possession.’

‘Now arise, continue on, and go through the valley of the Arnon. Look, I have handed over to you Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin! Take possession [of it] and fight with him in battle.

But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Will you plead for Baal? Will you save him? Whoever pleads for Baal shall be put to death while it is still morning. If Baal is a god, let him defend himself, because someone has torn down his altar.”

Therefore on that day he named Gideon Jerubbaal, meaning, “Let Baal plead,” because he had torn down his altar.

“If one should want to contend or dispute with Him,He could not answer Him once in a thousand times.

“I will say to God, ‘Do not condemn me [and declare me guilty]!Show me why You contend and argue and struggle with me.

“Why do you complain against Him?That He does not answer [you with] all His doings.

“Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty?Let him who disputes with God answer it.”

“No one is so fierce [and foolhardy] that he dares to stir up Leviathan;Who then is he who can stand before Me [or dares to contend with Me, the beast’s creator]?

Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me;Fight against those who fight against me.

Do not quarrel with a man without cause,If he has done you no harm.

Those who set aside the law [of God and man] praise the wicked,But those who keep the law [of God and man] struggle with them.

Whatever exists has already been named [long ago], and it is known what [a frail being] man is; for he cannot dispute with Him who is mightier than he.

The Lord rises to contend,And stands to judge the people.

“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.

Indeed, this is what the Lord says,“Even the captives of the mighty man will be taken away,And the tyrant’s spoils of war will be rescued;For I will contend with your opponent,And I will save your children.

He who declares Me in the right is near;Who will [dare to] contend with Me?Let us stand up to each other;Who is My adversary?Let him approach Me.

“For I will not contend forever,Nor will I always be angry;For [if I did stay angry] the spirit [of man] would grow weak before Me,And the breath of those whom I have created.

“Therefore I will still contend (struggle) with you [by bringing judgment on you],” says the Lord,“And I will contend with your children’s children.”

You, O Lord are [uncompromisingly] righteous and consistently just when I plead my case with You;Yet let me discuss issues of justice with You:Why has the way of the wicked prospered?Why are those who deal in treachery (deceit) at ease and thriving?

and I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will enter into judgment with you and contend with you face to face.

As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment and contend with you,” says the Lord God.

Hear now what the Lord is saying,“Arise, plead your case before the mountains,And let the hills [as witnesses] hear your voice.

“Hear, O mountains, the indictment of the Lord,And you enduring foundations of the earth,For the Lord has a case (a legal complaint) against His people,And He will dispute (challenge) Israel.

In that day,” declares the Lord, “I will strike every horse with panic and his rider with madness; but I will open My eyes and watch over the house of Judah, and will strike every horse of the [opposing] nations with blindness.