'Far' in the Bible

The Lord has removed [His] people far away,And there are many deserted places in the midst of the land.

Now therefore, listen carefully, the Lord is about to bring on them the waters of the [Euphrates] River, strong and abundant—The king of Assyria and all his glory;And it will rise over all its channels and canals and go far beyond its banks.

“Be broken [in pieces], O peoples, and be shattered!Listen, all you [our enemies from the] far countries.Prepare yourselves [for war], and be shattered;Prepare yourselves [for war], and be shattered.

They are coming from a distant country,From the end of heaven [the farthest horizon]—The Lord and the weapons of His indignation—To destroy the whole land.

The nations roar on like the roaring of many waters,But God will rebuke them and they will flee far away,And be chased like chaff on the mountains before the wind,Or like whirling dust before the storm.

Which sends ambassadors by the sea,Even in vessels of papyrus on the surface of the waters.Go, swift messengers, to a nation [of people] tall and smooth (clean shaven),To a people feared far and wide,A powerful and oppressive nationWhose land the rivers divide.

At that time a gift of homage will be brought to the Lord of hostsFrom a people tall and smooth (clean shaven),From a people feared far and wide,A powerful and oppressive nation,Whose land the rivers divide—To the place [of worship] of the name of the Lord of hosts, to Mount Zion [in Jerusalem].

The [mournful, inspired] oracle (a burden to be carried) concerning Dumah (Edom):Someone keeps calling to me from Seir (Edom),“Watchman, what is left of the night [of Assyrian oppression]?Watchman, what is left of the night? [How long until morning?]”

All your leaders have fled together [with your king],And have been captured without the bow [which they had thrown away];All of you who were found were taken captive together,Though they had fled far away.

Is this your jubilant city,Whose origin dates back to antiquity,Whose feet used to carry her [far away] to colonize distant places?

Then the Lord said,“Because this nation approaches [Me only] with their wordsAnd honors Me [only] with their lip service,But they remove their hearts far from Me,And their reverence for Me is a tradition that is learned by rote [without any regard for its meaning],

“You who are far away, hear what I have done;And you who are near, acknowledge My might.”

Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and asked, “What did these men say? From where have they come to you?” And Hezekiah said, “They came to me from a far country, from Babylon.”

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.

“Listen to Me, you stiff-necked people,You who are far from righteousness (right standing with God).

“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.

“For your ruins and desolate places and your land [once the scene] of destruction—Certainly now [in the coming years] will be too cramped for the inhabitants,And those who once engulfed you will be far away.

“You will be firmly established in righteousness:You will be far from [even the thought of] oppression, for you will not fear,And from terror, for it will not come near you.

“You have gone to the king [of a pagan land] with oilAnd increased your perfumes;You have sent your messengers a great distanceAnd made them go down to Sheol (the realm of the dead).

As I create the praise of his lips,Peace, peace, to him who is far away [both Jew and Gentile] and to him who is near!”Says the Lord;“And I will heal him [making his lips blossom anew with thankful praise].”

Therefore justice is far from us,And righteousness does not overtake us.We [expectantly] hope for light, but only see darkness;We hope for gleam of light, but we walk in darkness and gloom.

We all groan and growl like bears,And coo sadly like doves;We hope for justice, but there is none,For salvation, but it is far from us.

Justice is pushed back,And righteous behavior stands far away;For truth has fallen in the city square,And integrity cannot enter.

For we all have become like one who is [ceremonially] unclean [like a leper],And all our deeds of righteousness are like filthy rags;We all wither and decay like a leaf,And our wickedness [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing], like the wind, takes us away [carrying us far from God’s favor, toward destruction].