'Good' in the Bible

God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness.

God called the dry land “earth,” and He called the gathering of the water “seas.” And God saw that it was good.

The earth produced vegetation: seed-bearing plants according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

to dominate the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good.

So God created the large sea-creatures and every living creature that moves and swarms in the water, according to their kinds. He also created every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

So God made the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and creatures that crawl on the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

God saw all that He had made, and it was very good. Evening came and then morning: the sixth day.

The Lord God caused to grow out of the ground every tree pleasing in appearance and good for food, including the tree of life in the middle of the garden, as well as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.”

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper as his complement.”

“In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Then the woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

The Lord God said, “Since man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil, he must not reach out, take from the tree of life, eat, and live forever.”

“Look,” said Esau, “I’m about to die, so what good is a birthright to me?”

You will not harm us, just as we have not harmed you but have only done what was good to you, sending you away in peace. You are now blessed by the Lord.”

So Rebekah said to Isaac, “I’m sick of my life because of these Hittite women. If Jacob marries a Hittite woman like one of them, what good is my life?”

Then Leah said, “What good fortune!” and she named him Gad.

“God has given me a good gift,” Leah said. “This time my husband will honor me because I have borne six sons for him,” and she named him Zebulun.

“Good,” said Laban. “Let it be as you have said.”

But God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night. “Watch yourself!” God warned him. “Don’t say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.”

I could do you great harm, but last night the God of your father said to me: ‘Watch yourself. Don’t say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.’

Their words seemed good to Hamor and his son Shechem.

He fell asleep and dreamed a second time: Seven heads of grain, plump and ripe, came up on one stalk.

The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven plump, ripe ones. Then Pharaoh woke up, and it was only a dream.

In my dream I had also seen seven heads of grain, plump and ripe, coming up on one stalk.

The seven good cows are seven years, and the seven ripe heads are seven years. The dreams mean the same thing.

Let them gather all the excess food during these good years that are coming. Under Pharaoh’s authority, store the grain in the cities, so they may preserve it as food.

They had not gone very far from the city when Joseph said to his steward, “Get up. Pursue the men, and when you overtake them, say to them, ‘Why have you repaid evil for good?

He saw that his resting place was goodand that the land was pleasant,so he leaned his shoulder to bear a loadand became a forced laborer.

You planned evil against me; God planned it for good to bring about the present result—the survival of many people.

So God was good to the midwives, and the people multiplied and became very numerous.

I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and to bring them from that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the territory of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.

Jethro rejoiced over all the good things the Lord had done for Israel when He rescued them from the power of the Egyptians.

“What you’re doing is not good,” Moses’ father-in-law said to him.

Or if someone swears rashly to do what is good or evil—concerning anything a person may speak rashly in an oath—without being aware of it, but later recognizes it, he incurs guilt in such an instance.

He may not replace it or make a substitution for it, either good for bad, or bad for good. But if he does substitute one animal for another, both that animal and its substitute will be holy.

He is not to inspect whether it is good or bad, and he is not to make a substitution for it. But if he does make a substitution, both the animal and its substitute will be holy; they cannot be redeemed.”

Moses said to Hobab, son of Moses’ father-in-law Reuel the Midianite: “We’re setting out for the place the Lord promised: ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us, and we will treat you well, for the Lord has promised good things to Israel.”

If you come with us, whatever good the Lord does for us we will do for you.”

“Tell the people: Purify yourselves in readiness for tomorrow, and you will eat meat because you cried before the Lord: ‘Who will feed us meat? We really had it good in Egypt.’ The Lord will give you meat and you will eat.

Is the land they live in good or bad? Are the cities they live in encampments or fortifications?

and said to the entire Israelite community: “The land we passed through and explored is an extremely good land.

If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go against the Lord’s command, to do anything good or bad of my own will? I will say whatever the Lord says.

The Reubenites and Gadites had a very large number of livestock. When they surveyed the lands of Jazer and Gilead, they saw that the region was a good one for livestock.

which the Lord struck down before the community of Israel, is good land for livestock, and your servants own livestock.”

“You replied to me, ‘What you propose to do is good.’

The plan seemed good to me, so I selected 12 men from among you, one man for each tribe.

They took some of the fruit from the land in their hands, carried it down to us, and brought us back a report: ‘The land the Lord our God is giving us is good.’

‘None of these men in this evil generation will see the good land I swore to give your fathers,

Your little children, whom you said would be plunder, your sons who don’t know good from evil, will enter there. I will give them the land, and they will take possession of it.

Please let me cross over and see the beautiful land on the other side of the Jordan, that good hill country and Lebanon.

“For your own good, be extremely careful—because you did not see any form on the day the Lord spoke to you out of the fire at Horeb—

“The Lord was angry with me on your account. He swore that I would not cross the Jordan and enter the good land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.

I won’t be crossing the Jordan because I am going to die in this land. But you are about to cross over and take possession of this good land.

houses full of every good thing that you did not fill them with, wells dug that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant—and when you eat and are satisfied,

Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so that you may prosper and so that you may enter and possess the good land the Lord your God swore to give your fathers,

For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land with streams of water, springs, and deep water sources, flowing in both valleys and hills;

When you eat and are full, you will praise the Lord your God for the good land He has given you.

Understand that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people.

Keep the Lord’s commands and statutes I am giving you today, for your own good.

Then the Lord’s anger will burn against you. He will close the sky, and there will be no rain; the land will not yield its produce, and you will perish quickly from the good land the Lord is giving you.

Be careful to obey all these things I command you, so that you and your children after you may prosper forever, because you will be doing what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God.

You, the Levite, and the foreign resident among you will rejoice in all the good things the Lord your God has given you and your household.

None of the good promises the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed. Everything was fulfilled.

know for certain that the Lord your God will not continue to drive these nations out before you. They will become a snare and a trap for you, a scourge for your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you disappear from this good land the Lord your God has given you.

“I am now going the way of all the earth, and you know with all your heart and all your soul that none of the good promises the Lord your God made to you has failed. Everything was fulfilled for you; not one promise has failed.

Since every good thing the Lord your God promised you has come about, so He will bring on you every bad thing until He has annihilated you from this good land the Lord your God has given you.

If you break the covenant of the Lord your God, which He commanded you, and go and worship other gods, and bow down to them, the Lord’s anger will burn against you, and you will quickly disappear from this good land He has given you.”

If you abandon the Lord and worship foreign gods, He will turn against you, harm you, and completely destroy you, after He has been good to you.”

They did not show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) for all the good he had done for Israel.

But the fig tree said to them,“Should I stop givingmy sweetness and my good fruit,and rule over trees?”

Then Micah said, “Now I know that the Lord will be good to me, because a Levite has become my priest.”

They answered, “Come on, let’s go up against them, for we have seen the land, and it is very good. Why wait? Don’t hesitate to go and invade and take possession of the land!

So Naomi said to her daughter-in-law Ruth, “My daughter, it is good for you to work with his female servants, so that nothing will happen to you in another field.”

After Boaz ate, drank, and was in good spirits, he went to lie down at the end of the pile of barley. Then she went in secretly, uncovered his feet, and lay down.

Stay here tonight, and in the morning, if he wants to redeem you, that’s good. Let him redeem you. But if he doesn’t want to redeem you, as the Lord lives, I will. Now lie down until morning.”

No, my sons, the report I hear from the Lord’s people is not good.

You will see distress in the place of worship, in spite of all that is good in Israel, and no one in your family will ever again reach old age.

So Samuel told him everything and did not hide anything from him. Eli responded, “He is the Lord. He will do what He thinks is good.”

“Good,” Saul replied to his attendant. “Come on, let’s go.” So they went to the city where the man of God was.

“As for me, I vow that I will not sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you. I will teach you the good and right way.

If he says, ‘Good,’ then your servant is safe, but if he becomes angry, you will know he has evil intentions.

and said to David, “You are more righteous than I, for you have done what is good to me though I have done what is evil to you.

You yourself have told me today what good you did for me: when the Lord handed me over to you, you didn’t kill me.

When a man finds his enemy, does he let him go unharmed? May the Lord repay you with good for what you’ve done for me today.

David had just said, “I guarded everything that belonged to this man in the wilderness for nothing. He was not missing anything, yet he paid me back evil for good.

When the Lord does for my lord all the good He promised and appoints you ruler over Israel,

there will not be remorse or a troubled conscience for my lord because of needless bloodshed or my lord’s revenge. And when the Lord does good things for my lord, may you remember me your servant.”

Then Abigail went to Nabal, and there he was in his house, holding a feast fit for a king. Nabal was in a good mood and very drunk, so she didn’t say anything to him until morning light.

What you have done is not good. As the Lord lives, all of you deserve to die since you didn’t protect your lord, the Lord’s anointed. Now look around; where are the king’s spear and water jug that were by his head?”

David replied to Achish, “Good, you will find out what your servant can do.”So Achish said to David, “Very well, I will appoint you as my permanent bodyguard.”

So Achish summoned David and told him, “As the Lord lives, you are an honorable man. I think it is good to have you working with me in the camp, because I have found no fault in you from the day you came to me until today. But the leaders don’t think you are reliable.

They cut off Saul’s head, stripped off his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to spread the good news in the temples of their idols and among the people.

David replied, “Good, I will make a covenant with you. However, there’s one thing I require of you: Do not appear before me unless you bring Saul’s daughter Michal here when you come to see me.”

when the person told me, ‘Look, Saul is dead,’ he thought he was a bearer of good news, but I seized him and put him to death at Ziklag. That was my reward to him for his news!

Absalom didn’t say anything to Amnon, either good or bad, because he hated Amnon since he disgraced his sister Tamar.

Now Absalom commanded his young men, “Watch Amnon until he is in a good mood from the wine. When I order you to strike Amnon, then kill him. Don’t be afraid. Am I not the one who has commanded you? Be strong and courageous!”

Your servant thought: May the word of my lord the king bring relief, for my lord the king is able to discern the good and the bad like the Angel of God. May the Lord your God be with you.”

Absalom said to him, “Look, your claims are good and right, but the king does not have anyone to listen to you.”

This proposal seemed good to Absalom and all the elders of Israel.