'Herself' in the Bible

So Sarah laughed to herself [when she heard the Lord’s words], saying, “After I have become old, shall I have pleasure and delight, my lord (husband) being also old?”

Did Abraham not tell me, ‘She is my sister?’ And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.’ In the integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands I have done this.”

She said to the servant, “Who is that man there walking across the field to meet us?” And the servant said, “He is my master [Isaac].” So she took a veil and covered herself [as was customary].

So she removed her widow’s clothes and covered herself with a veil, and wrapped herself up [in disguise], and sat in the gateway of Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah had grown up, and she had not been given to him as a wife [as Judah had promised].

Then Judah said, “Let her keep the things (pledge articles) for herself, otherwise we will be a laughingstock [searching everywhere for her]. After all, I sent this young goat, but you did not find her.”

You shall not have intimate relations with any animal to be defiled with it; nor shall a woman stand before an animal to mate with it; it is a perversion.

The daughter of any priest who profanes herself by prostitution profanes her father; she shall be burned in fire.

and if a spirit (sense, attitude) of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous and angry at his wife who has defiled herself—or if a spirit of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife when she has not defiled herself—

When the donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, she pressed herself against the wall and crushed Balaam’s foot against it, and he struck her again.

“Also if a woman makes a vow to the Lord and binds herself by a pledge [of abstinence], while living in her father’s house in her youth,

and her father hears her vow and her pledge by which she has bound herself, and he offers no objection, then all her vows shall stand and every pledge by which she has bound herself shall stand.

But if her father disapproves of her [making her vow] on the day that he hears about it, none of her vows or her pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand; and the Lord will forgive her because her father has disapproved of her [making the vow].

“But if she marries while under her vows or if she has bound herself by a rash statement,

and her husband hears of it and says nothing about it on the day he hears it, then her vows shall stand and her pledge by which she bound herself shall stand.

But if her husband disapproves of her [making her vow or pledge] on the day that he hears of it, then he shall annul her vow which she is under and the rash statement of her lips by which she bound herself; and the Lord will forgive her.

“But the vow of a widow or of a divorced woman, everything by which she has bound herself, shall stand against her.

However, if she vowed in her husband’s house or bound herself by a pledge with an oath,

and her husband heard it, but said nothing to her and did not disapprove of her [making the vow], then all her vows and every pledge by which she bound herself shall stand.

But if her husband absolutely annuls them on the day he heard them, then whatever proceeds from her lips concerning her vows or concerning her pledge shall not stand. Her husband has annulled them, and the Lord will forgive her.

“Every vow and every binding oath to humble herself, her husband may confirm it or her husband may annul it.

“Her wise ladies answered her,Indeed, she repeated her words to herself,

Now his daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife, was pregnant, and was about to give birth; so when she heard the news that the ark of God had been taken and that her father-in-law and her husband had died, she kneeled down and gave birth, because her [labor] pains began.

And she stood and bowed with her face to the ground and said, “Behold, your maidservant is [ready to be] a maid to wash the feet of the servants of my lord.”

Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it out for herself on the rock, from the beginning of harvest [in the spring] until [the autumn] rain fell on them; and she allowed neither the birds of the sky to rest on their bodies by day, nor the beasts of the field [to feed on them] by night.

So she left him and shut the door behind her and her sons; they were bringing her the containers as she poured [the oil].

She came and fell at his feet, bowing herself to the ground [in respect and gratitude]. Then she picked up her son and left.

“Yet when she lifts herself on high,[So swift is she that] she laughs at the horse and his rider.

The bird has found a house,And the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young—Even Your altars, O Lord of hosts,My King and my God.

She equips herself with strength [spiritual, mental, and physical fitness for her God-given task]And makes her arms strong.

She makes for herself coverlets, cushions, and rugs of tapestry.Her clothing is linen, pure and fine, and purple [wool].

I will rejoice greatly in the Lord,My soul will exult in my God;For He has clothed me with garments of salvation,He has covered me with a robe of righteousness,As a bridegroom puts on a turban,And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

And the Lord said to me, “Faithless Israel has proved herself less guilty than treacherous Judah [a land of renegades].

The roads to Zion are in mourningBecause no one comes to the appointed feasts.All her gates are desolate;Her priests are groaning,Her virgins are grieved and suffering,And she suffers bitterly.

Jerusalem sinned greatly;Therefore she has become an unclean thing [and has been removed].All who honored her [now] despise herBecause they have seen her nakedness;Even she herself groans and turns [her face] away.

She bestowed [freely] her immoralities on them, the choicest men of Assyria, all of them; and with all whom she adored and lusted after, she defiled herself with their idols.

“She has wearied Me with toil,Yet her great rust has not left her;Her thick rust and filth will not be burned away by fire [no matter how hot the flame].

“And I will punish her for the [feast] days of the Baals,When she used to offer sacrifices and burn incense to themAnd adorn herself with her earrings and nose rings and her jewelry,And follow her lovers, so that she forgot Me,” says the Lord.

For they have gone up to Assyria,Like a wild donkey wandering alone and taking her own way;Ephraim has hired lovers (pagan allies).

For Tyre built herself an [impregnable] stronghold [on an island offshore],And she has heaped up silver like dustAnd gold like the mire of the streets.

for she had been saying to herself, “If I only touch His outer robe, I will be healed.”

Now [Salome] the daughter of Herodias came in and danced [for the men]. She pleased and beguiled Herod and his dinner guests; and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you.”

Instead, after hearing about Him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately came and fell at His feet.

Now after this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant, and for five months she secluded herself completely, saying,

But Mary treasured all these things, giving careful thought to them and pondering them in her heart.

She had a sister named Mary, who seated herself at the Lord’s feet and was continually listening to His teaching.

And there was a woman who for eighteen years had had an illness caused by a spirit (demon). She was bent double, and could not straighten up at all.

But Peter sent them all out [of the room] and knelt down and prayed; then turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise!” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up.

Accordingly, she will be designated as an adulteress if she unites herself to another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from the law [regarding marriage], so that she is not an adulteress if she marries another man.

Whereas she who lives for pleasure and self-indulgence is spiritually dead even while she still lives.

and has a reputation for good deeds; [she is eligible] if she has brought up children, if she has shown hospitality to strangers, if she has washed the feet of the saints (God’s people), if she has assisted the distressed, and has devoted herself to doing good in every way.

By faith even Sarah herself received the ability to conceive [a child], even [when she was long] past the normal age for it, because she considered Him who had given her the promise to be reliable and true [to His word].

But I have this [charge] against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess [claiming to be inspired], and she teaches and misleads My bond-servants so that they commit [acts of sexual] immorality and eat food sacrificed to idols.

Then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that she would be nourished there for a thousand two hundred and sixty days (forty-two months; three and one-half years).

The woman whom you saw is the great city, which reigns over and dominates and controls the kings and the political leaders of the earth.”

Repay to her even as she has repaid others, and pay back [to her] double [her torment] in accordance with what she has done; in the cup [of sin and suffering] which she mixed, mix a double portion [of perfect justice] for her.

To the degree that she glorified herself and reveled and gloated in her sensuality [living deliciously and luxuriously], to that same degree impose on her torment and anguish, and mourning and grief; for in her heart she boasts, ‘I sit as a queen [on a throne] and I am not a widow, and will never, ever see mourning or experience grief.’

Let us rejoice and shout for joy! Let us give Him glory and honor, for the marriage of the Lamb has come [at last] and His bride (the redeemed) has prepared herself.”