'Loins' in the Bible

Now you are to eat it in this manner: [be prepared for a journey] with your loins girded [that is, with the outer garment tucked into the band], your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; you shall eat it quickly—it is the Lord’s Passover.

and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the lobe of the liver which he shall remove with the kidneys.

and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys.

and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the lobe of the liver which he shall remove with the kidneys.

and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys

and the two kidneys with the fat that is on them at the loins, and the lobe of the liver, which he shall remove with the kidneys.

“O Lord, bless Levi’s substance (ability),And accept and take pleasure in the work of his hands;Crush and shatter the loins of those who rise up against him,And of those who hate him, so that they do not rise again.”

Now you also know what Joab the son of Zeruiah [my sister] did to me, and what he did to the two commanders of the armies of Israel, to Abner the son of Ner and to Amasa the son of Jether, [both of] whom he murdered; avenging the blood of war in [a time of] peace. And he put the [innocent] blood of war [of Abner and Amasa] on his belt that was around his waist, and on his sandals on his feet.

The young men who had grown up with him answered, “This is what you should say to this people who told you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but as for you, make our yoke lighter’—say this to them: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s loins [and my reign will be even more severe].

Then the hand of the Lord came upon Elijah [giving him supernatural strength]. He girded up his loins and outran Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel [nearly twenty miles].

But his servants said to him, “We have heard that the kings of the house (royal line) of Israel are merciful kings. Please let us put sackcloth around our loins and ropes on our necks [as symbols of submission], and go out to the king of Israel; perhaps he will spare your life.”

So they put sackcloth around their loins and ropes on their necks, and came to the king of Israel and said, “Your servant Ben-hadad says, ‘Please let me live.’” And Ahab asked, “Is he still alive? He is my brother.”

They answered him, “He was a hairy man with a [wide] leather band bound around his loins.” And Ahaziah said, “It is Elijah the Tishbite.”

Then he said to Gehazi, “Gird up your loins (prepare now!) and take my staff in your hand, and go [to the woman’s house]; if you meet any man [along the way], do not greet him and if a man greets you, do not [stop to] answer him; and lay my staff on the face of the boy [as soon as you reach the house].”

Now Elisha the prophet called one of the sons of the prophets and said to him, “Gird up your loins (prepare for action), take this flask of oil in your hand and go to Ramoth-gilead.

The young men who grew up with him told him, “Tell the people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you make it lighter for us’: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s loins!

“He loosens the bond of kingsAnd binds their loins with a loincloth.

For he has covered his face with his fat,Adding layers of fat to his thighs [giving himself up to pleasures],

If his loins have not thanked and blessed me [for clothing them],And if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep,

“Now gird up your loins like a man,And I will ask you, and you instruct Me!

“Now gird up your loins (prepare yourself) like a man,And I will ask you, and you instruct Me.

“See now, his strength is in his loinsAnd his power is in the muscles and sinews of his belly.

For my sides are filled with burning,And there is no health in my flesh.

You brought us into the net;You laid a heavy burden [of servitude] on us.

May their eyes be dimmed so that they cannot see,And make their loins shake continually [in terror and weakness].

The strutting rooster, the male goat also,And the king when his army is with him.

No one among them is weary or stumbles,No one slumbers or sleeps;Nor is the belt at their waist undone [as if unprepared for action],Nor is the strap of their sandal broken.

And righteousness will be the belt around His loins,And faithfulness the belt around His waist.

at that time the Lord spoke through Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, “Go, untie the sackcloth from your hips and take your sandals off your feet.” And he did so, walking around stripped [to his loincloth] and barefoot.

Therefore [continues Isaiah] my loins are filled with anguish;Pains have seized me like the pains of a woman in childbirth;I am so bent and bewildered that I cannot hear, I am so terrified that I cannot see.

Tremble, you women who are carefree;Tremble with fear, you complacent ones!Strip, undress and wear sackcloth on your waist [in grief],

This is what the Lord says to His anointed, to Cyrus [king of Persia],Whose right hand I have heldTo subdue nations before him,And I will ungird the loins of kings [disarming them];To open doors before him so that gates will not be shut:

But you [Jeremiah], gird up your loins [in preparation]! Get up and tell them all which I command you. Do not be distraught and break down at the sight of their [hostile] faces, or I will bewilder you before them and allow you to be overcome.

Thus the Lord said to me, “Go and buy yourself a linen waistband and put it on your loins, but do not put it in water.”

So I bought the waistband according to the word of the Lord and put it on my loins.

“Get up and take the waistband that you have bought, which is [wrapped] around your loins, and go to the [river] Euphrates and hide it there in a crevice of the rock.”

For as the waistband clings to the body of a man, so I caused the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to cling to Me,’ says the Lord, ‘that they might be for Me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory; but they did not listen and obey.’

‘Ask now, and seeWhether a man can give birth [to a child].Why then do I see every manWith his hands on his loins, as a woman in labor?Why have all faces turned pale?

For every head is [shaven] bald and every beard cut off; there are cuts (slashes) on all the hands and sackcloth on the loins [all expressions of mourning].

girded with belts on their loins, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them looking like officers, like the Babylonian men whose native land was Chaldea.

They shall have linen turbans on their heads and linen undergarments on their loins; they shall not dress themselves with anything which makes them sweat.

Again he measured a thousand [cubits] and led me through the water, water that was knee-deep. Again he measured a thousand [cubits] and led me through the water, water reaching the hips.

I raised my eyes and looked, and behold, there was a certain man dressed in linen, whose loins were girded with [a belt of] pure gold of Uphaz.

“And I shall turn your festivals and feasts into mourningAnd all your songs into dirges (funeral poems to be sung);And I shall cause sackcloth to be put on everyone’s loinsAnd baldness on every head [shaved for mourning].And I shall make that time like a time of mourning for an only son [who has died],And the end of it shall be like a bitter day.

The one who scatters has come up against you [Nineveh].Man the fortress and ramparts, watch the road;Strengthen your back [prepare for battle], summon all your strength.

She is emptied! She is desolate and waste!Hearts melting [in fear] and knees knocking!Anguish is in the whole body,And the faces of all grow pale!

John wore clothing made of camel’s hair and had a [wide] leather band around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.

“Be dressed and ready for active service, and keep your lamps continuously burning.

So stand firm and hold your ground, having tightened the wide band of truth (personal integrity, moral courage) around your waist and having put on the breastplate of righteousness (an upright heart),

for Levi was still in the loins (unborn) of his forefather [Abraham] when Melchizedek met him (Abraham).