'Love' in the Bible

"Your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me your gracious love in how you have dealt with me by keeping me alive. I cannot escape to the hills, because I'm afraid the disaster will overtake me, and I'll die.

God said, "Please take your son, your unique son whom you love Isaac and go to the land of Moriah. Offer him as a burnt offering there on one of the mountains that I will point out to you."

That's when he prayed, "LORD God of my master Abraham, help me to succeed today. Please show your gracious love to my master Abraham.

May it be that the young woman to whom I ask, "Please, lower your jug so that I may drink,' responds, "Have a drink, and I'll water your camels as well.' May she be the one whom you have chosen for your servant Isaac. This is how I'll know that you have shown your gracious love to my master."

"Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hasn't held back his gracious love and faithfulness from my master! The LORD has led me to the house of my master's relatives!"

So now, if you wish to show gracious love and truth toward my master, tell me so. But if not, tell me, so that I may go elsewhere."

Jacob served seven years for Rachel, but it seemed like only a few days because of his love for her.

Leah conceived, bore a son, and named him Reuben, because she was saying, "The LORD had looked on my torture, so now my husband will love me."

I'm unworthy of all your gracious love, your faithfulness, and everything that you've done for your servant. When I first crossed over this river, I had only my staff. But now I've become two groups.

But the LORD was with Joseph. He extended gracious love to him, causing the prison warden to be pleased with Joseph.

"You have led with your gracious love this people whom you redeemed. You have guided them with your strength to your holy dwelling.

but showing gracious love to the thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

But if the servant, in fact, says, "I love my master, my wife, and my children, and I won't go out a free man,'

The LORD passed in front of him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and filled with gracious love and truth.

"You are not to seek vengeance or hold a grudge against the descendants of your people. Instead, love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD."

You are to treat the resident alien the same way you treat the native born among you love him like yourself, since you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

"The LORD is slow to anger and abundant in faithful love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he won't acquit the guilty. He recalls the iniquity of fathers to the third and fourth generation.'

"Forgive, please, the iniquity of this people, according to your great, faithful love, in the same way that you've carried this people from Egypt to this place."

but showing gracious love to the thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

You are to love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.

Know that the LORD your God is God, the trusted God who faithfully keeps his covenant to the thousandth generation of those who love him and obey his commands.

"If you pay attention to these laws and obey them, then the LORD your God will continue his covenant of gracious love with you that he promised with an oath to your ancestors.

He'll love you and increase your numbers. He'll bless the fruit of your womb, the fruit of your land (the grain, new wine, and oil), the offspring of your herds, and the lambs of your flock, in the land that the LORD promised your ancestors he would give you.

"Now Israel, what does the LORD your God desire from you? Only this: fear him, walk in all his ways, love him, serve him with all your heart and in all your life,

yet the LORD committed himself to love your ancestors and did so! He chose you their descendants after them from all the nations, as it is today.

"You are to love the foreigner, because you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

"Therefore love the LORD your God and be very careful to keep his injunctions, statutes, ordinances, and commands all the time.

"If you carefully observe the commands that I'm giving you today, to love the LORD your God and serve him with all your heart and soul,

"If you carefully observe all of these commands that I'm giving you to do to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, and to cling to him,

you must not listen to the words of that prophet or that diviner of dreams. For the LORD your God is testing you, to make known whether or not you'll continue to love the LORD your God with all your heart and soul.

and if you are careful to observe all these commands that I am commanding you today to love the LORD your God and to walk daily in his ways then add three more cities in addition to these three cities.

Then the LORD your God will circumcise both your hearts and those of your descendants so that you can love him with your heart and with your soul and therefore live.

That's why I'm commanding you today to love the LORD your God by walking in his ways and by observing his commands, statutes, and ordinances, so that you may live long, increase, and so that the LORD your God may bless you in the land that you are about to enter to possess.

Love the LORD your God, obey his voice, and cling to him, because he is your life even your long life so that you may live in the land that the LORD promised to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."

About Levi he said: "Let your Thummim and Urim be with the man to whom you showed gracious love, whom you tested at Massah and with whom you struggled at the waters of Meribah,

Only be very careful to keep the commands and the Law that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you that is, to love the LORD your God, to follow in all of his ways, to keep his commands, to stay close to him, and to serve him with all your heart and soul."

"So be very diligent to love the LORD your God,

"May all of your enemies perish like this, LORD! But may those who love him be like the ascending sun in its strength!" Then the land enjoyed quiet for 40 years.

And they showed no gracious love to the household of Jerubbaal also known as Gideon despite all the good that he had done for Israel.

So Samson's wife cried in front of him and accused him, "You only hate me. You don't love me. You've told a riddle to my relatives, but you haven't told the solution to me." Samson responded, "Look, I haven't told my parents, either. Why should I tell you?"

Some time later, she asked him, "How can you keep saying "I love you!' when your heart isn't with me? These three times you've lied to me and haven't told me where your great strength lies."

But along the way, Naomi told her two daughters-in-law, "Each of you go back home. Return to your mother's house. May the LORD show his gracious love to you, as you have shown me and our loved ones who have died.

Naomi replied, "May the one who hasn't abandoned his gracious love to the living or to the dead be blessed by the LORD." Naomi added, "This man is closely related to us, our related redeemer, as a matter of fact!"

He replied, "May you be blessed by the LORD, my daughter. You've added to the gracious love you've already demonstrated by not pursuing younger men, whether rich or poor.

Saul commanded his officials, "Speak with David privately and say, "Look, the king delights in you, and all his officials love you. Now become the king's son-in-law.'"

If I remain alive, don't fail to show me the LORD's gracious love so that I don't die.

And don't stop showing your gracious love to my family forever, not even when the LORD eliminates each of David's enemies from the surface of the earth."

Jonathan made David vow again out of his love for him, because he loved him as himself.

I am in distress for you, my brother Jonathan. You have been most kind to me. Your love for me was extraordinary beyond love from women.

So David sent messengers to the people of Jabesh-gilead and told them, "May the LORD bless you, because you showed gracious love like this to your lord Saul by burying him.

Now may the Lord reward you with gracious love, as well as faithfulness, to you, too! And I will also reward you because you did this good thing.

But I'll never remove my gracious love from him as I did from Saul, whom I removed from your presence.

Later on, David asked, "Is there anyone left alive from Saul's household to whom I can show gracious love in memory of Jonathan?"

At this the king asked, "Isn't there still someone left from Saul's household to whom I may show God's gracious love?" "There's Jonathan's son. He has maimed feet," Ziba answered.

"Don't be afraid," David reassured him, "because I'm going to show gracious love to you in memory of your father Jonathan. I'm going to restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you'll always have a place at my table!"

so David told himself, "I will be loyal to Nahash's son Hanun, since in his loyalty his father showed gracious love to me." So David sent a delegation to Hanun to console him about his loss of his father.

Sometime after this, David's son Amnon fell in love with David's other son Absalom's beautiful sister Tamar.

"Why are you so depressed these past few mornings," Jonadab asked Amnon, "since you're a son of the king? Why not tell me?" Amnon replied, "I'm in love with my brother Absalom's sister Tamar."

Afterwards, though, Amnon hated her very intensely. As a result, his hatred for her exceeded the love that he had previously for her. So Amnon told her, "Get up! Leave!"

It seems only yesterday that you arrived, so should I make you wander around with us while I go wherever I can? Go back, and take your brothers with you. May gracious love and truth accompany you!"

You love those who hate you and hate those who love you! You've made it abundantly clear today that your officers and the men under them mean nothing to you! I've learned today that you would rather have Absalom alive today and all the rest of us dead!

In the company of the gracious you demonstrate your gracious love. In the company of the blamelessly valiant you demonstrate your blamelessness.

Great is the salvation he brings to his king, showing gracious love to his anointed, to David and to his offspring forever.

"You have demonstrated abundant gracious love to your servant David, my father, as he lived in your presence truthfully, righteously, and uprightly in his heart. In addition, you have kept on showing this abundant gracious love by giving him a son to sit on his throne today. Now, LORD my God, you have set me as king to replace my father David, but I'm still young. I don't have any leadership skills.

"LORD God of Israel, there is no one like you, God in heaven above or on the earth below, who watches over his covenant, showing gracious love to your servants who live their lives in your presence with all their hearts. It is you, LORD God, who have kept your promise to my father, your servant David, that you made to him. Indeed, you made a commitment to my father David and then personally fulfilled what you had promised today.

all of them from nations that the LORD had ordered the Israelis, "You are not to associate with them and they are not to associate with you, because they will most certainly turn your affections away to follow their gods." Solomon became deeply attached to them by falling in love.

Give thanks to the LORD, because he is good and because his gracious love is eternal!

David also appointed Heman, Jeduthun, and others chosen by name to give thanks to the LORD, because "his gracious love is eternal."

I will be a father to him and he will be a son to me. I will never remove my gracious love from him as I did from the one who preceded you.

so David told himself, "I will be loyal to Nahash's son Hanun, since his father showed loyal, gracious love to me." So David sent a delegation to console him about his loss of his father.

"In addition to everything that I have supplied for the Temple, it pleases me to provide my own treasure of gold and silver, so because of my love for the Temple of my God I hereby give to the Temple of my God the following:

Solomon replied to God, "You showed great gracious love to my father David, and have established me as king in his place.

the trumpeters and musicians played in union, praising and giving thanks to the LORD. They praised the LORD loudly and sang, "He is good, and his gracious love is eternal," accompanied by the trumpets, cymbals, and other musical instruments.) As they did this, a cloud filled the Temple, that is, the LORD's Temple,

"LORD God of Israel, there is no one like you, God of heaven and earth, who watches over his covenant, showing gracious love to your servants who live their lives in your presence with all their hearts. It is you, LORD God, who has kept your promise to my father, your servant David, that you made to him. Indeed, you made a commitment to my father David and then personally fulfilled what you had promised today.

"LORD God, do not turn your face away from your anointed one. Remember your gracious love to your servant David."

When all of the Israelis saw the fire coming down and the glory of the LORD resting on the Temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement, worshipped, and gave thanks to the LORD, "Because he is good; because his gracious love is eternal."

The priests stood in waiting at their assigned places, along with the descendants of Levi who carried musical instruments used in service to the LORD that King David had made for giving thanks to the LORD because his gracious love is eternal whenever David, accompanied by priests sounding trumpets, offered praises while all of Israel stood in the assembly.

where Hanani's son Jehu, the seer, went out to meet him. He asked King Jehoshaphat, "Should you be helping those who are wicked, yes or no? Should you love those who hate the LORD? Wrath is headed your way directly from the LORD because of this.

After he had consulted with the people, Jehoshaphat appointed some choir members to sing to the LORD and to praise him in sacred splendor as they marched out in front of the armed forces. They kept saying "Give thanks to the LORD, because his gracious love is eternal!"

And they sang in unison to one another, giving thanks to the LORD: "He is good, and his gracious love to Israel endures forever." And all the people shouted out loudly in praise to the LORD when the foundation of the LORD's Temple was laid.

and who showed gracious love to me before the king, before his advisors, and before all of the king's mighty officials. And I was strengthened because the hand of the LORD my God was upon me. So I gathered together the leaders of Israel to go with me.

Even though we are slaves, our God has not abandoned us in our slavery. Instead, he has extended gracious love to us in the presence of the kings of Persia, to grant us revival, to set up the Temple of our God, to repair its damage, and to give us a protective wall for Judah and Jerusalem.

I said, "Please, LORD, God of Heaven, the great and fearsome God who keeps the covenant, showing gracious love to those who love you and keep your commands,

They would not listen, and did not remember the miracles you did among them. Instead, they became stubborn and appointed a leader to return them to their slavery. "But you are a God of forgiveness, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, and rich in gracious love; therefore you did not abandon them.

"Now therefore, our God, the great, mighty, and awesome God, who keeps the covenant and gracious love, don't let all of the difficulties seem trifling to you, all of hardships that have come upon us, upon our kings, upon our leaders, upon our priests, upon our prophets, upon our ancestors, and upon all of your people from the time of the kings of Assyria until this day.

Then I commanded the descendants of Levi to purify themselves and to come as gate keepers to sanctify the Sabbath day. Remember me, my God, and show mercy to me according to the greatness of your gracious love.

The friend shows gracious love for his friend, even if he has forsaken the fear of the Almighty.

You gave life and gracious love to me; your providential care has preserved my spirit.

My closest friends detest me; even the ones I love have turned against me.

whether for discipline on his land or to demonstrate his gracious love, he causes it to be realized."

You people, how long will you malign my reputation? How long will you love what is vain and what is false? Interlude

But I, because of the abundance of your gracious love, may come into your house. In awe of you, I will worship in your holy Temple.

Let all those who take refuge in you rejoice! Let them shout for joy forever, and may you protect them. Let those who love your name exult in you.

Return, LORD, save my life! Deliver me, because of your gracious love.

The LORD examines the righteous, but the wicked and those who love violence, he hates.

As for me, I have trusted in your gracious love, my heart will rejoice in your deliverance.

Show forth your gracious love, save those who take refuge in you from those who rebel against your sovereign power.

He said: "I love you, Lord, my strength.

To the holy, you show your gracious love, to the upright, you show yourself upright;

He is the one who gives victories to his king; who shows gracious love to his anointed, to David and his seed forever. To the Director: A Davidic Psalm.