'Man' in the Bible

The captain of fifty and the man of honor,The counselor and the expert artisan,And the skillful enchanter.

And the people will be oppressed,Each one by another, and each one by his neighbor;The boy will be arrogant and insolent toward the elderAnd the vulgar (common) toward the honorable [person of rank].

When a man takes hold of his brother in the house of his father, saying,“You have a robe, you shall be our judge and ruler,And this pile of ruins will be under your control,”

And in that day seven women will take hold of one man, saying, “We will eat our own food and wear [and provide] our own clothes; only let us be called by your name; take away our shame [of being unmarried].”

So the common man will be bowed down and the man of importance degraded,And the eyes of the proud (arrogant) will be degraded.

Then I said,“Woe is me! For I am ruined,Because I am a man of [ceremonially] unclean lips,And I live among a people of unclean lips;For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.”

Then I said, “Lord, how long?” And He answered,“Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant,And houses are without peopleAnd the land is utterly desolate,

Now in that day [because of the poverty caused by the invaders] a man will keep alive only a young milk cow and two sheep;

People will come there [to hunt] with arrows and with bows because all the land will be briars and thorns.

Then the Lord said to me, “Take for yourself a large tablet [for public display] and write on it in ordinary characters: Belonging to Maher-shalal-hash-baz.

“It is the Lord of hosts whom you are to regard as holy and awesome.He shall be your [source of] fear,He shall be your [source of] dread [not man].

The elderly and honorable man, he is the head;And the prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail.

By the wrath of the Lord of hosts the land is burned up,And the people are like fuel for the fire;No man spares his brother.

Is the axe able to lift itself over the one who chops with it?Is the saw able to magnify itself over the one who wields it?That would be like a club moving those who lift it,Or like a staff raising him who is not [made of] wood [like itself]!

The Lord will consume the glory of Assyria’s forest and of its fruitful garden, both soul and body,And it will be as when a sick man wastes away.

I will make mortal man more rare than fine gold,And mankind [scarcer] than the pure gold of Ophir.

And like the hunted gazelle,Or like sheep that no man gathers,Each [foreign resident] will turn [and go back] to his own people,And each one flee to his own land.

“Those who see you will gaze at you,They will consider you, saying,‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble,Who shook kingdoms,

The Lord has mixed a spirit of distortion within her;Her leaders have caused Egypt to stagger in all that she does,As a drunken man staggers in his vomit.

‘Listen carefully, the Lord is about to hurl you away violently, O man;And He is about to grasp you firmly

The earth reels back and forth like a drunkardAnd sways like a shack;Its transgression lies heavily upon it,And it will fall and not rise again.

For the bed is too short to stretch out on,And the blanket is too narrow to wrap around oneself [and likewise all their preparations are inadequate].

It will be as when a hungry man dreamsThat he is eating,But when he awakens, his hunger is not satisfied;Or as when a thirsty man dreamsThat he is drinking,But when he awakens, in fact, he is faintAnd his thirst is not quenched.So will the multitude of all the nations beWho fight against Mount Zion.

Those who cause a person to be condemned with a [false] word,And lay a trap for him who upholds justice at the [city] gate,And defraud the one in the right with meaningless arguments.

For in that day every man will reject and throw away his idols of silver and his idols of gold [in disgust], which your own hands have sinfully made for you.

Then the Assyrian will fall by a sword not of man,And a sword not of man will devour him.And he will flee from the sword [of God],And his young men will become forced labor.

But the noble man conceives noble and magnificent things;And he stands by what is noble and magnificent.

The highways are deserted, the traveler has ceased [to appear].The enemy has broken the covenant, he has rejected the cities,He has no regard for [any] man.

He will dwell on the heights,His place of defense will be the fortress of rocks,His bread will be given him;His water will be permanent.

Then the lame will leap like a deer,And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy.For waters will break forth in the wildernessAnd streams in the desert.

Listen carefully, you rely on the staff of this broken reed, Egypt, which will pierce the hand of any man who leans on it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who rely on him.

I said, “I will not see the LordThe Lord in the land of the living;I will no longer see man among the inhabitants of the world.

“I was first to say to Zion, ‘Listen carefully, here they are [the Jews who will be restored to their own land].’And to Jerusalem, ‘I will provide a messenger (Isaiah) to bring the good news [that Cyrus will be stirred up and put into action to save them].’

“But when I look [on the pagan prophets and priests], there is no one [who could predict these events],And there is no counselor among them,Who, if I ask, can give an answer.

The Lord will go forth like a warrior,He will stir up His zeal like a man of war;He will shout out, yes, He will raise a war cry.He will prevail [mightily] against His enemies.

The carpenter stretches out a measuring line, he marks out the shape [of the idol] with red chalk; he works it with planes and outlines it with the compass; and he makes it like the form of a man, like the beauty of man, that it may sit in a house.

Then it becomes fuel for a man to burn, so he takes one of them and warms himself; he also kindles a fire to bake bread. He also makes a god [from the same wood] and worships it. He makes it into a carved idol [with his own hands] and falls down and worships it!

That kind of man (the idolater) feeds on ashes [and is satisfied with ashes]! A deceived mind has led him astray, so that he cannot save himself, or ask, “Is this thing [that I am holding] in my right hand not a lie?”

“I made the earth and created man upon it.My hands, stretched out the heavens,And I commanded all their host.

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.

“Your nakedness will be uncovered,Your shame will also be exposed;I will take vengeance and will spare no man.”

This is what the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, Israel’s Holy One says,To the thoroughly despised One,To the One hated by the nationTo the Servant of rulers,“Kings will see and arise,Princes shall also bow down,Because of the Lord who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You.”

“Why, when I came, was there no man [to greet Me]?When I called, why was there no one to answer?Is My hand really so short that it cannot redeem [My servants]?Or have I no power to rescue?Listen carefully, with My rebuke I dry up the sea,I make the rivers into a desert;Their fish stink because there is no waterAnd die of thirst.

“I, even I, am He who comforts you.Who are you that you are afraid of man who diesAnd of a son of man who is made [as destructible] as grass,

He was despised and rejected by men,A Man of sorrows and pain and acquainted with grief;And like One from whom men hide their facesHe was despised, and we did not appreciate His worth or esteem Him.

His grave was assigned with the wicked,But He was with a rich man in His death,Because He had done no violence,Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.

Let the wicked leave (behind) his wayAnd the unrighteous man his thoughts;And let him return to the Lord,And He will have compassion (mercy) on him,And to our God,For He will abundantly pardon.

“Blessed (happy, fortunate) is the man who does this,And the son of man who takes hold of it,Who keeps the Sabbath without profaning it,And keeps his hand from doing any evil.”

The righteous man perishes [at the hand of evil], and no one takes it to heart;Faithful and devout men are taken away, while no one understandsThat the righteous person is taken away [to be spared] from disaster and evil.

“For I will not contend forever,Nor will I always be angry;For [if I did stay angry] the spirit [of man] would grow weak before Me,And the breath of those whom I have created.

“Is a fast such as this what I have chosen, a day for a man to humble himself [with sorrow in his soul]?Is it only to bow down his head like a reedAnd to make sackcloth and ashes as a bed [pretending to have a repentant heart]?Do you call this a fast and a day pleasing to the Lord?

He saw that there was no man,And was amazed that there was no one to intercede [on behalf of truth and right];Therefore His own arm brought salvation to Him,And His own righteousness sustained Him.

“Whereas you [Jerusalem] have been abandoned and hatedWith no one passing through,I will make you an object of pride forever,A joy from generation to generation.

For as a young man marries a virgin [O Jerusalem],So your sons will marry you;And as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,So your God will rejoice over you.

“No longer shall there be in it an infant who lives only a few days,Or an old man who does not finish his days;For the youth who dies at the age of a hundred,And the one who does not reach the age of a hundredWill be thought of as accursed.

“For all these things My hand has made,So all these things came into being [by and for Me],” declares the Lord.“But to this one I will look [graciously],To him who is humble and contrite in spirit, and who [reverently] trembles at My word and honors My commands.

“He who kills an ox [for pagan sacrifice] is [as guilty] as one who kills a man;He who sacrifices a lamb, as one who breaks a dog’s neck;He who offers a grain offering, as one who offers swine’s blood;He who offers incense, as one who blesses an idol.Such people have chosen their own ways,And their soul delights in their repulsive acts;

“They did not say, ‘Where is the LordWho brought us up from the land of Egypt,Who led us through the wilderness,Through a land of deserts and of pits,Through a land of drought and of the deep darkness [of the shadow of death],Through a land that no man passed throughAnd where no man lived?’

That is to say, “If a man divorces his wifeAnd she goes [away] from himAnd becomes another man’s [wife],Will he return to her again? [Of course not!]Will not that land [where such a thing happened] be completely desecrated?But you [rebelled against Me and you] are a prostitute with many lovers;Yet you turn to Me.” says the Lord.

I looked, and behold, there was no man,And all the birds of the air had fled.

Every city runs away at the sound of the horsemen and archers.They go into the thickets and climb among the rocks;Every city is deserted,And no man lives in them.

“Roam back and forth through the streets of Jerusalem,And look now and take note.And look in her open squaresTo see if you can find a man [as Abraham sought in Sodom],One who is just, who [has integrity and moral courage and] seeks truth (faithfulness);Then I will pardon Jerusalem—[for the sake of one uncompromisingly righteous person].

“They seize bow and spear;They are cruel and inhuman and have no mercy.Their voice sounds like the roaring sea;They ride [in formation] on horses,Arrayed as a man for battleAgainst you, O Daughter of Zion (Jerusalem)!”

For if you thoroughly change your ways and your behavior, if you thoroughly and honestly practice justice between a man and his neighbor,

Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, My anger and My wrath will be poured out on this place, on man and beast, on the trees of the field and the fruit of the ground; and it will burn and [the fire will] not be quenched.”

“I have listened and heard,But they have spoken what is not right;No man repented of his wickedness,Saying, ‘What have I done?’Everyone turns to his [individual] course,As the horse rushes like a torrent into battle.

Who is the wise man who may understand this [without any doubt]? To whom has the mouth of the Lord spoken, so that he may declare it? Why is the land ruined, laid waste like a wilderness, so that no one passes through?

Every man has become [like a brute] irrational and stupid, without knowledge [of God];Every goldsmith is shamed by his carved idols;For his molten images are frauds and lies,And there is no breath in them.

O Lord, I know that the path of [life of] a man is not in himself;It is not within [the limited ability of] man [even one at his best] to choose and direct his steps [in life].

Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, “Cursed is the man who does not heed the words of this covenant

“They have made it a wasteland,Desolate, it mourns before Me;The whole land has been made a wasteland,Because no man takes it to heart.

And it shall come about that after I have uprooted them, I will return and have compassion on them; and I will bring them back again, each one to his inheritance and each one to his land.

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.’

“O Hope of Israel,Her Savior in time of distress and trouble,Why should You be like a sojourner (temporary resident) in the landOr like a traveler who turns aside and spreads his tent to linger [only] for a night?

“Why should You be [hesitant and inactive] like a man astounded and perplexed,Like a mighty man unable to save?Yet You, O Lord, are among us,And we are called by Your name;Do not leave us!”

Woe to me, my mother, that you have given birth to meTo be a man of strife and a man of contention to all the earth!I have not loaned, nor have men lent money to me,Yet everyone curses me.

“Can a man make gods for himself?Such [things] are not gods!

Thus says the Lord,“Cursed is the man who trusts in and relies on mankind,Making [weak, faulty human] flesh his strength,And whose mind and heart turn away from the Lord.

“Blessed [with spiritual security] is the man who believes and trusts in and relies on the LordAnd whose hope and confident expectation is the Lord.

“I, the Lord, search and examine the mind,I test the heart,To give to each man according to his ways,According to the results of his deeds.

Cursed be the man who brought the newsTo my father, saying,“A son has been born to you!”Making him very glad.

And let that man be like the citiesWhich the Lord overthrew without regret.Let him hear an outcry in the morningAnd a shout of alarm at noon;

I will also strike the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast; they will die of a great virulent disease.

“Many nations will pass by this city; and each man will say to another, ‘Why has the Lord done this to this great city?’

“Is this man [King] Coniah a despised, broken jar?Is he a vessel in which no one takes pleasure?Why are he and his [royal] descendants hurled outAnd cast into a land which they do not know or understand?

Thus says the Lord,‘Write this man [Coniah] down as childless,A man who will not prosper (succeed) in his lifetime;For not one of his descendants will succeedIn sitting on the throne of DavidOr ruling again in Judah.’”

Concerning the prophets:My heart [says Jeremiah] is broken within me,All my bones shake;I have become like a drunken man,A man whom wine has overcome,Because of the LordAnd because of His holy words [declared against unfaithful leaders].

who think that they can make My people forget My Name by their [contrived] dreams which each one tells another, just as their fathers forgot My Name because of Baal?

And as for the prophet, the priest, or [any of] the people, whoever says, ‘The oracle of the Lord,’ [as if he knows God’s will], I will punish that man and his household.

It may be that they will listen and everyone will turn from his wickedness, so that I may relent and reverse [My decision concerning] the disaster which I am planning to do to them because of their malevolent deeds.’

Then the priests and the [false] prophets said to the princes and to all the people, “This man is deserving of death, for he has prophesied against this city as you have heard with your own ears.”

Then the princes and all the people said to the priests and to the [false] prophets, “This man is not deserving of death, for he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.”

And there was also a man who prophesied in the name of the Lord, Uriah the son of Shemaiah of Kiriath-jearim, who prophesied against this city and against this land in words similar to all those of Jeremiah.

‘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?

“How long will you hesitate [to return],O you faithless and renegade daughter?For the Lord has created a new thing in the land [of Israel]:A woman will encompass (tenderly love) a man.”

“Behold (listen carefully), the days are coming,” says the Lord, “when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and with the seed of beast.

But everyone will die [only] for his own wickedness; every man who eats sour grapes—his [own] teeth shall be set on edge.

And each man will no longer teach his neighbor and his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me [through personal experience], from the least of them to the greatest,” says the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness, and I will no longer remember their sin.”

Fields will be bought in this land of which you say, “It is desolate, without man or animal; it is given into the hands of the Chaldeans.”

“Thus says the Lord, ‘Yet again there will be heard in this place of which you say, “It is a [desolate] waste, without man and without animal”—even in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man and without inhabitant and without animal—