'Man' in the Bible

“Son of man, say to her, ‘You are a land that is not cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.’

I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one.

“Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother;

Moreover, the Lord said to me, “Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then declare to them their abominations.

“Son of man, write the name of the day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day.

“Son of man, behold, I am about to take from you the desire of your eyes with a blow; but you shall not mourn and you shall not weep, and your tears shall not come.

‘As for you, son of man, will it not be on the day when I take from them their stronghold, the joy of their pride, the desire of their eyes and their heart’s delight, their sons and their daughters,

“Son of man, set your face toward the sons of Ammon and prophesy against them,

therefore thus says the Lord God, “I will also stretch out My hand against Edom and cut off man and beast from it. And I will lay it waste; from Teman even to Dedan they will fall by the sword.

“Son of man, because Tyre has said concerning Jerusalem, ‘Aha, the gateway of the peoples is broken; it has opened to me. I shall be filled, now that she is laid waste,’

“And you, son of man, take up a lamentation over Tyre;

“Son of man, say to the leader of Tyre, ‘Thus says the Lord God,“Because your heart is lifted upAnd you have said, ‘I am a god,I sit in the seat of godsIn the heart of the seas’;Yet you are a man and not God,Although you make your heart like the heart of God—

‘Will you still say, “I am a god,”In the presence of your slayer,Though you are a man and not God,In the hands of those who wound you?

“Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord God,“You had the seal of perfection,Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.

“Son of man, set your face toward Sidon, prophesy against her

“Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh king of Egypt and prophesy against him and against all Egypt.

‘Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I will bring upon you a sword and I will cut off from you man and beast.

“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army labor hard against Tyre; every head was made bald and every shoulder was rubbed bare. But he and his army had no wages from Tyre for the labor that he had performed against it.”

“Son of man, prophesy and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God,“Wail, ‘Alas for the day!’

“Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, behold, it has not been bound up for healing or wrapped with a bandage, that it may be strong to hold the sword.

For I will strengthen the arms of the king of Babylon and put My sword in his hand; and I will break the arms of Pharaoh, so that he will groan before him with the groanings of a wounded man.

“Son of man, say to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his hordes,‘Whom are you like in your greatness?

“Son of man, take up a lamentation over Pharaoh king of Egypt and say to him,‘You compared yourself to a young lion of the nations,Yet you are like the monster in the seas;And you burst forth in your riversAnd muddied the waters with your feetAnd fouled their rivers.’”

I will make many peoples appalled at you, and their kings will be horribly afraid of you when I brandish My sword before them; and they will tremble every moment, every man for his own life, on the day of your fall.”

“I will also destroy all its cattle from beside many waters;And the foot of man will not muddy them anymoreAnd the hoofs of beasts will not muddy them.

“Son of man, wail for the hordes of Egypt and bring it down, her and the daughters of the powerful nations, to the nether world, with those who go down to the pit;

“Son of man, speak to the sons of your people and say to them, ‘If I bring a sword upon a land, and the people of the land take one man from among them and make him their watchman,

“Now as for you, son of man, I have appointed you a watchman for the house of Israel; so you will hear a message from My mouth and give them warning from Me.

When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you will surely die,’ and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require from your hand.

But if you on your part warn a wicked man to turn from his way and he does not turn from his way, he will die in his iniquity, but you have delivered your life.

“Now as for you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus you have spoken, saying, “Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we are rotting away in them; how then can we survive?”’

And you, son of man, say to your fellow citizens, ‘The righteousness of a righteous man will not deliver him in the day of his transgression, and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he will not stumble because of it in the day when he turns from his wickedness; whereas a righteous man will not be able to live by his righteousness on the day when he commits sin.’

if a wicked man restores a pledge, pays back what he has taken by robbery, walks by the statutes which ensure life without committing iniquity, he shall surely live; he shall not die.

“Son of man, they who live in these waste places in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one, yet he possessed the land; so to us who are many the land has been given as a possession.’

“But as for you, son of man, your fellow citizens who talk about you by the walls and in the doorways of the houses, speak to one another, each to his brother, saying, ‘Come now and hear what the message is which comes forth from the Lord.’

“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock?

“Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir, and prophesy against it

“And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say, ‘O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord.

I will multiply on you man and beast; and they will increase and be fruitful; and I will cause you to be inhabited as you were formerly and will treat you better than at the first. Thus you will know that I am the Lord.

“Son of man, when the house of Israel was living in their own land, they defiled it by their ways and their deeds; their way before Me was like the uncleanness of a woman in her impurity.

He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, You know.”

Then He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they come to life.”’”

Then He said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel; behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope has perished. We are completely cut off.’

“And you, son of man, take for yourself one stick and write on it, ‘For Judah and for the sons of Israel, his companions’; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and all the house of Israel, his companions.’

“Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him

“Therefore prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “On that day when My people Israel are living securely, will you not know it?

“And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal;

“As for you, son of man, thus says the Lord God, ‘Speak to every kind of bird and to every beast of the field, “Assemble and come, gather from every side to My sacrifice which I am going to sacrifice for you, as a great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel, that you may eat flesh and drink blood.

So He brought me there; and behold, there was a man whose appearance was like the appearance of bronze, with a line of flax and a measuring rod in his hand; and he was standing in the gateway.

The man said to me, “Son of man, see with your eyes, hear with your ears, and give attention to all that I am going to show you; for you have been brought here in order to show it to you. Declare to the house of Israel all that you see.”

Then I heard one speaking to me from the house, while a man was standing beside me.

He said to me, “Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell among the sons of Israel forever. And the house of Israel will not again defile My holy name, neither they nor their kings, by their harlotry and by the corpses of their kings when they die,

“As for you, son of man, describe the temple to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the plan.

And He said to me, “Son of man, thus says the Lord God, ‘These are the statutes for the altar on the day it is built, to offer burnt offerings on it and to sprinkle blood on it.

The Lord said to me, “Son of man, mark well, see with your eyes and hear with your ears all that I say to you concerning all the statutes of the house of the Lord and concerning all its laws; and mark well the entrance of the house, with all exits of the sanctuary.

When the man went out toward the east with a line in his hand, he measured a thousand cubits, and he led me through the water, water reaching the ankles.

He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?” Then he brought me back to the bank of the river.

The Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who could declare the matter for the king, inasmuch as no great king or ruler has ever asked anything like this of any magician, conjurer or Chaldean.

Then Arioch hurriedly brought Daniel into the king’s presence and spoke to him as follows: “I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who can make the interpretation known to the king!”

But as for me, this mystery has not been revealed to me for any wisdom residing in me more than in any other living man, but for the purpose of making the interpretation known to the king, and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind.

You, O king, have made a decree that every man who hears the sound of the horn, flute, lyre, trigon, psaltery, and bagpipe and all kinds of music, is to fall down and worship the golden image.

“Let his mind be changed from that of a manAnd let a beast’s mind be given to him,And let seven periods of time pass over him.

There is a man in your kingdom in whom is a spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of your father, illumination, insight and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him. And King Nebuchadnezzar, your father, your father the king, appointed him chief of the magicians, conjurers, Chaldeans and diviners.

All the commissioners of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the high officials and the governors have consulted together that the king should establish a statute and enforce an injunction that anyone who makes a petition to any god or man besides you, O king, for thirty days, shall be cast into the lions’ den.

Then they approached and spoke before the king about the king’s injunction, “Did you not sign an injunction that any man who makes a petition to any god or man besides you, O king, for thirty days, is to be cast into the lions’ den?” The king replied, “The statement is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which may not be revoked.”

The first was like a lion and had the wings of an eagle. I kept looking until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man; a human mind also was given to it.

While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth uttering great boasts.

“I kept looking in the night visions,And behold, with the clouds of heavenOne like a Son of Man was coming,And He came up to the Ancient of DaysAnd was presented before Him.

When I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I sought to understand it; and behold, standing before me was one who looked like a man.

And I heard the voice of a man between the banks of Ulai, and he called out and said, “Gabriel, give this man an understanding of the vision.”

So he came near to where I was standing, and when he came I was frightened and fell on my face; but he said to me, “Son of man, understand that the vision pertains to the time of the end.”

while I was still speaking in prayer, then the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision previously, came to me in my extreme weariness about the time of the evening offering.

I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, there was a certain man dressed in linen, whose waist was girded with a belt of pure gold of Uphaz.

He said to me, “O Daniel, man of high esteem, understand the words that I am about to tell you and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you.” And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling.

He said, “O man of high esteem, do not be afraid. Peace be with you; take courage and be courageous!” Now as soon as he spoke to me, I received strength and said, “May my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.”

And one said to the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, “How long will it be until the end of these wonders?”

I heard the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, as he raised his right hand and his left toward heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time; and as soon as they finish shattering the power of the holy people, all these events will be completed.

Then I said to her, “You shall stay with me for many days. You shall not play the harlot, nor shall you have a man; so I will also be toward you.”

And as raiders wait for a man,So a band of priests murder on the way to Shechem;Surely they have committed crime.

The days of punishment have come,The days of retribution have come;Let Israel know this!The prophet is a fool,The inspired man is demented,Because of the grossness of your iniquity,And because your hostility is so great.

Though they bring up their children,Yet I will bereave them until not a man is left.Yes, woe to them indeed when I depart from them!

I led them with cords of a man, with bonds of love,And I became to them as one who lifts the yoke from their jaws;And I bent down and fed them.

I will not execute My fierce anger;I will not destroy Ephraim again.For I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst,And I will not come in wrath.

Beat your plowshares into swordsAnd your pruning hooks into spears;Let the weak say, “I am a mighty man.”

“These who pant after the very dust of the earth on the head of the helplessAlso turn aside the way of the humble;And a man and his father resort to the same girlIn order to profane My holy name.

“Flight will perish from the swift,And the stalwart will not strengthen his power,Nor the mighty man save his life.

For behold, He who forms mountains and creates the windAnd declares to man what are His thoughts,He who makes dawn into darknessAnd treads on the high places of the earth,The Lord God of hosts is His name.

As when a man flees from a lionAnd a bear meets him,Or goes home, leans his hand against the wallAnd a snake bites him.

Then the sailors became afraid and every man cried to his god, and they threw the cargo which was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone below into the hold of the ship, lain down and fallen sound asleep.

Each man said to his mate, “Come, let us cast lots so we may learn on whose account this calamity has struck us.” So they cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah.

He issued a proclamation and it said, “In Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let man, beast, herd, or flock taste a thing. Do not let them eat or drink water.

But both man and beast must be covered with sackcloth; and let men call on God earnestly that each may turn from his wicked way and from the violence which is in his hands.

They covet fields and then seize them,And houses, and take them away.They rob a man and his house,A man and his inheritance.

“If a man walking after wind and falsehoodHad told lies and said,‘I will speak out to you concerning wine and liquor,’He would be spokesman to this people.

Then the remnant of JacobWill be among many peoplesLike dew from the Lord,Like showers on vegetationWhich do not wait for manOr delay for the sons of men.

He has told you, O man, what is good;And what does the Lord require of youBut to do justice, to love kindness,And to walk humbly with your God?

“Is there yet a man in the wicked house,Along with treasures of wickednessAnd a short measure that is cursed?

Concerning evil, both hands do it well.The prince asks, also the judge, for a bribe,And a great man speaks the desire of his soul;So they weave it together.

The one who scatters has come up against you.Man the fortress, watch the road;Strengthen your back, summon all your strength.

“Furthermore, wine betrays the haughty man,So that he does not stay at home.He enlarges his appetite like Sheol,And he is like death, never satisfied.He also gathers to himself all nationsAnd collects to himself all peoples.