'May' in the Bible

The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden.

Then Sarai said to Abram, “You are responsible for my suffering! I put my slave in your arms, and ever since she saw that she was pregnant, she has treated me with contempt. May the Lord judge between me and you.”

Let a little water be brought, that you may wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree.

I will bring a bit of bread so that you may strengthen yourselves. This is why you have passed your servant’s way. Later, you can continue on.”“Yes,” they replied, “do as you have said.”

Let the girl to whom I say, ‘Please lower your water jug so that I may drink,’ and who responds, ‘Drink, and I’ll water your camels also’—let her be the one You have appointed for Your servant Isaac. By this I will know that You have shown kindness to my master.”

But he responded to them, “Do not delay me, since the Lord has made my journey a success. Send me away so that I may go to my master.”

They blessed Rebekah, saying to her:Our sister, may you becomethousands upon ten thousands.May your offspring possessthe gates of their enemies.

Then take it to your father to eat so that he may bless you before he dies.”

Jacob replied to his father, “I am Esau, your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game so that you may bless me.”

May God give to you—from the dew of the skyand from the richness of the land—an abundance of grain and new wine.

May peoples serve youand nations bow down to you.Be master over your brothers;may your mother’s sons bow down to you.Those who curse you will be cursed,and those who bless you will be blessed.

He had also made some delicious food and brought it to his father. Then he said to his father, “Let my father get up and eat some of his son’s game, so that you may bless me.”

May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you so that you become an assembly of peoples.

May God give you and your offspring the blessing of Abraham so that you may possess the land where you live as a foreigner, the land God gave to Abraham.”

She named him Joseph: “May the Lord add another son to me.”

and also Mizpah, for he said, “May the Lord watch between you and me when we are out of each other’s sight.

Please rescue me from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid of him; otherwise, he may come and attack me, the mothers, and their children.

Then Judah said to his father Israel, “Send the boy with me. We will be on our way so that we may live and not die—neither we, nor you, nor our children.

May God Almighty cause the man to be merciful to you so that he will release your other brother and Benjamin to you. As for me, if I am deprived of my sons, then I am deprived.”

Then the steward said, “May you be well. Don’t be afraid. Your God and the God of your father must have put treasure in your bags. I received your money.” Then he brought Simeon out to them.

When he looked up and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, he asked, “Is this your youngest brother that you told me about?” Then he said, “May God be gracious to you, my son.”

the Angel who has redeemed me from all harm—may He bless these boys.And may they be called by my nameand the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac,and may they grow to be numerous within the land.

So he blessed them that day with these words:The nation Israel will invoke blessings by you, saying,“May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh,”putting Ephraim before Manasseh.

May I never enter their council;may I never join their assembly.For in their anger they kill men,and on a whim they hamstring oxen.

The blessings of your father excelthe blessings of my ancestorsand the bounty of the eternal hills.May they rest on the head of Joseph,on the crown of the prince of his brothers.

Let us deal shrewdly with them; otherwise they will multiply further, and if war breaks out, they may join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country.”

“When you help the Hebrew women give birth, observe them as they deliver. If the child is a son, kill him, but if it’s a daughter, she may live.”

Therefore, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh so that you may lead My people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”

They will listen to what you say. Then you, along with the elders of Israel, must go to the king of Egypt and say to him: Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Now please let us go on a three-day trip into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to Yahweh our God.

“If they will not believe you and will not respond to the evidence of the first sign, they may believe the evidence of the second sign.

I told you: Let My son go so that he may worship Me, but you refused to let him go. Now I will kill your firstborn son!”

Later, Moses and Aaron went in and said to Pharaoh, “This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: Let My people go, so that they may hold a festival for Me in the wilderness.”

Then they answered, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go on a three-day trip into the wilderness so that we may sacrifice to Yahweh our God, or else He may strike us with plague or sword.”

“May the Lord take note of you and judge,” they said to them, “because you have made us reek in front of Pharaoh and his officials—putting a sword in their hand to kill us!”

Tell him: Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to tell you: Let My people go, so that they may worship Me in the wilderness, but so far you have not listened.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and tell him: This is what Yahweh says: Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.

“Tomorrow,” he answered.Moses replied, “As you have said, so you may know there is no one like Yahweh our God,

The Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh when you see him going out to the water. Tell him: This is what Yahweh says: Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him: This is what Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh. Tell him: This is what Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews says: Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.

Moses said to him, “When I have left the city, I will extend my hands to Yahweh. The thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know the earth belongs to Yahweh.

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may do these miraculous signs of Mine among them,

and so that you may tell your son and grandson how severely I dealt with the Egyptians and performed miraculous signs among them, and you will know that I am Yahweh.”

So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and told him, “This is what Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, says: How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, that they may worship Me.

Pharaoh’s officials asked him, “How long must this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, so that they may worship Yahweh their God. Don’t you realize yet that Egypt is devastated?”

He said to them, “May Yahweh be with you if I ever let you and your families go! Look out—you are planning evil.

No, only the men may go and worship Yahweh, for that is what you have been asking for.” And they were driven from Pharaoh’s presence.

Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, “Go, worship Yahweh. Even your families may go with you; only your flocks and herds must stay behind.”

But against all the Israelites, whether man or beast, not even a dog will snarl, so that you may know that Yahweh makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.

The Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not listen to you, so that My wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.”

You must have an unblemished animal, a year-old male; you may take it from either the sheep or the goats.

You are to hold a sacred assembly on the first day and another sacred assembly on the seventh day. No work may be done on those days except for preparing what people need to eat—you may do only that.

Take a cluster of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and brush the lintel and the two doorposts with some of the blood in the basin. None of you may go out the door of his house until morning.

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the statute of the Passover: no foreigner may eat it.

But any slave a man has purchased may eat it, after you have circumcised him.

A temporary resident or hired hand may not eat the Passover.

It is to be eaten in one house. You may not take any of the meat outside the house, and you may not break any of its bones.

If a foreigner resides with you and wants to celebrate the Lord’s Passover, every male in his household must be circumcised, and then he may participate; he will become like a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person may eat it.

Then Moses said to the people, “Remember this day when you came out of Egypt, out of the place of slavery, for the Lord brought you out of here by the strength of His hand. Nothing leavened may be eaten.

Unleavened bread is to be eaten for those seven days. Nothing leavened may be found among you, and no yeast may be found among you in all your territory.

Let it serve as a sign for you on your hand and as a reminder on your forehead, so that the Lord’s instruction may be in your mouth; for the Lord brought you out of Egypt with a strong hand.

Isn’t this what we told you in Egypt: Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may come back on the Egyptians, on their chariots and horsemen.”

This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Gather as much of it as each person needs to eat. You may take two quarts per individual, according to the number of people each of you has in his tent.’”

For six days you may gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none.”

Moses said, “This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Two quarts of it are to be preserved throughout your generations, so that they may see the bread I fed you in the wilderness when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’”

No hand may touch him; instead he will be stoned or shot with arrows. No animal or man will live. When the ram’s horn sounds a long blast, they may go up the mountain.”

Honor your father and your mother so that you may have a long life in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

And if he does not do these three things for her, she may leave free of charge, without any exchange of money.

But if he didn’t intend any harm, and yet God caused it to happen by his hand, I will appoint a place for you where he may flee.

“When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox must be stoned, and its meat may not be eaten, but the ox’s owner is innocent.

But during the seventh year you are to let it rest and leave it uncultivated, so that the poor among your people may eat from it and the wild animals may consume what they leave. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.

“Do your work for six days but rest on the seventh day so that your ox and your donkey may rest, and the son of your female slave as well as the foreign resident may be refreshed.

The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and stay there so that I may give you the stone tablets with the law and commandments I have written for their instruction.”

“They are to make a sanctuary for Me so that I may dwell among them.

Also make 50 gold clasps and join the curtains together with the clasps, so that the tabernacle may be a single unit.

These are the garments that they must make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a specially woven tunic, a turban, and a sash. They are to make holy garments for your brother Aaron and his sons so that they may serve Me as priests.

It will be on Aaron’s forehead so that Aaron may bear the guilt connected with the holy offerings that the Israelites consecrate as all their holy gifts. It is always to be on his forehead, so that they may find acceptance with the Lord.

Put these on your brother Aaron and his sons; then anoint, ordain, and consecrate them, so that they may serve Me as priests.

The wealthy may not give more and the poor may not give less than half a shekel when giving the contribution to the Lord to atone for your lives.

Work may be done for six days, but on the seventh day there must be a Sabbath of complete rest, dedicated to the Lord. Anyone who does work on the Sabbath day must be put to death.

No one may go up with you; in fact, no one must be seen anywhere on the mountain. Even the flocks and herds are not to graze in front of that mountain.”

Anoint them just as you anointed their father, so that they may also serve Me as priests. Their anointing will serve to inaugurate a permanent priesthood for them throughout their generations.”

“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When any of you brings an offering to the Lord from the livestock, you may bring your offering from the herd or the flock.

“If his gift is a burnt offering from the herd, he is to bring an unblemished male. He must bring it to the entrance to the tent of meeting so that he may be accepted by the Lord.

You may present them to the Lord as an offering of firstfruits, but they are not to be offered on the altar as a pleasing aroma.

Or if someone swears rashly to do what is good or evil—concerning anything a person may speak rashly in an oath—without being aware of it, but later recognizes it, he incurs guilt in such an instance.

“But if he cannot afford an animal from the flock, then he may bring to the Lord two turtledoves or two young pigeons as restitution for his sin—one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering.

“But if he cannot afford two turtledoves or two young pigeons, he may bring two quarts of fine flour as an offering for his sin. He must not put olive oil or frankincense on it, for it is a sin offering.

or finds something lost and lies about it; or swears falsely about any of the sinful things a person may do—

In this way the priest will make atonement on his behalf before the Lord, and he will be forgiven for anything he may have done to incur guilt.”

Aaron and his sons may eat the rest of it. It is to be eaten in the form of unleavened bread in a holy place; they are to eat it in the courtyard of the tent of meeting.

Any male among Aaron’s descendants may eat it. It is a permanent portion throughout your generations from the fire offerings to the Lord. Anything that touches the offerings will become holy.”

Any male among the priests may eat it; it is especially holy.

But no sin offering may be eaten if its blood has been brought into the tent of meeting to make atonement in the holy place; it must be burned up.

Any male among the priests may eat it. It is to be eaten in a holy place; it is especially holy.

“Now this is the law of the fellowship sacrifice that someone may present to the Lord:

The meat of his thanksgiving sacrifice of fellowship must be eaten on the day he offers it; he may not leave any of it until morning.

“If the sacrifice he offers is a vow or a freewill offering, it is to be eaten on the day he presents his sacrifice, and what is left over may be eaten on the next day.

“Meat that touches anything unclean must not be eaten; it is to be burned up. Everyone who is clean may eat any other meat.