'Merely' in the Bible

Lamech said to his wives,“Adah and Zillah,Hear my voice;You wives of Lamech,Listen to what I say;For I have killed a man [merely] for wounding me,And a boy [only] for striking (bruising) me.

it is a chronic disease on the skin of his body, so the priest is to pronounce him unclean. The priest must not merely quarantine him, for he is unclean.

The Lord answered Moses, “If her father had merely spit in her face, wouldn’t she remain in disgrace for seven days? Let her be confined outside the camp for seven days; after that she may be brought back in.”

Look to see whether the land where they live is good or bad, and whether the cities in which they live are merely tents or if they're fortified.

Now Korah, Dathan, and Abiram stood at the entrance to their tents with their wives, sons, and little children. Then Moses said, "This is how you'll know that the LORD has sent me to do all these awesome works they're not coming merely from me.

So Saul said, "Tell me what you have done." So Jonathan told him and said, "I {merely tasted} a little honey with the end of the staff that was in my hand. Here I am, I must die."

David replied, "What have I done now? {I merely asked a question}!

Then David {took an oath} again and said, "Your father knows very well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he thought, 'Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he worry.' But {as Yahweh lives} and {as your soul lives}, surely [there is] merely a step between me and death!"

The young man who [was] reporting to him said, "I merely happened to be on Mount Gilboa. Here Saul [was] leaning on his spear, and look, the chariots and the horsemen [were] getting close to him.

Your servant would merely cross over the Jordan with the king. Why should the king compensate me with this reward?

For my people and I have been sold out to destruction, death, and extermination. If we had merely been sold as male and female slaves, I would have kept silent. Indeed, the trouble wouldn’t be worth burdening the king.”

I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me;when I stand up, You merely look at me.

O Yahweh, put them in fear. Let [the] nations know they [are merely] human. Selah

“Behold, You have made my days as [short as] hand widths,And my lifetime is as nothing in Your sight.Surely every man at his best is a mere breath [a wisp of smoke, a vapor that vanishes]! Selah.

You return people to dust merely by saying, "Return, you mortals!"

I will run the way of Your commandments [with purpose],For You will give me a heart that is willing.

In all hard work there is profit, but merely talking about it only brings poverty.

For with great wisdom comes great frustration; whoever increases his knowledge merely increases his heartache.

Therefore the word of the Lord to them will be [merely monotonous repetitions]:“Precept upon precept, precept upon precept,Rule upon rule, rule upon rule,Here a little, there a little.”That they may go and stumble backward, and be broken, ensnared, and taken captive.

“As often as it passes through, it will seize you;For morning after morning it will pass through, by day and by night,And it will be sheer terror to understand what it means.”

Then the Lord said: "Because these people draw near with their mouths and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me, worship of me has become merely like rules taught by human beings.

Scarcely have they been planted,Scarcely have they been sown,Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth,But He merely blows on them, and they wither,And the storm carries them away like stubble.

"Is this the kind of fast that I have chosen, merely a day for a person to humble himself? Is it merely for bowing down one's head like a bulrush, for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is this what you call a fast, an acceptable day to the LORD?

"If you keep your feet from trampling the Sabbath, from pursuing your own interests on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and the LORD's holy day honorable; and if you honor it by not going your own ways and seeking your own pleasure or speaking merely idle words,

Consider this: When I spoke to your ancestors after I brought them out of Egypt, I did not merely give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices.

All these idolaters will prove to be stupid and ignorant. Every goldsmith will be disgraced by the idol he made. For the image he forges is merely a sham. There is no breath in any of those idols.

“Do you think that you become a king because you have much more cedar [in your palace than Solomon]?Did not your father [Josiah], as he ate and drank,Do just and righteous acts [being upright and in right standing with God]?Then all was well with him.

Each of you should merely ask the prophet, 'What answer did the Lord give you? Or what did the Lord say?'

All idolaters will prove to be stupid and ignorant. Every goldsmith will be disgraced by the idol he made. For the image he forges is merely a sham. There is no breath in any of those idols.

The [noble and] precious sons of Zion,[Once] worth their weight in fine gold,How they are regarded [merely] as earthen jars,The work of a potter’s hands!

We have given the hand [as a pledge of fidelity and submission] to Egypt and Assyria to get enough bread.

Yet you have not merely walked in their ways or done according to their abominations; but, as if that were too little, you acted more corruptly in all your conduct than they.

"Be careful not to display your righteousness merely to be seen by people. Otherwise you have no reward with your Father in heaven.

"Sir," replied the Captain, "I am not a fit person to receive you under my roof: merely say the word, and my servant will be cured.

and they begged Him to let them merely touch the fringe of His robe; and all who touched it were perfectly restored.

But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.

(For the Pharisees and all of the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, holding firmly to the traditions of the elders;

For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines. These things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.

If you [only] love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.

But the one who has [merely] heard and has not practiced [what I say], is like a [foolish] man who built a house on the ground without any foundation, and the torrent burst against it; and it immediately collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”

So you too, when you have done everything that was assigned and commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy servants [undeserving of praise or a reward, for we have not gone beyond our obligation]; we have merely done what we ought to do.’”

But the tax collector, standing at a distance, would not even raise his eyes toward heaven, but was striking his chest [in humility and repentance], saying, ‘God, be merciful and gracious to me, the [especially wicked] sinner [that I am]!’

who were born, not merely in a genetic sense, nor from lust, nor from man's desire, but from the will of God.

It is the bridegroom who gets the bride, yet the bridegroom's friend, who merely stands by and listens for him, is overjoyed to hear the bridegroom's voice. That's why this joy of mine is now complete.

Jesus replied, “Woman, believe Me, a time is coming [when God’s kingdom comes] when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.

But the hired man [who merely serves for wages], who is neither the shepherd nor the owner of the sheep, when he sees the wolf coming, deserts the flock and runs away; and the wolf snatches the sheep and scatters them.

The man runs because he is a hired hand [who serves only for wages] and is not concerned about the [safety of the] sheep.

"Men, why are you doing this? We are merely human beings with natures like yours. We are telling you the good news so you'll turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them.

but since it is merely a question [of doctrine within your religion] about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves; I am unwilling to judge these matters.”

Not only is there danger that this trade of ours will be discredited, but also that the [magnificent] temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited, and that she whom all Asia and the world worship will even be dethroned and lose her glorious magnificence.”

For it is not merely those who hear the Law who are righteous in God's sight. No, it is those who follow the Law, who will be justified.

Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not also the God of Gentiles [who were not given the Law]? Yes, of Gentiles also,

and [that he would be] the [spiritual] father of those circumcised who are not only circumcised, but who also walk in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham which he had before he was circumcised.

so that the promise should be made sure to all Abraham's true descendants; not merely to those who are righteous through the Law, but to those who are righteous through a faith like that of Abraham. Thus in the sight of God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and makes reference to things that do not exist, as though they did, Abraham is the forefather of all of us. As it is written, "I have appointed you to be the forefather of many nations."

For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am merely human, sold as a slave to sin.

That is, it is not merely the children born through natural descent who were regarded as God's children, but it is the children born through the promise who were regarded as descendants.

Christ did not send me to baptize, but to proclaim the Good News; and not in merely wise words--lest the Cross of Christ should be deprived of its power.

For consider, brethren, God's call to you. Not many who are wise with merely human wisdom, not many of position and influence, not many of noble birth have been called.

For whenever someone says, "I am with Paul," or "I am with Apollos," are you not merely human?

Who is Apollos, anyhow? Or who is Paul? They're merely servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord gave to each of us his task.

Am I making use of merely worldly illustrations? Does not the Law speak in the same tone?

For if I [merely] preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast about, for I am compelled [that is, absolutely obligated to do it]. Woe to me if I do not preach the good news [of salvation]!

If, however, I do not know the meaning of the particular language, I shall seem to the speaker of it, and he to me, to be merely talking some foreign tongue.

If I have fought with wild animals in Ephesus from merely human motives, what do I get out of it? If the dead are not raised, "Let's eat and drink, for tomorrow we die."

For I do not wish to see you on this occasion merely in passing; but if the Lord permits, I hope to remain some time with you.

For our reason for boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience that we conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you, in holiness and purity of motive from God, not in merely human wisdom, but by the grace of God.

For we do not preach ourselves, but rather Jesus the Messiah as Lord, and ourselves as merely your servants for Jesus' sake.

Not only [did they give materially] as we had hoped, but first they gave themselves to the Lord and to us [as His representatives] by the will of God [disregarding their personal interests and giving as much as they possibly could].

for the weapons of our warfare [are] not merely human, but powerful to God for the tearing down of fortresses, tearing down arguments

Since many boast for merely human reasons, I too will boast.

Brothers and sisters, I speak in terms of human relations: even though a last will and testament is just a human covenant, yet when it has been signed and made legally binding, no one sets it aside or adds to it [modifying it in some way].

Serve willingly, as if you were serving the Lord and not merely people,

And you masters, act towards your slaves on the same principles, and refrain from threats. For you know that in Heaven there is One who is your Master as well as theirs, and that merely earthly distinctions there are none with Him.

do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.

Therefore, my dearly-loved friends, as I have always found you obedient, labour earnestly with fear and trembling--not merely as though I were present with you, but much more now since I am absent from you--labour earnestly, I say, to make sure of your own salvation.

Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.

Whatever you do, work at it wholeheartedly as though you were doing it for the Lord and not merely for people.

The man who perpetrates a wrong will find the wrong repaid to him; and with God there are no merely earthly distinctions.

in that our gospel did not come to you merely in words, but in power and in the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction (surely you recall the character we displayed when we came among you to help you).

At the same time they also learn to be idle, as they go around from house to house; and not merely idle, but also gossips and busybodies, talking about things not proper to mention.

They serve as a pattern and foreshadowing of [what has its true existence and reality in] the heavenly things (sanctuary). For when Moses was about to erect the tabernacle, he was warned by God, saying, “See that you make it all [exactly] according to the pattern which was shown to you on the mountain.”

For the Messiah did not go into a sanctuary made by human hands that is merely a copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, to appear now in God's presence on our behalf.

For since the Law has only a shadow [just a pale representation] of the good things to come—not the very image of those things—it can never, by offering the same sacrifices continually year after year, make perfect those who approach [its altars].

Keep on being obedient to the word, and not merely being hearers who deceive themselves.

For if someone merely listens to the message and does not live it out, he is like someone who gazes at his own face in a mirror.

Your adornment must not be merely external—braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses;

“He must turn away from wickedness and do what is right.He must search for peace [with God, with self, with others] and pursue it eagerly [actively—not merely desiring it].

Give a shepherd's care to God's flock among you, exercising oversight not merely as a duty but willingly under God's direction, not for shameful profit but eagerly.

Little children, we must stop expressing love merely by our words and manner of speech; we must love also in action and in truth.

These people create divisions and are unbelievers, not having the Spirit.