'Nation' in the Bible

And I will make you a great nation,And I will bless you [abundantly],And make your name great (exalted, distinguished);And you shall be a blessing [a source of great good to others];

But on that nation whom your descendants will serve I will bring judgment, and afterward they will come out [of that land] with great possessions.

As for Ishmael, I have heard and listened to you; behold, I will bless him, and will make him fruitful and will greatly multiply him [through his descendants]. He will be the father of twelve princes (chieftains, sheiks), and I will make him a great nation.

since Abraham is destined to become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him?

And I will also make a nation of [Ishmael] the son of the maid, because he is your descendant.”

Get up, help the boy up, and hold him by the hand, for I will make him a great nation.”

And God said to him,“I am God Almighty.Be fruitful and multiply;A nation and a company of nations shall come from you,And kings shall be born of your loins.

And He said, “I am God, the God of your father; do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you (your descendants) a great nation there.

So there was hail, and lightning (fireballs) flashing intermittently in the midst of the extremely heavy hail, such as had not been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.

and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation [set apart for My purpose].’ These are the words that you shall speak to the Israelites.”

Now therefore, let Me alone and do not interfere, so that My anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them; and I will make of you (your descendants) a great nation.”

Now therefore, I pray you, if I have found favor in Your sight, let me know Your ways so that I may know You [becoming more deeply and intimately acquainted with You, recognizing and understanding Your ways more clearly] and that I may find grace and favor in Your sight. And consider also, that this nation is Your people.”

Then God said, “Behold, I am going to make a covenant. Before all your people I will do wondrous works (miracles) such as have not been created or produced in all the earth nor among any of the nations; and all the people among whom you live shall see the working of the Lord, for it is a fearful and awesome thing that I am going to do with you.

Moses then put the breastpiece on Aaron, and he put in the breastpiece the Urim and the Thummim [the sacred articles the high priest used when seeking God’s will concerning the nation].

[do none of these things] so that the land will not vomit you out, should you defile it, as it has vomited out the nation which has been before you.

You shall not follow the statutes (laws, practices, customs) of the nation which I am driving out before you; for they did all these things, and therefore I have loathed them.

I will strike them with the pestilence (plague) and dispossess them, and will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they.”

Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom: “Thus says your brother Israel, ‘You know all the hardship that has come upon us [as a nation];

So keep and do them, for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples who will hear all these statutes and say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’

For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God [is to us] whenever we call on Him?

Or what great nation has statutes and judgments so righteous (upright, just) as this whole law which I am placing before you today?

Or has any [man-made] god ever tried to go and take for himself a nation from within another nation by trials, by signs and wonders and by war and by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm and by great terrors, as the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your [very] eyes?

Let Me alone, so that I may destroy them and wipe out their name from under heaven; and I will make of you a nation mightier and greater than they.’

And you shall say before the Lord your God, ‘My father [Jacob] was a wandering Aramean, and he [along with his family] went down to Egypt and lived there [as strangers], few in number; but while there he became a great, mighty and populous nation.

A people whom you do not know will eat the produce of your land and all the products of your labors, and you will never be anything but oppressed and exploited and crushed continually.

The Lord will bring you and your king, whom you appoint over you, to a nation which you and your fathers have never known; there you will [be forced to] serve other gods, [lifeless gods of] wood and stone.

“The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the end of the earth, [as swift] as the eagle swoops down [to attack], a nation whose language you will not understand,

a defiant nation who will have no respect for the old, nor show favor to the young,

“Do you thus repay the Lord,O foolish and unwise people?Is not He your Father who has acquired you [as His own]?He has made you and established you [as a nation].

‘They have made Me jealous with what is not God;They have provoked Me to anger with their idols.So I will make them jealous with those who are not a people;I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.

“For they are a nation devoid of counsel,And there is no understanding in them.

Of Levi he said,“Your Thummim and Your Urim belong to Your godly man [Aaron],Whom You tested and proved at Massah,With whom You contended at the waters of Meribah;

“He selected the best [land] for himself,For there the leader’s portion was reserved;Yet he came with the leaders of the people;He carried out the justice (righteous will) of the Lord,And His ordinances (judgments) with Israel.”

And while all [the people of] Israel crossed over on dry ground, the priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan [riverbed], until all the nation had finished crossing over the Jordan.

So it was when all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua,

Then, when they had finished circumcising all [the males of] the nation, they stayed in their places in the camp until they were healed.

So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped,Until the nation [of Israel] took vengeance upon their enemies.Is it not written in the Book of Jashar? So the sun stood still in the middle of the sky and was in no hurry to go down for about a whole day.

What one nation on earth is like Your people Israel, whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people and to make a name for Himself, and to do great and awesome things for Yourself and for Your land, before Your people whom You have redeemed for Yourself from Egypt, from nations and their gods?

As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent messengers to seek you; and when they said, ‘He is not here,’ Ahab made the kingdom or nation swear that they had not found you.

Yet they did not turn from the [idolatrous] sins of the [royal] house of Jeroboam, who made Israel sin; but walked in them. And the Asherah [set up by Ahab] also remained standing in Samaria [Israel’s capital].

When they wandered from nation to nation,And from one kingdom to another people,

And what one nation on the earth is like Your people Israel, whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people, to make a name for Yourself by great and awesome and terrible things, by driving out nations from before Your people, whom You redeemed out of Egypt?

Then Solomon and all the assembly went to the high place at Gibeon [to offer sacrifices, where the Canaanites had habitually worshiped], for God’s Tent of Meeting was there, which Moses the servant of the Lord had made in the wilderness.

Nation was crushed by nation, and city by city, for God troubled them with every kind of distress.

So now, do not let Hezekiah deceive or mislead you like this, and do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to rescue his people from my hand or the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God rescue you from my hand!’”

“When He keeps quiet, who then can condemn?When He hides His face [withdrawing His favor and help], who then can behold Him [and make supplication to Him],Whether it be a nation or a man by himself?—

Blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored by God] is the nation whose God is the Lord,The people whom He has chosen as His own inheritance.

Judge and vindicate me, O God; plead my case against an ungodly nation.O rescue me from the deceitful and unjust man!

They have said, “Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation;Let the name of Israel be remembered no more.”

And they wandered from one nation to another,From one kingdom to another people,

That I may see the prosperity of Your chosen ones,That I may rejoice in the gladness of Your nation,That I may glory with Your inheritance.

He has not dealt this way with any [other] nation;They have not known [understood, appreciated, heeded, or cherished] His ordinances.Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)

Righteousness [moral and spiritual integrity and virtuous character] exalts a nation,But sin is a disgrace to any people.

Ah, sinful nation,A people loaded down with wickedness [with sin, with injustice, with wrongdoing],Offspring of evildoers,Sons who behave corruptly!They have abandoned (rejected) the Lord,They have despised the Holy One of Israel [provoking Him to anger],They have turned away from Him.

And He will judge between the nations,And will mediate [disputes] for many peoples;And they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.Nation will not lift up the sword against nation,And never again will they learn war.

You [O God] will increase the nation,You will multiply their joy;They will rejoice before YouLike the joy and jubilation of the harvest,As men rejoice when they divide the spoil [of victory].

I send Assyria against a godless nationAnd commission it against the people of My wrathTo take the spoil and to seize the plunder,And to trample them down like mud in the streets.

“Then what answer will one give the messengers of the [Philistine] nation?That the Lord has founded Zion,And the afflicted of His people will seek and find refuge in it.”

Which sends ambassadors by the sea,Even in vessels of papyrus on the surface of the waters.Go, swift messengers, to a nation [of people] tall and smooth (clean shaven),To a people feared far and wide,A powerful and oppressive nationWhose land the rivers divide.

At that time a gift of homage will be brought to the Lord of hostsFrom a people tall and smooth (clean shaven),From a people feared far and wide,A powerful and oppressive nation,Whose land the rivers divide—To the place [of worship] of the name of the Lord of hosts, to Mount Zion [in Jerusalem].

“Open the gates, that the righteous nation may enter,The one that remains faithful and trustworthy.

You have increased the nation, O Lord;You have increased the nation, You are glorified;You have extended all the borders of the land.

In that day [it will be said of the redeemed nation of Israel],“A vineyard of wine, sing in praise of it!

“I have declared [the future] and saved [the nation] and proclaimed [that I am God],And there was no strange (alien) god among you;Therefore you are My witnesses [among the pagans],” declares the Lord,“That I am God.

“In fact, they are like stubble;Fire burns them.They cannot save themselves from the power of the flame [much less save the nation],There is no blazing coal for warmingNor fire before which to sit!

“Oh, that you had paid attention to My commandments!Then your peace and prosperity would have been like a [flowing] river,And your righteousness [the holiness and purity of the nation] like the [abundant] waves of the sea.

“Listen carefully to Me [says the Lord], O My people,And hear Me, O My nation;For a [divine] law will go forth from Me,And I will quickly establish My justice as a light to the peoples.

“Yet they seek Me day by day and delight [superficially] to know My ways,As [if they were in reality] a nation that has done righteousnessAnd has not abandoned (turned away from) the ordinance of their God.They ask of Me righteous judgments,They delight in the nearness of God.

“For the nation or the kingdom which will not serve you [Jerusalem] shall perish,And the nations [that refuse to serve] shall be utterly ruined.

“The smallest one will become a thousand (a clan),And the least one a mighty nation.I, the Lord, will quicken it in its [appointed] time.”

“I let Myself be sought by those who did not ask for Me;I let Myself be found by those who did not seek Me.I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’To the nation [Israel] which did not call on My Name.

“Who has heard of such a thing? Who has seen such things?Can a land be born in one day?Or can a nation be brought forth in a moment?As soon as Zion was in labor, she also brought forth her sons.

“Has a nation [ever] changed godsEven though they were not gods [but merely man-made objects]?But My people have exchanged their Glory (the true God)For that [man-made idol] which does not benefit [them].

‘Return, O faithless children [of the twelve tribes],’ says the Lord,‘For I am a master and husband to you,And I will take you [not as a nation, but individually]—one from a city and two from a [tribal] family—And I will bring you to Zion.’

“But the shameful act [of idolatry] has consumed the labor of our fathers since our youth—their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.

“Shall I not punish them [for these things]?” says the Lord;“Shall I not avenge MyselfOn a nation such as this?”

“Behold, I am bringing a nation against you from far away, O house of Israel,” says the Lord.“It is a mighty and enduring nation,It is an ancient nation,A nation whose language you do not know,Whose words you do not comprehend.

‘Shall I not punish them [for these things]?’ says the Lord.‘Shall I not avenge MyselfOn such a nation as this?’

Thus says the Lord,“Behold, a people is coming from the north country,And a great nation shall be stirred up and put into action from the remote parts of the earth.

You shall say to them, ‘This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the Lord their God or accept correction and warning; truth and faithfulness have perished and have completely vanished from their mouths.

And death will be chosen rather than life by all the remnant of those who remain of this evil family (nation), who remain in all the places to which I have driven them,” says the Lord of hosts.

“Shall I not punish them for these things?” says the Lord.“Shall I not avenge MyselfOn such a nation as this?

“Woe to me because of my [spiritual] brokenness!” [says Jeremiah, speaking for the nation.]“My wound is incurable.”But I said, “Surely this sickness and suffering and grief are mine,And I must bear it.”

But if [any nation] will not listen and obey, I will [completely] uproot and destroy that nation, says the Lord.”

At one moment I might [suddenly] speak concerning a nation or kingdom, that I will uproot and break down and destroy;

if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent and reverse My decision concerning the devastation that I intended to do.

Or at another time I might [suddenly] speak about a nation or kingdom that I will build up or establish;

‘Then when seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans (Babylonia),’ says the Lord, ‘for their wickedness, and will make the land [of the Chaldeans] a perpetual waste.

Thus says the Lord of hosts,“Behold, evil is going forthFrom nation to nation,And a great whirling tempest is risingFrom the remotest part of the earth.

“But any nation or kingdom that will not serve this same Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation I will punish,” says the Lord, “with the sword, with famine and with pestilence (virulent disease), until I have destroyed it by Nebuchadnezzar’s hand.

But the nation which will bow its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, that nation I will let remain on its own land,” says the Lord, “to cultivate it and live in it.”’”

Why will you die, you and your people, by the sword, by famine and by virulent disease, as the Lord has spoken to any nation which will not serve the king of Babylon?

‘After I turned away [from You], I repented;After I was instructed, I struck my thigh [in remorse];I was ashamed and even humiliatedBecause I carried the disgrace of my youth [as a nation].’

“If this fixed order departsFrom before Me,” says the Lord,“Then the descendants of Israel also will ceaseFrom being a nation before Me forever.”

“Have you not noticed what this people have spoken, saying, ‘The two families [Israel the northern kingdom, and Judah the southern kingdom] which the Lord chose, He has rejected’? Thus they despise My [chosen] people, no longer are they [considered] as a nation in their sight.

“The glory of Moab is no more;In Heshbon they planned evil against her,Saying, ‘Come, let us cut her off from being a nation!’You also, O [city of] Madmen, shall be silenced;The sword will pursue you.

“Moab will be destroyed from being a nation (people)Because he has become arrogant and magnified himself against the Lord.

“Arise [Nebuchadnezzar], go up against a nation which is at ease,Which lives securely,” says the Lord,“A nation which has neither gates nor bars;They dwell apart and alone.

‘And I will bring upon Elam the four windsFrom the four corners of heaven;And I will scatter them toward all those winds,And there will be no nationTo which the outcasts of Elam will not go.

For out of the north a nation (Media) has come against her which will make her land desolate, and no one will live there. They have fled, they have gone away—both man and animal.