'Once' in the Bible

Then Abraham said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry [with me], and I will speak only this once; suppose ten [righteous people] are found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten.”

and on the vine were three branches. Then as soon as it budded, its blossoms burst open, and its clusters produced ripe grapes [in rapid succession].

Now therefore, please forgive my sin only this once [more], and pray and entreat the Lord your God, so that He will remove this [plague of] death from me.”

Once a year Aaron shall make atonement [for sin] on its horns. He shall make atonement on it with the blood of the sin offering of atonement once a year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the Lord.”

This shall be a permanent statute for you, so that atonement may be made for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year.” So he did just as the Lord had commanded Moses.

So if this is the way You are going to deal with me, please kill me at once, if I have found favor in your sight, and do not let me see my wretchedness.”

Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession of it; for we will certainly conquer it.”

Now you shall march around the city, all the men of war circling the city once. You shall do this [once each day] for six days.

So Joshua had the ark of the Lord taken around the city [on the first day], circling it once; then they came back into the camp and spent the night in the camp.

On the second day they marched around the city once, and returned to the camp; they did this for six days.

So the Lord allowed those nations to remain, not driving them out at once; and He did not give them into the hand of Joshua.

Then Gideon said to God, “Do not let your anger burn against me, so that I may speak once more. Please let me make a test once more with the fleece; now let only the fleece be dry, and let there be dew on all the ground.”

Then Delilah realized that he had told her everything in his heart, so she sent and called for the Philistine lords, saying, “Come up this once, because he has told me everything in his heart.” Then the Philistine lords came up to her and brought the money [they had promised] in their hands.

Then Samson called to the Lord and said, “O Lord God, please remember me and please strengthen me just this one time, O God, and let me take vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes.”

Then Abishai said to David, “God has given your enemy into your hand this day; now then, please let me strike him with the spear driving it to the ground with one stroke, and I will not strike him the second time.”

So David commanded his young men, and they killed them and cut off their hands and feet and hung them beside the pool in Hebron. But they took Ish-bosheth’s head and buried it in Hebron in the tomb of Abner [his relative].

For the king had at sea the [large cargo] ships of Tarshish with the ships of Hiram. Once every three years the ships of Tarshish came bringing gold, silver, ivory, monkeys, and peacocks.

Then they said one to another, “We are not doing the right thing. This is a day of good news, yet we are keeping silent. If we wait until the morning light, some punishment [for not reporting this now] will come on us. So now come, let us go and tell the king’s household.”

For the king’s ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram; once every three years the ships of Tarshish came bringing gold and silver, ivory and apes and peacocks.

Also, I issue a decree as to what you are to do for these Jewish elders for the rebuilding of this house of God: the full cost is to be paid to these people from the royal treasury out of the taxes of the provinces west of the River, and that without delay.

“And I, Artaxerxes the king, issue a decree to all the treasurers in the provinces west of the [Euphrates] River, that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, may require of you, it shall be done diligently and at once—

Every piece was counted and weighed, and all the weight was recorded at that time.

Now the following were prepared for each day: one ox and six choice sheep; also fowls (poultry) were prepared for me; and in intervals of ten days all sorts of wine was provided in abundance. Yet for all this, I did not demand the governor’s food allowance, because the servitude was heavy on this people.

So once or twice the merchants and sellers of every kind of merchandise spent the night outside Jerusalem.

“But his body [lamenting its decay] grieves in pain over it,And his soul mourns over [the loss of] himself.”

“Will my hope go down with me to Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead)?Shall we go down together in the dust?”

“He wraps the waters in His clouds [which otherwise would spill on earth all at once],And the cloud does not burst under them.

“For it is a fire which consumes to Abaddon (destruction, ruin, final torment);And [illicit passion] would burn and rage and uproot all my [life’s] increase [destroying everything].

“For God speaks once,And even twice, yet no one notices it [including you, Job].

“I have spoken once, but I will not reply again—Indeed, twice [I have answered], and I will add nothing further.”

“These things you have done and I kept silent;You thought that I was just like you.Now I will reprimand and denounce you and state the case in order before your eyes.

God has spoken once,Twice I have heard this:That power belongs to God.

You, even You, are to be feared [with the submissive wonder of reverence];Who may stand in Your presence when once You are angry?

Once You spoke in a vision to Your godly ones,And said, “I have given help to one who is mighty [giving him the power to be a champion for Israel];I have exalted one chosen from the people.

“Once [for all] I have sworn by My holiness, [My vow which cannot be violated];I will not lie to David.

Do this now, my son, and release yourself [from the obligation];Since you have come into the hand of your neighbor,Go humble yourself, and plead with your neighbor [to pay his debt and release you].

The lazy man does not catch and roast his prey,But the precious possession of a [wise] man is diligence [because he recognizes opportunities and seizes them].

How the faithful city has become a prostitute [idolatrous, despicable],She who was full of justice!Right standing with God once lodged in her,But now murderers.

And the fading flower of its glorious beauty,Which is at the head of the rich valley,Will be like the early fig before the summer,Which one sees,And as soon as it is in his handHe [greedily] swallows it [and so will the Assyrians rapidly devour Samaria, Israel’s capital].

“For your ruins and desolate places and your land [once the scene] of destruction—Certainly now [in the coming years] will be too cramped for the inhabitants,And those who once engulfed you will be far away.

“A multitude of camels [from the eastern trading tribes] will cover you [Jerusalem],The young camels of Midian and Ephah;All those from Sheba [who once came to trade] will comeBringing gold and frankincenseAnd proclaiming the praises of the Lord.

But you shall be called the priests of the Lord;People will speak of you as the ministers of our God.You will eat the wealth of nations,And you will boast of their riches.

The Lord [acknowledged you once as worthy and] called your name,“A green olive tree, fair and beautiful in fruit and form”;But with the roar of a great tempestHe has set fire to it,And its branches are worthless.

“Therefore,” [says the Lord] “behold, I will make them know—This time I will make them knowMy power and My might;And they will know and recognize [without any doubt] that My Name is the Lord.”

Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “Once more they will speak these words in the land of Judah (the Southern Kingdom) and in her cities when I restore their fortunes and release them from exile,‘The Lord bless you, O habitation of justice and righteousness,O holy mountain!’

they even sent and took Jeremiah out of the court of the guardhouse and entrusted him to Gedaliah [a prominent citizen], the son of Ahikam [who had once saved Jeremiah’s life], the son of Shaphan, to take him home [with him to Mizpah]. So Jeremiah [was released and] lived among the people.

Now the cistern into which Ishmael had thrown all the corpses of the men whom he had killed along with Gedaliah was the one which King Asa [of Judah] had made [about three hundred years earlier] on account of King Baasha of Israel [believing that Baasha would lay siege to Mizpah]. Ishmael the son of Nethaniah filled it with [the bodies of] those who were killed.

and said to Jeremiah the prophet, “Please let our petition be presented before you, and pray to the Lord your God for us, that is, for all this remnant [of the people of Judah]; for we were once many, but now [only] a few of us are left, as you see with your own eyes, [so please pray]

How solitary and lonely sits the city [Jerusalem]That was [once] full of people!How like a widow she has become.She who was great among the nations!The princess among the provinces,Has become a forced laborer!

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!

Now if you are ready, when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, to fall down and worship the image which I have made, very good. But if you do not worship, you shall be thrown at once into the midst of a furnace of blazing fire; and what god is there who can rescue you out of my hands?”

Also the high places of Aven (Beth-aven), the sin of Israel, will be destroyed;The thorn and the thistle will grow on their [pagan] altars,And [in despair] they will say to the mountains,“Cover us!” And to the hills, “Fall on us!”

For thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Once more, in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.

The Lord said to me, “Take again for yourself the equipment [of a shepherd, but this time] of a foolish shepherd.