'Ourselves' in the Bible

Then they said, "Come on! Let's build ourselves a city and a tower, with its summit in the heavens, and let's make a name for ourselves so we won't be scattered over the surface of the whole earth."

Then we'll give our daughters to you and take your daughters for ourselves, live among you, and be as a united people.

"These men are at peace with us," they announced. "Therefore, let them live in the land and trade in it. Look! The land is large enough for them. Let's take their daughters as wives for ourselves and let's give our sons to them.

"What can we say, Your Excellency?" Judah replied. "How can we explain this or justify ourselves? God has discovered the sin of your servants, and now we've become slaves to you, Your Excellency, both we and the one in whose possession the cup has been discovered."

We've brought offerings to the LORD from whatever each man found jewel-encrusted gold, anklets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and necklaces to make atonement for ourselves in the LORD's presence."

but we will keep ourselves armed and stay ready to go with the Israelis until we've brought them to their own places. Our families intend to live in fortified cities in the presence of the inhabitants of the land,

But we kept for ourselves all of the livestock and plunder from the towns.

If we have built an altar for ourselves intended to turn us away from following the LORD, or to offer burnt offerings, grain offerings, or peace offerings on it, may the LORD himself demand an accounting from us!

"That's why we said, "Let's build an altar for ourselves, not for burnt offerings or sacrifice,

The elders of Gilead responded to Jephthah, "May the Lord serve as a witness that we're making this agreement between ourselves to do as we've said."

Then all the people told Samuel, "Pray to the LORD your God for your servants, so that we don't die, because we made all our sins worse by asking for a king for ourselves."

Jonathan said, "Look, we're going over to the men, and we will show ourselves to them.

Everybody from Judah shouted to the men from Israel, "We did this because the king is closely related to us. So why are you angry about this? Have we lived off the king's expense? Have we appropriated anything for ourselves?"

"Look, now," his advisors suggested, "we've heard that the Israeli kings are merciful. So let's clothe ourselves with sackcloth, tie our hair back with ropes, and go out to the king of Israel. Maybe he'll spare your life."

If we tell ourselves, "Let's remain in the city,' we'll die there since there's famine in the city. But if we sit here, we'll die, too. So let's go over to the Arameans! If they spare our lives, we'll live, and if they kill us"we're dying anyway!"

Then I called for a fast there at the Ahava River so we could humble ourselves before our God and seek from him an appropriate way for us and our little ones to live, and how we should guard our personal wealth,

We also obligated ourselves to contribute annually a third of a shekel for services relating to the Temple of our God

let's choose what's right for us. Let's consider among ourselves what is good."

Come, let's make love until dawn; let's comfort ourselves with love,

"Let's go attack Judah, let's terrorize it, and let's conquer it for ourselves. Then we'll install Tabeel's son as king!"'

Because you said: "We have entered into a covenant with death, and we have an agreement with Sheol, so when the overwhelming scourge makes its choice, it cannot reach us, since we have made lies our refuge and have concealed ourselves inside falsehood,'

""Come!' they say, "let's have some wine, and let's fill ourselves with strong drink! Then, tomorrow will be like today, or even much better!'"

"Why have we fasted,' they ask, "but you do not see? "Why have we humbled ourselves,' they ask, "but you take no notice?'" "Look! On your fast day you serve your own interest and oppress all your workers.

"Did Hezekiah king of Judah or anyone in Judah kill him? Didn't he fear the LORD and seek the LORD's favor, and so the LORD changed his mind about the disaster that he had spoken to them about. We're bringing great disaster on ourselves.

"We ourselves heard him say, "I will destroy this sanctuary made by human hands, and in three days I will build another one not made by human hands.'"

"Why do we need any more testimony?" they asked. "We have heard it ourselves from his own mouth!"

They kept telling the woman, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, because now we have heard him ourselves, and we know that he really is the Savior of the world."

Then we'll devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word."

When we had torn ourselves away from those brothers, we sailed straight to Cos, and the next day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara.

Now we who are strong ought to be patient with the weaknesses of those who are not strong and must stop pleasing ourselves.

We wear ourselves out from working with our own hands. When insulted, we bless. When persecuted, we endure.

But if we judged ourselves correctly, we would not be judged.

who comforts us in all our suffering, so that we may be able to comfort others in all their suffering, as we ourselves are being comforted by God.

In fact, we felt that we had received a death sentence so we would not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.

For this is what we boast about: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world with pure motives and godly sincerity, without earthly wisdom but with God's grace especially toward you.

Are we beginning to recommend ourselves again? Unlike some people, we do not need letters of recommendation to you or from you, do we?

By ourselves we are not qualified to claim that anything comes from us. Rather, our credentials come from God,

Instead, we have renounced secret and shameful ways. We do not use trickery or pervert God's word. By clear statements of the truth we commend ourselves to everyone's conscience before God.

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

Therefore, since we know what it means to fear the Lord, we try to persuade people. We ourselves are perfectly known to God. I hope we are also really known to your consciences.

We are not recommending ourselves to you again but are giving you a reason to be proud of us, so that you can answer those who are proud of outward things rather than inward character.

Since we have these promises, dear friends, let's cleanse ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit by becoming mature in our holy fear of God.

We would not dare put ourselves in the same class with, or compare ourselves to, those who recommend themselves. Whenever they measure themselves by their own standards or compare themselves among themselves, they show how foolish they are.

I encouraged Titus to visit you, and I sent along with him the brother you know so well. Titus didn't take advantage of you, did he? We conducted ourselves with the same spirit, didn't we? We took the very same steps, didn't we?

Have you been thinking all along that we are trying to defend ourselves before you? We are speaking before God in the authority of the Messiah, and everything, dear friends, is meant to build you up.

We ourselves are Jews by birth, and not gentile sinners,

After all, we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, and misled. We were slaves to many kinds of lusts and pleasures, spending our days in malice and jealousy. We were despised, and we hated one another.

We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain.

If we say that we do not have any sin, we are deceiving ourselves and we're not being truthful to ourselves.

This is how we will know that we belong to the truth and how we will be able to keep ourselves strong in his presence.

We have seen for ourselves and can testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.