'People' in the Bible

He raises up the poor from [the] dust. From [the] ash heap he lifts up the needy, to cause them to sit with noble people and to cause them to inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth belong to Yahweh and he has set the inhabited world on them.

And the custom of the priests with the people [was this]: When any man {brought a sacrifice}, as the meat was boiling, the servant of the priest would take a three-pronged meat fork in his hand

And he asked them, "Why are you doing all these things that I am hearing, [namely], your evil dealings with all these people?

No, my sons, the report [is] not good that I am hearing the people of Yahweh spreading.

But the boy Samuel {continued to grow in stature and in favor} with Yahweh and with the people.

Why do you despise my sacrifice and my offering which I commanded [for my] dwelling place, while you honored your sons more than me by making yourselves fat from the best of all the offerings of my people Israel?

So they sent the ark of God [to] Ekron. But when the ark of God came [to] Ekron, the Ekronites cried out, saying, "They have brought around the ark of the God of Israel to kill us and our people!"

So they sent and gathered all the rulers of [the] Philistines, and they said, "Send away the ark of the God of Israel and let it return to its place, so that it will not kill us and our people." For a {deadly confusion} was throughout all the city; the hand of God was very heavy there.

Now [the people of] Beth Shemesh [were] reaping the wheat harvest in the valley. They lifted their eyes and saw the ark, and they were glad to see [it].

He struck seventy men among the men of Beth Shemesh because they looked into the ark of Yahweh. So the people mourned because Yahweh had struck a great blow among the people.

Then Yahweh said to Samuel, "Listen to the voice of the people concerning all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them.

So Samuel spoke all the words of Yahweh to the people who [were] requesting a king from him.

However, the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel and they said, "No, but there must be a king over us,

Now when Samuel heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of Yahweh.

He had a son whose name was Saul, a young and handsome man. There was not a man from the {Israelites} more handsome than he [was]; from his shoulders up, he was taller than all the people.

They answered them and said, "There is. Look, [he is] just in front of you! Hurry now, because he has come to the town today, because there [is] a sacrifice for the people today at the high place.

As soon as you enter the town, you will find him, before he goes up to the high place to eat. For the people will not eat until he comes, because he must bless the sacrifice. Then afterward the invited [guests] will eat. So then, go up, because you will find him today!"

"This time tomorrow I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you must anoint him as leader over my people Israel. He will deliver my people from the hand of [the] Philistines. For I have seen [the suffering of] my people, because their cry [of distress] has come to me."

When Samuel saw Saul, Yahweh answered him, "Here [is] the man about whom I told you! This [is the] one [who] will govern my people."

So the cook took up the shank and what was on it and put it before Saul, and he said, "Look, {the saved portion} [is] placed {before you}--eat, because it has been kept for you for the appointed time," {and he said}, "I have invited the people." So Saul ate with Samuel that day.

{And when} all who knew him {formerly} saw that he prophesied with prophets, the people said to one another, "What [is] this [that] has happened to the son of Kish? [Is] Saul also among the prophets?"

Then Samuel summoned the people to Yahweh at Mizpah,

So they ran and took him from there, and when he took his stand among the people, he was taller than all the people from his shoulders and up.

Then Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see him whom Yahweh has chosen? For there is no one like him among all the people!" And all the people shouted and said, "Long live the king!"

Then Samuel told the people the custom of the kingship, and he wrote [the rules] down on a scroll and laid [it] before Yahweh. Then Samuel sent all the people away, each to his own house.

When the messengers came to Gibeah of Saul, {they reported these things to} the people. Then all the people lifted up their voices and wept.

{Just then}, Saul was coming from the field behind the cattle. Saul said, "What [is the matter] with the people, that they [are] weeping?" So they recounted to him the words of the men of Jabesh.

So he took a yoke of oxen and cut them into pieces and sent [them] throughout all the territory of Israel by the hand of the messengers, saying, "Whoever [is] not going out after Saul and after Samuel, so will it be done to his oxen." Then the fear of Yahweh fell on the people and they went out as one man.

{And the} next day Saul placed the people [in] three divisions. Then they came into the middle of the camp {at the early morning watch} and struck down {the Ammonites} until the heat of the day. It happened that the remainder were scattered {so that no two among them remained together}.

Then the people said to Samuel, "Who [is] the one who asked, 'Will Saul reign over us?' Give the men to us that we may kill them."

Then Samuel said to the people, "Come, let us go to Gilgal, and let us renew the kingship there."

So all the people went to Gilgal and they made Saul king there before Yahweh in Gilgal. They sacrificed fellowship offerings there before Yahweh. Then Saul rejoiced there greatly [along with] all the men of Israel.

Then Samuel said to the people, "Yahweh [is witness], who appointed Moses and Aaron, and who brought your ancestors up from the land of Egypt.

So Samuel called out to Yahweh, and Yahweh brought thunder and rain that [same] day, so all the people feared Yahweh and Samuel greatly.

Then all the people said to Samuel, "Pray for your servants to Yahweh your God so that we will not die, because we have added to all our sins by requesting a king for ourselves."

And Samuel said to the people, "Do not fear! You have done all this evil; only do not turn aside from {following} Yahweh. But you must serve Yahweh with all your heart.

For Yahweh will not forsake his people for the sake of his great name, because Yahweh has decided to make you his [own] people.

He chose for himself three thousand from Israel. Two thousand [of these] were with Saul at Micmash in the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan at Gibeah in Benjamin. He sent away the rest of the people, each to his tent.

And all Israel did hear, saying, "Saul has defeated the garrison of [the] Philistines; and also, Israel has become a stench among [the] Philistines!" So the people were called out after Saul at Gilgal.

When the men of Israel saw that [it was] {too difficult} for them, because the army was hard pressed, the people hid themselves in the caves, in the thorn bushes, in the cliffs, in the vaults and in the wells.

But now, your kingdom will not endure. Yahweh has sought for himself a man according to his [own] heart, and Yahweh has appointed him as leader over his people, because you have not kept what Yahweh commanded you."

Then Samuel got up and went up from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. And Saul mustered the people who were found with him, about six hundred men.

(Now all [the people of] the land used to go into the forest, for there was honey on the surface of the ground.)

Then Saul said, "Come here, all [you] leaders of the people, {so that we find out} what the sin was this day.

Then Saul said to Yahweh the God of Israel, "{Render a decision perfectly}." Jonathan and Saul were chosen [by lot] and the people went out.

Then Samuel said to Saul, "Yahweh sent me to anoint you as king over his people Israel. So then, {listen to the words} of Yahweh!

He captured Agag the king of Amalek alive, but all the people he utterly destroyed with the {edge} of the sword.

Then he said, "I have sinned! Now please honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me {so that I can worship} Yahweh your God."

He turned around from him to another opposite [him] and {he spoke to him in the same way}, and the people {answered him as before}.

David went out {whenever} Saul sent him, [and] he succeeded. So Saul appointed him over the men of the war, and it {pleased} all the people and even {pleased} the servants of Saul.

Then David said to Saul, "Why do you listen to the words of people who say: 'Look, David [is] {seeking to do you harm}'?

So David said to Abner, "[Are] you not a man? And who [is] like you in Israel? Why did you not keep watch over your lord the king? For one of the people came to destroy your lord the king.

This thing that you have done [is] not good. {As Yahweh lives}, {surely you people deserve to die} since you have not kept watch over your lord, over Yahweh's anointed one! So then, see where the king's spear [is] and the jar of water that [was] near his head!"

And Achish trusted David, saying, "{He has made himself utterly hated} among his people in Israel, and he will be my servant forever."

Then David and the people who [were] with him raised their voices and wept until there was not [enough] strength in them to weep.

And {David was in a very precarious situation}, for the people spoke of stoning him, for the souls of all the people were bitter, each [one] over his sons and his daughters. But David strengthened himself in Yahweh his God.

Then David came to [the] two hundred men {who had been too exhausted to follow} David; they had left them behind at the Wadi Besor. They went out to meet David and to meet the people who were with him. David came near with the people and {asked them how they were doing}.

So they cut off his head and stripped off his armor. Then they sent [messengers] around in the land of [the] Philistines to proclaim [victory in] the temples of their idols and [to] the people.