'People' in the Bible

Zadok the priest took a horn filled with olive oil from the tent and poured it on Solomon; the trumpet was blown and all the people declared, "Long live King Solomon!"

All the people followed him up, playing flutes and celebrating so loudly they made the ground shake.

Now the people were offering sacrifices at the high places, because in those days a temple had not yet been built to honor the Lord.

Your servant stands among your chosen people; they are a great nation that is too numerous to count or number.

So give your servant a discerning mind so he can make judicial decisions for your people and distinguish right from wrong. Otherwise no one is able to make judicial decisions for this great nation of yours."

The people of Judah and Israel were as innumerable as the sand on the seashore; they had plenty to eat and drink and were happy.

All the people of Judah and Israel had security; everyone from Dan to Beer Sheba enjoyed the produce of their vines and fig trees throughout Solomon's lifetime.

People from all nations came to hear Solomon's display of wisdom; they came from all the kings of the earth who heard about his wisdom.

I will live among the Israelites and will not abandon my people Israel."

He told David, 'Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city from all the tribes of Israel to build a temple in which to live. But I have chosen David to lead my people Israel.'

Respond to the request of your servant and your people Israel for this place. Hear from inside your heavenly dwelling place and respond favorably.

"The time will come when your people Israel are defeated by an enemy because they sinned against you. If they come back to you, renew their allegiance to you, and pray for your help in this temple,

then listen from heaven, forgive the sin of your people Israel, and bring them back to the land you gave to their ancestors.

"The time will come when the skies are shut up tightly and no rain falls because your people sinned against you. When they direct their prayers toward this place, renew their allegiance to you, and turn away from their sin because you punish them,

then listen from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Certainly you will then teach them the right way to live and send rain on your land that you have given your people to possess.

When all your people Israel pray and ask for help, as they acknowledge their pain and spread out their hands toward this temple,

then listen from your heavenly dwelling place, forgive their sin, and act favorably toward each one based on your evaluation of his motives. (Indeed you are the only one who can correctly evaluate the motives of all people.)

"Foreigners, who do not belong to your people Israel, will come from a distant land because of your reputation.

Then listen from your heavenly dwelling place and answer all the prayers of the foreigners. Then all the nations of the earth will acknowledge your reputation, obey you like your people Israel do, and recognize that this temple I built belongs to you.

"When you direct your people to march out and fight their enemies, and they direct their prayers to the Lord toward his chosen city and this temple I built for your honor,

"The time will come when your people will sin against you (for there is no one who is sinless!) and you will be angry with them and deliver them over to their enemies, who will take them as prisoners to their own land, whether far away or close by.

When your people come to their senses in the land where they are held prisoner, they will repent and beg for your mercy in the land of their imprisonment, admitting, 'We have sinned and gone astray; we have done evil.'

Forgive all the rebellious acts of your sinful people and cause their captors to have mercy on them.

After all, they are your people and your special possession whom you brought out of Egypt, from the middle of the iron-smelting furnace.

"May you be attentive to your servant's and your people Israel's requests for help and may you respond to all their prayers to you.

"The Lord is worthy of praise because he has made Israel his people secure just as he promised! Not one of all the faithful promises he made through his servant Moses is left unfulfilled!

May the Lord our God be constantly aware of these requests of mine I have presented to him, so that he might vindicate his servant and his people Israel as the need arises.

At that time Solomon and all Israel with him celebrated a festival before the Lord our God for two entire weeks. This great assembly included people from all over the land, from Lebo Hamath in the north to the Brook of Egypt in the south.

On the fifteenth day after the festival started, he dismissed the people. They asked God to empower the king and then went to their homes, happy and content because of all the good the Lord had done for his servant David and his people Israel.

He said to them, "Go away for three days, then return to me." So the people went away.

King Rehoboam consulted with the older advisers who had served his father Solomon when he had been alive. He asked them, "How do you advise me to answer these people?"

They said to him, "Today if you show a willingness to help these people and grant their request, they will be your servants from this time forward."

He asked them, "How do you advise me to respond to these people who said to me, 'Lessen the demands your father placed on us'?"

The young advisers with whom Rehoboam had grown up said to him, "Say this to these people who have said to you, 'Your father made us work hard, but now lighten our burden.' Say this to them: 'I am a lot harsher than my father!

Jeroboam and all the people reported to Rehoboam on the third day, just as the king had ordered when he said, "Return to me on the third day."

The king responded to the people harshly. He rejected the advice of the older men

The king refused to listen to the people, because the Lord was instigating this turn of events so that he might bring to pass the prophetic announcement he had made through Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam son of Nebat.

When all Israel saw that the king refused to listen to them, the people answered the king, "We have no portion in David, no share in the son of Jesse! Return to your homes, O Israel! Now, look after your own dynasty, O David!" So Israel returned to their homes.

"Say this to King Rehoboam son of Solomon of Judah, and to all Judah and Benjamin, as well as the rest of the people,

If these people go up to offer sacrifices in the Lord's temple in Jerusalem, their loyalty could shift to their former master, King Rehoboam of Judah. They might kill me and return to King Rehoboam of Judah."

After the king had consulted with his advisers, he made two golden calves. Then he said to the people, "It is too much trouble for you to go up to Jerusalem. Look, Israel, here are your gods who brought you up from the land of Egypt."

This caused Israel to sin; the people went to Bethel and Dan to worship the calves.

He built temples on the high places and appointed as priests people who were not Levites.

After this happened, Jeroboam still did not change his evil ways; he continued to appoint common people as priests at the high places. Anyone who wanted the job he consecrated as a priest.

Jeroboam told his wife, "Disguise yourself so that people cannot recognize you are Jeroboam's wife. Then go to Shiloh; Ahijah the prophet, who told me I would rule over this nation, lives there.

Go, tell Jeroboam, 'This is what the Lord God of Israel says: "I raised you up from among the people and made you ruler over my people Israel.

"I raised you up from the dust and made you ruler over my people Israel. Yet you followed in Jeroboam's footsteps and encouraged my people Israel to sin; their sins have made me angry.

At that time the people of Israel were divided in their loyalties. Half the people supported Tibni son of Ginath and wanted to make him king; the other half supported Omri.

Elijah approached all the people and said, "How long are you going to be paralyzed by indecision? If the Lord is the true God, then follow him, but if Baal is, follow him!" But the people did not say a word.

Then you will invoke the name of your god, and I will invoke the name of the Lord. The god who responds with fire will demonstrate that he is the true God." All the people responded, "This will be a fair test."

Elijah then told all the people, "Approach me." So all the people approached him. He repaired the altar of the Lord that had been torn down.

Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, O Lord, are the true God and that you are winning back their allegiance."

When all the people saw this, they threw themselves down with their faces to the ground and said, "The Lord is the true God! The Lord is the true God!"

Elisha went back and took his pair of oxen and slaughtered them. He cooked the meat over a fire that he made by burning the harness and yoke. He gave the people meat and they ate. Then he got up and followed Elijah and became his assistant.

All the leaders and people said to him, "Do not give in or agree to his demands."

The prophet then said to him, "This is what the Lord says, 'Because you released a man I had determined should die, you will pay with your life and your people will suffer instead of his people.'"

This is what she wrote: "Observe a time of fasting and seat Naboth in front of the people.

They observed a time of fasting and put Naboth in front of the people.

The two villains arrived and sat opposite him. Then the villains testified against Naboth right before the people, saying, "Naboth cursed God and the king." So they dragged him outside the city and stoned him to death.

Micaiah said, "If you really do safely return, then the Lord has not spoken through me." Then he added, "Take note, all you people."

He followed in his father Asa's footsteps and was careful to do what the Lord approved. However, the high places were not eliminated; the people continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense on the high places.