'Saying' in the Bible

He commanded them, saying, “In the fear of the Lord, with integrity, and with a whole heart, you are to do the following:

Then Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, “Because you formed an alliance with Ahaziah, the Lord has broken up what you have made.” So the ships were wrecked and were not able to go to Tarshish.

Then a letter came to Jehoram from Elijah the prophet, saying:This is what Yahweh, the God of your ancestor David says: “Because you have not walked in the ways of your father Jehoshaphat or in the ways of Asa king of Judah

Then Jehoiada the priest sent out the commanders of hundreds, those in charge of the army, saying, “Take her out between the ranks, and put anyone who follows her to death by the sword,” for the priest had said, “Don’t put her to death in the Lord’s temple.”

King Amaziah of Judah took counsel and sent word to Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, “Come, let us meet face to face.”

King Jehoash of Israel sent word to King Amaziah of Judah, saying, “The thistle that was in Lebanon sent a message to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son as a wife.’ Then a wild animal that was in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thistle.

So the couriers went throughout Israel and Judah with letters from the hand of the king and his officials, and according to the king’s command, saying, “Israelites, return to Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel so that He may return to those of you who remain, who have escaped from the grasp of the kings of Assyria.

A large number of the people—many from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun—were ritually unclean, yet they had eaten the Passover contrary to what was written. But Hezekiah had interceded for them, saying, “May the good Lord provide atonement on behalf of

He set military commanders over the people and gathered the people in the square of the city gate. Then he encouraged them, saying,

After this, while Sennacherib king of Assyria with all his armed forces besieged Lachish, he sent his servants to Jerusalem against King Hezekiah of Judah and against all those of Judah who were in Jerusalem, saying,

He also wrote letters to mock Yahweh, the God of Israel, saying against Him:Just like the national gods of the lands that did not deliver their people from my power, so Hezekiah’s God will not deliver His people from my power.

But Neco sent messengers to him, saying, “What is the issue between you and me, king of Judah? I have not come against you today but I am fighting another dynasty. God told me to hurry. Stop opposing God who is with me; don’t make Him destroy you!”

You gave through Your servants the prophets, saying: “The land you are entering to possess is an impure land. The surrounding peoples have filled it from end to end with their uncleanness by their impurity and detestable practices.

Some were saying, “We, our sons, and our daughters are numerous. Let us get grain so that we can eat and live.”

Others were saying, “We are mortgaging our fields, vineyards, and homes to get grain during the famine.”

Still others were saying, “We have borrowed money to pay the king’s tax on our fields and vineyards.

After seriously considering the matter, I accused the nobles and officials, saying to them, “Each of you is charging his countrymen interest.” So I called a large assembly against them

So I sent messengers to them, saying, “I am doing a great work and cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?”

For they were all trying to intimidate us, saying, “They will become discouraged in the work, and it will never be finished.”But now, my God, strengthen me.

And the Levites quieted all the people, saying, “Be still, since today is holy. Do not grieve.”

So they proclaimed and spread this news throughout their towns and in Jerusalem, saying, “Go out to the hill country and bring back branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees to make booths, just as it is written.”

Therefore, I rebuked the officials, saying, “Why has the house of God been neglected?” I gathered the Levites and singers together and stationed them at their posts.

saying:Naked I came from my mother’s womb,and naked I will leave this life.The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away.Praise the name of Yahweh.

How long will you go on saying these things?Your words are a blast of wind.

If he is uprooted from his place,it will deny knowing him, saying, “I never saw you.”

He wanders about for food, saying, “Where is it?”He knows the day of darkness is at hand.

The righteous see this and rejoice;the innocent mock them, saying,

Job continued his discourse, saying:

Job continued his discourse, saying:

Then Elihu continued, saying:

Then Elihu continued, saying:

Then Elihu continued, saying:

Many are saying, “Who can show us anything good?”Look on us with favor, Lord.

saying, “God has abandoned him;chase him and catch him,for there is no one to rescue him.”

They spoke against God, saying,“Is God able to provide food in the wilderness?

You return mankind to the dust,saying, “Return, descendants of Adam.”

Otherwise, I might have too muchand deny You, saying, “Who is the Lord?”or I might have nothing and steal,profaning the name of my God.

A man will even seize his brotherin his father’s house, saying:“You have a cloak—you be our leader!This heap of rubble will be under your control.”

On that day he will cry out, saying:“I’m not a healer.I don’t even have food or clothing in my house.Don’t make me the leader of the people!”

On that day seven womenwill seize one man, saying,“We will eat our own breadand provide our own clothing.Just let us be called by your name.Take away our disgrace.”

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying:Who should I send?Who will go for Us?I said:Here I am. Send me.

They crossed over at the ford, saying,“We will spend the night at Geba.”The people of Ramah are trembling;those at Gibeah of Saul have fled.

They all respond to you, saying:“You too have become as weak as we are;you have become like us!

The Lord of Hosts will bless them, saying, “Egypt My people, Assyria My handiwork, and Israel My inheritance are blessed.”

during that time the Lord had spoken through Isaiah son of Amoz, saying, “Go, take off your sackcloth and remove the sandals from your feet,” and he did so, going naked and barefoot—

Look, riders come—horsemen in pairs.”And he answered, saying,“Babylon has fallen, has fallen.All the images of her godshave been shattered on the ground.”

Suppose you say to me, ‘We trust in the Lord our God.’ Isn’t He the One whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You are to worship at this altar’?

Don’t let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord, saying, ‘The Lord will certainly deliver us! This city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.’”

Beware that Hezekiah does not mislead you by saying, ‘The Lord will deliver us.’ Has any one of the gods of the nations delivered his land from the power of the king of Assyria?

The king had heard this about Tirhakah king of Cush: “He has set out to fight against you.” So when he heard this, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,

“Say this to Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Don’t let your God, whom you trust, deceive you by promising that Jerusalem won’t be handed over to the king of Assyria.

A voice was saying, “Cry out!”Another said, “What should I cry out?”“All humanity is grass,and all its goodness is like the flower of the field.

The craftsman encourages the metalworker;the one who flattens with the hammersupports the one who strikes the anvil,saying of the soldering, “It is good.”He fastens it with nails so that it will not fall over.

But this is a people plundered and looted,all of them trapped in holesor imprisoned in dungeons.They have become plunderwith no one to rescue themand loot, with no one saying, “Give it back!”

I declare the end from the beginning,and from long ago what is not yet done,saying: My plan will take place,and I will do all My will.

saying to the prisoners: Come out,and to those who are in darkness: Show yourselves.They will feed along the pathways,and their pastures will be on all the barren heights.

“Declare this in the house of Jacob; proclaim it in Judah, saying:

Pay attention to me, Lord.Hear what my opponents are saying!

May the man be cursedwho brought the news to my father, saying,“A male child is born to you,”bringing him great joy.

Therefore, this is what the Lord says concerning Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah:They will not mourn for him, saying,“Woe, my brother!” or “Woe, my sister!”They will not mourn for him, saying,“Woe, lord! Woe, his majesty!”

They keep on saying to those who despise Me, ‘The Lord has said: You will have peace.’ They have said to everyone who follows the stubbornness of his heart, ‘No harm will come to you.’”

Command them to go to their masters, saying: This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: This is what you must say to your masters:

Then I spoke to the priests and all these people, saying, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Do not listen to the words of your prophets. They are prophesying to you, claiming, “Look, very soon now the articles of the Lord’s temple will be brought back from Babylon.” They are prophesying a lie to you.

“This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: You in your own name have sent out letters to all the people of Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, and to all the priests, saying:

“Send a message to all the exiles, saying: This is what the Lord says concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite. Because Shemaiah prophesied to you, though I did not send him, and made you trust a lie,

No longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least to the greatest of them”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “For I will forgive their wrongdoing and never again remember their sin.”

Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him, saying: “Why are you prophesying, ‘This is what the Lord says: Look, I am about to hand this city over to Babylon’s king, and he will capture it.

Fields will be bought in this land about which you are saying, ‘It’s a desolation without man or beast; it has been handed over to the Chaldeans!’

a sound of joy and gladness, the voice of the groom and the bride, and the voice of those saying,Praise the Lord of Hosts,for the Lord is good;His faithful love endures foreveras they bring thank offerings to the temple of the Lord. For I will restore the fortunes of the land as in former times, says the Lord.

“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I made a covenant with your ancestors when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery, saying:

Then all the officials sent word to Baruch through Jehudi son of Nethaniah, son of Shelemiah, son of Cushi, saying, “Bring the scroll that you read in the hearing of the people, and come.” So Baruch son of Neriah took the scroll and went to them.

You are to proclaim concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: This is what the Lord says: You have burned the scroll, saying, ‘Why have you written on it: The king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land and cause it to be without man or beast?’

This is what the Lord says: Don’t deceive yourselves by saying, ‘The Chaldeans will leave us for good,’ for they will not leave.

But when he was at the Benjamin Gate, an officer of the guard was there, whose name was Irijah son of Shelemiah, son of Hananiah, and he apprehended Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “You are deserting to the Chaldeans.”

Speaking through Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon gave orders concerning Jeremiah, saying:

But Gedaliah son of Ahikam responded to Johanan son of Kareah, “Don’t do that! What you’re saying about Ishmael is a lie.”

You have led your own selves astray because you are the ones who sent me to the Lord your God, saying, ‘Pray to the Lord our God on our behalf, and as for all that the Lord our God says, tell it to us, and we’ll act accordingly.’

So I sent you all My servants the prophets time and time again, saying: Don’t do this detestable thing that I hate.

But Jeremiah responded to all the people—the men, women, and all the people who were answering him:

This is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘As for you and your wives, you women have spoken with your mouths, and you men fulfilled it by your deeds, saying, “We will keep our vows that we have made to burn incense to the queen of heaven and to pour out drink offerings for her.” Go ahead, confirm your vows! Pay your vows!’

“Therefore, hear the word of the Lord, all you Judeans who live in the land of Egypt: ‘I have sworn by My great name, says Yahweh, that My name will never again be invoked by anyone of Judah in all the land of Egypt, saying, “As the Lord God lives.”

פ PeAll your enemiesopen their mouths against you.They hiss and gnash their teeth,saying, “We have swallowed her up.This is the day we have waited for!We have lived to see it.”

Then He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his idol? For they are saying, ‘The Lord does not see us. The Lord has abandoned the land.’”

After the Lord commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, “Take fire from inside the wheelwork, from among the cherubim,” the man went in and stood beside a wheel.

They are saying, ‘Isn’t the time near to build houses? The city is the pot, and we are the meat.’

“Son of man, notice that the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he sees concerns many years from now; he prophesies about distant times.’

“Since they have led My people astray saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace, for when someone builds a wall they plaster it with whitewash,

Say to them: This is what the Lord God says: On the day I chose Israel, I swore an oath to the descendants of Jacob’s house and made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt. I swore to them, saying: I am Yahweh your God.

Then I said, “Oh, Lord God, they are saying of me, ‘Isn’t he just posing riddles?’”

“Son of man, those who live in the ruins in the land of Israel are saying, ‘Abraham was only one person, yet he received possession of the land. But we are many; the land has been given to us as a possession.’

“Now, son of man, your people are talking about you near the city walls and in the doorways of their houses. One person speaks to another, each saying to his brother, ‘Come and hear what the message is that comes from the Lord!’

Then you will know that I, Yahweh, have heard all the blasphemies you uttered against the mountains of Israel, saying, ‘They are desolate. They have been given to us to devour!’

“This is what the Lord God says: Because people are saying to you, ‘You devour men and deprive your nation of children,’

“The king saw an observer, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump with its roots in the ground and with a band of iron and bronze around it, in the tender grass of the field. Let him be drenched with dew from the sky, and share food with the wild animals for seven periods of time.’

He said to me, “Daniel, you are a man treasured by God. Understand the words that I’m saying to you. Stand on your feet, for I have now been sent to you.” After he said this to me, I stood trembling.

While he was saying these words to me, I turned my face toward the ground and was speechless.

In fact, they are now saying,“We have no king!For we do not fear the Lord.What can a king do for us?”

Where now is your king,that he may save you in all your cities,and the rulers you demanded, saying,“Give me a king and leaders”?

Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent word to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you right here in the house of Israel. The land cannot endure all his words,

In that day one will take up a taunt against you,and lament mournfully, saying,“We are totally ruined!He measures out the allotted land of my people.How He removes it from me!He allots our fields to traitors.”