'Says' in the Bible

The children are obstinate and hardhearted. I am sending you to them, and you must say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says.’

Go to your people, the exiles, and speak to them. Tell them, ‘This is what the Lord God says,’ whether they listen or refuse to listen.”

But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you will say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says.’ Let the one who listens, listen, and let the one who refuses, refuse—for they are a rebellious house.

“This is what the Lord God says: I have set this Jerusalem in the center of the nations, with countries all around her.

“Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: Because you have been more insubordinate than the nations around you—you have not walked in My statutes or kept My ordinances; you have not even kept the ordinances of the nations around you—

therefore, this is what the Lord God says: See, I am against you, Jerusalem, and I will execute judgments within you in the sight of the nations.

You are to say: Mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God! This is what the Lord God says to the mountains and the hills, to the ravines and the valleys: I am about to bring a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places.

“This is what the Lord God says: Clap your hands, stamp your feet, and cry out over all the evil and detestable practices of the house of Israel, who will fall by the sword, famine, and plague.

“Son of man, this is what the Lord God says to the land of Israel:An end! The end has comeon the four corners of the land.

This is what the Lord God says:Look, one disaster after another is coming!

Then the Spirit of the Lord came on me, and He told me, “You are to say: This is what the Lord says: That is what you are thinking, house of Israel; and I know the thoughts that arise in your mind.

“Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: The slain you have put within it are the meat, and the city is the pot, but I will remove you from it.

“Therefore say: This is what the Lord God says: Though I sent them far away among the nations and scattered them among the countries, yet for a little while I have been a sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone.

“Therefore say: This is what the Lord God says: I will gather you from the peoples and assemble you from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the land of Israel.

Say to them: This is what the Lord God says: This oracle is about the prince in Jerusalem and all the house of Israel who are living there.

Then say to the people of the land: This is what the Lord God says about the residents of Jerusalem in the land of Israel: They will eat their bread with anxiety and drink their water in dread, for their land will be stripped of everything in it because of the violence of all who live there.

Therefore say to them: This is what the Lord God says: I will put a stop to this proverb, and they will not use it again in Israel. But say to them: The days draw near, as well as the fulfillment of every vision.

Therefore say to them: This is what the Lord God says: None of My words will be delayed any longer. The message I speak will be fulfilled.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.

This is what the Lord God says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing.

“Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: I am against you because you have spoken falsely and had lying visions.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.

“So this is what the Lord God says: I will release a windstorm in My wrath. Torrential rain will come in My anger, and hailstones will fall in destructive fury.

and say: This is what the Lord God says: Woe to the women who sew magic bands on the wrist of every hand and who make veils for the heads of people of every height in order to ensnare lives. Will you ensnare the lives of My people but preserve your own?

“Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: I am against your magic bands that you ensnare people with like birds, and I will tear them from your arms. I will free the people you have ensnared like birds.

“Therefore, speak to them and tell them: This is what the Lord God says: When anyone from the house of Israel sets up idols in his heart, puts a sinful stumbling block before his face, and then comes to the prophet, I, Yahweh, will answer him appropriately. I will answer him according to his many idols,

“Therefore, say to the house of Israel: This is what the Lord God says: Repent and turn away from your idols; turn your faces away from all your detestable things.

“For this is what the Lord God says: How much worse will it be when I send My four devastating judgments against Jerusalem—sword, famine, dangerous animals, and plague—in order to wipe out both man and animal from it!

“Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire as fuel, so I will give up the residents of Jerusalem.

You are to say: This is what the Lord God says to Jerusalem: Your origin and your birth were in the land of the Canaanites. Your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite.

This is what the Lord God says: Because your lust was poured out and your nakedness exposed by your acts of prostitution with your lovers, and because of all your detestable idols and the blood of your children that you gave to them,

“For this is what the Lord God says: I will deal with you according to what you have done, since you have despised the oath by breaking the covenant.

You are to say: This is what the Lord God says:A great eagle with great wings, long pinions,and full plumage of many colorscame to Lebanon and took the top of the cedar.

You are to say: This is what the Lord God says:Will it flourish?Will he not tear out its rootsand strip off its fruitso that it shrivels?All its fresh leaves will wither!Great strength and many peoplewill not be needed to pull it from its roots.

Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: “As I live, I will bring down on his head My oath that he despised and My covenant that he broke.

This is what the Lord God says:I will take a sprigfrom the lofty top of the cedar and plant it.I will pluck a tender sprigfrom its topmost shoots,and I will plant iton a high towering mountain.

But the house of Israel says, ‘The Lord’s way isn’t fair.’ Is it My ways that are unfair, house of Israel? Instead, isn’t it your ways that are unfair?

“Son of man, speak with the elders of Israel and tell them: This is what the Lord God says: Are you coming to consult Me? As I live, I will not be consulted by you.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.

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.

“Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Israel, and tell them: This is what the Lord God says: In this way also your fathers blasphemed Me by committing treachery against Me:

“Therefore say to the house of Israel: This is what the Lord God says: Are you defiling yourselves the way your fathers did, and prostituting yourselves with their detestable things?

“As for you, house of Israel, this is what the Lord God says: Go and serve your idols, each of you. But afterward you will surely listen to Me, and you will no longer defile My holy name with your gifts and idols.

and say to the forest there: Hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Lord God says: I am about to ignite a fire in you, and it will devour every green tree and every dry tree in you. The blazing flame will not be extinguished, and every face from the south to the north will be scorched by it.

and say to it: This is what the Lord says: I am against you. I will draw My sword from its sheath and cut off both the righteous and the wicked from you.

“Son of man, prophesy: This is what the Lord says! You are to proclaim:A sword! A sword is sharpenedand also polished.

“Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: Because you have drawn attention to your guilt, exposing your transgressions, so that your sins are revealed in all your actions, since you have done this, you will be captured by them.

This is what the Lord God says:Remove the turban, and take off the crown.Things will not remain as they are;exalt the lowly and bring down the exalted.

“Now prophesy, son of man, and say: This is what the Lord God says concerning the Ammonites and their contempt. You are to proclaim:A sword! A swordis drawn for slaughter,polished to consume, to flash like lightning.

You are to say: This is what the Lord God says: A city that sheds blood within her walls so that her time of judgment has come and who makes idols for herself so that she is defiled!

Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: Because all of you have become dross, I am about to gather you into Jerusalem.

Her prophets plaster with whitewash for them by seeing false visions and lying divinations, and they say, ‘This is what the Lord God says,’ when the Lord has not spoken.

“Therefore Oholibah, this is what the Lord God says: I am going to incite your lovers against you, those you turned away from in disgust. I will bring them against you from every side:

“For this is what the Lord God says: I am going to hand you over to those you hate, to those you turned away from in disgust.

This is what the Lord God says:You will drink your sister’s cup,which is deep and wide.You will be an object of ridicule and scorn,for it holds so much.

Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: “Because you have forgotten Me and cast Me behind your back, you must bear the consequences of your indecency and promiscuity.”

“This is what the Lord God says: Summon an assembly against them and consign them to terror and plunder.

Now speak a parable to the rebellious house. Tell them: This is what the Lord God says:Put the pot on the fire—put it on,and then pour water into it!

Therefore, this is what the Lord God says:Woe to the city of bloodshed,the pot that has rust inside it,and whose rust will not come off!Empty it piece by piece;lots should not be cast for its contents.

Therefore, this is what the Lord God says:Woe to the city of bloodshed!I Myself will make the pile of kindling large.

‘Say to the house of Israel: This is what the Lord God says: I am about to desecrate My sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and the desire of your heart. Also, the sons and daughters you left behind will fall by the sword.

Say to the Ammonites: Hear the word of the Lord God: This is what the Lord God says: Because you said, ‘Good!’ about My sanctuary when it was desecrated, about the land of Israel when it was laid waste, and about the house of Judah when they went into exile,

For this is what the Lord God says: “Because you clapped your hands, stamped your feet, and rejoiced over the land of Israel with wholehearted contempt,

This is what the Lord God says: “Because Moab and Seir said, ‘Look, the house of Judah is like all the other nations,’

This is what the Lord God says: “Because Edom acted vengefully against the house of Judah and incurred grievous guilt by taking revenge on them,

therefore this is what the Lord God says: I will stretch out My hand against Edom and cut off both man and animal from it. I will make it a wasteland; they will fall by the sword from Teman to Dedan.

This is what the Lord God says: “Because the Philistines acted in vengeance and took revenge with deep contempt, destroying because of their ancient hatred,

therefore this is what the Lord God says: I am about to stretch out My hand against the Philistines, cutting off the Cherethites and wiping out what remains of the coastal peoples.

therefore this is what the Lord God says: See, I am against you, Tyre! I will raise up many nations against you, just as the sea raises its waves.

For this is what the Lord God says: “See, I am about to bring King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, king of kings, against Tyre from the north with horses, chariots, cavalry, and a vast company of troops.

This is what the Lord God says to Tyre: “Won’t the coasts and islands quake at the sound of your downfall, when the wounded groan and slaughter occurs within you?

For this is what the Lord God says: “When I make you a ruined city like other deserted cities, when I raise up the deep against you so that the mighty waters cover you,

Say to Tyre, who is located at the entrance of the sea, merchant of the peoples to many coasts and islands: This is what the Lord God says:Tyre, you declared,‘I am perfect in beauty.’

“Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre: This is what the Lord God says:Your heart is proud,and you have said, ‘I am a god;I sit in the seat of godsin the heart of the sea.’Yet you are a man and not a god,though you have regarded your heartas that of a god.

Therefore this is what the Lord God says:Because you regard your heart as that of a god,

“Son of man, lament for the king of Tyre and say to him: This is what the Lord God says:You were the seal of perfection,full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.

You are to say: This is what the Lord God says:Look! I am against you, Sidon,and I will display My glory within you.They will know that I am Yahwehwhen I execute judgments against herand demonstrate My holiness through her.

“This is what the Lord God says: When I gather the house of Israel from the peoples where they are scattered and demonstrate My holiness through them in the sight of the nations, then they will live in their own land, which I gave to My servant Jacob.

Speak to him and say: This is what the Lord God says:Look, I am against you, Pharaoh king of Egypt,the great monster lying in the middle of his Nile,who says, ‘My Nile is my own;I made it for myself.’

“Therefore this is what the Lord God says: I am going to bring a sword against you and wipe out man and animal from you.

“For this is what the Lord God says: At the end of 40 years I will gather the Egyptians from the nations where they were dispersed.

Therefore this is what the Lord God says: I am going to give the land of Egypt to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who will carry off its wealth, seizing its spoil and taking its plunder. This will be his army’s compensation.

“Son of man, prophesy and say: This is what the Lord God says:Wail: Woe for the day!

This is what the Lord God says:I will put an end to the hordes of Egyptby the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.

This is what the Lord God says:I will destroy the idols and put an endto the false gods in Memphis.There will no longer bea prince from the land of Egypt.So I will instill fear in that land.

Therefore this is what the Lord God says: Look! I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt. I will break his arms, both the strong one and the one already broken, and will make the sword fall from his hand.

“Therefore this is what the Lord God says: Since it became great in height and set its top among the clouds, and it grew proud on account of its height,

“This is what the Lord God says: I caused grieving on the day the cedar went down to Sheol. I closed off the underground deep because of it: I held back the rivers of the deep, and its abundant waters were restrained. I made Lebanon mourn on account of it, and all the trees of the field fainted because of it.

This is what the Lord God says:I will spread My net over youwith an assembly of many peoples,and they will haul you up in My net.

For this is what the Lord God says:The sword of Babylon’s kingwill come against you!

Therefore say to them: This is what the Lord God says: You eat meat with blood in it, raise your eyes to your idols, and shed blood. Should you then receive possession of the land?

“Tell them this: This is what the Lord God says: As surely as I live, those who are in the ruins will fall by the sword, those in the open field I have given to wild animals to be devoured, and those in the strongholds and caves will die by plague.

“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy, and say to them: This is what the Lord God says to the shepherds: Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who have been feeding themselves! Shouldn’t the shepherds feed their flock?

“This is what the Lord God says: Look, I am against the shepherds. I will demand My flock from them and prevent them from shepherding the flock. The shepherds will no longer feed themselves, for I will rescue My flock from their mouths so that they will not be food for them.

“For this is what the Lord God says: See, I Myself will search for My flock and look for them.

“The Lord God says to you, My flock: I am going to judge between one sheep and another, between the rams and male goats.

“Therefore, this is what the Lord God says to them: See, I Myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.

Say to it: This is what the Lord God says:Look! I am against you, Mount Seir.I will stretch out My hand against youand make you a desolate waste.

“This is what the Lord God says: While the whole world rejoices, I will make you a desolation.

This is what the Lord God says: Because the enemy has said about you, ‘Good! The ancient heights have become our possession,’

therefore, prophesy and say: This is what the Lord God says: Because they have made you desolate and have trampled you from every side, so that you became a possession for the rest of the nations and an object of people’s gossip and slander,

therefore, mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God. This is what the Lord God says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys, to the desolate ruins and abandoned cities, which have become plunder and a mockery to the rest of the nations all around.

“This is what the Lord God says: Certainly in My burning zeal I speak against the rest of the nations and all of Edom, who took My land as their own possession with wholehearted rejoicing and utter contempt so that its pastureland became plunder.