'Says' in the Bible

“As for you, son of man, prophesy against Gog and say: This is what the Lord God says: Look, I am against you, Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal.

“Son of man, this is what the Lord God says: Tell every kind of bird and all the wild animals: Assemble and come! Gather from all around to My sacrificial feast that I am slaughtering for you, a great feast on the mountains of Israel; you will eat flesh and drink blood.

“So this is what the Lord God says: Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob and have compassion on the whole house of Israel, and I will be jealous for My holy name.

Then He said to me: “Son of man, this is what the Lord God says: These are the statutes for the altar on the day it is constructed, so that burnt offerings may be sacrificed on it and blood may be sprinkled on it:

“Say to the rebellious people, the house of Israel: This is what the Lord God says: I have had enough of all your detestable practices, house of Israel.

“This is what the Lord God says: No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, may enter My sanctuary, not even a foreigner who is among the Israelites.

“This is what the Lord God says: You have gone too far, princes of Israel! Put away violence and oppression and do what is just and right. Put an end to your evictions of My people.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.

“This is what the Lord God says: In the first month, on the first day of the month, you are to take a young, unblemished bull and purify the sanctuary.

“This is what the Lord God says: The gate of the inner court that faces east must be closed during the six days of work, but it will be opened on the Sabbath day and opened on the day of the New Moon.

“This is what the Lord God says: If the prince gives a gift to each of his sons as their inheritance, it will belong to his sons. It will become their property by inheritance.

This is what the Lord God says: “This is the border you will use to divide the land as an inheritance for the 12 tribes of Israel. Joseph will receive two shares.

Therefore I issue a decree that anyone of any people, nation, or language who says anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego will be torn limb from limb and his house made a garbage dump. For there is no other god who is able to deliver like this.”

But Ephraim says:“How rich I have become;I made it all myself.In all my earnings,no one can find any crime in methat I can be punished for!”

The Lord says:I will not relent from punishing Damascusfor three crimes, even four,because they threshed Gilead with iron sledges.

The Lord says:I will not relent from punishing Gazafor three crimes, even four,because they exiled a whole community,handing them over to Edom.

The Lord says:I will not relent from punishing Tyrefor three crimes, even four,because they handed overa whole community of exiles to Edomand broke a treaty of brotherhood.

The Lord says:I will not relent from punishing Edomfor three crimes, even four,because he pursued his brother with the sword.He stifled his compassion,his anger tore at them continually,and he harbored his rage incessantly.

The Lord says:I will not relent from punishing the Ammonitesfor three crimes, even four,because they ripped openthe pregnant women of Gileadin order to enlarge their territory.

The Lord says:I will not relent from punishing Moabfor three crimes, even four,because he burned the bonesof the king of Edom to lime.

The Lord says:I will not relent from punishing Judahfor three crimes, even four,because they have rejected the instruction of the Lordand have not kept His statutes.The lies that their ancestors followedhave led them astray.

The Lord says:I will not relent from punishing Israelfor three crimes, even four,because they sell a righteous person for silverand a needy person for a pair of sandals.

Therefore, the Lord God says:An enemy will surround the land;he will destroy your strongholdsand plunder your citadels.

The Lord says:As the shepherd snatches two legsor a piece of an earfrom the lion’s mouth,so the Israelites who live in Samariawill be rescuedwith only the corner of a bedor the cushion of a couch.

For the Lord God says:The city that marches out a thousand strongwill have only a hundred left,and the one that marches out a hundred strongwill have only ten left in the house of Israel.

For the Lord says to the house of Israel:Seek Me and live!

Therefore Yahweh, the God of Hosts, the Lord, says:There will be wailing in all the public squares;they will cry out in anguish in all the streets.The farmer will be called on to mourn,and professional mourners to wail.

Therefore, this is what the Lord says:Your wife will be a prostitute in the city,your sons and daughters will fall by the sword,and your land will be divided upwith a measuring line.You yourself will die on pagan soil,and Israel will certainly go into exilefrom its homeland.

Therefore, the Lord says:I am now planning a disasteragainst this nation;you cannot free your necks from it.Then you will not walk so proudlybecause it will be an evil time.

This is what the Lord saysconcerning the prophetswho lead my people astray,who proclaim peacewhen they have food to sink their teeth intobut declare war against the onewho puts nothing in their mouths.

This is what the Lord says:Though they are strong and numerous,they will still be mowed down,and he will pass away.Though I have afflicted you,I will afflict you no longer.

Woe to him who says to wood: Wake up!or to mute stone: Come alive!Can it teach?Look! It may be plated with gold and silver,yet there is no breath in it at all.

“The Lord of Hosts says this: These people say: The time has not come for the house of the Lord to be rebuilt.”

Now, the Lord of Hosts says this: “Think carefully about your ways:

The Lord of Hosts says this: “Think carefully about your ways.

Go up into the hills, bring down lumber, and build the house. Then I will be pleased with it and be glorified,” says the Lord.

For the Lord of Hosts says this: “Once more, in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.

I will shake all the nations so that the treasures of all the nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,” says the Lord of Hosts.

“The final glory of this house will be greater than the first,” says the Lord of Hosts. “I will provide peace in this place”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts.

“This is what the Lord of Hosts says: Ask the priests for a ruling.

So tell the people: This is what the Lord of Hosts says: Return to Me”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts—“and I will return to you, says the Lord of Hosts.

Do not be like your ancestors; the earlier prophets proclaimed to them: This is what the Lord of Hosts says: Turn from your evil ways and your evil deeds. But they did not listen or pay attention to Me”—this is the Lord’s declaration.

So the angel who was speaking with me said, “Proclaim: The Lord of Hosts says: I am extremely jealous for Jerusalem and Zion.

Therefore, this is what the Lord says: In mercy, I have returned to Jerusalem; My house will be rebuilt within it”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts—“and a measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem.

“Proclaim further: This is what the Lord of Hosts says: My cities will again overflow with prosperity; the Lord will once more comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.”

For the Lord of Hosts says this: “He has sent Me for His glory against the nations who are plundering you, for anyone who touches you touches the pupil of His eye.

“This is what the Lord of Hosts says: If you walk in My ways and keep My instructions, you will both rule My house and take care of My courts; I will also grant you access among these who are standing here.

So he answered me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by strength or by might, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of Hosts.

You are to tell him: This is what the Lord of Hosts says: Here is a man whose name is Branch; He will branch out from His place and build the Lord’s temple.

“The Lord of Hosts says this: Make fair decisions. Show faithful love and compassion to one another.

Just as He had called, and they would not listen, so when they called, I would not listen,” says the Lord of Hosts.

“The Lord of Hosts says this: I am extremely jealous for Zion; I am jealous for her with great wrath.”

The Lord says this: “I will return to Zion and live in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City, the mountain of the Lord of Hosts, and the Holy Mountain.”

The Lord of Hosts says this: “Old men and women will again sit along the streets of Jerusalem, each with a staff in hand because of advanced age.

The Lord of Hosts says this: “Though it may seem incredible to the remnant of this people in those days, should it also seem incredible to Me?”—this is the declaration of the Lord of Hosts.

The Lord of Hosts says this: “I will save My people from the land of the east and the land of the west.

The Lord of Hosts says this: “Let your hands be strong, you who now hear these words that the prophets spoke when the foundations were laid for the rebuilding of the temple, the house of the Lord of Hosts.

For the Lord of Hosts says this: “As I resolved to treat you badly when your fathers provoked Me to anger, and I did not relent,” says the Lord of Hosts,

“The Lord of Hosts says this: The fast of the fourth month, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh, and the fast of the tenth will become times of joy, gladness, and cheerful festivals for the house of Judah. Therefore, love truth and peace.”

The Lord of Hosts says this: “Peoples will yet come, the residents of many cities;

The Lord of Hosts says this: “In those days, 10 men from nations of every language will grab the robe of a Jewish man tightly, urging: Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”

Yahweh my God says this: “Shepherd the flock intended for slaughter.

“I have loved you,” says the Lord.But you ask: “How have You loved us?”“Wasn’t Esau Jacob’s brother?” This is the Lord’s declaration. “Even so, I loved Jacob,

Though Edom says: “We have been devastated, but we will rebuild the ruins,” the Lord of Hosts says this: “They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called a wicked country and the people the Lord has cursed forever.

“A son honors his father, and a servant his master. But if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is your fear of Me? says Yahweh of Hosts to you priests, who despise My name.”Yet you ask: “How have we despised Your name?”

“I wish one of you would shut the temple doors, so you would no longer kindle a useless fire on My altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord of Hosts, “and I will accept no offering from your hands.

“For My name will be great among the nations, from the rising of the sun to its setting. Incense and pure offerings will be presented in My name in every place because My name will be great among the nations,” says Yahweh of Hosts.

You also say: “Look, what a nuisance!” “And you scorn it,” says the Lord of Hosts. “You bring stolen, lame, or sick animals. You bring this as an offering! Am I to accept that from your hands?” asks the Lord.

“The deceiver is cursed who has an acceptable male in his flock and makes a vow but sacrifices a defective animal to the Lord. For I am a great King,” says Yahweh of Hosts, “and My name will be feared among the nations.

If you don’t listen, and if you don’t take it to heart to honor My name,” says Yahweh of Hosts, “I will send a curse among you, and I will curse your blessings. In fact, I have already begun to curse them because you are not taking it to heart.

Then you will know that I sent you this decree so My covenant with Levi may continue,” says the Lord of Hosts.

“You, on the other hand, have turned from the way. You have caused many to stumble by your instruction. You have violated the covenant of Levi,” says the Lord of Hosts.

“If he hates and divorces his wife,” says the Lord God of Israel, “he covers his garment with injustice,” says the Lord of Hosts. Therefore, watch yourselves carefully, and do not act treacherously.

“See, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. Then the Lord you seek will suddenly come to His temple, the Messenger of the covenant you desire—see, He is coming,” says the Lord of Hosts.

“I will come to you in judgment, and I will be ready to witness against sorcerers and adulterers; against those who swear falsely; against those who oppress the widow and the fatherless, and cheat the wage earner; and against those who deny justice to the foreigner. They do not fear Me,” says the Lord of Hosts.

“Since the days of your fathers, you have turned from My statutes; you have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of Hosts.But you ask: “How can we return?”

Bring the full tenth into the storehouse so that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this way,” says the Lord of Hosts. “See if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out a blessing for you without measure.

I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not ruin the produce of your land and your vine in your field will not fail to produce fruit,” says the Lord of Hosts.

“Then all the nations will consider you fortunate, for you will be a delightful land,” says the Lord of Hosts.

“Your words against Me are harsh,” says the Lord.Yet you ask: “What have we spoken against You?”

“They will be Mine,” says the Lord of Hosts, “a special possession on the day I am preparing. I will have compassion on them as a man has compassion on his son who serves him.

“For indeed, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the arrogant and everyone who commits wickedness will become stubble. The coming day will consume them,” says the Lord of Hosts, “not leaving them root or branches.

You will trample the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day I am preparing,” says the Lord of Hosts.

But I tell you, everyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Fool!’ will be subject to the Sanhedrin. But whoever says, ‘You moron!’ will be subject to hellfire.

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord!’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of My Father in heaven.

Then it says, ‘I’ll go back to my house that I came from.’ And returning, it finds the house vacant, swept, and put in order.

Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says:You will listen and listen,yet never understand;and you will look and look,yet never perceive.

If anyone says anything to you, you should say that the Lord needs them, and immediately he will send them.”

But if that wicked slave says in his heart, ‘My master is delayed,’

“Go into the city to a certain man,” He said, “and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My time is near; I am celebrating the Passover at your place with My disciples.’”

If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here right away.’”

I assure you: If anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.

David himself says by the Holy Spirit:The Lord declared to my Lord,‘Sit at My right handuntil I put Your enemies under Your feet.’

Wherever he enters, tell the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is the guest room for Me to eat the Passover with My disciples?”’

[So the Scripture was fulfilled that says: And He was counted among outlaws.]

And no one, after drinking old wine, wants new, because he says, ‘The old is better.’”

He also said to them: “Suppose one of you has a friend and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,

“When an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it roams through waterless places looking for rest, and not finding rest, it then says, ‘I’ll go back to my house where I came from.’

But if that slave says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and starts to beat the male and female slaves, and to eat and drink and get drunk,

Then the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says.

For David himself says in the Book of Psalms:The Lord declared to my Lord,‘Sit at My right hand