'Serve' in the Bible

So Josiah removed everything that was detestable from all the lands belonging to the Israelites, and he required all who were present in Israel to serve the Lord their God. Throughout his reign they did not turn aside from following Yahweh, the God of their ancestors.

He appointed the priests to their responsibilities and encouraged them to serve in the Lord’s temple.

He said to the Levites who taught all Israel the holy things of the Lord, “Put the holy ark in the temple built by Solomon son of David king of Israel. Since you do not have to carry it on your shoulders, now serve Yahweh your God and His people Israel.

Serve in the holy place by the divisions of the ancestral houses for your brothers, the lay people, and the distribution of the tribal household of the Levites.

When they were in their kingdom,with Your abundant goodness that You gave them,and in the spacious and fertile land You set before them,they would not serve You or turn from their wicked ways.

We will also bring the firstborn of our sons and our livestock, as prescribed by the law, and will bring the firstborn of our herds and flocks to the house of our God, to the priests who serve in our God’s house.

For the Israelites and the Levites are to bring the contributions of grain, new wine, and oil to the storerooms where the articles of the sanctuary are kept and where the priests who minister are, along with the gatekeepers and singers. We will not neglect the house of our God.

and no restraint was placed on the drinking. The king had ordered every wine steward in his household to serve as much as each person wanted.

Should he argue with useless talkor with words that serve no good purpose?

Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him,and what will we gain by pleading with Him?”

If they serve Him obediently,they will end their days in prosperityand their years in happiness.

serve as His sign to all mankind,so that all men may know His work.

Would the wild ox be willing to serve you?Would it spend the night by your feeding trough?

Serve the Lord with reverential aweand rejoice with trembling.

You have freed me from the feuds among the people;You have appointed me the head of nations;a people I had not known serve me.

Their descendants will serve Him;the next generation will be told about the Lord.

Let all kings bow down to him,all nations serve him.

All who serve carved images,those who boast in idols, will be put to shame.All the gods must worship Him.

Serve the Lord with gladness;come before Him with joyful songs.

My eyes favor the faithful of the landso that they may sit down with me.The one who follows the way of integritymay serve me.

when peoples and kingdoms are assembledto serve the Lord.

All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered to you;the rams of Nebaioth will serve youand go up on My altar as an acceptable sacrifice.I will glorify My beautiful house.

Foreigners will build up your walls,and their kings will serve you.Although I struck you in My wrath,yet I will show mercy to you with My favor.

For the nation and the kingdomthat will not serve you will perish;those nations will be annihilated.

For long ago I broke your yoke;I tore off your chains.You insisted, “I will not serve!”On every high hilland under every green treeyou lie down like a prostitute.

When people ask, ‘For what offense has the Lord our God done all these things to us?’ You will respond to them: Just as you abandoned Me and served foreign gods in your land, so will you serve strangers in a land that is not yours.

These evil people, who refuse to listen to Me, who follow the stubbornness of their own hearts, and who have followed other gods to serve and worship—they will be like this underwear, of no use at all.

Then I will make you serve your enemiesin a land you do not know,for My anger will kindle a firethat will burn against you.

You will, on your own, relinquish your inheritancethat I gave you.I will make you serve your enemiesin a land you do not know,for you have set My anger on fire;it will burn forever.

Woe for the one who builds his palacethrough unrighteousness,his upper rooms through injustice,who makes his fellow man serve without payand will not give him his wages,

Do not follow other gods to serve them and to worship them, and do not provoke Me to anger by the work of your hands. Then I will do you no harm.

This whole land will become a desolate ruin, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for 70 years.

So now I have placed all these lands under the authority of My servant Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. I have even given him the wild animals to serve him.

All nations will serve him, his son, and his grandson until the time for his own land comes, and then many nations and great kings will enslave him.

“As for the nation or kingdom that does not serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and does not place its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation I will punish by sword, famine, and plague”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“until through him I have destroyed it.

But as for you, do not listen to your prophets, diviners, dreamers, fortune-tellers, or sorcerers who say to you, ‘Don’t serve the king of Babylon!’

But as for the nation that will put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will leave it in its own land, and that nation will cultivate it and reside in it.” This is the Lord’s declaration.

I spoke to Zedekiah king of Judah in the same way: “Put your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, serve him and his people, and live!

Why should you and your people die by the sword, famine, or plague as the Lord has threatened against any nation that does not serve the king of Babylon?

Do not listen to the words of the prophets who are telling you, ‘You must not serve the king of Babylon,’ for they are prophesying a lie to you.

Do not listen to them. Serve the king of Babylon and live! Why should this city become a ruin?

For this is what the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel, says, ‘I have put an iron yoke on the neck of all these nations that they might serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, and they will serve him. I have also put the wild animals under him.’”

They will serve the Lord their God and I will raise up David their king for them.”

At the end of seven years, each of you must free his Hebrew brother who sold himself to you. He may serve you six years, but then you must send him out free from you. But your ancestors did not obey Me or pay any attention.

Time and time again I have sent you all My servants the prophets, proclaiming: Turn, each one from his evil way of life, and correct your actions. Stop following other gods to serve them. Live in the land that I gave you and your ancestors. But you would not pay attention or obey Me.

Gedaliah son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, swore an oath to them and their men, assuring them, “Don’t be afraid to serve the Chaldeans. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will go well for you.

because of their evil ways that provoked Me to anger, going and burning incense to serve other gods that they, you, and your fathers did not know.

I also gave them My Sabbaths to serve as a sign between Me and them, so they will know that I am Yahweh who sets them apart as holy.

“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.

For on My holy mountain, Israel’s high mountain”—the declaration of the Lord God—“there the entire house of Israel, all of them, will serve Me in the land. There I will accept them and will require your contributions and choicest gifts, all your holy offerings.

The chamber that faces north is for the priests who keep charge of the altar. These are the sons of Zadok, the ones from the sons of Levi who may approach the Lord to serve Him.”

The side rooms were arranged one above another in three stories of 30 rooms each. There were ledges on the wall of the temple all around to serve as supports for the side rooms, so that the supports would not be in the temple wall itself.

You are to give a bull from the herd as a sin offering to the Levitical priests who are from the offspring of Zadok, who approach Me in order to serve Me.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.

Yet they will occupy My sanctuary, serving as guards at the temple gates and ministering at the temple. They will slaughter the burnt offerings and other sacrifices for the people and will stand before them to serve them.

They must not approach Me to serve Me as priests or come near any of My holy things or the most holy things. They will bear their disgrace and the consequences of the detestable acts they committed.

“But the Levitical priests descended from Zadok, who kept charge of My sanctuary when the Israelites went astray from Me, will approach Me to serve Me. They will stand before Me to offer Me fat and blood.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.

“They are the ones who may enter My sanctuary and draw near to My table to serve Me. They will keep My mandate.

It will be a holy area of the land to be used by the priests who minister in the sanctuary, who draw near to serve the Lord. It will be a place for their houses, as well as a holy area for the sanctuary.

The king assigned them daily provisions from the royal food and from the wine that he drank. They were to be trained for three years, and at the end of that time they were to serve in the king’s court.

The king interviewed them, and among all of them, no one was found equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they began to serve in the king’s court.

There are some Jews you have appointed to manage the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men have ignored you, the king; they do not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”

Nebuchadnezzar asked them, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, is it true that you don’t serve my gods or worship the gold statue I have set up?

If the God we serve exists, then He can rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and He can rescue us from the power of you, the king.

But even if He does not rescue us, we want you as king to know that we will not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up.”

Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed, “Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent His angel and rescued His servants who trusted in Him. They violated the king’s command and risked their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.

So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!”

When he reached the den, he cried out in anguish to Daniel. “Daniel, servant of the living God,” the king said, “has your God whom you serve continually been able to rescue you from the lions?”

He was given authority to rule,and glory, and a kingdom;so that those of every people,nation, and languageshould serve Him.His dominion is an everlasting dominionthat will not pass away,and His kingdom is onethat will not be destroyed.

The kingdom, dominion, and greatness of the kingdoms under all of heaven will be given to the people, the holy ones of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will serve and obey Him.’

For I will then restorepure speech to the peoplesso that all of them may callon the name of Yahwehand serve Him with a single purpose.

You have said: “It is useless to serve God. What have we gained by keeping His requirements and walking mournfully before the Lord of Hosts?

So you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.

Then Jesus told him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written:Worship the Lord your God,and serve only Him.”

Then the Devil left Him, and immediately angels came and began to serve Him.

So He touched her hand, and the fever left her. Then she got up and began to serve Him.

just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life—a ransom for many.”

He was in the wilderness 40 days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and the angels began to serve Him.

So He went to her, took her by the hand, and raised her up. The fever left her, and she began to serve them.

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life—a ransom for many.”

since we have been rescuedfrom our enemies’ clutches,to serve Him without fear

And Jesus answered him, “It is written:Worship the Lord your God,and serve Him only.”

So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up immediately and began to serve them.

But Martha was distracted by her many tasks, and she came up and asked, “Lord, don’t You care that my sister has left me to serve alone? So tell her to give me a hand.”

Those slaves the master will find alert when he comes will be blessed. I assure you: He will get ready, have them recline at the table, then come and serve them.

Instead, will he not tell him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat, get ready, and serve me while I eat and drink; later you can eat and drink’?

I will judge the nationthat they will serve as slaves, God said.After this, they will come outand worship Me in this place.

the promise our 12 tribes hope to attain as they earnestly serve Him night and day. King Agrippa, I am being accused by the Jews because of this hope.

For this night an angel of the God I belong to and serve stood by me,

For God, whom I serve with my spirit in telling the good news about His Son, is my witness that I constantly mention you,

But now we have been released from the law, since we have died to what held us, so that we may serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old letter of the law.

not from works but from the One who calls—she was told: The older will serve the younger.

Do not lack diligence; be fervent in spirit; serve the Lord.

Right now I am traveling to Jerusalem to serve the saints,

for such people do not serve our Lord Christ but their own appetites. They deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting with smooth talk and flattering words.

Don’t you know that those who perform the temple services eat the food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the offerings of the altar?

For you were called to be free, brothers; only don’t use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love.

For we are the circumcision, the ones who serve by the Spirit of God, boast in Christ Jesus, and do not put confidence in the flesh—

knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ.

for they themselves report what kind of reception we had from you: how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God

And they must also be tested first; if they prove blameless, then they can serve as deacons.