'Serve' in the Bible

And he said to Abram, "{You must surely know} that your descendants shall be [as] aliens in a land {not their own}. And they shall serve them and they shall oppress them four hundred years.

And also the nation that they serve I will judge. Then afterward they shall go out with great possessions.

And Yahweh said to her, "Two nations [are] in your womb, and two peoples {from birth} shall be divided. And {one people shall be stronger than the other}. And [the] elder shall serve [the] younger."

Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you; Be lord of your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. Cursed be those cursing you, and blessed be those blessing you."

But by your sword you shall live, and you shall serve your brother. But it shall be [that] when free yourself you shall tear off his yoke from your neck.

And Jacob loved Rachel and said, "I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter."

And it happened [that] in the morning, behold, it [was] Leah! And he said to Laban, "What [is] this you have done to me? Did I not serve with you for Rachel? Now why did you deceive me?"

Then he washed his face and went out, now controlling himself, and said, "Serve the food."

And he said, "Because I am with you, and this [will be] the sign for you that I myself have sent you: When you bring the people out from Egypt, you will serve God on this mountain."

And I said to you, "Release my son and let him serve me," but you refused to release him. Look, I [am about] to kill your son, your firstborn.'"

And you must say to him, 'Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you, saying, "Release my people that they may serve me in the desert, and, look, you have not listened until now."

And Yahweh said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, and say to him, 'Thus says Yahweh, "Release my people so that they may serve me."

And Yahweh said to Moses, "Start early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh. Look, [he is] going out to the water, and you must say to him, 'Thus says Yahweh, "Release my people so that they may serve me."

And Yahweh said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh and say to him, 'Thus says Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, "Release my people so that they may serve me."

And Yahweh said to Moses, "Start early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh. Look, [he is] going out to the water, and you must say to him, 'Thus says Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, "Release my people so that they may serve me.

And Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh, and they said to him, "Thus says Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, 'Until when will you refuse to submit before me? Release my people so that they may serve me.

And the servants of Pharaoh said to him, "Until when will this be a snare for us? Release the men so that they may serve Yahweh their God. Do you not yet know that Egypt is destroyed?"

And Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh, and he said to them, "Serve Yahweh your God. {Who are the ones going}?

{No indeed}; [just] the men go and serve Yahweh, since this [is what] you [are] seeking." And he drove them out from the presence of Pharaoh.

And Pharaoh called Moses and said, "Go, serve Yahweh. Only your sheep and goats and your cattle must be left behind. Your dependents may also go with you."

our livestock must also go with us. Not a hoof can be left because we must take from them to serve Yahweh our God. And we will not know [with] what we are to serve Yahweh until we come there."

And he called Moses and Aaron [at] night, and he said, "Get up, go out from the midst of my people, both you as well as the {Israelites}, and go, serve Yahweh, as you have said.

Isn't this the word we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, 'Leave us alone [so that] we can serve Egypt!' because serving Egypt is better for us than our dying in the desert."

You will not bow down to them, and you will not serve them, because I [am] Yahweh your God, a jealous God, punishing [the] guilt of [the] parents on the children on [the] third and on [the] fourth [generations] of those hating me,

'If you buy a Hebrew slave, he will serve six years, and in the seventh he will go out as free for nothing.

his master will present him to God and bring him to the door or to the doorpost, and his master will pierce his ear with an awl, and he will serve him forever.

" 'You will not bow to their gods, and you will not serve them, and you will not act according to their actions, because you will utterly demolish them, and you will utterly break their stone pillars.

And you will serve Yahweh your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will remove sickness from among you.

They will not live in your land, lest they cause you to sin against me when you serve their gods, for it will be a snare to you.'"

"And bring near to you Aaron, your brother, and his sons with him from the midst of the {Israelites} to serve as priests for me--Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron.

And these are the garments that they will make: A breast piece and an ephod and a robe and a tunic of specially woven fabric, a turban and a sash. And they will make holy garments for Aaron your brother, and for his sons to serve as priests for me.

And you will clothe them--Aaron, your brother, and his sons with him--and you will anoint them and {ordain them} and consecrate them, and they will serve as priests for me.

And they will be on Aaron and on his sons when they come to the tent of assembly or when they approach the altar to serve in the sanctuary, so that they will not bear guilt and die. [It is] a lasting statute for him and for his offspring after him.

"And this [is] the thing that you will do for them to consecrate them to serve as a priest for me: Take {one young bull} and two rams without defect

Seven days the priest who replaces him from among his sons will wear them, who comes to the tent of assembly to serve in the sanctuary.

And I will consecrate the tent of assembly and the altar, and Aaron and his sons I will consecrate to serve as priests for me.

When they come to the tent of assembly, they will wash with water so that they do not die, or when they approach the altar to serve by turning to smoke an offering made by fire to Yahweh.

And you will anoint Aaron and his sons, and you will consecrate them to serve as priests for me.

and the garments of woven material, and {the garments of the sanctuary} for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons to serve as priests,

the woven garments for serving in the sanctuary--the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons to serve as priests."

the woven garments for serving in the sanctuary--the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments for his sons to serve as priests.

And you will clothe Aaron with the holy garments, and you will anoint him, and you will consecrate him, and he will serve as a priest for me.

And you will anoint them as you anointed their father, and they will serve as priests for me. And their anointing will be for them to be a lasting priesthood throughout their generations."

This [is] Aaron's allotted portion and his sons' allotted portion from Yahweh's offerings made by fire {when} he brought them forward to serve as priests for Yahweh.

And the priest who is anointed and who is {ordained} to serve as a priest in place of his father shall make atonement; thus he shall put on the linen garments, the holy garments,

They will take all the vessels of the cultic service with which they serve in the sanctuary and put [them] on a blue cloth, and they will cover them with a covering of {fine leather}; and they will put [them] on the carrying frame.

they will put on it all the vessels with which they serve, the fire pans, forks, shovels, and bowls--all the vessels of the altar. They will spread on it a covering of {fine leather}; and they will place its poles.

This [is] the work of the clans of the Gershonites: to serve and to carry.

And after this the Levites will come to serve [at] the tent of assembly, and you will purify them, and you {will offer} them [as] a wave offering.

and {those fifty years old} will return from the service of the work and will serve no longer.

[Is it] too little for you that the God of Israel set you apart from the community of Israel {to allow you to approach him} to do the work of the tabernacle of Yahweh, to stand {before} the community to serve them?

{And do this so that you do not lift} your eyes [toward] heaven and {observe} the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of the heaven, and be led astray and bow down to them and serve them, things that Yahweh your God has allotted to all [of] the peoples under all [of] the heaven.

And you will there serve gods {made by human hands}, [of] wood and stone, [gods] that cannot see and cannot hear and cannot eat and cannot smell.

'You shall not bow down to them, and you shall not serve them, for I, Yahweh your God, [am] a jealous God, punishing the guilt of fathers upon [their] children and upon [the] third and upon [the] fourth generation of [those] hating me,

"You shall fear Yahweh your God, and you shall serve him, and by his name you shall swear.

For their sons and daughters will cause your son to turn away {from following me}, and [so] they will serve other gods, and {the anger of Yahweh would be kindled} against you, and he would quickly destroy you.

And you shall devour all of the peoples [that] Yahweh your God [is] giving to you; {you shall not pity them}, and you shall not serve their gods, [which] will be a snare for you.

And it will happen [that] if you indeed forget Yahweh your God and you go after other gods and you serve them and you bow down before them, I warn you today that you will surely perish.

At that time Yahweh set apart the tribe of Levi to carry the ark of the covenant of Yahweh to stand {before} Yahweh, to serve him and to bless [the people] in his name until this day.

And now, Israel, what [is] Yahweh your God asking from you, except to revere Yahweh your God, to go in all his ways and to love him and to serve Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul,

Yahweh your God, you shall revere him, you shall serve him, and to him you shall cling, and by his name you shall swear.

"And it will happen [that] if you listen carefully to my commandments that I [am] commanding you {today}, to love Yahweh your God, and to serve him with all [of] your heart and with all [of] your soul,

{Take care} so that your heart is not easily deceived, and you turn away, and you serve other gods, and you bow down to them.

{take care} so that you are not ensnared {into imitating them} after their being destroyed from {before you}, and so that you not enquire concerning their gods, {saying}, 'How did these nations serve their gods, and [thus] {I myself} want to do also.'

and the sign or the wonder comes [about] that he spoke to you, {saying}, 'Let us go after other gods (those whom you have not known), and let us serve them,'

You shall go after Yahweh your God, and him you shall revere, and his commandment you shall keep, and to his voice you shall listen, and him you shall serve, and to him you shall hold fast.

"If your brother, the son of your mother or your son or your daughter {or your wife whom you embrace} or {your intimate friend} in secrecy {says}, 'Let us go and let us serve other gods!' [gods] that you and your ancestors have not known,

{worthless men} have gone out from your midst and have seduced the inhabitants of their town, {saying}, 'Let us go and serve other gods!' whom you have not known,

{And then} if {they accept your terms of peace} and {they surrender to you}, {and then} all the people {inhabiting it} shall be forced labor for you, and they shall serve you.

And you [shall] not turn aside from {any of} the words that I [am] commanding you {today} [to the] right or left by going after other gods to serve them.

Yahweh will bring you and your king whom you set up over you to a nation that you or your ancestors have not known, and there you will serve other gods [of] wood and stone.

"{Because} [of the fact] that you did not serve Yahweh your God with joy and with gladness of heart for the abundance of everything,

then you shall serve your enemies, whom Yahweh will send against you [under conditions of] famine, in thirst, in nakedness, and in lack of everything; and he shall place a yoke of iron on your neck {until he has destroyed you}.

And Yahweh shall scatter you among all the nations from [one] end of the earth up to the [other] end of the earth, and there you shall serve other gods that you have not known nor your ancestors, [gods of] wood and stone.

so that {there is not} among you a man or a woman or a clan or a tribe {whose heart} turns {today} from [being] with Yahweh our God to go to serve the gods of these nations, so that there is not among you a root sprouting poison and wormwood.

However, if your heart turns aside and you [do] not listen and you are lured away and you bow down to other gods and you serve them,

For when I bring them into the land that I swore to their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey, {they will eat their fill}, and they will become fat, and [then] they will turn to other gods, and they will serve them, and they will spurn me, and they will break my covenant.

Only be very careful to observe the commandment and law that Moses Yahweh's servant commanded you, to love Yahweh your God, to walk in all his ways, to keep his commandments, to hold fast to him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul."

so as not to go among these remaining nations with you; {do not profess} the name of their gods, and do not swear by them, serve them, or {bow down to them}.

If you transgress the covenant of Yahweh your God, which he commanded [to] you, and you go and serve other gods and bow down to them, {Yahweh's anger will be kindled} against you, and you will perish quickly from the good land that he has given to you."

"So now, revere Yahweh and serve him in sincerity and faithfulness; remove the gods that your ancestors served beyond the river and in Egypt, and serve Yahweh.

But if it is bad in your eyes to serve Yahweh, choose for yourselves today whom you want to serve, whether it is the gods that your ancestors served beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you [are] living; but as for me and my household, we will serve Yahweh."

And the people answered and said, "Far be it from us that we would forsake Yahweh to serve other gods,

And Yahweh drove out all the people before us, the Amorites who live [in] the land. We will serve Yahweh, for he [is] our God."

But Joshua said to the people, "You cannot serve Yahweh, for he [is] a holy and jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins.

If you forsake Yahweh and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster to you; he will destroy you after he has done good to you."

And the people said to Joshua, "No, we will serve Yahweh."

And Joshua said to the people, "You [are] witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for yourselves to serve Yahweh." And they said, "[We are] witnesses."

And the people said to Joshua, "We will serve Yahweh our God, and we will listen to his voice."

Then Gaal son of Ebed said, "Who [is] Abimelech, and who [are we of] Shechem that we should serve him? Is he not the son of Jerub-Baal, and [is not] Zebul his chief officer? Serve the men of Hamor the father of Shechem. Why should we serve him?

And Zebul said to him, "Where then {is your boast}, [you] who said, 'Who [is] Abimelech that we should serve him?' [Is] this not the army that you rejected? Please, go out now and fight against them."

And again, the {Israelites} did evil in the eyes of Yahweh. They served the Baals, the Ashtaroth, the gods of Aram, Sidon, Moab, and the gods of the {Ammonites} and Philistines; they abandoned Yahweh and did not serve him.

And Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, "If with all your heart you [are] turning to Yahweh, remove the foreign gods and Ashtoreths from your midst. Commit your hearts to Yahweh and serve him alone. Then he will deliver you from the hand of [the] Philistines."

Now Nahash the Ammonite went up and encamped against Jabesh Gilead. All the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, "{Make a treaty with us} and we will serve you."

So they cried out to Yahweh and said, 'We have sinned, because we have forsaken Yahweh and have served the Baals and the Ashtoreths. But now deliver us from the hand of our enemies and we will serve you!'

If you will fear Yahweh, and serve him, and listen to his voice, and not be rebellious against {what Yahweh says}, and both you and the king who rules over you will [follow] after Yahweh your God, [all will be well].

And Samuel said to the people, "Do not fear! You have done all this evil; only do not turn aside from {following} Yahweh. But you must serve Yahweh with all your heart.

Only fear Yahweh and serve him faithfully with all of your heart. For consider {what great things he has done for you}.

If he [is] able to fight with me and he defeats me, then we will be your servants; but if I prevail over him and defeat him, then you will be our servants and you will serve us."

And so then, please let my lord the king listen to the words of his servant: If Yahweh has incited you against me, may he delight in an offering; but if {it is mortals}, [may] they be accursed {before} Yahweh, for they have driven me away today from sharing in the inheritance of Yahweh, saying, 'Go, serve other gods!'