'Sit' in the Bible

Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done what you told me to do. Now please, sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may bless me.”

When Moses’ father-in-law saw everything that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why are you sitting alone [as a judge] with all the people standing around you from dawn to dusk?”

But Moses said to the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben, “Shall your brothers go to war while you sit here?

You shall teach them diligently to your children [impressing God’s precepts on their minds and penetrating their hearts with His truths] and shall speak of them when you sit in your house and when you walk on the road and when you lie down and when you get up.

You shall teach them [diligently] to your children [impressing God’s precepts on their minds and penetrating their hearts with His truths], speaking of them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road and when you lie down and when you rise up.

and you shall have a spade among your tools, and when you [prepare to] sit down outside [to relieve yourself], you shall dig a hole with it and shall turn and cover up your waste.

“Sing of it, you who ride on white donkeys,You who sit on rich carpets,And you who walk by the way.

Then Naomi said, “Sit and wait, my daughter, until you learn how this matter turns out; for the man will not rest until he has settled it today.”

Then Boaz went up to the city gate [where business and legal matters were settled] and sat down, and then the close relative (redeemer) of whom Boaz had spoken came by. He said to him, “Come over here, friend, and sit down.” So he came and sat down.

Then Boaz took ten men from the elders of the city and said, “Sit down here.” And they sat down.

“He raises up the poor from the dust,He lifts up the needy from the ash heapTo make them sit with nobles,And inherit a seat of honor and glory;For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s,And He set the land on them.

Then Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the hall [at the high place] and gave them a place [to sit] at the head of the persons—about thirty men—who were invited [while the rest ate outside].

Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” Jesse replied, “There is still one left, the youngest; he is tending the sheep.” Samuel said to Jesse, “Send word and bring him; because we will not sit down [to eat the sacrificial meal] until he comes here.”

David said to Jonathan, “Behold, tomorrow is the New Moon [observance], and I should sit at the table to eat [the sacrificial meal] with the king; but let me go, so that I may hide myself in the field until the third evening.

Go at once to King David and say to him, ‘Did you not, my lord, O king, swear to your maidservant, saying, “Solomon your son shall certainly be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne”? Why then has Adonijah become king?’

She said to him, “My lord, you swore by the Lord your God to your maidservant, saying, ‘Solomon your son shall certainly be king after me and he shall sit on my throne.’

Now as for you, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you [waiting for you] to tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him.

Then Nathan said, “My lord the king, have you said, ‘Adonijah shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne’?

even as I swore to you by the Lord, the God of Israel, saying, ‘Solomon your son shall certainly be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne in my place’; I will indeed do so this very day.”

Then you shall come up [to Jerusalem] after him, and he shall come and sit on my throne and he shall reign as king in my place; for I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and Judah.”

Then Solomon said, “You have shown Your servant David my father great lovingkindness, because he walked before You in faithfulness and righteousness and with uprightness of heart toward You; and You have kept for him this great lovingkindness, in that You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is today.

Now the Lord has fulfilled His word which He spoke; I have risen in the place of my father David and have taken my seat on the throne of Israel, just as the Lord promised, and have built the house (temple) for the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel.

Now therefore, O Lord, the God of Israel, keep for Your servant my father David that which You promised him when You said, ‘You shall not be without a man (descendant) to sit on the throne of Israel, if only your sons take heed to their way [of life] to walk before Me [according to my laws] as you have done.’

Now four men who were lepers were at the entrance of the [city’s] gate; and they said to one another, “Why should we sit here until we die?

If we say, ‘We will enter the city’—then the famine is in the city and we will die there; and if we sit still here, we will also die. So now come, let us go over to the camp of the Arameans (Syrians). If they let us live, we will live; and if they kill us, we will only die.”

The Lord said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in executing what is right in My eyes, and have done to the house of Ahab in accordance with everything that was in My heart, your sons (descendants) shall sit on Israel’s throne to the fourth generation.”

This is [the fulfillment of] the word of the Lord which He spoke to Jehu, saying, “Your sons (descendants) shall sit on the throne of Israel to the fourth generation.” And so it came to pass.

But the Rabshakeh said to them, “Has my master sent me only to your master and to you to say these things? Has he not sent me to the men who sit on the wall, [who are doomed by the siege] to eat their own excrement and drink their own urine along with you?”

Of all my sons (for the Lord has given me many sons) He has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel.

Now the Lord has fulfilled His word which He spoke; for I have risen in place of my father David and I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the Lord promised, and have built the house for the Name of the Lord, the God of Israel.

Now therefore, O Lord, the God of Israel, keep with Your servant David, my father, that which You promised him, saying, ‘You shall not fail to have a man to sit on the throne of Israel, provided your sons are careful to walk in My law as you, [David,] have walked before Me.’

I do not sit with deceitful or unethical or worthless men,Nor seek companionship with pretenders (self-righteous hypocrites).

I hate the company of evildoers,And will not sit with the wicked.

“You sit and speak against your brother;You slander your own mother’s son.

He will sit enthroned forever before [the face of] God;Appoint lovingkindness and truth to watch over and preserve him.

They who sit in the [city’s] gate talk about me and mock me,And I am the song of the drunkards.

Hear us O Shepherd of Israel,You who lead Joseph like a flock;You who sit enthroned above the cherubim [of the ark of the covenant], shine forth!

The Lord (Father) says to my Lord (the Messiah, His Son),“Sit at My right handUntil I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet [subjugating them into complete submission].”

“If your children will keep My covenantAnd My testimony which I will teach them,Their children also shall sit upon your throne forever.”

When you sit down to dine with a ruler,Consider carefully what is [set] before you;

Wisdom is too exalted for a [hardened, arrogant] fool;He does not open his mouth in the gate [where the city’s rulers sit in judgment].

folly is set in many exalted places and in great dignity while the rich sit in humble places.

(The Shulammite Bride)“Like an apple tree [rare and welcome] among the trees of the forest,So is my beloved among the young men!In his shade I took great delight and sat down,And his fruit was sweet and delicious to my palate.

And Jerusalem’s gates will lament (cry out in grief) and mourn [as those who wail for the dead];And she, being ruined and desolate, will sit upon the ground.

“But you said in your heart,‘I will ascend to heaven;I will raise my throne above the stars of God;I will sit on the mount of assemblyIn the remote parts of the north.

A throne will be established in lovingkindness,And One will sit on it in faithfulness in the tent (dynasty, family) of David;Judging and seeking justiceAnd being prompt to do righteousness.

To open the eyes of the blind,To bring out prisoners from the dungeonAnd those who sit in darkness from the prison.

“Come down and sit in the dust,O virgin daughter of Babylon;Sit on the ground [in abject humiliation]; there is no throne for you,O daughter of the Chaldeans,For you will no longer be called tender and delicate.

“Sit in silence, and go into darkness,O daughter of the Chaldeans;For you will no longer be calledThe queen of kingdoms.

“Now, then, hear this, you who live a luxuriant life,You who dwell safely and securely,Who say in your heart (mind),‘I am [the queen], and there is no one besides me.I shall not sit as a widow,Nor know the loss of children.’

“In fact, they are like stubble;Fire burns them.They cannot save themselves from the power of the flame [much less save the nation],There is no blazing coal for warmingNor fire before which to sit!

Shake yourself from the dust, arise,O captive Jerusalem;Rid yourself of the chains around your neck,O captive Daughter of Zion.

Who sit among the graves [trying to conjure up evil spirits] and spend the night in the secret places [where spirits are thought to dwell];Who eat swine’s flesh,And their pots hold the broth of unclean meat;

Why are we sitting still [the people wonder]?Assemble yourselves, and let us enter the fortified citiesAnd let us die there,For the Lord our God has decreed our ruinAnd given us bitter and poisonous water to drink,Because we have sinned against the Lord.

Then say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Behold, I am about to fill with drunkenness all the people of this land, even the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets and all the people of Jerusalem.

“Judah mournsAnd her gates languish;Her people sit on the ground in mourning clothesAnd the cry of Jerusalem has gone up.

And you [Jeremiah] shall not go into a house of feasting to sit with them to eat and drink.”

then kings and princes who will sit on the throne of David will enter through the gates of this city, riding in chariots and on horses—the kings and their princes, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and this city will be inhabited and endure throughout the ages.

‘Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, you who sit on the throne of David—you and your servants and your people who enter by these gates.

For thus says the Lord, ‘David shall never lack a man (descendant) to sit on the throne of the house of Israel;

And they said to him, “Sit down now and read it to us.” So Baruch read it to them.

Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah, “He shall have no heir to sit on the throne of David, and his dead body shall be thrown out to the heat of the day and to the frost of the night.

“Come down from your glory,O Daughter living in Dibon,And sit on the parched ground [among the thirsty]!For the destroyer of Moab has advanced against you;He has destroyed your strongholds.

The elders of the Daughter of ZionSit on the ground keeping silent;They have thrown dust on their heads,They have covered themselves with sackcloth.The virgins of JerusalemHave bowed their heads to the ground.

Let him sit alone [in hope] and keep quiet,Because God has laid it on him [for his benefit].

And you, son of man, neither fear them nor fear their words; though briars and thorns are all around you and you sit among scorpions, neither fear their words nor be dismayed at their presence, for they are a rebellious house.

Then all the princes of the sea will go down from their thrones and remove their robes and take off their embroidered garments. They will clothe themselves with trembling; they will sit on the ground, tremble again and again, and be appalled at you.

“Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, ‘Thus says the Lord God,“Because your heart is lifted upAnd you have said and thought, ‘I am a god,I sit in the seat of the godsIn the heart of the seas’;Yet you are [only] a man [weak, feeble, made of earth] and not God,Though you [imagine yourself to be more than mortal and] think your mind is as [wise as] the mind of God—

They come to you as people come, and they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not practice them; for with their mouth they express loving devotion, but their heart goes after their (unlawful) gain.

As for the prince, he shall sit in it as prince to eat bread before the Lord; he shall enter by way of the porch (portico) of the gate and shall go out the same way.”

For the sons of Israel will remain for many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or [idolatrous] pillar, and without ephod or teraphim (household idols).

Let the nations be stirred [to action]And come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat,For there I will sit to judge and punishAll the surrounding nations.

Each of them shall sit [in security and peace] under his vineAnd under his fig tree,With no one to make them afraid,For the mouth of the [omnipotent] Lord of hosts has spoken it.

Do not rejoice over me [amid my tragedies], O my enemy!Though I fall, I will rise;Though I sit in the darkness [of distress], the Lord is a light for me.

Now listen, Joshua, the high priest, you and your colleagues who are sitting in front of you—indeed they are men who are a symbol [of what is to come]—for behold, I am going to bring in My servant the Branch [in Messianic glory].

Yes, [you are to build a temple of the Lord, but] it is He who shall build the [ultimate] temple of the Lord, and He shall bear the honor and majesty [as the only begotten of the Father] and sit and rule on His throne. And He shall be a Priest on His throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between the two offices [Priest and King].”’

Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Old men and old women will again sit in the streets (public places) of Jerusalem, each man with his staff in his hand because of his advanced age.

“In that day I will make the clans of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, and like a flaming torch among sheaves [of grain]. They will devour all the surrounding peoples on the right hand and on the left; and the people of Jerusalem will again live [securely] in their own place, in Jerusalem.

He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi [the priests], and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the Lord [grain] offerings in righteousness.