'Small' in the Bible

It will become fine dust over the entire land of Egypt, and it will become boils breaking out in sores on man and animal in all the land [occupied by the Egyptians].”

Now if the household is too small for a lamb [to be consumed], let him and his next door neighbor take one according to the number of people [in the households]; according to what each man can eat, you are to divide the lamb.

They shall judge the people at all times; have them bring every major dispute to you, but let them judge every minor dispute themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you.

And they judged the people at all times; they would bring the difficult cases to Moses, but every minor dispute they judged and decided themselves.

You shall crush some of it [into a] very fine [powder], and put some of it before the Testimony in the Tent of Meeting, where I will meet with you; it shall be most holy to you.

He shall take a censer full of burning coals from the [bronze] altar before the Lord, and two handfuls of finely ground sweet incense, and bring it inside the veil [into the Most Holy Place],

For every tithe of the herd or flock, whatever passes under the [shepherd’s] staff, the tenth one shall be holy to the Lord.

does it seem but a small thing to you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to Himself, to do the service of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them;

Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land [of plenty] flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness, but you would also lord it over us?

To the larger tribe you shall give the larger inheritance, and to the smaller tribe the smaller inheritance; each tribe shall be given its inheritance according to its numbers.

You shall inherit the land by lot according to your families; to the large tribe you shall give a larger inheritance, and to the small tribe you shall give a smaller inheritance. Wherever the lot falls to any man, that shall be [the location of] his [inheritance]. According to the tribes of your fathers (ancestors) you shall inherit.

You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear and pay attention to the [cases of the] least [important] as well as the great. You shall not fear man, for the judgment is God’s. The case that is too hard for you [to judge], you shall bring to me, and I will hear it.’

I took your sinful thing, the calf which you had made, and burned it in the fire and thoroughly crushed it, grinding the metal thoroughly until it was as fine as dust; and I threw its dust into the brook that came down from the mountain.

“You shall not have in your bag inaccurate weights, a heavy and a light [so you can cheat others].

You shall not have in your house inaccurate measures, a large and a small.

But it happened that after they had taken it to Gath, the hand of the Lord was against the city, causing an extremely great panic [because of the deaths from the plague], for He struck the people of the city, both young and old, and tumors broke out on them.

Samuel said, “Is it not true that even though you were small (insignificant) in your own eyes, you were made the head of the tribes of Israel? And the Lord anointed you king over Israel,

Jonathan said to him, “Far from it! You shall not die. My father does nothing important or insignificant without telling me. So why would he hide this thing from me? It is not so!”

and they had taken captive the women [and all] who were there, both small and great. They killed no one, but carried them off [to be used as slaves] and went on their way.

Nothing of theirs was missing whether small or great, sons or daughters, spoil or anything that had been taken; David recovered it all.

“Then I beat them as [small as] the dust of the earth;I crushed and stamped them as the mire (dirt, mud) of the streets.

Then she said, “I am making one small request of you; do not refuse me.” And the king said to her, “Ask, my mother, for I will not refuse you.”

On that same day the king consecrated the middle of the courtyard that was in front of the house (temple) of the Lord; for he offered there the burnt offerings, the grain offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar that was before the Lord was too small to hold [all] the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the fat of the peace offerings.

And at the seventh time the servant said, “A cloud as small as a man’s hand is coming up from the sea.” And Elijah said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down, so that the rain shower does not stop you.’”

After the earthquake, [there was] a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire, [there was] the sound of a gentle blowing.

Now the king of Aram (Syria) had commanded the thirty-two captains of his chariots, saying, “Do not fight with [anyone, either] small or great, but with [Ahab] the king of Israel alone.”

Please, let us make a small, fully-walled upper room [on the housetop] and put a bed there for him, with a table, a chair, and a lampstand. Then whenever he comes to visit us, he can turn in there.”

Now the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “Look now, the place where we live near you is too small for us.

The king went up to the house of the Lord, and with him all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests, the prophets, and all the people, both small and great; and he read in their hearing all the words of the book of the covenant which was found in the house (temple) of the Lord.

Then all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the forces set out and went to Egypt; for they were afraid of the Chaldeans (Babylonians).

This was a small thing in Your eyes, O God; but You have spoken of Your servant’s house for a great while to come, and have regarded me according to the standard and estate of a man of high degree (prominence), O Lord God.

The musicians cast lots for their duties, everyone alike, the small (younger) as well as the great (older), the teacher as well as the student.

They cast lots, the small (younger) and great (older) alike, in accordance with their fathers’ households, for every gate.

Now the king of Aram (Syria) had commanded the captains of his chariots, saying, “Do not fight with the small or the great, but only with the king of Israel.”

Though the army of the Arameans came with a small company of men, the Lord handed over a very large army into their hands, because Joash and Judah had abandoned (turned away from) the Lord, the God of their fathers. So the Arameans executed judgment against Joash.

Under his authority were Eden, Miniamin, Jeshua, Shemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah in the cities of the priests, to distribute faithfully their portions to their brothers (relatives) by divisions, whether great or small,

And the king went up to the house of the Lord with all the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the priests, the Levites, and all the people, from the greatest to the least; and he read aloud so they could hear all the words of the Book of the Covenant which was found in the house of the Lord.

And as for all the articles of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king and of his officials, he brought them all to Babylon.

When these days were completed, the king held a banquet for all the people who were present at the citadel in Susa [the capital], from the greatest [in importance] to the least, a seven-day feast in the courtyard of the garden of the king’s palace.

“The small and the great are there,And the servant is free from his master.

“Though your beginning was insignificant,Yet your end will greatly increase.

“Yet these are just the fringes of His ways [mere samples of His power],The faintest whisper of His voice!Who can contemplate the thunder of His [full] mighty power?”

“Behold, I am of little importance and contemptible; what can I reply to You?I lay my hand on my mouth.

Then I beat them fine as the dust before the wind;I emptied them out as the dirt of the streets.

There is the sea, great and broad,In which are swarms without number,Creatures both small and great.

He will bless those who fear and worship the Lord [with awe-inspired reverence and submissive wonder],Both the small and the great.

I am small and despised,But I do not forget Your precepts.

If you are slack (careless) in the day of distress,Your strength is limited.

If the Lord of hostsHad not left us a few survivors,We would be like Sodom,We would be like Gomorrah.

Then Isaiah said, “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too small a thing for you to try the patience of men, but will you try the patience of my God as well?

But now the Lord speaks, saying, “Within three years, as the years of a hired man [who will not serve longer than the agreed time], the glory of Moab will be degraded along with all the great population, and the remnant [that survives] will be very small and of no account.”

“So they will hang on him all the honor and glory [the complete responsibility] of his father’s house, offspring and issue [of the family, high and low], all the least of the articles, from the bowls to all the jars.

For so it will be in the midst of the earth among the peoples,As the shaking of an olive tree,As the gleanings when the grape harvest is over [and only a little of the fruit remains].

But the multitude of your enemies [that assault you] will become like fine dust,And the multitude of the tyrants like the chaff which blows away;And it will happen in an instant, suddenly [that your enemy is destroyed].

In fact, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,And are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales;Now look, He lifts up the islands like fine dust.

“In fact, I have made of you a new, sharp threshing implement with sharp edges;You will thresh the mountains and crush them,And make the hills like chaff.

“The smallest one will become a thousand (a clan),And the least one a mighty nation.I, the Lord, will quicken it in its [appointed] time.”

Both great men and small will die in this land; they will not be buried, nor will they be lamented (mourned over with expressions of grief in death), nor will anyone cut himself or shave his head for them [in mourning].

‘From them (city, palace) will come [songs of] thanksgivingAnd the voices of those who dance and celebrate.And I will multiply them and they will not be diminished [in number];I will also honor them and they will not be insignificant.

“Again I will build you and you will be rebuilt,O Virgin Israel!You will again be adorned with your tambourines and timbrelsAnd go out to the dances of those who celebrate.

Yet a small number [of My choosing] who escape the sword will return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah; and all the remnant of Judah who have gone to the land of Egypt to reside there will know whose words will stand, Mine or theirs.

“For behold, [Edom] I have made you small among the nationsAnd despised among men.

The captain of the guard also took away the [small] bowls and the firepans and the basins and the pots and the lampstands and the incense cups and the bowls for the drink offerings—whatever was made of fine gold and whatever was made of fine silver.

Also take some of them and bind them in the edges of your robes.

Out of one of them (Antiochus IV Epiphanes) came forth a rather small horn [but one of irreverent presumption and profane pride] which grew exceedingly powerful toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Beautiful Land (Israel).

After an alliance is made with him he will work deceitfully, and he will go up and gain power with a small force of people.

Moreover, what are you to Me, O Tyre and Sidon and all the [five small] regions of Philistia? Will you pay Me back for something [I have supposedly done to you]? Even if you do pay Me back, I will swiftly and speedily return your deed [of retaliation] on your own head.

And when the locusts had finished eating the plants of the land, then I said,“O Lord God, please forgive!How can Jacob stand,For he is so small [that he cannot endure this]?”

saying,“When will the New Moon [festival] be overSo that we may sell grain,And the Sabbath ended so that we may open the wheat market,Making the ephah [measure] smaller and the shekel bigger [that is, selling less for a higher price]And to cheat by falsifying the scales,

“Behold [Edom], I shall [humiliate you and] make you small among the nations;You are greatly despised.

Who [with reason] despises the day of small things (beginnings)? For these seven [eyes] shall rejoice when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. They are the eyes of the Lord which roam throughout the earth.”

Why do you look at the [insignificant] speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice and acknowledge the [egregious] log that is in your own eye?

and they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up twelve full baskets of the leftover broken pieces.

And Jesus asked them, “How many loaves [of bread] do you have?” They replied, “Seven, and a few small fish.”

Do you still not understand or remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you picked up?

They do all their deeds to be seen by men; for they make their phylacteries (tefillin) wide [to make them more conspicuous] and make their tassels long.

And the disciples picked up twelve full baskets of the broken pieces [of the loaves], and of the fish.

But she replied, “Yes, Lord, but even the pet dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”

They also had a few small fish; and when Jesus had blessed them [and given thanks], He ordered these [fish] to be set before them as well.

when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces you picked up?” They answered, “Twelve.”

They all ate and were [completely] satisfied; and the broken pieces which they had left over were [abundant and were] picked up—twelve baskets full.

So the servant came back and reported this to his master. Then [his master,] the head of the household, became angry [at the rejections of his invitation] and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and the lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and the disabled and the blind and the lame.’

And the Lord said, “If you have [confident, abiding] faith in God [even as small] as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree [which has very strong roots], ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea’; and [if the request was in agreement with the will of God] it would have obeyed you.

Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, but he could not see because of the crowd, for he was short in stature.

“There is a little boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish; but what are these for so many people?”

So they gathered them up, and they filled twelve large baskets with pieces from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten.

The next day the crowd that stood on the other side of the sea realized that there had been only one small boat there, and that Jesus had not boarded the boat with His disciples, but that His disciples had gone away alone.

So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor His disciples were there, they boarded the small boats themselves and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus.

But the other disciples came in the small boat, for they were not far from shore, only about a hundred yards away, dragging the net full of fish.

Now when day came, there was no small disturbance among the soldiers over what had become of Peter.

Paul and Barnabas disagreed greatly and debated with them, so it was determined that Paul and Barnabas and some of the others from their group would go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders [and confer with them] concerning this issue.

Now a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of [the goddess] Artemis (Diana), was bringing no small profit to the craftsmen.

But I have had help from God to this day, and I stand [before people] testifying to small and great alike, stating nothing except what the Prophets and Moses said would come to pass—

Then Agrippa said to Paul, “In a short time [and with so little effort] you [almost] persuade me to become a Christian.”

We ran under the shelter of a small island [twenty-five miles south of Crete] called Clauda, and with great difficulty we were able to get the ship’s skiff on the deck and secure it.

Since neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small storm kept raging about us, from then on all hope of our being saved was [growing worse and worse and] gradually abandoned.

But as the sailors were trying to escape [secretly] from the ship and had let down the skiff into the sea, pretending that they were going to lay out anchors from the bow,

Then the soldiers cut away the ropes that held the skiff and let it fall and drift away.

Then Paul [simply] shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.

And Isaiah calls out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel be like the sand of the sea, it is only the remnant [a small believing minority] that will be saved [from God’s judgment];