'Suddenly' in the Bible

‘If a man dies very suddenly beside him, and he defiles his dedicated head, then he shall shave his head on the day that he becomes [ceremonially] clean; he shall shave it on the seventh day [the end of the purification period].

Suddenly the Lord said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle).” And the three of them came out.

‘But if he pushed the victim suddenly, not in enmity, or threw anything at him without malicious intent,

So Joshua came upon them suddenly, [surprising them] by marching [uphill] all night from Gilgal.

So Joshua and all the people of war with him came against them suddenly by the waters of Merom, and attacked them.

David said to all his servants who were with him at Jerusalem, “Arise, let us flee, or none of us will escape from Absalom! Go in haste, or he will overtake us quickly and bring disaster on us and strike the city with the edge of the sword.”

Then all the assembly made a covenant in the house of God with the king [that is, with the child Joash, to overthrow Athaliah by proclaiming his sovereignty]. And Jehoiada [the priest] said to them, “Behold, the king’s son [Joash] shall reign, as the Lord has said in regard to the sons of David.

Then Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced because of what God had prepared for the people, for the thing came about suddenly.

“I have seen the foolish taking root [and outwardly prospering],But I cursed his dwelling immediately [for his destruction was certain].

“When [His] scourge kills suddenly,He mocks at the despair of the innocent.

“Terrors overtake him like a [suddenly rising] flood;A windstorm steals him away in the night.

Let all my enemies be ashamed and greatly horrified;Let them turn back, let them suddenly be ashamed [of what they have done].

Let death come deceitfully upon them;Let them go down alive to Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead),For evil [of every kind] is in their dwelling and in their hearts, in their midst.

To shoot from ambush at the blameless [one];Suddenly they shoot at him, without fear.

But God will shoot them with an [unexpected] arrow;Suddenly they will be wounded.

Therefore [the crushing weight of] his disaster will come suddenly upon him;Instantly he will be broken, and there will be no healing or remedy [because he has no heart for God].

Suddenly he went after her, as an ox goes to the slaughter [not knowing the outcome],Or as one in stocks going to the correction [to be given] to a fool,

When you set your eyes on wealth, it is [suddenly] gone.For wealth certainly makes itself wingsLike an eagle that flies to the heavens.

For their tragedy will rise suddenly,And who knows the punishment that both [the Lord and the king] will bring on the rebellious?

He who hardens his neck and refuses instruction after being often reproved (corrected, criticized),Will suddenly be broken beyond repair.

For man also does not know his time [of death]; like fish caught in a treacherous net, and birds caught in the snare, so the sons of men are ensnared in an evil time when a dark cloud suddenly falls on them.

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].

Therefore this wickedness [this sin, this injustice, this wrongdoing] will be to youLike a crack [in a wall] about to fall,A bulge in a high wall,Whose collapse comes suddenly in an instant,

“Therefore disaster will come on you;You will not know how to make it disappear [with your magic].And disaster will fall on youFor which you cannot atone [with all your offerings to your gods];And destruction about which you do not knowWill come on you suddenly.

“I have declared the former things [which happened to Israel] in times past;They went forth from My mouth and I proclaimed them;Suddenly I acted, and they came to pass.

News of one [terrible] disaster comes close after another,For the whole land is devastated;Suddenly my tents are spoiled and destroyed,My [tent] curtains [ruined] in a moment.

O daughter of my people [says Jeremiah],Clothe yourself in sackcloth and wallow in ashes;Mourn [aloud] as for an only son,A most bitter cry [of sorrow and regret],For suddenly the destroyer will come upon us [on both prophet and people].

“I will make their widows more numerous before MeThan the sand of the seas;I will bring against them, against the mother of the young men,A destroyer at noonday;I will suddenly cause anguish and terrorTo fall on her.

At one moment I might [suddenly] speak concerning a nation or kingdom, that I will uproot and break down and destroy;

Or at another time I might [suddenly] speak about a nation or kingdom that I will build up or establish;

Let an outcry be heard from their housesWhen You suddenly bring [a troop of] raiders upon them,For they have dug a pit to capture meAnd have hidden snares for my feet.

Babylon has suddenly fallen and is shattered!Wail for her [if you care to]!Get balm for her [incurable] pain;Perhaps she may be healed.

Suddenly the fingers of a man’s hand appeared and began writing opposite the lampstand on [a well-lit area of] the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace, and the king saw the part of the hand that did the writing.

But the court [of the Most High] will sit in judgment, and his dominion will be taken away, [first to be] consumed [gradually] and [then] to be destroyed forever.

Then the male goat magnified himself exceedingly, and when he was [young and] strong, the great horn (Alexander) was [suddenly] broken; and in its place there came up four prominent horns [among whom the kingdom was divided, one] toward [each of] the four winds of heaven.

Then the remnant of JacobShall be among many peoplesLike dew from the Lord,Like showers on the grass [a source of blessing]Which [come suddenly and] do not wait for manNor delay for the sons of men.

The remnant of JacobShall be among the nations,In the midst of many peoplesLike a lion among the beasts of the forest,Like a young lion [suddenly appearing] among the flocks of sheepWhich, if he passes through,Tramples down and tears into pieces [the nations in judgment],And there is no one to rescue.

“Will your creditors not rise up suddenly,And those who collect from you awaken?Then you will become plunder for them.

“Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will prepare and clear the way before Me. And the Lord [the Messiah], whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the Lord of hosts.

And suddenly a violent storm arose on the sea, so that the boat was being covered by the waves; but Jesus was sleeping.

Immediately her flow of blood was dried up; and she felt in her body [and knew without any doubt] that she was healed of her suffering.

Suddenly they looked around and no longer saw anyone with them, except Jesus alone.

[stay alert,] in case he should come suddenly and unexpectedly and find you asleep and unprepared.

Then suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host (angelic army) praising God and saying,

and a spirit seizes him, and suddenly he cries out, and it throws him into a convulsion so that he foams at the mouth; and only with [great] difficulty does it leave him, mauling and bruising him as it leaves.

“But be on guard, so that your hearts are not weighed down and depressed with the giddiness of debauchery and the nausea of self-indulgence and the worldly worries of life, and then that day [when the Messiah returns] will not come on you suddenly like a trap;

While they were perplexed and wondering about this, suddenly, two men in dazzling clothing stood near them;

While they were looking intently into the sky as He was going, two men in white clothing suddenly stood beside them,

and suddenly a sound came from heaven like a rushing violent wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.

Then on the next day he suddenly appeared to two of them as they were fighting, and he tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers; why do you wrong one another?’

When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord [suddenly] took Philip [and carried him] away [to a different place]; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but he went on his way rejoicing.

As he traveled he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him [displaying the glory and majesty of Christ];

Cornelius said, “Four days ago to this hour, I was praying in my house during the ninth hour (3:00-4:00 p.m.); and a man [dressed] in bright, dazzling clothing suddenly stood before me,

Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared [beside him] and a light shone in the cell. The angel struck Peter’s side and awakened him, saying, “Get up quickly!” And the chains fell off his hands.

suddenly there was a great earthquake, so [powerful] that the very foundations of the prison were shaken and at once all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened.

“But as I was on my way, approaching Damascus about noontime, a great blaze of light suddenly flashed from heaven and shone around me.

But they stood watching and expecting him to swell up or suddenly drop dead. But after they had waited a long time and had seen nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and began saying that he was a god.

We must not indulge in [nor tolerate] sexual immorality, as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand [suddenly] fell [dead] in a single day!

For you yourselves know perfectly well that the day of the [return of the] Lord is coming just as a thief [comes unexpectedly and suddenly] in the night.

While they are saying, “Peace and safety [all is well and secure!]” then [in a moment unforeseen] destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains on a woman with child, and they will absolutely not escape [for there will be no way to escape the judgment of the Lord].