'World' in the Bible

God looked on the earth and saw how debased and degenerate it was, for all humanity had corrupted their way on the earth and lost their true direction.

Abram said, “Lord God, what reward will You give me, since I am [leaving this world] childless, and he who will be the owner and heir of my house is this [servant] Eliezer from Damascus?”

When Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go as he had done each time before [superstitiously] to seek omens and signs [in the natural world], but he set his face toward the wilderness (desert).

“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.

“The channels of the sea appeared,The foundations of the world were uncoveredAt the rebuke of the Lord,At the blast of the breath of His nostrils.

Tremble [reverently] before Him, all the earth;The world is firmly established, it will not be moved.

He said,“Naked (without possessions) I came [into this world] from my mother’s womb,And naked I will return there.The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

“No doubt you are the [only wise] people [in the world],And wisdom will die with you!

“He is driven and propelled from light into darkness,And chased from the inhabited world.

“For what is the hope of the godless, even though he has gained [in this world],When God takes his life?

“Who put God in charge over the earth?And who has laid on Him the whole world?

“Adorn yourself with eminence and dignity [since you question the Almighty],And array yourself with honor and majesty.

And He will judge the world in righteousness;He will execute judgment for the nations with fairness (equity).

From men with Your hand, O Lord,From men of the world [these moths of the night] whose portion [of enjoyment] is in this life—idle and vain,And whose belly You fill with Your treasure;They are satisfied with children,And they leave what they have left [of wealth] to their children.

Then the stream beds of the waters appeared,And the foundations of the world were laid bareAt Your rebuke, O Lord,At the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

Yet their voice [in quiet evidence] has gone out through all the earth,Their words to the end of the world.In them and in the heavens He has made a tent for the sun,

The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness of it,The world, and those who dwell in it.

Let all the earth fear and worship the Lord;Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.

Hear this, all peoples;Listen carefully, all inhabitants of the world,

“If I were hungry, I would not tell you,For the world and all it contains are Mine.

You will prolong the king’s life [adding days upon days];His years will be like many generations.

Behold, these are the ungodly,Who always prosper and are at ease [in the world]; they have increased in wealth.

The voice of Your thunder was in the whirlwind;The lightnings illumined the world;The earth trembled and shook.

The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours;The world and all that is in it, You have founded and established them.

Before the mountains were bornOr before You had given birth to the earth and the world,Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are [the eternal] God.

The Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty and splendor;The Lord has clothed and encircled Himself with strength;the world is firmly established, it cannot be moved.

Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns;Indeed, the world is firmly and securely established, it shall not be moved;He will judge and rule the people with fairness.”

Before the Lord, for He is coming,For He is coming to judge the earth.He will judge the world with righteousnessAnd the peoples in His faithfulness.

His lightnings have illuminated the world;The earth has seen and trembled.

Let the sea thunder and roar, and all the things it contains,The world and those who dwell in it.

Before the Lord, for He is coming to judge the earth;He will judge the world with righteousnessAnd the peoples with fairness.

But he does not know that the spirits of the dead are there,And that her guests are [already] in the depths of Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead).

The man of too many friends [chosen indiscriminately] will be broken in pieces and come to ruin,But there is a [true, loving] friend who [is reliable and] sticks closer than a brother.

In this way I will punish the world for its evilAnd the wicked for their wickedness [their sin, their injustice, their wrongdoing];I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proudAnd will abase the arrogance of the tyrant.

Who made the world like a wildernessAnd overthrew its cities,Who did not permit his prisoners to return home?’

“Prepare a slaughtering place for his sonsBecause of the wickedness [the sin, the injustice, the wrongdoing] of their fathers.They must not rise and take possession of the earth,And fill the face of the world with cities.”

All you inhabitants of the world, you who dwell on the earth,When a banner is raised on the mountains, you will see it!When a trumpet is blown, you will hear it!

It will come to pass at the end of seventy years that the Lord will remember Tyre. Then she will return to her prostitute’s wages and will play the [role of a] prostitute [by trading] with all the kingdoms on the face of the earth.

The earth dries up and crumbles away, the world dries out and crumbles away, the exalted of the people of the earth fade away.

In the night my soul longs for You [O Lord],Indeed, my spirit within me seeks You diligently;For [only] when Your judgments are experienced on the earthWill the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.

We have been with child, we have twisted and struggled in labor;We gave birth, as it seems, only to wind.We could not accomplish salvation for the earth,Nor were inhabitants of the world born.

In the generations to come Jacob will take root;Israel will blossom and sprout,And they will fill the surface of the world with fruit.

Come near, you nations, to hear; and listen, O peoples!Let the earth and all that is in it hear, and the world and all that comes forth from it.

I said, “I will not see the LordThe Lord in the land of the living;I will no longer see man among the inhabitants of the world.

Sing to the Lord a new song,Sing His praise from the end of the earth!You who go down to the sea, and all that is in it,You islands and coastlands, and those who inhabit them [sing His praise]!

God made the earth by His power;He established the world by His wisdomAnd by His understanding and skill He has stretched out the heavens.

all the kings of the north, far and near, one after another—and all the kingdoms of the world which are on the face of the earth. And the king of Sheshach (Babylon) shall drink after them.

He made the earth by His power;He established the world by His wisdomAnd stretched out the heavens by His understanding.

then I will bring you down with those who descend into the pit (the place of the dead), to the people of old, and I will make you [Tyre] live in the depths of the earth, like the ancient ruins, with those who go down to the pit, so that you will not be inhabited; but I will set glory and splendor in the land of the living.

so that none of the trees by the waters may exalt themselves because of their height, nor set their top among the clouds, nor their well-watered mighty ones stand [arrogantly] in their height. For they have all been handed over to death, to the earth beneath, among the sons of men, with those who go down to the pit (the grave).”

I issue a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom men are to [reverently] fear and tremble before the God of Daniel,For He is the living God, enduring and steadfast forever,And His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed,And His dominion will be forever.

Daniel said, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea (the nations).

The mountains quake before HimAnd the hills melt away;Indeed the earth is shaken by His presence—Yes, the world and all that dwell in it.

Again, the devil took Him up on a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory [splendor, magnificence, and excellence] of them;

“You are the light of [Christ to] the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden;

And you will be hated by everyone because of [your association with] My name, but it is the one who has patiently persevered and endured to the end who will be saved.

Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit [by attributing the miracles done by Me to Satan] will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

And the one on whom seed was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the worries and distractions of the world and the deceitfulness [the superficial pleasures and delight] of riches choke the word, and it yields no fruit.

This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:“I will open My mouth in parables;I will utter things [unknown and unattainable] that have been hidden [from mankind] since the foundation of the world.”

and the field is the world; and [as for] the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the weeds are the sons of the evil one;

For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world [wealth, fame, success], but forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

“Woe (judgment is coming) to the world because of stumbling blocks and temptations to sin! It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to the person on whose account or through whom the stumbling block comes!

Jesus said to them, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, in the renewal [that is, the Messianic restoration and regeneration of all things] when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you [who have followed Me, becoming My disciples] will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

This good news of the kingdom [the gospel] will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end [of the age] will come.

For at that time there will be a great tribulation (pressure, distress, oppression), such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will [again].

“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father [you favored of God, appointed to eternal salvation], inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

I assure you and most solemnly say to you, wherever this gospel [of salvation] is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told in memory of her [for her act of love and devotion].”

but the worries and cares of the world [the distractions of this age with its worldly pleasures], and the deceitfulness [and the false security or glamour] of wealth [or fame], and the passionate desires for all the other things creep in and choke out the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

For what does it benefit a man to gain the whole world [with all its pleasures], and forfeit his soul?

I assure you and most solemnly say to you, wherever the good news [regarding salvation] is proclaimed throughout the world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”

And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.

“Now, Lord, You are releasing Your bond-servant to leave [this world] in peace,According to Your word;

Then he led Jesus up [to a high mountain] and displayed before Him all the kingdoms of the inhabited earth [and their magnificence] in the twinkling of an eye.

For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world [wealth, fame, success], and loses or forfeits himself?

so that charges may be brought against this generation [holding them responsible] for the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world,

For all the [pagan] nations of the world greedily seek these things; and your [heavenly] Father [already] knows that you need them.

who will not receive many times as much in this present age and in the age to come, eternal life.”

Jesus said to them, “The sons of this [world and present] age marry and [the women] are given in marriage;

but those who are considered worthy to gain that [other world and that future] age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage;

people fainting from fear and expectation of the [dreadful] things coming on the world; for the [very] powers of the heavens will be shaken.

Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

There it was—the true Light [the genuine, perfect, steadfast Light] which, coming into the world, enlightens everyone.

He (Christ) was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him.

He came to that which was His own [that which belonged to Him—His world, His creation, His possession], and those who were His own [people—the Jewish nation] did not receive and welcome Him.

The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

“For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life.

For God did not send the Son into the world to judge and condemn the world [that is, to initiate the final judgment of the world], but that the world might be saved through Him.

This is the judgment [that is, the cause for indictment, the test by which people are judged, the basis for the sentence]: the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.

and they told the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; for [now] we have heard Him for ourselves and know [with confident assurance] that this One is truly the Savior of [all] the world.”

When the people saw the sign (attesting miracle) that He had done, they began saying, “This is without a doubt the promised Prophet who is to come into the world!”

For the Bread of God is He who comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.”

I am the Living Bread that came down out of heaven. If anyone eats of this Bread [believes in Me, accepts Me as Savior], he will live forever. And the Bread that I will give for the life of the world is My flesh (body).”

No one does anything in secret when he wants to be known publicly. If You [must] do these things, show Yourself openly to the world and make Yourself known!”

The world cannot hate you [since you are part of it], but it does hate Me because I denounce it and testify that its deeds are evil.

Once more Jesus addressed the crowd. He said, “I am the Light of the world. He who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

He said to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world.

I have many things to say and judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I say to the world [only] the things that I have heard from Him.”

As long as I am in the world, I am the Light of the world [giving guidance through My word and works].”

Then Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment [to separate those who believe in Me from those who reject Me—to declare judgment on those who choose to be separated from God], so that the sightless would see, and those who see would become blind.”

[if that is true] then do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and set apart for Himself and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?