'Ease' in the Bible

Among those nations you will find no peace (rest), and there will be no resting place for the sole of your foot; but there the Lord will give you a trembling heart, failing eyes, and a despairing soul.

‘Because of your raging against Me,And because your arrogance and complacency have come up to My ears,I will put My hook in your nose,And My bridle in your lips,And I will turn you back [to Assyria] by the way that you came.

“I am not at ease, nor am I quiet,And I am not at rest, and yet trouble still comes [upon me].”

“When I say, ‘My bed will comfort me,My couch will ease my complaint,’

“He who is at ease has contempt for misfortune,But misfortune is ready [and anxiously waiting] for those whose feet slip.

“I was [living] at ease, but He crushed me and broke me apart,And He has seized me by the neck and has shaken me to pieces;He has also set me up as His target.

“One dies in his full strength,Being wholly at ease and quiet and satisfied;

His soul will dwell in prosperity and goodness,And his descendants will inherit the land.

When you lie down [to rest] among the sheepfolds,You [Israel] are like the wings of a dove [of victory] overlaid with silver,Its feathers glistening with gold [trophies taken from the enemy].

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

For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand [anywhere else];I would rather stand [as a doorkeeper] at the threshold of the house of my GodThan to live [at ease] in the tents of wickedness.

Turn, O Lord [from Your fierce anger]; how long will it be?Be compassionate toward Your servants—revoke Your sentence.

And I will walk at liberty,For I seek and deeply long for Your precepts.

Our soul is greatly filledWith the scoffing of those who are at ease,And with the contempt of the proud [who disregard God’s law].

“For the turning away of the naive will kill them,And the careless ease of [self-righteous] fools will destroy them.

Rise up, you women who are carefree,And hear my voice,You confident and unsuspecting daughters!Listen to what I am saying.

Tremble, you women who are carefree;Tremble with fear, you complacent ones!Strip, undress and wear sackcloth on your waist [in grief],

“Because your raging against MeAnd your arrogance has come up to My ears,I will put My hook in your noseAnd My bridle in your mouth,And I will turn you back by the way you came.

Indeed, this is what the Lord says,“Even the captives of the mighty man will be taken away,And the tyrant’s spoils of war will be rescued;For I will contend with your opponent,And I will save your children.

You, O Lord are [uncompromisingly] righteous and consistently just when I plead my case with You;Yet let me discuss issues of justice with You:Why has the way of the wicked prospered?Why are those who deal in treachery (deceit) at ease and thriving?

‘Fear not, O Jacob My servant,’ says the Lord,‘Nor be dismayed or downcast, O Israel;For behold, I will save you from a distant land [of exile]And your descendants from the land of their captivity.Jacob will return and will be quiet and at ease,And no one will make him afraid.

‘If you will indeed remain in this land, then I will build you up and not tear you down, and I will plant you and not uproot you; for I will relent and be satisfied concerning the disaster that I have inflicted on you [as discipline, and I will replace judgment with compassion].

“But as for you, do not fear, O My servant Jacob,Nor be dismayed, O Israel!For behold, I will save you from [your captivity in] a distant land,And your descendants from the land of their exile;And Jacob will return and be quiet and secure,And no one will make him afraid.

“Moab has been at ease from his youth;He has also been undisturbed, and settled like wine on his dregs,And he has not been emptied from one vessel to another,Nor has he gone into exile.Therefore his flavor remains in him,And his scent has not changed.

“Arise [Nebuchadnezzar], go up against a nation which is at ease,Which lives securely,” says the Lord,“A nation which has neither gates nor bars;They dwell apart and alone.

It is good that one waits quietlyFor the salvation of the Lord.

Behold, this was the sin of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters (outlying cities) had arrogance, abundant food, and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy.

Woe (judgment is coming) to those who are at ease and carefree in Zion (Judah)And to those on the mountain of Samaria who feel secure,The distinguished men of the foremost of nations,To whom the house of Israel comes.

But I am very angry with the nations who are at ease and feel secure; for while I was only a little angry, they furthered the disaster [against the people of Israel].”

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavily burdened [by religious rituals that provide no peace], and I will give you rest [refreshing your souls with salvation].

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me [following Me as My disciple], for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest (renewal, blessed quiet) for your souls.

“When the unclean spirit comes out of a person, it roams through waterless places in search [of a place] of rest; and not finding any, it says, ‘I will go back to my house (person) from which I came.’

And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many good things stored up, [enough] for many years; rest and relax, eat, drink and be merry (celebrate continually).”’

If Timothy comes, see to it that [you put him at ease, so that] he has nothing to fear in regard to you, for he is [devotedly] doing the Lord’s work, just as I am.

For even when we arrived in Macedonia our bodies had no rest, but we were oppressed at every turn—conflicts and disputes without, fears and dread within.

And those [non-believers] who live on the earth will gloat over them and rejoice; and they will send gifts [in celebration] to one another, because these two prophets tormented and troubled those who live on the earth.