'Purpose' in the Bible

sacrificing the regular burnt offerings regularly each morning and evening to the LORD on the altar dedicated to that purpose, doing everything written in the Law of the LORD, just as he had commanded Israel.

"Who am I, LORD God, and what is my household, since you have brought me to this? Furthermore, this is a small thing to you, God, and yet you have spoken concerning your servant's household for a great while to come, and you have seen in me the fulfillment of man's purpose, LORD God.

But the princes of the {Ammonites} said to Hanun, "{Do you think} because David sent comforters to you [that] David honors your father? Is it not for the purpose of exploring [so as] to overthrow and spy out the land that his servants have come to you?"

Then certain men went and gave David word of what had been done to them. And he sent out with the purpose of meeting them; for the men were greatly shamed. And the king said, Keep where you are at Jericho till your hair is long again, and then come back.

Now it was Solomon's purpose to put up a house for the name of the Lord and a house for himself as king.

Praise be to the Lord your God whose pleasure it was to put you on the seat of his kingdom to be king for the Lord your God: because, in his love for Israel, it was the purpose of your God to make them strong for ever, he made you king over them, to be their judge in righteousness.

So the king did not give ear to the people; for this came about by the purpose of God, so that the Lord might give effect to his word which he had said by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam, the son of Nebat.

The Lord has said, You are not to go to war against your brothers: let every man go back to his house, for this thing is my purpose. So they gave ear to the words of the Lord and were turned back from fighting against Jeroboam.

Rehoboam made Abijah, the son of Maacah, chief and ruler among his brothers, for it was his purpose to make him king.

And now it is your purpose to put yourselves against the authority which the Lord has put into the hands of the sons of David, and you are a very great number, and you have with you the gold oxen which Jeroboam made to be your gods.

But it was not the Lord's purpose to send destruction on the family of David, because of the agreement he had made with David, when he said he would give to him and to his sons a light for ever.

Now by the purpose of God, Ahaziah's journey to see Jehoram was the cause of his downfall: for when he came there, he went out with Jehoram against Jehu, the son of Nimshi, who had been marked out by the Lord for the destruction of the family of Ahab.

But while he was talking to him the king said to him, Have we made you one of the king's government? say no more, or it will be the cause of your death. Then the prophet gave up protesting, and said, It is clear to me that God's purpose is your destruction, because you have done this and have not given ear to my words.

But Amaziah gave no attention; and this was the purpose of God, so that he might give them up into the hands of Joash, because they had gone after the gods of Edom.

In Jerusalem he made engines of war invented by skillful men to be on the towers and on the corners for the purpose of shooting arrows and great stones. Hence his fame spread afar, for he was marvelously helped until he was strong.

But when he had become strong, his heart was lifted up in pride, causing his destruction; and he did evil against the Lord his God; for he went into the Temple of the Lord for the purpose of burning perfumes on the altar of perfumes.

And now ye purpose to keep under the children of Judah and Jerusalem for bondmen and bondwomen unto you: but are there not with you, even with you, sins against the LORD your God?

and said unto them, Ye shall not bring in the captives hither: for ye purpose that which will bring upon us a trespass against Jehovah, to add unto our sins and to our trespass; for our trespass is great, and there is fierce wrath against Israel.

Now it is my purpose to make an agreement with the Lord, the God of Israel, so that the heat of his wrath may be turned away from us.

And for everything he undertook, in connection with the work of the house of God and his law and orders, he got directions from God and did it with serious purpose; and things went well for him.

And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come for the purpose of fighting against Jerusalem,

These things they said, crying out with a loud voice in the Jews' language, to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, with the purpose of troubling them and putting fear into them, so that they might take the town;

However, Josiah would not go back; but keeping to his purpose of fighting against him, and giving no attention to the words of Neco, which came from God, he went forward to the fight in the valley of Megiddo.

And hired counsellers against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.

Furthermore, the balance remaining of the silver and gold may be used for whatever other purpose you and your people desire, as long as such use is consistent with the will of your God.

Now when our enemies heard that we knew about their plot against us, and that God had frustrated their plan, we all returned to the wall, each one to his work.

Sanballat and Geshem sent to me saying, Come, let us have a meeting in one of the little towns in the lowland of Ono. But their purpose was to do me evil.

And in it these words were recorded: It is said among the nations, and Geshem says so, that you and the Jews are hoping to make yourselves free from the king's authority; and that this is why you are building the wall: and they say that it is your purpose to be their king;

Keep in mind, O my God, Tobiah and Sanballat and what they did, and Noadiah, the woman prophet, and the rest of the prophets whose purpose was to put fear into me.

And they said much before me of the good he had done, and gave him accounts of my words. And Tobiah sent letters with the purpose of causing me fear.

And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Urijah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchiah, and Hashum, and Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam.

But they were hard-hearted, and went against your authority, turning their backs on your law, and putting to death your prophets, who gave witness against them with the purpose of turning them back again to you, and they did much to make you angry.

And Mordecai, having knowledge of their purpose, sent word of it to Esther the queen; and Esther gave the news to the king in Mordecai's name.

But it was not enough for him to make an attack on Mordecai only; for they had made clear to him who Mordecai's people were; so Haman made it his purpose to put an end to all the Jews, even Mordecai's people, through all the kingdom of Ahasuerus.

And the king in his wrath got up from the feast and went into the garden: and Haman got to his feet to make a prayer for his life to Esther the queen: for he saw that the king's purpose was evil against him.

On that day, the Jews came together in their towns through all the divisions of the kingdom of Ahasuerus, for the purpose of attacking all those who were attempting evil against them: and everyone had to give way before them, for the fear of them had come on all the peoples.

So I have for my heritage months of pain to no purpose, and nights of weariness are given to me.

Your hands made me, and I was formed by you, but then, changing your purpose, you gave me up to destruction.

But you've hidden these things in your heart I know this was your purpose:

And would make clear to you the secrets of wisdom, and the wonders of his purpose!

If he goes on his way, shutting a man up and putting him to death, who may make him go back from his purpose?

Is it on such a one as this that your eyes are fixed, with the purpose of judging him?

Should he argue with useless talkor with words that serve no good purpose?

Truly, is not their well-being in their power? (The purpose of the evil-doers is far from me.)

Though he made their houses full of good things: but the purpose of the evil-doers is far from me!

Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have laid up the words of his mouth more than the purpose of my own heart.

But his purpose is fixed and there is no changing it; and he gives effect to the desire of his soul.

God prolongs the life of the strong by his power, but they get up in the morning without purpose in life.

If I kept back the desire of the poor; if the widow's eye was looking for help to no purpose;

That he may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man.

So Job opens his mouth to no purpose; without knowledge he multiplies words."

Who is this who makes the purpose of God dark by words without knowledge?

She is cruel to her young ones, as if they were not hers; her work is to no purpose; she has no fear.

“I know that You can do all things,And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.

Who is this who makes dark the purpose of God by words without knowledge? For I have been talking without knowledge about wonders not to be searched out.

The kings of the earth have taken their place, and the rulers are fixed in their purpose, against the Lord, and against the king of his selection, saying,

For the evil-doer is lifted up because of the purpose of his heart, and he whose mind is fixed on wealth is turned away from the Lord, saying evil against him.

You have tried my heart;You have visited me in the night;You have tested me and You find nothing [evil in me];I intend that my mouth will not transgress.

May He give you what your heart desiresand fulfill your whole purpose.

The Lord's purpose is eternal, the designs of his heart go on through all the generations of man.

Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens, and your strong purpose is as high as the clouds.

Truly, every man goes on his way like an image; he is troubled for no purpose: he makes a great store of wealth, and has no knowledge of who will get it.

I call to God Most High,to God who fulfills His purpose for me.

Give us help against the enemy,For the help of man is worthless (ineffectual, without purpose).

Keep me safe from the secret purpose of wrongdoers; from the band of the workers of evil;

They hold fast to themselves an evil purpose;They talk of laying snares secretly;They say, “Who can see them?”

Or make discovery of our secret purpose? The design is framed with care; and the inner thought of a man, and his heart, is deep.

My tongue will be talking of your righteousness all the day; for those whose purpose is to do me evil have been crushed and put to shame.

As for me, I have made my heart clean to no purpose, washing my hands in righteousness;

For they have consulted together {with a unified purpose}. They have made a covenant against you:

See how short my time is; why have you made all men for no purpose?

Yahweh knows [the] thoughts of humankind, that {they [are] to no purpose}.

Again and again he made them free; but their hearts were turned against his purpose, and they were overcome by their sins.

[Those who] pursue a [wicked] purpose draw near; they are far from your law.

If the Lord is not helping the builders, then the building of a house is to no purpose: if the Lord does not keep the town, the watchman keeps his watch for nothing.

The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me.Lord, Your love is eternal;do not abandon the work of Your hands.

to give shrewdness to the simple, knowledge and purpose to the young,

Truly, to no purpose is the net stretched out before the eyes of the bird:

My son, keep good sense, and do not let wise purpose go from your eyes.

Let your eyes look directly ahead [toward the path of moral courage]And let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you [toward the path of integrity].

So that you may be ruled by a wise purpose, and your lips may keep knowledge.

The Lord has prepared everything for His purpose—even the wicked for the day of disaster.

To what purpose is there a price in the hand of a fool to get wisdom, seeing he hath no sense?

He who keeps himself separate for his private purpose goes against all good sense.

Many plans are in a man’s mind,But it is the Lord’s purpose for him that will stand (be carried out).

Deep waters [are like] purpose in the heart of a man, and a man of understanding will draw it out.

Every purpose is established by counsel: and with good advice make war.

The sacrifice of the wicked is abomination: how much more when they bring it with a wicked purpose!

He who is cruel to the poor for the purpose of increasing his profit, and he who gives to the man of wealth, will only come to be in need.

The purpose of folly is sin, and the scorner is an abomination to men.

As iron sharpens iron,So one man sharpens [and influences] another [through discussion].

All is to no purpose, said the Preacher, all the ways of man are to no purpose.

I have seen all the works which are done under the sun; all is to no purpose, and desire for wind.

I said in my heart, I will give you joy for a test; so take your pleasure--but it was to no purpose.

Then I saw all the works which my hands had made, and everything I had been working to do; and I saw that all was to no purpose and desire for wind, and there was no profit under the sun.

Then said I in my heart: As it comes to the foolish man, so will it come to me; so why have I been wise overmuch? Then I said in my heart: This again is to no purpose.

So I was hating life, because everything under the sun was evil to me: all is to no purpose and desire for wind.

And who is to say if that man will be wise or foolish? But he will have power over all my work which I have done and in which I have been wise under the sun. This again is to no purpose.

Because there is a man whose work has been done with wisdom, with knowledge, and with an expert hand; but one who has done nothing for it will have it for his heritage. This again is to no purpose and a great evil.

All his days are sorrow, and his work is full of grief. Even in the night his heart has no rest. This again is to no purpose.