'How Long' in the Bible

So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews: ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, so that they may serve Me.

Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long shall this man be a trap to us? Let the men go, so that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not realize that Egypt is destroyed?”

Then the Lord said to Moses, “How long do you [people] refuse to keep My commandments and My instructions (laws)?

The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me disrespectfully and reject Me? And how long will they not believe in Me, despite all the [miraculous] signs which I have performed among them?

“How long shall I put up with this evil congregation who murmur [in discontent] against Me? I have heard the complaints of the Israelites, which they are making against Me.

“Nevertheless the Kenites will be consumed.How long will Asshur (Assyria) keep you (Israel) captive?”

So Joshua asked them, “How long will you put off entering to take possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you?

Eli said to her, “How long will you make yourself drunk? Get rid of your wine.”

The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve for Saul, when I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go; I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have chosen a king for Myself among his sons.”

Then Abner called to Joab, “Must the sword devour forever? Do you not know that it will be bitter in the end? How long [will it be] before you tell the people to stop pursuing their brothers?”

Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people [of Israel] did not answer him [so much as] a word.

The king, beside whom the queen was sitting, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me, and I gave him a definite time [for my return].

“Will You never turn Your gaze away from me [it plagues me],Nor let me alone until I swallow my spittle?

“How long will you say these things?And will the words of your mouth be a mighty wind?

“How long will you hunt for words and continue these speeches?Do some clear thinking and show understanding and then we can talk.

“How long will you torment and exasperate meAnd crush me with words?

O sons of men, how long will my honor and glory be [turned into] shame?How long will you [my enemies] love worthless (vain, futile) things and seek deception and lies? Selah.

My soul [as well as my body] is greatly dismayed.But as for You, O Lord—how long [until You act on my behalf]?

How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?How long will You hide Your face from me?

How long must I take counsel in my soul,Having sorrow in my heart day after day?How long will my enemy exalt himself and triumph over me?

Lord, how long will You look on [without action]?Rescue my life from their destructions,My only life from the young lions.

How long will you attack a manSo that you may murder him, all of you,Like a leaning wall, like a tottering fence?

We do not see our symbols;There is no longer any prophet [to guide us],Nor does any among us know for how long.

O God, how long will the adversary scoff?Is the enemy to revile Your name forever?

How long, O Lord? Will You be angry forever?Will Your jealousy [which cannot endure a divided allegiance] burn like fire?

O Lord God of hosts,How long will You be angry with the prayers of Your people?

How long will you judge unjustlyAnd show partiality to the wicked? Selah.

How long, O Lord?Will You hide Yourself forever?Will Your wrath burn like fire?

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

O Lord, how long will the wicked,How long will the wicked rejoice in triumph?

“How long, O naive ones [you who are easily misled], will you love being simple-minded and undiscerning?How long will scoffers [who ridicule and deride] delight in scoffing,How long will fools [who obstinately mock truth] hate knowledge?

How long will you lie down, O lazy one?When will you arise from your sleep [and learn self-discipline]?

Then I said, “Lord, how long?” And He answered,“Until cities are devastated and without inhabitant,And houses are without peopleAnd the land is utterly desolate,

The [mournful, inspired] oracle (a burden to be carried) concerning Dumah (Edom):Someone keeps calling to me from Seir (Edom),“Watchman, what is left of the night [of Assyrian oppression]?Watchman, what is left of the night? [How long until morning?]”

O Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness,That you may be saved.How long will your wicked and immoral thoughtsLodge within you?

How long [O Lord] must I see the banner [marking the way for flight]And hear the sound of the trumpet [urging the people to run for safety]?

How long must the land mournAnd the grass of the countryside wither?Because of the wickedness and hypocrisy of those who live in it,The beasts and the birds are consumed and are swept away [by the drought],Because men [mocking me] have said, “He will not [live long enough to] see [what happens at] our final end.”

“I have seen your vile and detestable acts,Even your adulteries and your lustful neighings [after idols],And the lewdness of your prostitutionOn the hills in the fields.Woe (judgment is coming) to you, O Jerusalem!How long will you remain unclean [by ignoring My precepts]?”

How long [shall this state of affairs continue]? Is there anything in the hearts of the prophets who prophesy falsehood, even these prophets of the deception of their own heart,

“How long will you hesitate [to return],O you faithless and renegade daughter?For the Lord has created a new thing in the land [of Israel]:A woman will encompass (tenderly love) a man.”

“Baldness [as a sign of mourning] will come on Gaza;Ashkelon will be cut off and ruined.O remnant of their valley,How long will you gash yourselves [as a sign of mourning]?

“O you sword of the Lord,How long will it be before you are quiet?Put yourself into your sheath;Rest and be still.

Then I heard a holy one (angel) speaking, and another holy one said to the one who was speaking, “How much time will be required to complete the vision regarding the regular sacrifice, the transgression that brings horror, and the trampling underfoot of both the sanctuary and the host [of the people]?”

And one said to the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, “How long will it be until the end of these wonders?”

He has rejected your [pagan] calf, O Samaria, saying,“My wrath burns against them.”How long will they be incapable of innocence?

O Lord, how long will I call for helpAnd You will not hear?I cry out to You, “Violence!”Yet You do not save.

“Will all these [victims of his greed] not take up a taunting song against him,And in mocking derision against himSay, ‘Woe (judgment is coming) to him who increases that which is not his—How long [will he possess it]?And [woe to him who] makes himself wealthy with loans.’

Then the Angel of the Lord said, “O Lord of hosts, how long will You withhold mercy and compassion from Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, against which You have had indignation and anger these seventy years [of the Babylonian captivity]?”

Then Herod secretly sent for the magi and learned from them the [exact] time the star [had first] appeared.

And Jesus answered, “You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him here to Me.”

He replied, “O unbelieving (faithless) generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!”

Jesus asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” And he answered, “Since childhood.

Jesus answered, “You unbelieving and perverted generation! How long shall I be with you and put up with you? Bring your son here [to Me].”

So the Jews surrounded Him and began saying to Him, “How long are You going to keep us in suspense? If You are [really] the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed), tell us so plainly and openly.”

They cried in a loud voice, saying, “O Lord, holy and true, how long now before You will sit in judgment and avenge our blood on those [unregenerate ones] who dwell on the earth?”