42 Bible Verses about Warfare, Examples Of

When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perrizites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou; And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee, thou shalt smite them and utterly destroy them, thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy to them:

I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thy enemies turn their backs to thee. And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before thee. I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land should become desolate, and the beast of the field should multiply against thee.read more.
By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou shalt be increased and inherit the land. And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea even to the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the river: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee.

Hear, O Israel: Thou art to pass over Jordan this day, to go in to possess nations greater and mightier than thyself, cities great and fortified up to heaven, A people great and tall, the children of the Anakims, whom thou knowest, and of whom thou hast heard it said, Who can stand before the children of Anak! Understand therefore this day, that the LORD thy God is he who goeth over before thee; as a consuming fire he shall destroy them, and he shall bring them down before thy face: so shalt thou drive them out, and destroy them quickly, as the LORD hath said to thee.read more.
Speak not thou in thy heart, after that the LORD thy God hath cast them out from before thee, saying, For my righteousness the LORD hath brought me in to possess this land: but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD doth drive them out from before thee. Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thy heart dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations, the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word which the LORD swore to thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

But of the cities of these people which the LORD thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth: But thou shalt utterly destroy them, namely, the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee: That they may not teach you to do after all their abominations which they have done to their gods; so would ye sin against the LORD your God.

So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD said to Moses, and Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. And the land rested from war.

And the LORD said to Joshua, See, I have given into thy hand Jericho, and its king, and the mighty men of valor.

And the LORD said to Joshua, Fear not, neither be thou dismayed: take all the people of war with thee, and arise, go up to Ai: see, I have given into thy hand the king of Ai, and his people, and his city, and his land: And thou shalt do to Ai and her king, as thou didst to Jericho and her king: only its spoil, and its cattle, shall ye take for a prey to yourselves: lay thee an ambush for the city behind it.

So Joshua smote all the country of the hills, and of the south, and of the vale, and of the springs, and all their kings: he left none remaining, but utterly destroyed all that breathed, as the LORD God of Israel commanded. And Joshua smote them from Kadesh-barnea even to Gaza, and all the country of Goshen, even to Gibeon. And all these kings and their land did Joshua take at one time; because the LORD God of Israel fought for Israel.

So the children went in and possessed the land, and thou subduedst before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gavest them into their hands, with their kings, and the people of the land, that they might do with them as they would.

To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, Maschil. We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old. How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand, and didst plant them; how thou didst afflict the people, and cast them out. For they obtained not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thy arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favor to them.

And the LORD was with Judah; and he drove out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.

And it came to pass when Israel was strong, that they subjected the Canaanites to tribute, and did not utterly expel them.

And an angel of the LORD came up from Gilgal to Bochim, and said, I made you to depart from Egypt, and have brought you to the land which I swore to your fathers; and I said, I will never break my covenant with you. And ye shall make no league with the inhabitants of this land; ye shall throw down their altars: but ye have not obeyed my voice: why have ye done this? Wherefore I also said, I will not drive them out from before you; but they shall be as thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.

And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the LORD. And he gathered to him the children of Ammon and Amalek, and went and smote Israel, and possessed the city of palm-trees. So the children of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.

But if ye will not hearken to me, and will not do all these commandments; And if ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul shall abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant: I also will do this to you, I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.read more.
And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you, and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.

But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee:

And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and forgot the LORD their God, and served Baalim, and the groves. Therefore the anger of the LORD was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Chushan-rishathaim king of Mesopotamia: and the children of Israel served Chushan-rishathaim eight years.

And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD: and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years. And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds. And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east, even they came up against them;

And it came to pass, when Rehoboam had established the kingdom, and had strengthened himself, he forsook the law of the LORD, and all Israel with him. And it came to pass, that in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had transgressed against the LORD, With twelve hundred chariots, and sixty thousand horsemen: and the people were without number that came with him out of Egypt; the Lubims, the Sukkiims, and the Cushites.read more.
And he took the fortified cities which pertained to Judah, and came to Jerusalem.

And it came to pass at the end of the year, that the army of Syria came up against him: and they came to Judah and Jerusalem, and destroyed all the princes of the people from among the people, and sent all the spoil of them to the king of Damascus. For the army of the Syrians came with a small company of men, and the LORD delivered a very great host into their hand, because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers. So they executed judgment against Joash.

And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.

And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently to the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day; that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth:

And when the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were assembled at Mizpeh, the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines. And the children of Israel said to Samuel, Cease not to cry to the LORD our God for us, that he will save us from the hand of the Philistines. And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it for a burnt-offering wholly to the LORD: and Samuel cried to the LORD for Israel; and the LORD heard him.read more.
And as Samuel was offering the burnt-offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel: but the LORD thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten before Israel. And the men of Israel went out of Mizpeh, and pursued the Philistines, and smote them, until they came under Beth-car. Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Eben-ezer, saying, Hitherto hath the LORD helped us. So the Philistines were subdued, and they came no more into the borders of Israel: and the hand of the LORD was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even to Gath; and the borders of it did Israel deliver from the hands of the Philistines: and there was peace between Israel and the Amorites.

Then Nahash the Ammonite came up, and encamped against Jabesh-gilead: and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, Make a covenant with us, and we will serve thee. And Nahash the Ammonite answered them, On this condition will I make a covenant with you, that I may thrust out all your right eyes, and lay it for a reproach upon all Israel. And the elders of Jabesh said to him, Give us seven days respit, that we may send messengers to all the borders of Israel: and then, if there is no man to save us, we will come out to thee.read more.
Then came the messengers to Gibeah of Saul, and told the tidings in the ears of the people; and all the people lifted up their voices, and wept. And behold, Saul came after the herd out of the field; and Saul said, What aileth the people that they weep? And they told him the tidings of the men of Jabesh. And the Spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those tidings, and his anger was kindled greatly. And he took a yoke of oxen, and hewed them in pieces, and sent them throughout all the borders of Israel by the hands of messengers, saying, Whoever cometh not forth after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen. And the fear of the LORD fell on the people, and they came out with one consent. And when he numbered them in Bezek, the children of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand. And they said to the messengers that came, thus shall ye say to the men of Jabesh-gilead, To-morrow by the time the sun is hot, ye shall have help. And the messengers came and showed it to the men of Jabesh; and they were glad. Therefore the men of Jabesh said, To-morrow we will come out to you, and ye shall do with us all that seemeth good to you. And it was so on the morrow, that Saul disposed the people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the host in the morning-watch, and slew the Ammonites until the heat of the day: and it came to pass, that they who remained were scattered, so that two of them were not left together.

And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD to you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's. To-morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel. Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to-morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you.read more.
And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the LORD, worshiping the LORD. And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with a loud voice on high. And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper. And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers to the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever. And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushes against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, who were come against Judah; and they were smitten. For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another. And when Judah came towards the watch-tower in the wilderness, they looked to the multitude, and behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped.

Now there was long war between the house of Saul and the house of David: but David grew stronger and stronger, and the house of Saul became weaker and weaker.

And when Rehoboam had come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, a hundred and eighty thousand chosen men, who were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.

But Abner the son of Ner, captain of Saul's host, took Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and brought him over to Mahanaim; And he made him king over Gilead, and over the Ashurites, and over Jezreel, and over Ephraim, and over Benjamin, and over all Israel. Ish-bosheth, Saul's son, was forty years old when he began to reign over Israel, and he reigned two years: but the house of Judah followed David.read more.
And the time that David was king in Hebron, over the house of Judah, was seven years and six months. And Abner the son of Ner, and the servants of Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, went out from Mahanaim to Gibeon. And Joab the son of Zeruiah, and the servants of David went out, and met together by the pool of Gibeon: and they sat down, the one on the one side of the pool, and the other on the other side of the pool. And Abner said to Joab, Let the young men now arise, and play before us. And Joab said, Let them arise. Then there arose, and went over by number twelve of Benjamin, who pertained to Ish-bosheth the son of Saul, and twelve of the servants of David. And they caught every one his fellow by the head, and thrust his sword in his fellow's side: so they fell down together: wherefore that place was called Helkath-hazzurim, which is in Gibeon. And there was a very severe battle that day; and Abner was defeated, and the men of Israel, before the servants of David.

And David said to all his servants that were with him at Jerusalem, Arise, and let us flee; for we shall not else escape from Absalom: make speed to depart, lest he should overtake us suddenly, and bring evil upon us, and smite the city with the edge of the sword.

And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life. Now the rest of the acts of Abijam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam.

And the rest of the acts of Joash, and all that he did, and his might with which he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

And Jehoash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son for a wife: and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trod down the thistle. Thou hast indeed smitten Edom, and thy heart hath lifted thee up: glory of this, and tarry at home: for why shouldst thou meddle to thy hurt, that thou shouldst fall, even thou, and Judah with thee? But Amaziah would not hear. Therefore Jehoash king of Israel went up: and he and Amaziah king of Judah looked one another in the face at Beth-shemesh, which belongeth to Judah.read more.
And Judah was defeated before Israel; and they fled every man to their tents. And Jehoash king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Jehoash the son of Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh, and came to Jerusalem, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim to the corner gate, four hundred cubits. And he took all the gold and silver, and all the vessels found in the house of the LORD, and in the treasures of the king's house, and hostages, and returned to Samaria. Now the rest of the acts of Jehoash which he did, and his might, and how he fought with Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel?

And they transgressed against the God of their fathers, and went astray after the gods of the people of the land, whom God destroyed before them. And the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria, and he carried them away, even the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, and brought them to Halah, and Habor, and Hara, and to the river Gozan, to this day.

Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years. In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes. For so it was, that the children of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods,read more.
And walked in the statutes of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel which they had made.

But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy. Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that stooped for age: he gave them all into his hand.

And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he, and all his army, against Jerusalem, and encamped against it; and they built forts against it on all sides.

And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came, he and all his army, against Jerusalem, and encamped against it, and built forts against it on every side. So the city was besieged to the eleventh year of king Zedekiah.

And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which is the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzar-adan, captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, to Jerusalem: And he burnt the house of the LORD, and the king's house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man's house he burnt with fire. And all the army of the Chaldees, that were with the captain of the guard, broke down the walls of Jerusalem on all sides.read more.
Now the rest of the people that were left in the city, and the fugitives that fell away to the king of Babylon, with the remnant of the multitude, did Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard carry away.

Now in the fifth month, in the tenth day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzar-adan, captain of the guard, who served the king of Babylon, into Jerusalem, And burned the house of the LORD, and the king's house; and all the houses of Jerusalem, and all the houses of the great men he burned with fire: And all the army of the Chaldeans, that were with the captain of the guard, broke down all the walls of Jerusalem on every side.read more.
Then Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard carried away captive certain of the poor of the people, and the residue of the people that remained in the city, and those that fell away, that fell to the king of Babylon, and the rest of the multitude.

And the king of Babylon smote them, and slew them at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was carried away out of their land.

And the king of Babylon smote them, and put them to death in Riblah, in the land of Hamath. Thus Judah was carried away captive out of his own land.

And the word of the LORD came to me the second time, saying, What seest thou? And I said, I see a seething pot; and its face is towards the north. Then the LORD said to me, Out of the north an evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land. For lo, I will call all the families of the kingdoms of the north, saith the LORD; and they shall come, and they shall set every one his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all its walls around, and against all the cities of Judah.read more.
And I will utter my judgments against them touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense to other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands.