'Best' in the Bible

In the twelfth year of the reign of King Ahasuerus, in the first month (the month Nisan), the (that is, the lot) was cast in Haman's presence to determine the best day and month to carry out his plot. The lot indicated the twelfth month, the month Adar.

Then Haman informed King Ahasuerus, “There is one ethnic group, scattered throughout the peoples in every province of your kingdom, yet living in isolation. Their laws are different from everyone else’s and they do not obey the king’s laws. It is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them.

The letters were sent in the name of King Ahasuerus and stamped with his ring, and they were taken by men on horseback, going on the quick-running horses used for the king's business, the offspring of his best horses:

And Mordecai went out from before the king, dressed in king-like robes of blue and white, and with a great crown of gold and clothing of purple and the best linen: and all the town of Shushan gave loud cries of joy.

All of my best friends despise me,and those I love have turned against me.

Gold and glass are not equal to it in price, and it may not be exchanged for jewels of the best gold.

The topaz of Ethiopia is not equal to it, and it may not be valued with the best gold.

If I made gold my hope, or if I ever said to the best gold, I have put my faith in you;

Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.

As for my best friend, the one in whom I trusted, the one who ate my bread, even he has insulted me!

My soul will be satisfied [as with the] best and richest [food], and [with] joyful lips my mouth will praise.

God’s anger flared up against them,and He killed some of their best men.He struck down Israel’s choice young men.

But He would feed Israel with the best wheat.“I would satisfy you with honey from the rock.”

Our lives last seventy yearsor, if we are strong, eighty years.Even the best of them are struggle and sorrow;indeed, they pass quickly and we fly away.

The fear of the Lord is the best part of wisdom: all those who keep his laws are wise: his praise is eternal.

He brings peace to your territory. He abundantly provides for you the best grain.

so that you don't give your honor to others, and waste your best years;

Take my teaching, and not silver; get knowledge in place of the best gold.

My fruit is better than gold, even than the best gold; and my increase is more to be desired than silver.

What the righteous say is like the best silver, but what the wicked think is of little value.

He who covers an offense promotes love; but he who repeats a matter separates best friends.

Like a nose-ring of gold and an ornament of the best gold, is a wise man who says sharp words to an ear ready to give attention.

Even if he lives a thousand years twice over without experiencing the best aren't all of them going to the same place?

Because many words lead to pointlessness, how do people benefit from this? 12Who knows what is best for people in this life, every day of their pointless lives that they pass through like a shadow? Who informs people on earth what will come along after them?

For no one knows what is best for a person during his life -- during the few days of his fleeting life -- for they pass away like a shadow. Nor can anyone tell him what the future will hold for him on earth.

When times are good, be joyful; when times are bad, consider this: God made the one as well as the other, so people won't seek anything outside of his best.

It is best to take hold of one warning without letting go of the other warning; for the one who fears God will follow both warnings.

So, remove grief and anger from your heart and put away pain from your body, because childhood and the prime of life are fleeting.

Look! It's Solomon's sedan chair, with 60 of the best soldiers in Israel surrounding it.

The produce of the garden is pomegranates; with all the best fruits, henna and spikenard,

nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon,with all the trees of frankincense,myrrh and aloes,with all the best spices.

My beloved is white and ruddy. The best among ten thousand.

And the roof of thy mouth like the best wine for my beloved, that goeth down sweetly, causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak.

What use to me is the number of the offerings which you give me? says the Lord; your burned offerings of sheep, and the best parts of fat cattle, are a weariness to me; I take no pleasure in the blood of oxen, or of lambs, or of he-goats.

If you're willing and obedient, you'll eat the best that the land produces;

Your silver has become dross, your best wine is diluted with water.

And after working the earth of it with a spade, he took away its stones, and put in it a very special vine; and he put up a watchtower in the middle of it, hollowing out in the rock a place for the grape-crushing; and he was hoping that it would give the best grapes, but it gave common grapes.

Is there anything which might have been done for my vine-garden which I have not done? why then, when I was hoping for the best grapes did it give me common grapes?

I will make men so small in number, that a man will be harder to get than gold, even the best gold of Ophir.

Your best valleys were full of chariots,and horsemen were positioned at the gates.

The sword of the Lord is full of blood, it is fat with the best of the meat, with the blood of lambs and goats, with the best parts of the sheep: for the Lord has a feast in Bozrah, and much cattle will be put to death in the land of Edom.

Through your messengers you taunted the sovereign master, 'With my many chariots I climbed up the high mountains, the slopes of Lebanon. I cut down its tall cedars and its best evergreens. I invaded its most remote regions, its thickest woods.

Even the young men will become feeble and tired, and the best of them will come to the end of his strength;

Why do you give your money for what is not bread, and the fruit of your work for what will not give you pleasure? Give ear to me, so that your food may be good, and you may have the best in full measure.

For we all have become like one who is [ceremonially] unclean [like a leper],And all our deeds of righteousness are like filthy rags;We all wither and decay like a leaf,And our wickedness [our sin, our injustice, our wrongdoing], like the wind, takes us away [carrying us far from God’s favor, toward destruction].

I planted you, a choice vinefrom the very best seed.How then could you turn intoa degenerate, foreign vine?

“Then I said,‘How [gloriously and honorably] I would set you among My childrenAnd give you a pleasant land—a wonderful heritage,The most beautiful inheritance of the nations!’And I said, ‘You shall call Me, My FatherAnd not turn away from following Me.’

This is what the LORD of the Heavenly Armies says: "Think about what I'm saying! Indeed, call out the professional mourners! Send for the best of them to come.

O Lord, I know that the path of [life of] a man is not in himself;It is not within [the limited ability of] man [even one at his best] to choose and direct his steps [in life].

And I will make ready those who will send destruction on you, everyone armed for war: by them your best cedar-trees will be cut down and put in the fire.

All the women who are left in the royal palace of Judah will be led out to the officers of the king of Babylon. They will taunt you saying, 'Your trusted friends misled you; they have gotten the best of you. Now that your feet are stuck in the mud, they have turned their backs on you.'

He who makes Moab waste has gone up against her; and the best of her young men have gone down to their death, says the King, whose name is the Lord of armies.

"Thus says Yahweh of hosts: 'Look, I [am] going to break the bow of Elam, the first and best of their might.

How is the gold become dim, Changed the best -- the pure gold? Poured out are stones of the sanctuary At the head of all out-places.

The valued sons of Zion, whose price was the best gold, are looked on as vessels of earth, the work of the hands of the potter!

So you were made beautiful with gold and silver; and your clothing was of the best linen and silk and needlework; your food was the best meal and honey and oil: and you were very beautiful.

And my bread which I gave you, the best meal and oil and honey which I gave you for your food, you put it before them for a sweet smell, says the Lord.

All his best fighting-men will be put to the sword, and the rest will be sent away to every wind: and you will be certain that I the Lord have said it.

"For on {my holy mountain}, on the mountain of the height of Israel," {declares} the Lord Yahweh, "there all of the house of Israel will serve me, all of them, in the land. I will take pleasure in them, and there I will accept your contributions and the best of your portions with all of your holy objects.

She bestowed her sexual favors on them all of them, the best of the Assyrians and with whomever she lusted for.

Gather together the best pieces of meat on it including the thighs and the shoulders and fill it with the choicest bones.

Take the best bones from the flock, pile wood under the pot for the bones, bring it to a boil, and then cook the bones in it."'"

The best linen with needlework from Egypt was your sail, stretched out to be a flag for you; blue and purple from the sea-lands of Elishah gave you shade.

Edom did business with you because of the great number of things which you made; they gave emeralds, purple, and needlework, and the best linen and coral and rubies for your goods.

The merchants of Sheba and Raamah traded with you. They exchanged gold, the best of all spices, and all kinds of precious stones for your merchandise.

I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to hell with them that descend into the pit: and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, shall be comforted in the nether parts of the earth.

"Woe to you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves and not the sheep. Shouldn't shepherds feed the sheep? You're eating the best parts, clothing yourselves with the wool, and slaughtering the home-grown sheep without having fed the sheep!

Is it too little a thing for you that you [unrighteous ones who are well-fed] feed in the best pasture, yet you must trample down with your feet [of wickedness] the rest of your pastures? Or that you drink clear [still] water, yet you must muddy with your feet [of wickedness] the rest [of the water]?

I'm going to prepare for them the best of gardening spots. They will no longer live as victims in a land of starvation, nor will they have to bear the insults of the international community.

The best of all the firstfruits of every kind and contribution of every kind from all your gifts will belong to the priests. You are to give your first batch of dough to the priest so that a blessing may rest on your homes.

And you are to give, morning by morning, a meal offering with it, a sixth of an ephah and a third of a hin of oil dropped on the best meal; a meal offering offered to the Lord at all times by an eternal order.

And they shall not sell [any part] from it, and shall not exchange, and shall not transfer the best of the land, for [it is] holy to Yahweh.

As for this image, its head was made of the best gold, its breast and its arms were of silver, its middle and its sides were of brass,

And lifting up my eyes I saw the form of a man clothed in a linen robe, and round him there was a band of gold, of the best gold:

Then the northern king will come, erect a siege ramp, and capture a fortified city. The southern forces won't prevail not even with their best troops and they'll have no strength to take a stand.

And he will come {into the beautiful land} and many will fall victim, but these will escape from his power: Edom and Moab and the best part of the {Ammonites}.

Woe to those who live in ease in Zion, to those who feel secure on Mount Samaria. They think of themselves as the elite class of the best nation. The family of Israel looks to them for leadership.

They drink wine from sacrificial bowls, and pour the very best oils on themselves. Yet they are not concerned over the ruin of Joseph.

The best of them is as a brier: the most upright is sharper than a thorn hedge: the day of thy watchmen and thy visitation cometh; now shall be their perplexity.

And Tyre made for herself a strong place, and got together silver like dust and the best gold like the earth of the streets.

I said to them, "If you think it best, give me my wages; and if not, keep them." So they weighed for my wages thirty pieces of silver.

for I am now raising up a shepherd in the land who will neither search for the lost, nor care for the young, nor fix the broken, nor sustain the healthy. Instead, he will devour the meat of the best of the sheep, tearing off their hoofs."

But when evening was come, the disciples came to Him and said, "This is an uninhabited place, and the best of the day is now gone; send the people away to go into the villages and buy something to eat."

They love to have the places of honor at festivals, the best seats in the synagogues,

"You can have a guard," said Pilate: "go and make all safe, as best you can."

and to have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.

And hearing what he said, they were glad, and gave him their word to make him a payment of money. And he took thought how he might best give him up to them.

it seemed best to me also--[because I] have followed all [things] carefully from the beginning--to write [them] down in orderly sequence for you, most excellent Theophilus,

but one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the best part; it will not be taken away from her."

Woe to you Pharisees! You love the best seats in the synagogues and elaborate greetings in the marketplaces!

For example, when you go with your opponent in front of a ruler, do your best to settle with him on the way there. Otherwise, you will be dragged in front of the judge, and the judge will hand you over to an officer, and the officer will throw you into prison.

Do your best to go in by the narrow door, for I say to you, A number will make the attempt to go in, but will not be able to do so.

He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noticed how they would choose the best places for themselves:

“When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, don’t recline at the best place, because a more distinguished person than you may have been invited by your host.

But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:

"Beware of the scribes! They like to walk around in long robes and love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.

and told him, "Everyone serves the best wine first, and the cheap kind when people are drunk. But you have kept the best wine until now!"

Then it seemed best to the apostles and the elders, together with the whole church, to send men chosen from among them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas--Judas who was called Barsabbas and Silas, men [who were] leaders among the brothers--

it seemed best to us, {having reached a unanimous decision}, [and] having chosen men, to send [them] to you together with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul,

For it seemed best to the Holy Spirit and to us not to place any greater burden on you than these necessary rules: