'Love' in the Bible

And when God sent me wandering from my father's house, I said to her, Let this be the sign of your love for me; wherever we go, say of me, He is my brother.

And Isaac took Rebekah into his tent and she became his wife; and in his love for her, Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.

Now Isaac's love was for Esau, because Esau's meat was greatly to his taste: but Rebekah had more love for Jacob.

It was clear to Esau that his father had no love for the women of Canaan,

And Jacob was in love with Rachel; and he said, I will be your servant seven years for Rachel, your younger daughter.

And Jacob did seven years' work for Rachel; and because of his love for her it seemed to him only a very little time.

Then Jacob took Rachel as his wife, and his love for her was greater than his love for Leah; and he went on working for Laban for another seven years.

And Leah was with child, and gave birth to a son to whom she gave the name Reuben: for she said, The Lord has seen my sorrow; now my husband will have love for me.

Now at the time of the grain-cutting, Reuben saw some love-fruits in the field, and took them to his mother Leah. And Rachel said to her, Let me have some of your son's love-fruits.

But Leah said to her, Is it a small thing that you have taken my husband from me? and now would you take my son's love-fruits? Then Rachel said, You may have him tonight in exchange for your son's love-fruits.

In the evening, when Jacob came in from the field, Leah went out to him and said, Tonight you are to come to me, for I have given my son's love-fruits as a price for you. And he went in to her that night.

And Jacob said, Not so; but if I have grace in your eyes, take them as a sign of my love, for I have seen your face as one may see the face of God, and you have been pleased with me.

Then his heart went out in love to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, and he said comforting words to her.

Now the love which Israel had for Joseph was greater than his love for all his other children, because he got him when he was an old man: and he had a long coat made for him.

And when the days of weeping for him were past, Joseph said to the servants of Pharaoh, If now you have love for me, say these words to Pharaoh:

But see that they make the same number of bricks as before, and no less: for they have no love for work; and so they are crying out and saying, Let us go and make an offering to our God.

But he said, You have no love for work: that is why you say, Let us go and make an offering to the Lord.

And I will have mercy through a thousand generations on those who have love for me and keep my laws.

If you see the ass of one who has no love for you bent down to the earth under the weight which is put on it, you are to come to its help, even against your desire.

Do not make attempts to get equal with one who has done you wrong, or keep hard feelings against the children of your people, but have love for your neighbour as for yourself: I am the Lord.

Let him be to you as one of your countrymen and have love for him as for yourself; for you were living in a strange land, in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

And because of his love for your fathers, he took their seed and made it his, and he himself, present among you, took you out of Egypt by his great power;

And I will have mercy through a thousand generations on those who have love for me and keep my laws.

The Lord did not give you his love or take you for himself because you were more in number than any other people; for you were the smallest of the nations:

But because of his love for you, and in order to keep his oath to your fathers, the Lord took you out with the strength of his hand, making you free from the prison-house and from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.

Be certain, then, that the Lord your God is God; whose faith and mercy are unchanging, who keeps his word through a thousand generations to those who have love for him and keep his laws;

And he will give you his love, blessing you and increasing you: he will send his blessing on the offspring of your body and the fruit of your land, your grain and your wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the young of your flock, in the land which by his oath to your fathers he undertook to give you.

But the Lord had delight in your fathers and love for them, marking out for himself their seed after them, even you, from all peoples, as at this day.

So have love for the Lord your God, and give him worship, and keep his laws and his decisions and his orders at all times.

Then give no attention to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams: for the Lord your God is testing you, to see if all the love of your heart and soul is given to him.

And let the girl's father say to the responsible men, I gave my daughter to this man for his wife, but he has no love for her;

But the Lord your God would not give ear to Balaam, but let the curse be changed into a blessing to you, because of his love for you.

And if the second husband has no love for her and, giving her a statement in writing, sends her away; or if death comes to the second husband to whom she was married;

In giving you orders today to have love for the Lord your God, to go in his ways and keep his laws and his orders and his decisions, so that you may have life and be increased, and that the blessing of the Lord your God may be with you in the land where you are going, the land of your heritage.

Only take great care to do the orders and the law which Moses, the Lord's servant, gave you; to have love for the Lord your God and to go in all his ways; and to keep his laws and to be true to him and to be his servants with all your heart and with all your soul.

So keep watch on yourselves, and see that you have love for the Lord your God.

Then Samson's wife, weeping over him, said, Truly you have no love for me but only hate; you have put a hard question to the children of my people and have not given me the answer. And he said to her, See, I have not given the answer even to my father or my mother; am I to give it to you?

Now after this, he was in love with a woman in the valley of Sorek, named Delilah.

He will be a giver of new life to you, and your comforter when you are old, for your daughter-in-law, who, in her love for you, is better than seven sons, has given birth to him.

And his sons did not go in his ways, but moved by the love of money took rewards, and were not upright in judging.

Then Jonathan and David made an agreement together, because of Jonathan's love for David.

And Saul's daughter Michal was in love with David: and Saul had word of it and was pleased.

And Jonathan again took an oath to David, because of his love for him: for David was as dear to him as his very soul.

Then Saul was moved to wrath against Jonathan, and he said to him, You son of an evil and uncontrolled woman, have I not seen how you have given your love to the son of Jesse, to your shame and the shame of your mother?

I am full of grief for you, my brother Jonathan: very dear have you been to me: your love for me was a wonder, greater than the love of women.

Now after this, it came about that Absalom, David's son, had a beautiful sister, whose name was Tamar; and David's son Amnon was in love with her.

And he was so deeply in love that he became ill because of his sister Tamar; for she was a virgin, and so it seemed hard to Amnon to do anything to her.

And he said to him, O son of the king, why are you getting thinner day by day? will you not say what your trouble is? And Amnon said to him, I am in love with Tamar, my brother Absalom's sister.

Then Amnon was full of hate for her, hating her with a hate greater than his earlier love for her. And he said to her, Get up and be gone.

And Absalom said, Is this your love for your friend? why did you not go with your friend?

And Solomon, in his love for the Lord, kept the laws of David his father; but he made offerings and let them go up in smoke on the high places.

May the Lord your God be praised, whose pleasure it was to put you on the seat of the kingdom of Israel; because the Lord's love for Israel is eternal, he has made you king, to be their judge in righteousness.

The nations of which the Lord had said to the children of Israel, You are not to take wives from them and they are not to take wives from you; or they will certainly make you go after their gods: to these Solomon was united in love.

And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, There is still one man by whom we may get directions from the Lord, Micaiah, son of Imlah; but I have no love for him, for he is a prophet of evil to me and not of good. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.

Then Huram, king of Tyre, sent Solomon an answer in writing, saying, Because of his love for his people the Lord has made you king over them.

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.

And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, There is still one man by whom we may get directions from the Lord, but I have no love for him, because he has never been a prophet of good to me, but only of evil: he is Micaiah, the son of Imla. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.

And said, O Lord, the God of heaven, the great God, greatly to be feared, keeping faith and mercy with those who have love for him and are true to his laws:

O you sons of men, how long will you go on turning my glory into shame? how long will you give your love to foolish things, going after what is false? (Selah.)

I will give you my love, O Lord, my strength.

O have love for the Lord, all you his saints; for the Lord keeps safe from danger all those who are true to him, and gives the workers of pride their right reward.

What man has a love of life, and a desire that his days may be increased so that he may see good?

You have more love for evil than for good, for deceit than for works of righteousness. (Selah.)

The Lord has more love for the doors of Zion than for all the tents of Jacob.

Because he has given me his love, I will take him out of danger: I will put him in a place of honour, because he has kept my name in his heart.

For my love they give me back hate; but I have given myself to prayer.

They have put on me evil for good; hate in exchange for my love.

I have given my love to the Lord, because he has given ear to the voice of my cry and my prayer.

And so that I may take delight in your teachings, to which I have given my love.

O what love I have for your law! I give thought to it all the day.

All the sinners of the earth are like waste metal in your eyes; and for this cause I give my love to your unchanging word.

For this reason I have greater love far your teachings than for gold, even for shining gold.

See how great is my love for your orders: give me life, O Lord, in keeping with your mercy.

My soul has kept your unchanging word; great is my love for it.

Do not give her up, and she will keep you; give her your love, and she will make you safe.

Put her in a high place, and you will be lifted up by her; she will give you honour, when you give her your love.

As a loving hind and a gentle doe, let her breasts ever give you rapture; let your passion at all times be moved by her love.

Come, let us take our pleasure in love till the morning, having joy in love's delights.

Those who have given me their love are loved by me, and those who make search for me with care will get me.

But he who does evil to me, does wrong to his soul: all my haters are in love with death.

Hate is a cause of violent acts, but all errors are covered up by love.

The hater of authority has no love for teaching: he will not go to the wise.

Better is a simple meal where love is, than a fat ox and hate with it.

He who keeps a sin covered is looking for love; but he who keeps on talking of a thing makes division between friends.

He who gets wisdom has love for his soul: he who keeps good sense will get what is truly good.

For those who take delight in drink and feasting will come to be in need; and through love of sleep a man will be poorly clothed

Better is open protest than love kept secret.

A time for love and a time for hate; a time for war and a time for peace.

He who has a love for silver never has enough silver, or he who has love for wealth, enough profit. This again is to no purpose.

All this I took to heart, and my heart saw it all: that the upright and the wise and their works are in the hand of God; and men may not be certain if it will be love or hate; all is to no purpose before them.

Their love and their hate and their envy are now ended; and they have no longer a part for ever in anything which is done under the sun.

Have joy with the woman of your love all the days of your foolish life which he gives you under the sun. Because that is your part in life and in your work which you do under the sun.

Let him give me the kisses of his mouth: for his love is better than wine.

Sweet is the smell of your perfumes; your name is as perfume running out; so the young girls give you their love.

Take me to you, and we will go after you: the king has taken me into his house. We will be glad and full of joy in you, we will give more thought to your love than to wine: rightly are they your lovers.

Say, O love of my soul, where you give food to your flock, and where you make them take their rest in the heat of the day; why have I to be as one wandering by the flocks of your friends?

I have made a comparison of you, O my love, to a horse in Pharaoh's carriages.

My love is to me as a branch of the cypress-tree in the vine-gardens of En-gedi.

See, you are fair, my love, you are fair; you have the eyes of a dove.

As the lily-flower among the thorns of the waste, so is my love among the daughters.