'Nations' in the Bible

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you [and approved of you as My chosen instrument],And before you were born I consecrated you [to Myself as My own];I have appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

“See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms,To uproot and break down,To destroy and to overthrow,To build and to plant.”

At that time they will call Jerusalem ‘The Throne of the Lord,’ and all the nations will be gathered to it, to Jerusalem, for the name (renown) of the Lord; and they will not walk anymore after the stubbornness of their [own] evil heart.

“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.’

And if you swear [your oaths], ‘As the Lord lives,’In truth, in justice, and in righteousness,Then the nations will bless themselves in Him,And in Him they will glory.”

“A lion has left his lair,And a destroyer of nations is on his way.He has gone out from his placeTo desolate your land;Your cities will be in ruinsWithout an inhabitant.

“Warn the [neighboring] nations now [that our enemy is coming]!Announce to Jerusalem,‘Besiegers are coming from a far country,And they lift their voices and shout against the cities of Judah.

“Therefore hear, O [Gentile] nations,And see, O congregation, what [vengeful act] is to be done to them.

I will [also] scatter them among nations that neither they nor their fathers have known, and I will send the sword after them until I have annihilated them.”

Egypt and Judah, and Edom and the sons of Ammon, and Moab and all those who live in the desert who clip off the hair on their temples; for all these nations are uncircumcised (sinful, impure), and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart.”

Thus says the Lord,“Do not learn the way of the [pagan] nations,And do not be terrified and distressed by the signs of the heavensAlthough the pagans are terrified by them;

Who would not fear You, O King of the nations?For it is appropriate and it is Your due!For among all the wise men of the nationsAnd in all their kingdoms,There is none like You.

But the Lord is the true God and the God who is Truth;He is the living God and the everlasting King.The earth quakes and shudders at His wrath,And the nations are not able to endure His indignation.

Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not know nor recognize YouAnd on the families that do not call Your name.For they have devoured Jacob;They have devoured him and consumed himAnd made his land a desolate waste.

Thus says the Lord regarding all My evil neighbors (Gentile nations) who strike at the inheritance which I have granted to My people Israel, “Behold, I will uproot them from their land and I will uproot the house of Judah from among them.

And if these [neighboring nations] will diligently learn the ways of My people, to swear by My Name, saying, ‘As the Lord lives’—even as they taught My people to swear by Baal, then they will be built up among My people.

“What will you say [O Jerusalem] when the Lord appoints [foreign nations to rule] over you—Those former friends and allies whom you have encouraged [to be your companions]—Will not pain seize youLike [that of] a woman in childbirth?

“This is your destiny, the portion [of judgment] measured to youFrom Me,” says the Lord,“Because you have forgotten MeAnd trusted in [pagan] lies [the counterfeit gods, and the pretense of alliance].”

Are there any among the idols of the nations who can send rain?Or can the heavens [of their own will] give showers?Is it not You, O Lord our God?Therefore we will wait and hope [confidently] in You,For You are the one who has made all these things [the heavens and the rain].

I will make them an object of horror to all nations of the earth because of Manasseh [the despicable] son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, for the [evil and detestable] things which he did in Jerusalem.

[Then said Jeremiah] “O Lord, my Strength and my Stronghold,And my Refuge in the day of distress and need,The nations will come to YouFrom the ends of the earth and say,‘Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies and illusion,[Worthless] things in which there is no benefit!’

“Therefore thus says the Lord,‘Ask now among the nations,Who has heard of such things?The virgin IsraelHas done a very vile and horrible thing.

“Many nations will pass by this city; and each man will say to another, ‘Why has the Lord done this to this great city?’

behold (hear this), I will send for all the families of the north,’ says the Lord, ‘and I will send for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant [to enact My plan], and I will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants and against all these surrounding nations; and I will utterly destroy them and make them a horror and a hissing [that is, an object of warning and ridicule] and an everlasting desolation.

This whole land will be a waste and a horror, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

I will bring on that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, all that is written in this book which Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nations.

(For many nations and great kings will make slaves of them, even the Chaldeans [who enslaved other nations]; and I will repay [all of] them according to their deeds and according to the work of their [own] hands.)’”

For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to me, “Take this cup of the wine of wrath from My hand and cause all the nations to whom I send you to drink it.

Then I (Jeremiah) took the cup from the Lord’s hand and made all the nations to whom the Lord had sent me drink it:

‘A noise has come to the end of the earth,For the Lord has a controversy with and an indictment against the nations.He is entering into judgment with all mankind;As for the wicked, He has given them to the sword,’ says the Lord.”

then I will make this house [the temple] like Shiloh, and I will make this city [subject to] the curse of all nations of the earth [because it will be so vile in their sight].”’”

All nations shall serve him and his son and his grandson until the [appointed] time [of punishment] for his own land comes; then many nations and great kings shall make him their servant.

Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Even so within two full years I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all the nations.’” Then the prophet Jeremiah went his way.

For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “I have put the iron yoke [of servitude] on the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they will serve him. And I have even given him the beasts of the field.”’”

I will be found by you,’ says the Lord, ‘and I will restore your fortunes and I will [free you and] gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you,’ says the Lord, ‘and I will bring you back to the place from where I sent you into exile.’

I will pursue them with the sword, with famine and with virulent disease; and I will make them a terror (warning) to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, a horror, a hissing, and a disgrace among all the nations to which I have driven them,

‘For I am with you,’ says the Lord, ‘to save you;For I will destroy completely all the nations where I have scattered you,But I will not destroy you completely.But I will judge and discipline you fairlyAnd will by no means regard you as guiltless and leave you unpunished.’

For thus says the Lord,“Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,And shout for the first and foremost of the nations [the chosen people, Israel];Proclaim, give praise and say,‘O Lord save Your people,The remnant of Israel!’

Hear the word of the Lord, O you nations,And declare it in the isles and coastlands far away,And say, “He who scattered Israel will gather himAnd will keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.”

Jerusalem will be to Me a name of joy, praise and glory before all the nations of the earth which will hear of all the good that I do for it, and they shall fear and tremble because of all the good and all the peace (prosperity, security, stability) that I provide for it.’

“Take a scroll [of parchment] and write on it all the words which I have spoken to you concerning Israel and Judah, and all the nations, from the day I [first] spoke to you in the days of [King] Josiah until this day.

But Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces took all the remnant of Judah who had returned to live in the land of Judah from all the nations to which they had been driven—

Why do you [deliberately] provoke Me to anger with the works (idols) of your hands, burning sacrifices and incense to [make-believe] gods in the land of Egypt, where you [of your own accord] have come to live [as temporary residents], that you might be cut off and become a curse and a disgrace [an object of taunts] among all the nations of the earth?

The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning the [Gentile] nations.

The nations have heard of your disgrace and shame,And your cry [of distress] has filled the earth.For warrior has stumbled against warrior,And both of them have fallen together.

“Do not fear, O Jacob My servant,” says the Lord,“For I am with you.For I will make a full and complete end of all the nationsTo which I have driven you;Yet I will not make a full end of you.But I will discipline and correct you appropriatelyAnd by no means will I declare you guiltless or leave you unpunished.”

“Show sympathy for him, all you [nations] who are around him,And all you [distant nations] who know his name;Say, ‘How has the mighty scepter [of national power] been broken,And the splendid staff [of glory]!’

I have heard a report from the Lord,And a messenger has been sent to the nations, saying,“Gather together and come against her,And rise up for the battle.”

“For behold, [Edom] I have made you small among the nationsAnd despised among men.

“Declare among the nations.Lift up a signal [to spread the news]—publish and proclaim it,Do not conceal it; say,‘Babylon has been taken,Bel [the patron god] has been shamed, Marduk (Bel) has been shattered.Babylon’s images have been shamed, her [worthless] idols have been thrown down.’

“For behold, I will stir up and bring up against BabylonAn assembly of great nations from the north country.They will equip themselves and set up the battle lines against her;From there she will be taken captive.Their arrows will be like an expert warriorWho will not return empty-handed.

Your mother [Babylon] shall be greatly shamed;She who gave you birth will be ashamed.Behold, she will be the least of the nations,A wilderness, a parched land and a desert.

“How the hammer of the whole earthIs crushed and broken!How Babylon has becomeA horror [of desolation] among the nations!

The Lord has opened His armoryAnd has brought out [the nations who unknowingly are] the weapons of His indignation (wrath),For it is a work of the Lord God of hostsIn the land of the Chaldeans.

“Their Redeemer is strong; the Lord of hosts is His name.He will most certainly plead their case and defend their causeSo that He may bring rest to their land,But turmoil to the inhabitants of Babylon.

At the shout, “Babylon has been seized!” the earth quakes, and an outcry is heard among the nations.

Babylon has been a golden cup in the Lord’s hand,Intoxicating all the earth.The nations drank her wine;Therefore the nations have gone mad.

“You [Cyrus of Persia, soon to conquer Babylon] are My battle-axe and weapon of war—For with you I shatter nations,With you I destroy kingdoms.

Lift up a signal in the land [to spread the news]!Blow the trumpet among the nations!Dedicate the nations [for war] against her;Call against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz.Appoint a marshal against her;Cause the horses to come up like bristly locusts [with their wings not yet released from their cases].

Prepare and dedicate the nations for war against her—The kings of Media,With their governors and commanders,And every land of their dominion.

“How Sheshak (Babylon) has been captured,And the praise of the whole earth been seized!How Babylon has become an astonishing desolation and an object of horror among the nations!

“I will punish and judge Bel [the handmade god] in BabylonAnd take out of his mouth what he has swallowed up [the stolen sacred articles and the captives of Judah and elsewhere].The nations will no longer flow to him.Yes, the wall of Babylon has fallen down!

Thus says the Lord of hosts,“The broad wall of Babylon will be completely overthrown and the foundations razedAnd her high gates will be set on fire;The peoples will labor in vain,And the nations become exhausted [only] for fire [that will destroy their work].”