'God' in the Bible

Every day, from the first day to the last, Ezra read from the Book of the Law of God. They celebrated the feast for seven days; on the eighth day there was a [closing] solemn assembly in accordance with the ordinance.

While they stood in their places, they read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a fourth of the day and for another fourth [of it] they confessed [their sins] and worshiped the Lord their God.

On the platform of the Levites stood Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani, and they called out with a loud voice to the Lord their God.

Then the Levites—Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah—said, “Stand up and bless (praise, honor) the Lord your God from everlasting to everlasting.May Your glorious name be blessedAnd exalted above all blessing and praise.”

“You are the Lord God,Who chose AbramAnd brought him out of Ur of the Chaldees,And gave him the name Abraham.

“They refused to listen and obey,And did not remember Your wondrous acts which You had performed among them;So they stiffened their necks and [in their rebellion] appointed a leader in order to return them to slavery in Egypt.But You are a God of forgiveness,Gracious and merciful and compassionate,Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness;And You did not abandon them.

“Even when they had made for themselvesA calf of cast metalAnd said, ‘This is your godWho brought you up from Egypt,’And committed great [and contemptible] blasphemies,

“Yet in Your great compassion You did not utterly destroy them or abandon them,For You are a gracious and merciful God.

“Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who keeps the covenant and lovingkindness,Do not let all the hardship seem insignificant before You,Which has come upon us, our kings, our princes, our priests, our prophets, our fathers and on all Your people,Since the time of the kings of Assyria to this day.

Now the rest of the people—the priests, the Levites, the gatekeepers, the singers, the temple servants, and all those who had separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the Law of God, their wives, their sons, their daughters, all those who had knowledge and understanding—

are joining with their fellow Israelites, their nobles, and are taking on themselves a curse and an oath to walk in God’s Law, which was given through Moses the servant of God, and to keep and to observe all the commandments of God our Lord, and His ordinances and statutes:

Also we pledge ourselves to contribute yearly one third of a shekel for the service [expenses] of the house of our God:

for the showbread; for the continual grain offerings and the continual burnt offerings; [for the offerings on] the Sabbaths, the New Moons, the [feasts at] appointed times; for the holy things, for the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel; and for all the work of the house of our God.

We have also cast lots—the priests, the Levites, and the people—for [contributing] the supply of wood, to bring it to the house of our God, according to our fathers’ households, at set times annually, to burn on the altar of the Lord our God, as it is written in the Law;

as well as the firstborn of our sons and of our cattle, as is written in the Law, and the firstborn of our herds and flocks, to bring to the house of our God, for the priests who minister in the house of our God.

We will bring the first [and best] of our dough, our contributions, the fruit of every tree, the new wine and the [olive] oil to the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God, and the tithe of our ground to the Levites, for the Levites are the ones who receive the tithes in all the rural towns.

The priest, the son of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when they receive tithes, and they shall bring one-tenth of the tithes up to the house of our God, to the chambers of the storehouse.

For the Israelites and the sons of Levi shall bring the offering of the grain, the new wine, and the oil to the chambers; the utensils of the sanctuary, the priests who are ministering, the gatekeepers, and the singers are there. In this manner, we will not neglect the house of our God.

Seraiah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the leader of the house of God,

and Shabbethai and Jozabad, from the leaders of the Levites, who were in charge of the outside work of the house of God;

Then the two choirs stood in the house of God. So did I, and half of the officials with me;

Also on that day they offered great sacrifices and rejoiced because God had given them great joy; the women and children also rejoiced, so that the joy of Jerusalem was heard from far away.

And they performed the worship of their God and the service of purification; so did the singers and gatekeepers, as David and his son Solomon had commanded.

For in the days of David and Asaph, in ancient times, there were leaders of singers, songs of praise and hymns of thanksgiving to God.

On that day they read aloud from the book of Moses so that the people could hear [its words], and in it was found written that no Ammonite or Moabite could ever enter the assembly of God,

because they did not meet the Israelites with bread and water, but hired Balaam against them to curse them. Yet our God turned the curse into a blessing.

Now prior to this, Eliashib the priest, who was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, and was related to Tobiah [our adversary],

and I came to Jerusalem. Then I discovered the evil [thing] that Eliashib had done for Tobiah by preparing a room for him in the courtyards of the house of God.

Then I gave an order, and they cleaned the rooms; and I put back there the utensils of the house of God with the grain offerings and the frankincense.

Then I reprimanded the officials and said, “Why is the house of God neglected?” So I gathered the Levites and singers together and restored them at their posts.

O my God, remember me concerning this and do not wipe out my loyal deeds and kindnesses which I have done for the house of my God and for its services.

Did your fathers (ancestors) not do the same, and did our God not bring all this trouble on us and on this city? Yet you are adding to the wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.”

And I commanded the Levites to purify themselves and come and guard the gates to keep the Sabbath day holy. O my God, remember me concerning this also and have compassion on me according to the greatness of Your lovingkindness.

So I contended with them and cursed them and struck some of them and pulled out their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, “You shall not give your daughters [in marriage] to their sons, nor take [any of] their daughters for your sons or for yourselves.

Did not Solomon king of Israel sin [greatly against God] regarding these things? Yet among the many nations there was no king like him. He was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel; nevertheless the foreign women caused even him to sin [by turning to other gods and so, judged by God, he lost his kingdom].

Do we then hear about you that you have done all this great evil, acting unfaithfully against our God by marrying foreign (pagan) women?”

O my God, remember them, because they have defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and the Levites.

and I provided for the wood offering at appointed times and for the first fruits. O my God, [please] remember me for good [and imprint me on Your heart].

Esther had not revealed her family or her people [that is, her Jewish background], just as Mordecai had instructed her; for Esther did what Mordecai told her just as when she was under his care.

There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God [with reverence] and abstained from and turned away from evil [because he honored God].

When the days of their feasting were over, Job would send [for them] and consecrate them, rising early in the morning and offering burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, “It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” Job did this at all [such] times.

Now there was a day when the sons of God (angels) came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan (adversary, accuser) also came among them.

The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered and reflected on My servant Job? For there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God [with reverence] and abstains from and turns away from evil [because he honors God].”

Then Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing?

While he was still speaking, another [messenger] also came and said, “The fire of God (lightning) has fallen from the heavens and has burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.”

Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God.

Again there was a day when the sons of God (angels) came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan (adversary, accuser) also came among them to present himself before the Lord.

The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered and reflected on My servant Job? For there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God [with reverence] and abstains from and turns away from evil [because he honors God]. And still he maintains and holds tightly to his integrity, although you incited Me against him to destroy him without cause.”

Then his wife said to him, “Do you still cling to your integrity [and your faith and trust in God, without blaming Him]? Curse God and die!”

But he said to her, “You speak as one of the [spiritually] foolish women speaks [ignorant and oblivious to God’s will]. Shall we indeed accept [only] good from God and not [also] accept adversity and disaster?” In [spite of] all this Job did not sin with [words from] his lips.

“May that day be darkness;Let God above not care about it,Nor light shine on it.

“Why is the light of day given to a man whose way is hidden,And whom God has hedged in?

“Is not your fear of God your confidence,And [is not] the integrity and uprightness of your ways your hope?

“Remember now, who, being innocent, ever perished?Or where [and in what circumstances] were those upright and in right standing with God destroyed?

“By the breath of God they perish,And by the blast of His anger they are consumed.

‘Can [mortal] man be just before God or be more righteous than He?Can a man be pure before his Maker or be more cleansed than He?

“As for me, I would seek God and inquire of Him,And I would commit my cause to God;

“But God saves [the innocent] from the sword of the mouth of the devious,And the poor from the hand of the mighty.

“Behold, how happy and fortunate is the man whom God reproves,So do not despise or reject the discipline of the Almighty [subjecting you to trial and suffering].

Because the arrows of the Almighty are within me,My spirit drinks their poison;The terrors of God are arrayed against me.

“Oh that my request would come to pass,And that God would grant me the thing that I long for!

“I wish that it would please God to crush me,That He would let loose His hand and cut me off.

“Does God pervert justice?Or does the Almighty pervert righteousness?

“If you would [diligently] seek GodAnd implore the compassion and favor of the Almighty,

“So are the paths of all who forget God;And the hope of the godless will perish,

“If he is snatched from his place [in the garden],Then his place will forget him, saying, ‘I have never seen you.’

“Behold, God will not reject a man of integrity,Nor will He strengthen or support evildoers.

“Yes, I know it is true.But how can a mortal man be right before God?

“God is wise in heart and mighty in strength;Who has [ever] defied or challenged Him and remained unharmed?

“It is God who removes the mountains, and they do not know it,When He overturns them in His anger;

“God will not turn back His anger;The [proud] helpers of Rahab [the arrogant monster of the sea] bow under Him.

“It is all one; therefore I say,‘He destroys [both] the blameless and the wicked.’

“The earth is given into the hands of the wicked;He covers the faces of its judges [so that they are blind to justice].If it is not He, then who is it [that is responsible for all this injustice]?

“For God is not a [mere] man, as I am, that I may answer Him,That we may go to court and judgment together.

“I will say to God, ‘Do not condemn me [and declare me guilty]!Show me why You contend and argue and struggle with me.

“For you have said, ‘My teaching (doctrine) [that God knowingly afflicts the righteous] is pure,And I am innocent in your eyes.’

“But oh, that God would speak,And open His lips [to speak] against you,

And [that He would] show you the secrets of wisdom!For sound wisdom has two sides.Know therefore that God forgets a part of your wickedness and guilt.

“Can you discover the depths of God?Can you [by searching] discover the limits of the Almighty [ascend to His heights, extend to His widths, and comprehend His infinite perfection]?

“If God passes by or arrests,Or calls an assembly [of judgment], who can restrain Him?[If He is against a man, who can call Him to account for it?]

“If you direct your heart [on the right path]And stretch out your hands to Him,

“But the eyes of the wicked will fail,And they will not escape [the justice of God];And their hope is to breathe their last [and die].”

“I am a joke to my friends;I, one whom God answered when he called upon Him—A just and blameless man is a joke [and laughed to scorn].

“The tents of the destroyers prosper;And those who provoke God are [apparently] secure,Whom God brings into their power.

“Now ask the animals, and let them teach you [that God does not deal with His creatures according to their character];And ask the birds of the air, and let them tell you;

“But [only] with Him are [perfect] wisdom and might;He [alone] has [true] counsel and understanding.

“But I wish to speak to the Almighty,And I desire to argue with God.

“Will you speak what is unjust for God,And speak what is deceitful for Him?

“Will you show partiality for Him [and be unjust to me so that you may gain favor with Him]?Will you contend and plead for God?

“[O God] turn your gaze from him so that he may rest,Until he fulfills his day [on earth] like a hired man.

“Indeed, you are doing away with fear,And you are diminishing meditation before God.

“Do you hear the secret counsel of God,And do you limit [the possession of] wisdom to yourself?

That you should turn your spirit against GodAnd let such words [as you have spoken] go out of your mouth?

“Behold, God puts no trust in His holy ones (angels);Indeed, the heavens are not pure in His sight—

“Because he has stretched out his hand against GodAnd behaves arrogantly against the Almighty,

“He will not escape from darkness [fleeing disaster];The flame [of God’s wrath] will wither his branch,And by the blast of His mouth he will go away.

“But now God has exhausted me.You [O Lord] have destroyed all my family and my household.

“God hands me over to criminalsAnd tosses me [headlong] into the hands of the wicked.

“My friends are scoffers [who ridicule];My eye pours out tears to God.

“Oh, that a man would mediate and plead with God [for me]Just as a man [mediates and pleads] with his neighbor and friend.