'God' in the Bible

Give thanks to the God of gods,For His lovingkindness endures forever.

Give thanks to the God of heaven,For His lovingkindness (graciousness, mercy, compassion) endures forever.

By the rivers of Babylon,There we [captives] sat down and wept,When we remembered Zion [the city God imprinted on our hearts].

I will give You thanks with all my heart;I sing praises to You before the [pagan] gods.

How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!How vast is the sum of them!

O that You would kill the wicked, O God;Go away from me, therefore, men of bloodshed.

Search me [thoroughly], O God, and know my heart;Test me and know my anxious thoughts;

I said to the Lord, “You are my God;Listen to the voice of my supplications, O Lord.

“O God the Lord, the strength of my salvation,You have covered my head in the day of battle.

For my eyes are toward You, O God, the Lord;In You I take refuge; do not pour out my life nor leave me defenseless.

Teach me to do Your will [so that I may please You],For You are my God;Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.

I will sing a new song to You, O God;Upon a harp of ten strings I will sing praises to You,

How blessed and favored are the people in such circumstance;How blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored] are the people whose God is the Lord!

I will exalt You, my God, O King,And [with gratitude and submissive wonder] I will bless Your name forever and ever.

While I live I will praise the Lord;I will sing praises to my God as long as I live.

How blessed and graciously favored is he whose help is the God of Jacob (Israel),Whose hope is in the Lord his God,

The Lord shall reign forever,Your God, O Zion, to all generations.Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)

Praise the Lord!For it is good to sing praises to our [gracious and majestic] God;Praise is becoming and appropriate.

Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;Sing praises to our God with the lyre,

Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!Praise your God, O Zion!

Let the godly ones exult in glory;Let them sing for joy on their beds.

Let the high praises of God be in their throats,And a two-edged sword in their hands,

Praise the Lord!Praise God in His sanctuary;Praise Him in His mighty heavens.

Then you will understand the [reverent] fear of the Lord [that is, worshiping Him and regarding Him as truly awesome]And discover the knowledge of God.

Who leaves the companion (husband) of her youth,And forgets the covenant of her God.

So you will walk in the way of good men [that is, those of personal integrity, moral courage and honorable character],And keep to the paths of the righteous.

So find favor and high esteemIn the sight of God and man.

I have instructed you in the way of [skillful and godly] wisdom;I have led you in upright paths.

And strangers will be filled with your strengthAnd your hard-earned wealth will go to the house of a foreigner [who does not know God];

My son, be guided by your father’s [God-given] commandment (instruction)And do not reject the teaching of your mother;

When you walk about, they (the godly teachings of your parents) will guide you;When you sleep, they will keep watch over you;And when you awake, they will talk to you.

“All the words of my mouth are in righteousness (upright, in right standing with God);There is nothing contrary to truth or perverted (crooked) in them.

“I, [godly] wisdom, reside with prudence [good judgment, moral courage and astute common sense],And I find knowledge and discretion.

“Riches and honor are with me,Enduring wealth and righteousness (right standing with God).

Give instruction to a wise man and he will become even wiser;Teach a righteous man and he will increase his learning.

For by me (wisdom from God) your days will be multiplied,And years of life shall be increased.

Blessings are on the head of the righteous [the upright, those in right standing with God],But the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

The wages of the righteous [the upright, those in right standing with God] is [a worthwhile, meaningful] life,The income of the wicked, punishment.

The tongue of the righteous is like precious silver (greatly valued);The heart of the wicked is worth little.

The hope of the righteous [those of honorable character and integrity] is joy,But the expectation of the wicked [those who oppose God and ignore His wisdom] comes to nothing.

The mouth of the righteous flows with [skillful and godly] wisdom,But the perverted tongue will be cut out.

Riches will not provide security in the day of wrath and judgment,But righteousness rescues from death.

He who is steadfast in righteousness attains life,But he who pursues evil attains his own death.

The people curse him who holds back grain [when the public needs it],But a blessing [from God and man] is upon the head of him who sells it.

The fruit of the [consistently] righteous is a tree of life,And he who is wise captures and wins souls [for God—he gathers them for eternity].

A man will be commended according to his insight and sound judgment,But the one who is of a perverse mind will be despised.

He who speaks truth [when he testifies] tells what is right,But a false witness utters deceit [in court].

Whoever despises the word and counsel [of God] brings destruction upon himself,But he who [reverently] fears and respects the commandment [of God] will be rewarded.

Adversity pursues sinners,But the [consistently] upright will be rewarded with prosperity.

The wisdom of the sensible is to understand his way,But the foolishness of [shortsighted] fools is deceit.

Fools mock sin [but sin mocks the fools],But among the upright there is good will and the favor and blessing of God.

The backslider in heart will have his fill with his own [rotten] ways,But a good man will be satisfied with his ways [the godly thought and action which his heart pursues and in which he delights].

He who despises his neighbor sins [against God and his fellow man],But happy [blessed and favored by God] is he who is gracious and merciful to the poor.

Righteousness [moral and spiritual integrity and virtuous character] exalts a nation,But sin is a disgrace to any people.

By mercy and lovingkindness and truth [not superficial ritual] wickedness is cleansed from the heart,And by the fear of the Lord one avoids evil.

Better is a little with righteousnessThan great income [gained] with injustice.

It is repulsive [to God and man] for kings to behave wickedly,For a throne is established on righteousness (right standing with God).

He who [willfully] separates himself [from God and man] seeks his own desire,He quarrels against all sound wisdom.

The name of the Lord is a strong tower;The righteous runs to it and is safe and set on high [far above evil].

The spirit (conscience) of man is the lamp of the Lord,Searching and examining all the innermost parts of his being.

Haughty and arrogant eyes and a proud heart,The lamp of the wicked [their self-centered pride], is sin [in the eyes of God].

When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous (the upright, the one in right standing with God),But to the evildoers it is disaster.

He who earnestly seeks righteousness and loyaltyFinds life, righteousness, and honor.

The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice,And he who sires a wise child will have joy in him.

Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous;Do not destroy his resting place;

It is the glory of God to conceal a matter,But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.

Those who set aside the law [of God and man] praise the wicked,But those who keep the law [of God and man] struggle with them.

He who keeps the law [of God and man] is a wise and discerning son,But he who is a companion of gluttons humiliates his father [and himself].

He who turns his ear away from listening to the law [of God and man],Even his prayer is repulsive [to God].

Where there is no vision [no revelation of God and His word], the people are unrestrained;But happy and blessed is he who keeps the law [of God].

Every word of God is tested and refined [like silver];He is a shield to those who trust and take refuge in Him.

So that I will not be full and deny You and say, “Who is the Lord?”Or that I will not be poor and steal,And so profane the name of my God.

What, O my son?And what, O son of my womb?And what [shall I advise you], O son of my vows?

She sees that her gain is good;Her lamp does not go out, but it burns continually through the night [she is prepared for whatever lies ahead].

And I set my mind to seek and explore by [man’s] wisdom all [human activity] that has been done under heaven. It is a miserable business and a burdensome task which God has given the sons of men with which to be busy and distressed.

There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and assure himself that there is good in his labor. Even this, I have seen, is from the hand of God.

For to the person who pleases Him God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting so that he may give to one who pleases God. This too is vanity and chasing after the wind.

I have seen the task which God has given to the sons of men with which to occupy themselves.

He has made everything beautiful and appropriate in its time. He has also planted eternity [a sense of divine purpose] in the human heart [a mysterious longing which nothing under the sun can satisfy, except God]—yet man cannot find out (comprehend, grasp) what God has done (His overall plan) from the beginning to the end.

and also that every man should eat and drink and see and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.

I know that whatever God does, it endures forever; nothing can be added to it nor can anything be taken from it, for God does it so that men will fear and worship Him [with awe-filled reverence, knowing that He is God].

That which is has already been, and that which will be has already been, for God seeks what has passed by [so that history repeats itself].

I said to myself, “God will judge both the righteous and the wicked,” for there is a time [appointed] for every matter and for every deed.

I said to myself regarding the sons of men, “God is surely testing them in order for them to see that [by themselves, without God] they are [only] animals.”

Guard your steps and focus on what you are doing as you go to the house of God and draw near to listen rather than to offer the [careless or irreverent] sacrifice of fools; for they are too ignorant to know they are doing evil.

Do not be hasty with your mouth [speaking careless words or vows] or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter before God. For God is in heaven and you are on earth; therefore let your words be few.

When you make a vow or a pledge to God, do not put off paying it; for God takes no pleasure in fools [who thoughtlessly mock Him]. Pay what you vow.

Do not allow your speech to cause you to sin, and do not say before the messenger (priest) of God that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry because of your voice (words) and destroy the work of your hands?

For in a multitude of dreams and in a flood of words there is worthlessness. Rather [reverently] fear God [and worship Him with awe-filled respect, knowing who He is].

Behold, here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat and drink, and to find enjoyment in all the labor in which he labors under the sun during the few days of his life which God gives him—for this is his [allotted] reward.

Also, every man to whom God has given riches and possessions, He has also given the power and ability to enjoy them and to receive [this as] his [allotted] portion and to rejoice in his labor—this is the gift of God [to him].

For he will not often consider the [troubled] days of his life, because God keeps him occupied and focused on the joy of his heart [and the tranquility of God indwells him].

a man to whom God has given riches and wealth and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God has not given him the power or capacity to enjoy them [all those things which are gifts from God], but a stranger [in whom he has no interest succeeds him and] enjoys them. This is vanity and it is a [cause of] great distress.

Whatever exists has already been named [long ago], and it is known what [a frail being] man is; for he cannot dispute with Him who is mightier than he.

Consider the work of God:Who can make straight what He has bent?

In the day of prosperity be joyful,But in the day of adversity consider thatGod has made the one as well as the other,So that man will not find out anything that will be after him.

It is good that you take hold of one thing (righteousness) and also not let go of the other (wisdom); for the one who fears and worships God [with awe-filled reverence] will come forth with both of them.

I have tested all this with wisdom. I said, “I will be wise [independently of God],” but true wisdom was far from me.

Whatever has been is far off, deeply remote and exceedingly mysterious. Who can discover it [for it is beyond the grasp of man]?

And I discovered that [of all irrational sins none has been so destructive in beguiling one away from God as immoral women for] more bitter than death is the woman whose heart is [composed of] snares and nets, and whose hands are chains. Whoever pleases God will escape from her, but the sinner will be taken captive by her [evil].