'Saying' in the Bible

And he named him Noah, saying, “This one will bring us relief from the agonizing labor of our hands, caused by the ground the Lord has cursed.”

On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “I give this land to your offspring, from the brook of Egypt to the Euphrates River:

When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to him, saying, “I am God Almighty. Live in My presence and be blameless.

But the Lord asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh, saying, ‘Can I really have a baby when I’m old?’

They blessed Rebekah, saying to her:Our sister, may you becomethousands upon ten thousands.May your offspring possessthe gates of their enemies.

On that same day Isaac’s slaves came to tell him about the well they had dug, saying to him, “We have found water!”

Yahweh was standing there beside him, saying, “I am Yahweh, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your offspring the land that you are now sleeping on.

Now Jacob heard what Laban’s sons were saying: “Jacob has taken all that was our father’s and has built this wealth from what belonged to our father.”

So the Adullamite returned to Judah, saying, “I couldn’t find her, and furthermore, the men of the place said, ‘There has been no cult prostitute here.’”

Your servant became accountable to my father for the boy, saying, ‘If I do not return him to you, I will always bear the guilt for sinning against you, my father.’

So he blessed them that day with these words:The nation Israel will invoke blessings by you, saying,“May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh,”putting Ephraim before Manasseh.

my father made me take an oath, saying, ‘I am about to die. You must bury me there in the tomb that I made for myself in the land of Canaan.’ Now let me go and bury my father. Then I will return.”

But he said, “You are slackers. Slackers! That is why you are saying, ‘Let us go sacrifice to the Lord.’

Moses said to Pharaoh, “You make the choice rather than me. When should I ask on behalf of you, your officials, and your people, that the frogs be taken away from you and your houses, and remain only in the Nile?”

And the Lord set a time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.”

All these officials of yours will come down to me and bow before me, saying: Leave, you and all the people who follow you. After that, I will leave.’” And he left Pharaoh’s presence in fierce anger.

Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, because Joseph had made the Israelites swear a solemn oath, saying, “God will certainly come to your aid; then you must take my bones with you from this place.”

He named the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites complained, and because they tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

The Lord spoke to Moses: “Go, leave here, you and the people you brought up from the land of Egypt, to the land I promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying: I will give it to your offspring.

They got up early the next morning and went up the ridge of the hill country, saying, “Let’s go to the place the Lord promised, for we were wrong.”

The next day the entire Israelite community complained about Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the Lord’s people!”

Across the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses began to explain this law, saying:

Where can we go? Our brothers have discouraged us, saying: The people are larger and taller than we are; the cities are large, fortified to the heavens. We also saw the descendants of the Anakim there.’

“So I sent messengers with an offer of peace to Sihon king of Heshbon from the Wilderness of Kedemoth, saying,

“If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you embrace, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, ‘Let us go and worship other gods’—which neither you nor your fathers have known,

and accuses her of shameful conduct, and gives her a bad name, saying, ‘I married this woman and was intimate with her, but I didn’t find any evidence of her virginity,’

He has accused her of shameful conduct, saying: “I didn’t find any evidence of your daughter’s virginity,” but here is the evidence of my daughter’s virginity.’ They will spread out the cloth before the city elders.

You are to respond by saying in the presence of the Lord your God:My father was a wandering Aramean. He went down to Egypt with a few people and lived there. There he became a great, powerful, and populous nation.

saying, “I am now 120 years old; I can no longer act as your leader. The Lord has told me, ‘You will not cross this Jordan.’

Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two men as spies from the Acacia Grove, saying, “Go and scout the land, especially Jericho.” So they left, and they came to the house of a woman, a prostitute named Rahab, and stayed there.

Therefore Adoni-zedek king of Jerusalem sent word to Hoham king of Hebron, Piram king of Jarmuth, Japhia king of Lachish, and Debir king of Eglon, saying,

They came before Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders, saying, “The Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our male relatives.” So they gave them an inheritance among their father’s brothers, in keeping with the Lord’s instruction.

As the men prepared to go, Joshua commanded them to write down a description of the land, saying, “Go and survey the land, write a description of it, and return to me. I will then cast lots for you here in Shiloh in the presence of the Lord.”

That day, Gideon’s father called him Jerubbaal, saying, “Let Baal plead his case with him,” because he tore down his altar.

Then he went to the men of Succoth and said, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna. You taunted me about them, saying, ‘Are Zebah and Zalmunna now in your power that we should give bread to your exhausted men?’”

Abimelech son of Jerubbaal went to his mother’s brothers at Shechem and spoke to them and to all his maternal grandfather’s clan, saying,

So he sent messengers secretly to Abimelech, saying, “Look, Gaal son of Ebed, with his brothers, have come to Shechem and are turning the city against you.

so they cried out to the Lord, saying, “We have sinned against You. We have abandoned our God and worshiped the Baals.”

Jephthah sent messengers to the king of the Ammonites, saying, “What do you have against me that you have come to fight against me in my land?”

Israel sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Please let us travel through your land,’ but the king of Edom would not listen. They also sent messengers to the king of Moab, but he refused. So Israel stayed in Kadesh.

Then the tribes of Israel sent men throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What is this outrage that has occurred among you?

She named the boy Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel,” referring to the capture of the ark of God and to the deaths of her father-in-law and her husband.

They sent messengers to the residents of Kiriath-jearim, saying, “The Philistines have returned the ark of the Lord. Come down and get it.”

Then a man who was from there asked, “And who is their father?”As a result, “Is Saul also among the prophets?” became a popular saying.

Jonathan attacked the Philistine garrison that was in Geba, and the Philistines heard about it. So Saul blew the ram’s horn throughout the land saying, “Let the Hebrews hear!”

Then Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the Lord hold David’s enemies accountable.”

saying, “Don’t be afraid, for my father Saul will never lay a hand on you. You yourself will be king over Israel, and I’ll be your second-in-command. Even my father Saul knows it is true.”

Then a messenger came to Saul saying, “Come quickly, because the Philistines have raided the land!”

When David finished saying these things to him, Saul replied, “Is that your voice, David my son?” Then Saul wept aloud

Then the Ziphites came to Saul at Gibeah saying, “David is hiding on the hill of Hachilah opposite Jeshimon.”

Now, may my lord the king please hear the words of his servant: If it is the Lord who has incited you against me, then may He accept an offering. But if it is people, may they be cursed in the presence of the Lord, for today they have driven me away from sharing in the inheritance of the Lord saying, ‘Go and worship other gods.’

He refused, saying, “I won’t eat,” but when his servants and the woman urged him, he listened to them. He got up off the ground and sat on the bed.

When David came to Ziklag, he sent some of the plunder to his friends, the elders of Judah, saying, “Here is a gift for you from the plunder of the Lord’s enemies.”

For David had said to the Amalekite, “Your blood is on your own head because your own mouth testified against you by saying, ‘I killed the Lord’s anointed.’”

For your servant made a vow when I lived in Geshur of Aram, saying: If the Lord really brings me back to Jerusalem, I will worship the Lord in Hebron.”

One of Joab’s young men had stood over Amasa saying, “Whoever favors Joab and whoever is for David, follow Joab!”

Adonijah son of Haggith kept exalting himself, saying, “I will be king!” He prepared chariots, cavalry, and 50 men to run ahead of him.

But his father had never once reprimanded him by saying, “Why do you act this way?” In addition, he was quite handsome and was born after Absalom.

For today he went down and lavishly sacrificed oxen, fattened cattle, and sheep. He invited all the sons of the king, the commanders of the army, and Abiathar the priest. And look! They’re eating and drinking in his presence, and they’re saying, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’

King David responded by saying, “Call in Bathsheba for me.” So she came into the king’s presence and stood before him.

“The king’s servants have also gone to congratulate our lord King David, saying, ‘May your God make the name of Solomon more well known than your name, and may He make his throne greater than your throne.’ Then the king bowed in worship on his bed.

It was reported to Solomon: “Look, Adonijah fears King Solomon, and he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon first swear to me that he will not kill his servant with the sword.’”

So the king summoned Shimei and said to him, “Didn’t I make you swear by the Lord and warn you, saying, ‘On the day you leave and go anywhere else, know for sure that you will certainly die’? And you said to me, ‘The sentence is fair; I will obey.’

Then Hiram sent a reply to Solomon, saying, “I have heard your message; I will do everything you want regarding the cedar and cypress timber.

So Asa withdrew all the silver and gold that remained in the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and the treasuries of the royal palace and put it into the hands of his servants. Then King Asa sent them to Ben-hadad son of Tabrimmon son of Hezion king of Aram who lived in Damascus, saying,

So they took the bull that he gave them, prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “Baal, answer us!” But there was no sound; no one answered. Then they danced, hobbling around the altar they had made.

Elijah took 12 stones—according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Israel will be your name”—

So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “May the gods punish me and do so severely if I don’t make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow!”

The messengers then returned and said, “This is what Ben-hadad says: ‘I have sent messengers to you, saying: You are to give me your silver, your gold, your wives, and your children.

The young men of the provincial leaders marched out first. Then Ben-hadad sent out scouts, and they reported to him, saying, “Men are marching out of Samaria.”

So Ahab spoke to Naboth, saying, “Give me your vineyard so I can have it for a vegetable garden, since it is right next to my palace. I will give you a better vineyard in its place, or if you prefer, I will give you its value in silver.”

Then seat two wicked men opposite him and have them testify against him, saying, “You have cursed God and the king!” Then take him out and stone him to death.

The two wicked men came in and sat opposite him. Then the wicked men testified against Naboth in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth has cursed God and the king!” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death with stones.

And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab to march up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ So one was saying this and another was saying that.

But Naaman got angry and left, saying, “I was telling myself: He will surely come out, stand and call on the name of Yahweh his God, and will wave his hand over the spot and cure the skin disease.

The messengers took two chariots with horses, and the king sent them after the Aramean army, saying, “Go and see.”

The king had been speaking to Gehazi, the attendant of the man of God, saying, “Tell me all the great things Elisha has done.”

When the king asked the woman, she told him the story. So the king appointed a court official for her, saying, “Restore all that was hers, along with all the income from the field from the day she left the country until now.”

Since Ahab had 70 sons in Samaria, Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria to the rulers of Jezreel, to the elders, and to the guardians of Ahab’s sons, saying:

Then Jehu wrote them a second letter, saying: If you are on my side, and if you will obey me, bring me the heads of your master’s sons at this time tomorrow at Jezreel. All 70 of the king’s sons were being cared for by the city’s prominent men.

Amaziah then sent messengers to Jehoash son of Jehoahaz, son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, “Come, let us meet face to face.”

King Jehoash of Israel sent word to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, “The thistle that was in Lebanon once sent a message to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, ‘Give your daughter to my son as a wife.’ Then a wild animal that was in Lebanon passed by and trampled the thistle.

So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, saying, “I am your servant and your son. March up and save me from the power of the king of Aram and of the king of Israel, who are rising up against me.”

Still, the Lord warned Israel and Judah through every prophet and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep My commands and statutes according to all the law I commanded your ancestors and sent to you through My servants the prophets.”

The settlers spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, “The nations that you have deported and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the requirements of the God of the land. Therefore He has sent lions among them that are killing them because the people don’t know the requirements of the God of the land.”

So Hezekiah king of Judah sent word to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “I have done wrong; withdraw from me. Whatever you demand from me, I will pay.” The king of Assyria demanded 11 tons of silver and one ton of gold from King Hezekiah of Judah.

Suppose you say to me: We trust in the Lord our God. Isn’t He the One whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem: You must worship at this altar in Jerusalem?’

Don’t let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the Lord by saying: Certainly the Lord will deliver us! This city will not be handed over to the king of Assyria.’

until I come and take you away to a land like your own land—a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a land of olive trees and honey—so that you may live and not die. But don’t listen to Hezekiah when he misleads you, saying: The Lord will deliver us.

The king had heard this about Tirhakah king of Cush: “Look, he has set out to fight against you.” So he again sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,

The Lord spoke through His servants the prophets, saying,

In the eighteenth year of King Josiah, the king sent the court secretary Shaphan son of Azaliah, son of Meshullam, to the Lord’s temple, saying,

Let Your name be confirmed and magnified forever in the saying, “Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel, is God over Israel.” May the house of Your servant David be established before You.

and when they come to their sensesin the land where they were deportedand repent and petition You in their captors’ land,saying: “We have sinned and done wrong;we have been wicked,”

So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, just as the king had ordered, saying, “Return to me on the third day.”

and spoke to them according to the young men’s advice, saying, “My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to it; my father disciplined you with whips, but I, with barbed whips.”

“And now you are saying you can assert yourselves against the Lord’s kingdom, which is in the hand of one of David’s sons. You are a vast number and have with you the golden calves that Jeroboam made for you as gods.

So Asa brought out the silver and gold from the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and the royal palace and sent it to Aram’s King Ben-hadad, who lived in Damascus, saying,

And all the prophets were prophesying the same, saying, “March up to Ramoth-gilead and succeed, for the Lord will hand it over to the king.”

And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab king of Israel to march up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ So one was saying this and another was saying that.