Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

Up! Lift up the boy, and hold him fast with your hand, for I will make him into a great nation.”

Making Bricks Without Straw

Afterward Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.’”

Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant.

For if you refuse to let them go and still hold them,

Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old. We will go with our sons and daughters and with our flocks and herds, for we must hold a feast to the Lord.”

On the first day you shall hold a holy assembly, and on the seventh day a holy assembly. No work shall be done on those days. But what everyone needs to eat, that alone may be prepared by you.

“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

You shall therefore separate the clean beast from the unclean, and the unclean bird from the clean. You shall not make yourselves detestable by beast or by bird or by anything with which the ground crawls, which I have set apart for you to hold unclean.

And you shall make a proclamation on the same day. You shall hold a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work. It is a statute forever in all your dwelling places throughout your generations.

For seven days you shall present food offerings to the Lord. On the eighth day you shall hold a holy convocation and present a food offering to the Lord. It is a solemn assembly; you shall not do any ordinary work.

The inheritance of the people of Israel shall not be transferred from one tribe to another, for every one of the people of Israel shall hold on to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers.

So no inheritance shall be transferred from one tribe to another, for each of the tribes of the people of Israel shall hold on to its own inheritance.’”

“‘You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

So I took hold of the two tablets and threw them out of my two hands and broke them before your eyes.

You shall fear the Lord your God. You shall serve him and hold fast to him, and by his name you shall swear.

You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him.

Property Boundaries

“You shall not move your neighbor's landmark, which the men of old have set, in the inheritance that you will hold in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess.

then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gate of the place where he lives,

if I sharpen my flashing sword and my hand takes hold on judgment, I will take vengeance on my adversaries and will repay those who hate me.

But the olive tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my abundance, by which gods and men are honored, and go hold sway over the trees?’

But the fig tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my sweetness and my good fruit and go hold sway over the trees?’

But the vine said to them, ‘Shall I leave my wine that cheers God and men and go hold sway over the trees?’

But Samson lay till midnight, and at midnight he arose and took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two posts, and pulled them up, bar and all, and put them on his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that is in front of Hebron.

And when he entered his house, he took a knife, and taking hold of his concubine he divided her, limb by limb, into twelve pieces, and sent her throughout all the territory of Israel.

So I took hold of my concubine and cut her in pieces and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel, for they have committed abomination and outrage in Israel.

And he said, “Bring the garment you are wearing and hold it out.” So she held it, and he measured out six measures of barley and put it on her. Then she went into the city.

Then David took hold of his clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him.

And when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled.

But when she brought them near him to eat, he took hold of her and said to her, “Come, lie with me, my sister.”

And her brother Absalom said to her, “Has Amnon your brother been with you? Now hold your peace, my sister. He is your brother; do not take this to heart.” So Tamar lived, a desolate woman, in her brother Absalom's house.

And whenever a man came near to pay homage to him, he would put out his hand and take hold of him and kiss him.

and said to the king, “Let not my lord hold me guilty or remember how your servant did wrong on the day my lord the king left Jerusalem. Do not let the king take it to heart.

And Adonijah feared Solomon. So he arose and went and took hold of the horns of the altar.

Then it was told Solomon, “Behold, Adonijah fears King Solomon, for behold, he has laid hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon swear to me first that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.’”

Now therefore do not hold him guiltless, for you are a wise man. You will know what you ought to do to him, and you shall bring his gray head down with blood to Sheol.”

When the news came to Joab—for Joab had supported Adonijah although he had not supported Absalom—Joab fled to the tent of the Lord and caught hold of the horns of the altar.

Then they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the Lord their God who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore the Lord has brought all this disaster on them.’”

Then Ahijah laid hold of the new garment that was on him, and tore it into twelve pieces.

And Elisha saw it and he cried, “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” And he saw him no more. Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them in two pieces.

And when she came to the mountain to the man of God, she caught hold of his feet. And Gehazi came to push her away. But the man of God said, “Leave her alone, for she is in bitter distress, and the Lord has hidden it from me and has not told me.”

Elisha was sitting in his house, and the elders were sitting with him. Now the king had dispatched a man from his presence, but before the messenger arrived Elisha said to the elders, “Do you see how this murderer has sent to take off my head? Look, when the messenger comes, shut the door and hold the door fast against him. Is not the sound of his master's feet behind him?”

Pul the king of Assyria came against the land, and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that he might help him to confirm his hold on the royal power.

And when they came to the threshing floor of Chidon, Uzzah put out his hand to take hold of the ark, for the oxen stumbled.

And Solomon consecrated the middle of the court that was before the house of the Lord, for there he offered the burnt offering and the fat of the peace offerings, because the bronze altar Solomon had made could not hold the burnt offering and the grain offering and the fat.

Then they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore he has brought all this disaster on them.’”

You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.”

But now for a brief moment favor has been shown by the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant and to give us a secure hold within his holy place, that our God may brighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our slavery.

“Go, gather all the Jews to be found in Susa, and hold a fast on my behalf, and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king, though it is against the law, and if I perish, I perish.”

Therefore the Jews of the villages, who live in the rural towns, hold the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a day for gladness and feasting, as a holiday, and as a day on which they send gifts of food to one another.

His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.

Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.”

He leans against his house, but it does not stand; he lays hold of it, but it does not endure.

I become afraid of all my suffering, for I know you will not hold me innocent.

A trap seizes him by the heel; a snare lays hold of him.

I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go; my heart does not reproach me for any of my days.

“And now my soul is poured out within me; days of affliction have taken hold of me.

that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth, and the wicked be shaken out of it?

The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot.

Take hold of shield and buckler and rise for my help!

“Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear to my cry; hold not your peace at my tears! For I am a sojourner with you, a guest, like all my fathers.

Trembling took hold of them there, anguish as of a woman in labor.

But you, O Lord, laugh at them; you hold all the nations in derision.

They hold fast to their evil purpose; they talk of laying snares secretly, thinking, “Who can see them?”

Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand.

Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand? Take it from the fold of your garment and destroy them!

You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.

O God, Do Not Keep Silence

A Song. A Psalm of Asaph.

O God, do not keep silence; do not hold your peace or be still, O God!

For your servants hold her stones dear and have pity on her dust.

The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish.

I hold back my feet from every evil way, in order to keep your word.

I hold my life in my hand continually, but I do not forget your law.

Hold me up, that I may be safe and have regard for your statutes continually!

even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.

my son, do not walk in the way with them; hold back your foot from their paths,

She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called blessed.

he taught me and said to me, “Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments, and live.

Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life.

Take a man's garment when he has put up security for a stranger, and hold it in pledge when he puts up security for foreigners.

All day long he craves and craves, but the righteous gives and does not hold back.

Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.

Take a man's garment when he has put up security for a stranger, and hold it in pledge when he puts up security for an adulteress.

She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle.

I searched with my heart how to cheer my body with wine—my heart still guiding me with wisdom—and how to lay hold on folly, till I might see what was good for the children of man to do under heaven during the few days of their life.

It is good that you should take hold of this, and from that withhold not your hand, for the one who fears God shall come out from both of them.

I say I will climb the palm tree and lay hold of its fruit. Oh may your breasts be like clusters of the vine, and the scent of your breath like apples,

For a man will take hold of his brother in the house of his father, saying: “You have a cloak; you shall be our leader, and this heap of ruins shall be under your rule”;

And seven women shall take hold of one man in that day, saying, “We will eat our own bread and wear our own clothes, only let us be called by your name; take away our reproach.”

Behold, the Lord will hurl you away violently, O you strong man. He will seize firm hold on you

Or let them lay hold of my protection, let them make peace with me, let them make peace with me.”

He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, who despises the gain of oppressions, who shakes his hands, lest they hold a bribe, who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed and shuts his eyes from looking on evil,

Your cords hang loose; they cannot hold the mast firm in its place or keep the sail spread out. Then prey and spoil in abundance will be divided; even the lame will take the prey.

For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.”

“Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes.

For thus says the Lord: “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold fast my covenant,

True and False Fasting

“Cry aloud; do not hold back; lift up your voice like a trumpet; declare to my people their transgression, to the house of Jacob their sins.

There is no one who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities.

for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.

They lay hold on bow and javelin; they are cruel and have no mercy; the sound of them is like the roaring sea; they ride on horses, set in array as a man for battle, against you, O daughter of Zion!”

We have heard the report of it; our hands fall helpless; anguish has taken hold of us, pain as of a woman in labor.

Why then has this people turned away in perpetual backsliding? They hold fast to deceit; they refuse to return.

For the wound of the daughter of my people is my heart wounded; I mourn, and dismay has taken hold on me.

What will you say when they set as head over you those whom you yourself have taught to be friends to you? Will not pangs take hold of you like those of a woman in labor?

“Thus says the Lord: Stand in the court of the Lord's house, and speak to all the cities of Judah that come to worship in the house of the Lord all the words that I command you to speak to them; do not hold back a word.

And when Jeremiah had finished speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold of him, saying, “You shall die!

The horror you inspire has deceived you, and the pride of your heart, you who live in the clefts of the rock, who hold the height of the hill. Though you make your nest as high as the eagle's, I will bring you down from there, declares the Lord.

Damascus has become feeble, she turned to flee, and panic seized her; anguish and sorrows have taken hold of her, as of a woman in labor.

They lay hold of bow and spear; they are cruel and have no mercy. The sound of them is like the roaring of the sea; they ride on horses, arrayed as a man for battle against you, O daughter of Babylon!

that I may lay hold of the hearts of the house of Israel, who are all estranged from me through their idols.

As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay.

“So you, by the help of your God, return, hold fast to love and justice, and wait continually for your God.”

Draw water for the siege; strengthen your forts; go into the clay; tread the mortar; take hold of the brick mold!

Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’”

He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out?

Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?

But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.”

And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him.

You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”

‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife,

As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.

And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

Marks of the True Christian

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.

and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”

It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.

Only let us hold true to what we have attained.

And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

but test everything; hold fast what is good.

So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.

They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.

Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

but Christ is faithful over God's house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.

For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.

Jesus the Great High Priest

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.

so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.

The Sin of Partiality

My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.

“‘I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.

But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality.

So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.

But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden.

Only hold fast what you have until I come.

I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.

Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea.

Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.