Topical Scripture

dead / death

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The whole span of Abraham's life was one hundred and seventy-five years. Then he breathed his last, dying at a ripe old age, grown old after a full life; and he was taken to his kinsmen. His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron, son of Zohar the Hittite, which faces Mamre, the field that Abraham had bought from the Hittites; there he was buried next to his wife Sarah. After the death of Abraham, God blessed his son Isaac, who made his home near Beer-lahai-roi. [GEN 25:7-11]

You shall keep away from anything dishonest. The innocent and the just you shall not put to death, nor shall you acquit the guilty. [EX 23:7]

"Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children for their fathers; only for his own guilt shall a man be put to death." [DEUT 24:16]

"Here, then, I have today set before you life and prosperity, death and doom. If you obey the commandments of the LORD, your God, which I enjoin on you today, loving him, and walking in his ways, and keeping his commandments, statutes and decrees, you will live and grow numerous, and the LORD, your God, will bless you in the land you are entering to occupy. If, however, you turn away your hearts and will not listen, but are led astray and adore and serve other gods, I tell you now that you will certainly perish; you will not have a long life on the land which you are crossing the Jordan to enter and occupy. I call heaven and earth today to witness against you: I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live, by loving the LORD, your God, heeding his voice, and holding fast to him. For that will mean life for you, a long life for you to live on the land which the LORD swore he would give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." [DEUT 30:15-20]

"For I know that after my death you are sure to become corrupt and to turn aside from the way along which I directed you, so that evil will befall you in some future age because you have done evil in the LORD'S sight, and provoked him by your deeds." [DEUT 31:29]

"Learn then that I, I alone, am God, and there is no god besides me. It is I who bring both death and life, I who inflict wounds and heal them, and from my hand there is no rescue." [DEUT 32:39]

"May he be blessed by the LORD, who is ever merciful to the living and to the dead," Naomi exclaimed to her daughter-in-law [Taken from RUTH 2:20]

"The LORD puts to death and gives life; he casts down to the nether world; he raises up again." [1SAM 2:6]

"No, my sons, you must not do these things! It is not a good report that I hear the people of the LORD spreading about you. If a man sins against another man, one can intercede for him with the LORD; but if a man sins against the LORD, who can intercede for him?" But they disregarded their father's warning, since the LORD had decided on their death. [1SAM 2:24-25]

"But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me." [2SAM 12:23]

"The breakers of death surged round about me, the floods of perdition overwhelmed me; The cords of the nether world enmeshed me, the snares of death overtook me. In my distress I called upon the LORD and cried out to my God; From his temple he heard my voice, and my cry reached his ears." [2SAM 22:5-7]

When the time of David's death drew near, he gave these instructions to his son Solomon: "I am going the way of all mankind. Take courage and be a man. Keep the mandate of the LORD, your God, following his ways and observing his statutes, commands, ordinances, and decrees as they are written in the law of Moses, that you may succeed in whatever you do, wherever you turn, and the LORD may fulfill the promise he made on my behalf when he said, 'If your sons so conduct themselves that they remain faithful to me with their whole heart and with their whole soul, you shall always have someone of your line on the throne of Israel.'..." [Taken from 1KGS 2:1-4]

Elijah was afraid and fled for his life, going to Beer-sheba of Judah. He left his servant there and went a day's journey into the desert, until he came to a broom tree and sat beneath it. He prayed for death: "This is enough, O LORD! Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers." He lay down and fell asleep under the broom tree, but then an angel touched him and ordered him to get up and eat. [1KGS 19:3-5]

When Elisha reached the house, he found the boy lying dead. He went in, closed the door on them both, and prayed to the LORD. Then he lay upon the child on the bed, placing his mouth upon the child's mouth, his eyes upon the eyes, and his hands upon the hands. As Elisha stretched himself over the child, the body became warm. He arose, paced up and down the room, and then once more lay down upon the boy, who now sneezed seven times and opened his eyes. [2KGS 4:32-35]

Once some people were burying a man, when suddenly they spied such a raiding band. So they cast the dead man into the grave of Elisha, and everyone went off. But when the man came in contact with the bones of Elisha, he came back to life and rose to his feet. [2KGS 13:21]

Almsgiving frees one from death, and keeps one from going into the dark abode. [TOBIT 4:10]

Tobiah objected, however: "Brother Azariah, I have heard that this woman has already been married seven times, and that her husbands died in their bridal chambers. On the very night they approached her, they dropped dead. And I have heard it said that it was a demon who killed them." [TOBIT 6:14]

Prayer and fasting are good, but better than either is almsgiving accompanied by righteousness. A little with righteousness is better than abundance with wickedness. It is better to give alms than to store up gold; for almsgiving saves one from death and expiates every sin. Those who regularly give alms shall enjoy a full life; but those habitually guilty of sin are their own worst enemies. [TOBIT 12:8-10]

I can now tell you that when you, Tobit, and Sarah prayed, it was I who presented and read the record of your prayer before the Glory of the Lord; and I did the same thing when you used to bury the dead. When you did not hesitate to get up and leave your dinner in order to go and bury the dead, I was sent to put you to the test. At the same time, however, God commissioned me to heal you and your daughter-in-law Sarah. [TOBIT 12:12-14]

But many in Israel were determined and resolved in their hearts not to eat anything unclean; they preferred to die rather than to be defiled with unclean food or to profane the holy covenant; and they did die. Terrible affliction was upon Israel. [1MACC 1:62-63]

Even if, for the time being, I avoid the punishment of men, I shall never, whether alive or dead, escape the hands of the Almighty. [2MACC 6:26]

When he was about to die under the blows, he groaned and said: "The Lord in his holy knowledge knows full well that, although I could have escaped death, I am not only enduring terrible pain in my body from this scourging, but also suffering it with joy in my soul because of my devotion to him." This is how he died, leaving in his death a model of courage and an unforgettable example of virtue not only for the young but for the whole nation. [2MACC 6:30-31]

One of the brothers, speaking for the others, said: "What do you expect to achieve by questioning us? We are ready to die rather than transgress the laws of our ancestors." [2MACC 7:2]

At the point of death he said: "You accursed fiend, you are depriving us of this present life, but the King of the world will raise us up to live again forever. It is for his laws that we are dying." [2MACC 7:9]

When he was near death, he said, "It is my choice to die at the hands of men with the God-given hope of being restored to life by him; but for you, there will be no resurrection to life." [2MACC 7:14]

"I beg you, child, to look at the heavens and the earth and see all that is in them; then you will know that God did not make them out of existing things; and in the same way the human race came into existence. Do not be afraid of this executioner, but be worthy of your brothers and accept death, so that in the time of mercy I may receive you again with them." She had scarcely finished speaking when the youth said: "What are you waiting for? I will not obey the king's command. I obey the command of the law given to our forefathers through Moses. But you, who have contrived every kind of affliction for the Hebrews, will not escape the hands of God." [2MACC 7:28-31]

He then took up a collection among all his soldiers, amounting to two thousand silver drachmas, which he sent to Jerusalem to provide for an expiatory sacrifice. In doing this he acted in a very excellent and noble way, inasmuch as he had the resurrection of the dead in view; for if he were not expecting the fallen to rise again, it would have been useless and foolish to pray for them in death. But if he did this with a view to the splendid reward that awaits those who had gone to rest in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from this sin. [2MACC 12:43-46]

While he was yet speaking, another came and said, "Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in the house of their eldest brother, when suddenly a great wind came across the desert and smote the four corners of the house. It fell upon the young people and they are dead; and I alone have escaped to tell you." Then Job began to tear his cloak and cut off his hair. He cast himself prostrate upon the ground, and said, "Naked I came forth from my mother's womb, and naked shall I go back again. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD!" In all this Job did not sin, nor did he say anything disrespectful of God. [JOB 1:18-22]

They wait for death and it comes not; they search for it rather than for hidden treasures, Rejoice in it exultingly, and are glad when they reach the grave: Men whose path is hidden from them, and whom God has hemmed in! [JOB 3:21-23]

In famine he will deliver you from death, and in war from the threat of the sword [Taken from JOB 5:20]

But when a man dies, all vigor leaves him; when man expires, where then is he? [JOB 14:10]

For what interest has he in his family after him, when the number of his months is finished? One dies in his full vigor, wholly at ease and content; His figure is full and nourished, and his bones are rich in marrow. Another dies in bitterness of soul, having never tasted happiness. Alike they lie down in the dust [Taken from JOB 21:25]

Indeed I know you will turn me back in death to the destined place of everyone alive. [JOB 30:23]

His soul draws near to the pit, his life to the place of the dead. If then there be for him an angel, one out of a thousand, a mediator, To show him what is right for him and bring the man back to justice, He will take pity on him and say, "Deliver him from going down to the pit; I have found him a ransom." Then his flesh shall become soft as a boy's; he shall be again as in the days of his youth. He shall pray and God will favor him; he shall see God's face with rejoicing. He shall sing before men and say, "I sinned and did wrong, yet he has not punished me accordingly. He delivered my soul from passing to the pit, and I behold the light of life." [JOB 33:22-28]

For who among the dead remembers you? Who praises you in Sheol? [PS 6:6]

Have mercy on me, LORD; see how my foes afflict me! You alone can raise me from the gates of death. [PS 9:14]

Look upon me, answer me, LORD, my God! Give light to my eyes lest I sleep in death, Lest my enemy say, "I have prevailed," lest my foes rejoice at my downfall. I trust in your faithfulness. Grant my heart joy in your help, That I may sing of the LORD, "How good our God has been to me!" [PS 13:4-6]

LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer, My God, my rock of refuge, my shield, my saving horn, my stronghold! Praised be the LORD, I exclaim! I have been delivered from my enemies. The breakers of death surged round about me; the menacing floods terrified me. The cords of Sheol tightened; the snares of death lay in wait for me. In my distress I called out: LORD! I cried out to my God. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry to him reached his ears. He rescued me from my mighty enemy, from foes too powerful for me. [PS 18:3-7,18]

Into your hands I commend my spirit; you will redeem me, LORD, faithful God. [PS 31:6]

I am forgotten, out of mind like the dead; I am like a shattered dish. [PS 31:13]

Anyone can see that the wisest die, the fool and the senseless pass away too, and must leave their wealth to others. [PS 49:11]

When they die they will take nothing with them, their wealth will not follow them down. [PS 49:18]

Rescue me from death, God, my saving God, that my tongue may praise your healing power. [PS 51:16]

My heart pounds within me; death's terrors fall upon me. [PS 55:5]

Once you have snatched me from death, kept my feet from stumbling, That I may walk before God in the light of the living. [PS 56:14]

Our God is a God who saves; escape from death is in the LORD God's hands. [PS 68:21]

God ended their days abruptly, their years in sudden death. [PS 78:33]

"Yet like any mortal you shall die; like any prince you shall fall." [PS 82:7]

Let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my cry. For my soul is filled with troubles; my life draws near to Sheol. I am reckoned with those who go down to the pit; I am weak, without strength. My couch is among the dead, with the slain who lie in the grave. You remember them no more; they are cut off from your care. You plunged me into the bottom of the pit, into the darkness of the abyss. Your wrath lies heavy upon me; all your waves crash over me. Because of you my friends shun me; you make me loathsome to them; Caged in, I cannot escape; my eyes grow dim from trouble. All day I call on you, LORD; I stretch out my hands to you. Do you work wonders for the dead? Do the shades arise and praise you? Is your love proclaimed in the grave, your fidelity in the tomb? Are your marvels declared in the darkness, your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion? [Taken from PS 88:3-13]

Remember how brief is my life, how frail the race you created! What mortal can live and not see death? Who can escape the power of Sheol? [Taken from PS 89:48-49]

A thousand years in your eyes are merely a yesterday, But humans you return to dust, saying, "Return, you mortals!" Before a watch passes in the night, you have brought them to their end; They disappear like sleep at dawn; they are like grass that dies. It sprouts green in the morning; by evening it is dry and withered. [PS 90:4-6]

May you be blessed by the LORD, who made heaven and earth. The heavens belong to the LORD, but the earth is given to us. The dead do not praise the LORD, all those gone down into silence. It is we who bless the LORD, both now and forever. Hallelujah! [PS 115:15-18]

For my soul has been freed from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling. I shall walk before the LORD in the land of the living. [PS 116:8-9]

Too costly in the eyes of the LORD is the death of his faithful. [PS 116:15]

I shall not die but live and declare the deeds of the LORD. The LORD chastised me harshly, but did not hand me over to death. [PS 118:17-18]

The enemy has pursued me; they have crushed my life to the ground. They have left me in darkness like those long dead. [PS 143:3]

Put no trust in princes, in mere mortals powerless to save. When they breathe their last, they return to the earth; that day all their planning comes to nothing. Happy those whose help is Jacob's God, whose hope is in the LORD, their God, The maker of heaven and earth, the seas and all that is in them, Who keeps faith forever [Taken from PS 146:3-6]

The lips of an adulteress drip with honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil; But in the end she is as bitter as wormwood, as sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death, to the nether world her steps attain [Taken from PROV 5:3-5]

[The adulteress'] house is made up of ways to the nether world, leading down into the chambers of death. [Taken from PROV 7:27]

"But he who misses [wisdom] harms himself; all who hate [wisdom] love death." [Taken from PROV 8:36]

Ill-gotten treasures profit nothing, but virtue saves from death. [PROV 10:2]

Wealth is useless on the day of wrath, but virtue saves from death. [PROV 11:4]

When a wicked man dies his hope perishes, and what is expected from strength comes to nought. [PROV 11:7]

Virtue directs toward life, but he who pursues evil does so to his death. [PROV 11:19]

The words of the wicked are a deadly ambush, but the speech of the upright saves them. [PROV 12:6]

In the path of justice there is life, but the abominable way leads to death. [PROV 12:28]

The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, that a man may avoid the snares of death. [PROV 13:14]

Sometimes a way seems right to a man, but the end of it leads to death! [PROV 14:12]

The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, that a man may avoid the snares of death. [PROV 14:27]

Severe punishment is in store for the man who goes astray; he who hates reproof will die. [PROV 15:10]

Death and life are in the power of the tongue; those who make it a friend shall eat its fruit. [PROV 18:21]

He who keeps the precept keeps his life, but the despiser of the word will die. [PROV 19:16]

Rescue those who are being dragged to death, and from those tottering to execution withdraw not. [PROV 24:11]

Neither of the wise man nor of the fool will there be an abiding remembrance, for in days to come both will have been forgotten. How is it that the wise man dies as well as the fool! [ECCL 2:16]

There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens. A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant. [ECCL 3:1-2]

And I said to myself, both the just and the wicked God will judge, since there is a time for every affair and on every work a judgment. I said to myself: As for the children of men, it is God's way of testing them and of showing that they are in themselves like beasts. For the lot of man and of beast is one lot; the one dies as well as the other. Both have the same life-breath, and man has no advantage over the beast; but all is vanity. Both go to the same place; both were made from the dust, and to the dust they both return. Who knows if the life-breath of the children of men goes upward and the life-breath of beasts goes earthward? And I saw that there is nothing better for a man than to rejoice in his work; for this is his lot. Who will let him see what is to come after him? [ECCL 3:17-22]

Again I considered all the oppressions that take place under the sun: the tears of the victims with none to comfort them! From the hand of their oppressors comes violence, and there is none to comfort them! And those now dead, I declared more fortunate in death than are the living to be still alive. And better off than both is the yet unborn, who has not seen the wicked work that is done under the sun. [ECCL 4:1-3]

Should a man have a hundred children and live many years, no matter to what great age, still if he has not the full benefit of his goods, or if he is deprived of burial, of this man I proclaim that the child born dead is more fortunate than he. Though it came in vain and goes into darkness and its name is enveloped in darkness; though it has not seen or known the sun, yet the dead child is at rest rather than such a man. [ECCL 6:3-5]

A good name is better than good ointment, and the day of death than the day of birth. [ECCL 7:1]

"Be not wicked to excess, and be not foolish. Why should you die before your time?" [ECCL 7:17]

There is no man who is master of the breath of life so as to retain it, and none has mastery of the day of death. There is no exemption from the struggle, nor are the wicked saved by their wickedness. [ECCL 8:8]

Among all the things that happen under the sun, this is the worst, that things turn out the same for all. Hence the minds of men are filled with evil, and madness is in their hearts during life; and afterward they go to the dead. For the living know that they are to die, but the dead no longer know anything. There is no further recompense for them, because all memory of them is lost. For them, love and hatred and rivalry have long since perished. They will never again have part in anything that is done under the sun. Go, eat your bread with joy and drink your wine with a merry heart, because it is now that God favors your works. At all times let your garments be white, and spare not the perfume for your head. Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of the fleeting life that is granted you under the sun. This is your lot in life, for the toil of your labors under the sun. Anything you can turn your hand to, do with what power you have; for there will be no work, nor reason, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the nether world where you are going... [ECCL 9:3,5-10]

"A fly that dies can spoil the perfumer's ointment, and a single slip can ruin much that is good." [ECCL 9:18]

Set me as a seal on your heart, as a seal on your arm; For stern as death is love, relentless as the nether world is devotion; its flames are a blazing fire. [SONG 8:6]

Court not death by your erring way of life, nor draw to yourselves destruction by the works of your hands. Because God did not make death, nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living. For he fashioned all things that they might have being; and the creatures of the world are wholesome, And there is not a destructive drug among them nor any domain of the nether world on earth, For justice is undying. It was the wicked who with hands and words invited death, considered it a friend, and pined for it, and made a covenant with it, Because they deserve to be in its possession, they who said among themselves, thinking not aright: "Brief and troublous is our lifetime; neither is there any remedy for man's dying, nor is anyone known to have come back from the nether world. For haphazard were we born, and hereafter we shall be as though we had not been; Because the breath in our nostrils is a smoke and reason is a spark at the beating of our hearts, And when this is quenched, our body will be ashes and our spirit will be poured abroad like unresisting air. Even our name will be forgotten in time, and no one will recall our deeds. So our life will pass away like the traces of a cloud, and will be dispersed like a mist pursued by the sun's rays and overpowered by its heat. For our lifetime is the passing of a shadow; and our dying cannot be deferred because it is fixed with a seal; and no one returns." [WISDOM 1:12-16,2:1-5]

For God formed man to be imperishable; the image of his own nature he made him. But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world, and they who are in his possession experience it. [WISDOM 2:23-24]

But the souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them. They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead; and their passing away was thought an affliction and their going forth from us, utter destruction. But they are in peace. For if before men, indeed, they be punished, yet is their hope full of immortality; Chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed, because God tried them and found them worthy of himself. As gold in the furnace, he proved them, and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself. [WISDOM 3:1-6]

But the just man, though he die early, shall be at rest. [WISDOM 4:7]

Yes, the just man dead condemns the sinful who live, and youth swiftly completed condemns the many years of the wicked man grown old. For they see the death of the wise man and do not understand what the LORD intended for him, or why he made him secure. They see, and hold him in contempt; but the LORD laughs them to scorn. [WISDOM 4:16-18]

Then shall the just one with great assurance confront his oppressors who set at nought his labors. Seeing this, they shall be shaken with dreadful fear, and amazed at the unlooked-for salvation. They shall say among themselves, rueful and groaning through anguish of spirit: "This is he whom once we held as a laughingstock and as a type for mockery, fools that we were! His life we accounted madness, and his death dishonored. See how he is accounted among the sons of God; how his lot is with the saints!" [WISDOM 5:1-5]

For no king has any different origin or birth, but one is the entry into life for all; and in one same way they leave it. [WISDOM 7:5-6]

For these were enemies of your servants, doomed to death; yet, while you punished them with such solicitude and pleading, granting time and opportunity to abandon wickedness, With what exactitude you judged your sons, to whose fathers you gave the sworn covenants of goodly promises! [WISDOM 12:20-21]

For indeed, neither herb nor application cured them, but your all-healing word, O LORD! For you have dominion over life and death; you lead down to the gates of the nether world, and lead back. [WISDOM 16:12-13]

He who fears the LORD will have a happy end; even on the day of his death he will be blessed. [SIRACH 1:11]

Even to the death fight for truth, and the LORD your God will battle for you. [SIRACH 4:28]

Be generous to all the living, and withhold not your kindness from the dead. Avoid not those who weep, but mourn with those who mourn; Neglect not to visit the sick - for these things you will be loved. In whatever you do, remember your last days, and you will never sin. [SIRACH 7:33-34]

Rejoice not when a man dies; remember, we are all to die. [SIRACH 8:7]

Rejoice not at a proud man's success; remember he will not reach death unpunished. [SIRACH 9:12]

Keep far from the man who has power to kill, and you will not be filled with the dread of death. But if you approach him, offend him not, lest he take away your life; Know that you are stepping among snares and walking over a net. [SIRACH 9:13]

Why are dust and ashes proud? even during life man's body decays; A slight illness - the doctor jests, a king today - tomorrow he is dead. [SIRACH 10:9-10]

Good and evil, life and death, poverty and riches, are from the LORD. [SIRACH 11:14]

When he says: "I have found rest, now I will feast on my possessions," He does not know how long it will be till he dies and leaves them to others. [SIRACH 11:19]

For it is easy with the LORD on the day of death to repay man according to his deeds. [SIRACH 11:26]

A moment's affliction brings forgetfulness of past delights; when a man dies, his life is revealed. Call no man happy before his death, for by how he ends, a man is known. [SIRACH 11:27-28]

Remember that death does not tarry, nor have you been told the grave's appointed time. [SIRACH 14:12]

Before you die, be good to your friend, and give him a share in what you possess. [SIRACH 14:13]

All flesh grows old, like a garment; the age-old law is: All must die. [SIRACH 14:17]

As with the leaves that grow on a vigorous tree: one falls off and another sprouts - So with the generations of flesh and blood: one dies and another is born. [SIRACH 14:18]

Before man are life and death, whichever he chooses shall be given him. [SIRACH 15:17]

Count not on their length of life, have no hope in their future. For one can be better than a thousand; rather die childless than have godless children! [SIRACH 16:3]

Who in the nether world can glorify the Most High in place of the living who offer their praise? No more can the dead give praise than those who have never lived; they glorify the LORD who are alive and well. How great the mercy of the LORD, his forgiveness of those who return to him! The like cannot be found in men, for not immortal is any son of man. Is anything brighter than the sun? Yet it can be eclipsed. How obscure then the thoughts of flesh and blood! God watches over the hosts of highest heaven, while all men are dust and ashes. [SIRACH 17:2-27]

That is why the LORD is patient with men and showers upon them his mercy. He sees and understands that their death is grievous, and so he forgives them all the more. [SIRACH 18:9-10]

Weep over the dead man, for his light has gone out; weep over the fool, for sense has left him. Weep but a little over the dead man, for he is at rest; but worse than death is the life of a fool. Seven days of mourning for the dead, but for the wicked fool a whole lifetime. [SIRACH 22:9-11]

There are words which merit death; may they never be heard among Jacob's heirs. For all such words are foreign to the devout, who do not wallow in sin. [SIRACH 23:12]

In woman was sin's beginning, and because of her we all die. [SIRACH 25:23]

There are three things at which my heart quakes, a fourth before which I quail: Though false charges in public, trial before all the people, and lying testimony are harder to bear than death [Taken from SIRACH 26:5]

Remember your last days, set enmity aside; remember death and decay, and cease from sin! [SIRACH 28:6]

Dire is the death it inflicts, besides which even the nether world is a gain; It will not take hold among the just nor scorch them in its flame, But those who forsake the LORD will fall victims to it, as it burns among them unquenchably! [Taken from SIRACH 28:21-23]

At the father's death, he will seem not dead, since he leaves after him one like himself, Whom he looks upon through life with joy, and even in death, without regret [Taken from SIRACH 30:4-5]

Preferable is death to a bitter life, unending sleep to constant illness. [SIRACH 30:17]

Distract yourself, renew your courage, drive resentment far away from you; For worry has brought death to many, nor is there aught to be gained from resentment. [SIRACH 30:23]

As evil contrasts with good, and death with life, so are sinners in contrast with the just; See now all the works of the Most High: they come in pairs, the one the opposite of the other. [SIRACH 33:14-15]

Keep control over all your affairs; let no one tarnish your glory. When your few days reach their limit, at the time of death distribute your inheritance. [SIRACH 33:23-24]

Often I was in danger of death, but by these attainments I was saved. [SIRACH 34:12]

Is it not a sorrow unto death when your bosom companion becomes your enemy? [SIRACH 37:2]

Good and evil, death and life, their absolute mistress is the tongue. [SIRACH 37:18]

My son, shed tears for one who is dead with wailing and bitter lament; As is only proper, prepare the body, absent not yourself from his burial: Weeping bitterly, mourning fully, pay your tribute of sorrow, as he deserves, One or two days, to prevent gossip; then compose yourself after your grief, For grief can bring on an extremity and heartache destroy one's health. Turn not your thoughts to him again; cease to recall him; think rather of the end. Recall him not, for there is no hope of his return; it will not help him, but will do you harm. Remember that his fate will also be yours; for him it was yesterday, for you today. With the departed dead, let memory fade; rally your courage, once the soul has left. [SIRACH 38:16-23]

A great anxiety has God allotted, and a heavy yoke, to the sons of men; From the day one leaves his mother's womb to the day he returns to the mother of all the living, His thoughts, the fear in his heart, and his troubled forebodings till the day he dies - Whether he sits on a lofty throne or grovels in dust and ashes, Whether he bears a splendid crown or is wrapped in the coarsest of cloaks - Are of wrath and envy, trouble and dread, terror of death, fury and strife. Even when he lies on his bed to rest, his cares at night disturb his sleep. [SIRACH 40:1-5]

My son, live not the life of a beggar, better to die than to beg; When one has to look to another's table, his life is not really a life. His neighbor's delicacies bring revulsion of spirit to one who understands inward feelings: In the mouth of the shameless man begging is sweet, but within him it burns like fire. [SIRACH 40:28-30]

O death! how bitter the thought of you for the man at peace amid his possessions, For the man unruffled and always successful, who still can enjoy life's pleasures. O death! how welcome your sentence to the weak man of failing strength, Tottering and always rebuffed, with no more sight, with vanished hope. [SIRACH 41:1-2]

Fear not death's decree for you; remember, it embraces those before you, and those after. [SIRACH 41:3]

How awesome are you, Elijah! Whose glory is equal to yours? You brought a dead man back to life from the nether world, by the will of the LORD. [SIRACH 48:4-5]

O Elijah, enveloped in the whirlwind! Then Elisha, filled with a twofold portion of his spirit, wrought many marvels by his mere word. During his lifetime he feared no one, nor was any man able to intimidate his will. Nothing was beyond his power; beneath him flesh was brought back into life. In life he performed wonders, and after death, marvelous deeds. Despite all this the people did not repent, nor did they give up their sins, Until they were rooted out of their land and scattered all over the earth. [Taken from SIRACH 48:12-15]

Few on earth have been made the equal of Enoch, for he was taken up bodily. Was ever a man born like Joseph? Even his dead body was provided for. [SIRACH 49:14-15]

I give you thanks, O God of my father; I praise you, O God my savior! I will make known your name, refuge of my life; you have been my helper against my adversaries. You have saved me from death, and kept back my body from the pit, From the clutches of the nether world you have snatched my feet [Taken from SIRACH 51:1-2]

On this mountain the LORD of hosts will provide for all peoples A feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines. On this mountain he will destroy the veil that veils all peoples, The web that is woven over all nations; he will destroy death forever. The Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from all faces; The reproach of his people he will remove from the whole earth; for the LORD has spoken. [ISA 25:6-8]

But your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise; awake and sing, you who lie in the dust. For your dew is a dew of light, and the land of shades gives birth. [ISA 26:19]

For it is not the nether world that gives you thanks, nor death that praises you; Neither do those who go down into the pit await your kindness. [ISA 38:18]

He grew up like a sapling before him, like a shoot from the parched earth; There was in him no stately bearing to make us look at him, nor appearance that would attract us to him. He was spurned and avoided by men, a man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity, One of those from whom men hide their faces, spurned, and we held him in no esteem. Yet it was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured, While we thought of him as stricken, as one smitten by God and afflicted. But he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins, Upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed. We had all gone astray like sheep, each following his own way; But the LORD laid upon him the guilt of us all. Though he was harshly treated, he submitted and opened not his mouth... Oppressed and condemned, he was taken away, and who would have thought any more of his destiny? When he was cut off from the land of the living, and smitten for the sin of his people, A grave was assigned him among the wicked and a burial place with evildoers, Though he had done no wrong nor spoken any falsehood. (But the LORD was pleased to crush him in infirmity.) If he gives his life as an offering for sin, he shall see his descendants in a long life, and the will of the LORD shall be accomplished through him. Because of his affliction he shall see the light in fullness of days; Through his suffering, my servant shall justify many, and their guilt he shall bear. Therefore I will give him his portion among the great, and he shall divide the spoils with the mighty, Because he surrendered himself to death and was counted among the wicked; And he shall take away the sins of many, and win pardon for their offenses. [ISA 53:2-12]

Death will be preferred to life by all the survivors of this wicked race who remain in any of the places to which I banish them, says the LORD of hosts. [JER 8:3]

And to this people you shall say: Thus says the LORD: See, I am giving you a choice between life and death. [JER 21:8]

Weep not for him who is dead, mourn not for him! Weep rather for him who is going away; never again will he see the land of his birth. [JER 22:10]

Better for those who perish by the sword than for those who die of hunger, Who waste away, as though pierced through, lacking the fruits of the field! [LAM 4:9]

Look directly at us, and behold: it is not the dead in the nether world, whose spirits have been taken from within them, who will give glory and vindication to the LORD. [BARUCH 2:17]

She is the book of the precepts of God, the law that endures forever; All who cling to her will live, but those will die who forsake her. [BARUCH 4:1]

If I say to the wicked man, You shall surely die; and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his wicked conduct so that he may live: that wicked man shall die for his sin, but I will hold you responsible for his death. If, on the other hand, you have warned the wicked man, yet he has not turned away from his evil nor from his wicked conduct, then he shall die for his sin, but you shall save your life. [EZEK 3:18-19]

If a virtuous man turns away from virtue and does wrong when I place a stumbling block before him, he shall die. He shall die for his sin, and his virtuous deeds shall not be remembered; but I will hold you responsible for his death if you did not warn him. [EZEK 3:20]

For all lives are mine; the life of the father is like the life of the son, both are mine; only the one who sins shall die. [EZEK 18:4]

Do I indeed derive any pleasure from the death of the wicked? says the Lord GOD. Do I not rather rejoice when he turns from his evil way that he may live? [EZEK 18:23]

For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies, says the Lord GOD. Return and live! [EZEK 18:32]

Thus no tree may grow lofty in stature or raise its crest among the clouds; no tree fed by water may stand by itself in its loftiness. For all of them are destined for death, for the land below, For the company of mortals, those who go down into the pit. [EZEK 31:14]

If I tell the wicked man that he shall surely die, and you do not speak out to dissuade the wicked man from his way, he (the wicked man) shall die for his guilt, but I will hold you responsible for his death. But if you warn the wicked man, trying to turn him from his way, and he refuses to turn from his way, he shall die for his guilt, but you shall save yourself. [EZEK 33:8-9]

Answer them: As I live, says the Lord GOD, I swear I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked man, but rather in the wicked man's conversion, that he may live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! Why should you die, O house of Israel? [EZEK 33:11]

Though I say to the virtuous man that he shall surely live, if he then presumes on his virtue and does wrong, none of his virtuous deeds shall be remembered; because of the wrong he has done, he shall die. And though I say to the wicked man that he shall surely die, if he turns away from his sin and does what is right and just, giving back pledges, restoring stolen goods, living by the statutes that bring life, and doing no wrong, he shall surely live, he shall not die. [EZEK 33:13-15]

And when the sun arose, God sent a burning east wind; and the sun beat upon Jonah's head till he became faint. Then he asked for death, saying, "I would be better off dead than alive." [JONAH 4:8]

"The people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen." [Taken from MT 4:16]

When Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side. A scribe approached and said to him, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus answered him, "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head." Another of (his) disciples said to him, "Lord, let me go first and bury my father." But Jesus answered him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their dead." [MT 8:18-22]

While he was saying these things to them, an official came forward, knelt down before him, and said, "My daughter has just died. But come, lay your hand on her, and she will live." Jesus rose and followed him, and so did his disciples. When Jesus arrived at the official's house and saw the flute players and the crowd who were making a commotion, he said, "Go away! The girl is not dead but sleeping." And they ridiculed him. When the crowd was put out, he came and took her by the hand, and the little girl arose. [MT 9:18-19,23-25]

Jesus sent out these twelve after instructing them thus, "Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town. Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, make this proclamation: 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give." [MT 10:5-8]

But beware of people, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans. When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved. [MT 10:17-22]

When John heard in prison of the works of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to him with this question, "Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?" Jesus said to them in reply, "Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have the good news proclaimed to them. And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me." [MT 11:2-6]

As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, "Do not tell the vision to anyone until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead." [MT 17:9]

"Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day." [MT 20:18-19]

Jesus said to them in reply, "You are misled because you do not know the scriptures or the power of God. At the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like the angels in heaven. And concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not the God of the dead but of the living." [MT 22:29-32]

Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, and they consulted together to arrest Jesus by treachery and put him to death. [MT 26:3-4]

Then he said to them, "My soul is sorrowful even to death. Remain here and keep watch with me." [MT 26:38]

But Jesus cried out again in a loud voice, and gave up his spirit. And behold, the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked, rocks were split, tombs were opened, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised. And coming forth from their tombs after his resurrection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many. [MT 27:50-53]

Then the angel said to the women in reply, "Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, 'He has been raised from the dead, and he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him.' Behold, I have told you." [MT 28:5-7]

One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward. Seeing him he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, saying, "My daughter is at the point of death. Please, come lay your hands on her that she may get well and live." He went off with him, and a large crowd followed him and pressed upon him... While he was still speaking, people from the synagogue official's house arrived and said, "Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?" Disregarding the message that was reported, Jesus said to the synagogue official, "Do not be afraid; just have faith." He did not allow anyone to accompany him inside except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official, he caught sight of a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. So he went in and said to them, "Why this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep." And they ridiculed him. Then he put them all out. He took along the child's father and mother and those who were with him and entered the room where the child was. He took the child by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum," which means, "Little girl, I say to you, arise!" The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around. (At that) they were utterly astounded. [MK 5:22-24,35-42]

As they were coming down from the mountain, he charged them not to relate what they had seen to anyone, except when the Son of Man had risen from the dead. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what rising from the dead meant. [MK 9:9-10]

Jesus, on seeing a crowd rapidly gathering, rebuked the unclean spirit and said to it, "Mute and deaf spirit, I command you: come out of him and never enter him again!" Shouting and throwing the boy into convulsions, it came out. He became like a corpse, which caused many to say, "He is dead!" But Jesus took him by the hand, raised him, and he stood up. [MK 9:25-27]

He was teaching his disciples and telling them, "The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him, and three days after his death he will rise." [MK 9:31]

"Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and hand him over to the Gentiles who will mock him, spit upon him, scourge him, and put him to death, but after three days he will rise." [MK 10:33-34]

"At the resurrection (when they arise) whose wife will she be? For all seven had been married to her." Jesus said to them, "Are you not misled because you do not know the scriptures or the power of God? When they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but they are like the angels in heaven. As for the dead being raised, have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God told him, 'I am the God of Abraham, (the) God of Isaac, and (the) God of Jacob'? He is not God of the dead but of the living. You are greatly misled." [MK 12:23-27]

Watch out for yourselves. They will hand you over to the courts. You will be beaten in synagogues. You will be arraigned before governors and kings because of me, as a witness before them. But the gospel must first be preached to all nations. When they lead you away and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say. But say whatever will be given to you at that hour. For it will not be you who are speaking but the Holy Spirit. Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved. [MK 13:9-13]

Then he said to them, "My soul is sorrowful even to death. Remain here and keep watch." [MK 14:34]

Joseph of Arimathea, a distinguished member of the council, who was himself awaiting the kingdom of God, came and courageously went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate was amazed that he was already dead. He summoned the centurion and asked him if Jesus had already died. And when he learned of it from the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph. Having bought a linen cloth, he took him down, wrapped him in the linen cloth and laid him in a tomb that had been hewn out of the rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance to the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses watched where he was laid. [MK 15:43-47]

But Jesus cried out again in a loud voice, and gave up his spirit. And behold, the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked, rocks were split, tombs were opened, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised. And coming forth from their tombs after his resurrection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many. [MT 27:50-53]

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