Bible verses about "courtship" | EJ2000

¹ ¶ And Abraham was old and well stricken in age, and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. ² And Abraham said unto his eldest slave of his house, who ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, ³ and I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of the heavens and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell; ⁴ but thou shalt go unto my country and to my kindred and take a wife unto my son Isaac. ⁵ And the slave said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land, must I therefore bring thy son again unto the land from which thou didst come? ⁶ And Abraham said unto him, Beware that thou not bring my son there again. ⁷ The LORD God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my kindred and who spoke unto me and swore unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from there. ⁸ And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be free from this my oath; only do not bring my son there again. ⁹ Then the slave put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master and swore to him concerning that matter. ¹⁰ ¶ And the slave took ten camels of the camels of his master and departed with the best of what his master had in his hand; and he arose and went to Ara-naharaim, unto the city of Nahor. ¹¹ And he made his camels kneel down outside the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water. ¹² And he said, O LORD, God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, to have a good encounter this day and show mercy unto my master Abraham. ¹³ Behold, I stand here by the fountain of water, and the daughters of the men of the city come out for water: ¹⁴ And let it come to pass that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels to drink also; let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy slave Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shown mercy unto my master. ¹⁵ And it came to pass before he had done speaking that, behold, Rebekah came out (who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother) with her pitcher upon her shoulder. ¹⁶ And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, whom no man had known; and she went down to the fountain and filled her pitcher and was coming back up. ¹⁷ Then the slave ran to meet her and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher. ¹⁸ And she said, Drink, my lord, and she hastened to let down her pitcher upon her hand and gave him drink. ¹⁹ And when she had finished giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also until they have finished drinking. ²⁰ And she hastened and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water and drew for all his camels. ²¹ And the man marveled at her in silence, to see whether the LORD had prospered his journey or not. ²² And it came to pass as the camels had finished drinking that the man took a golden pendant of half a shekel weight and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold ²³ and said, Whose daughter art thou? Tell me, I pray thee; is there room in thy father’s house for us to lodge in? ²⁴ And she said unto him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, whom she gave birth unto Nahor. ²⁵ She said moreover unto him, We have both straw and fodder enough and room to lodge in. ²⁶ Then the man bowed down his head and worshipped the LORD. ²⁷ And he said, Blessed be the LORD, God of my master Abraham, who has not lifted his mercy and his truth from my master, the LORD leading me in the way to the house of my master’s brethren. ²⁸ And the damsel ran and told those of her mother’s house these things. ²⁹ ¶ And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban; and Laban ran out unto the man to the fountain. ³⁰ And it came to pass when he saw the pendant and the bracelets upon his sister’s hands, she said, Thus spoke the man unto me; then he came unto the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the fountain. ³¹ And he said, Come in, thou blessed of the LORD; why dost thou stand outside? For I have prepared the house, and the place for the camels. ³² Then the man came into the house, and Laban ungirded his camels and gave straw and fodder for the camels and water to wash his feet and the men’s feet that were with him. ³³ And they set food before him to eat, but he said, I will not eat until I have told my errand. And he said unto him, Speak on. ³⁴ And he said, I am Abraham’s slave. ³⁵ And the LORD has blessed my master greatly, and he is become great; and he has given him flocks and herds and silver and gold and menslaves and maidslaves and camels and asses. ³⁶ And Sarah, my master’s wife, bore a son to my master when she was old, unto whom he has given all that he has. ³⁷ And my master made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife to my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell; ³⁸ but thou shalt go unto my father’s house and to my kindred and take from there a wife for my son. ³⁹ And I said unto my master, Peradventure the woman will not follow me. ⁴⁰ And he said unto me, The LORD, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my lineage and of my father’s house; ⁴¹ then shalt thou be free from this my oath, when thou hast come unto my lineage; and if they give her not unto thee, thou shalt be free from my oath. ⁴² And I came this day unto the fountain and said, O LORD, God of my master Abraham, if now thou dost prosper my way by which I go, ⁴³ behold, I stand by the fountain of water; let it come to pass, therefore, that the virgin who comes forth to draw water unto whom I say, Give me, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink; ⁴⁴ and if she shall say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels, let the same be the woman whom the LORD has prepared for my master’s son. ⁴⁵ And before I had finished speaking in my heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder, and she went down unto the fountain and drew water, and I said unto her, Let me drink, I pray thee. ⁴⁶ And she made haste and let down her pitcher from her shoulder and said, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also; so I drank, and she gave to drink unto the camels also. ⁴⁷ And I asked her and said, Whose daughter art thou? And she said, The daughter of Bethuel, Nahor’s son, whom Milcah bore unto him. Then I put the pendant over her nose and the bracelets upon her hands. ⁴⁸ And I bowed down my head and worshipped the LORD and blessed the LORD God of my master Abraham, who had led me in the way of the truth to take my master’s brother’s daughter unto his son. ⁴⁹ And now if ye will deal in mercy and truth with my master, tell me; and if not, tell me, that I may turn to the right hand or to the left. ⁵⁰ Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceeds from the LORD; we cannot speak unto thee bad or good. ⁵¹ Behold, Rebekah is before thee; take her and go and let her be thy master’s son’s wife, as the LORD has spoken. ⁵² And it came to pass that when Abraham’s slave heard their words, he worshipped the LORD, bowing himself to the earth. ⁵³ And the slave brought forth vessels of silver and vessels of gold and raiment and gave them to Rebekah; he also gave precious things to her brother and to her mother. ⁵⁴ ¶ And they ate and drank, he and the men that were with him, and slept; and they rose up in the morning, and he said, Send me away unto my master. ⁵⁵ Then her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go. ⁵⁶ And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the LORD has prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master. ⁵⁷ Then they said, We will call the damsel and enquire at her mouth. ⁵⁸ And they called Rebekah and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go. ⁵⁹ So they sent away Rebekah, their sister, and her nurse and Abraham’s slave and his men. ⁶⁰ And they blessed Rebekah and said unto her, Thou art our sister; be thou the mother of thousands of ten thousands, and let thy seed possess the gate of those who hate them. ⁶¹ And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels and followed the man; and the slave took Rebekah and went away. ⁶² ¶ And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahairoi; for he dwelt in the land of the Negev. ⁶³ And Isaac had gone out to pray in the field at the evening hour; and he lifted up his eyes and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming. ⁶⁴ And Rebekah also lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel. ⁶⁵ For she had asked the slave, What man is this that walks in the field to meet us? And the slave had said, This is my master; therefore she took a veil and covered herself. ⁶⁶ Then the slave told Isaac all the things that he had done.

⁷ And he went down and talked with the woman, and she pleased Samson well.

⁵ Trust in the LORD with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. ⁶ In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. ⁷ ¶ Be not wise in thine own eyes; fear the LORD and depart from evil.

¹ ¶ It is in order then, brethren, that we beseech and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that in the manner ye were taught of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would continue to grow. ² For ye already know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. ³ For the will of God is your sanctification, that ye should separate yourselves from fornication, ⁴ that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honesty, ⁵ not with affection of lust, as the Gentiles who do not know God, ⁶ that no one oppress and defraud his brother in any matter because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. ⁷ For God has not called us unto uncleanness, but unto sanctification. ⁸ He therefore that despises us, does not despise man, but God, who has also given unto us his Holy Spirit.

¹² Here is the patience of the saints; here are those that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

²⁴ Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh.

²² ¶ Flee also youthful lusts, but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with those that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

¹ ¶ Be ye imitators of me, even as I also am of Christ. ² Now I praise you, brothers, that ye remember me in all things and retain my instructions the same as I spoke unto you. ³ But I would have you know that the head of every man is the Christ, and the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God. ⁴ Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonours his head. ⁵ But every woman that prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonours her head, for that is even the same as if she were shaven. ⁶ For if the woman is not covered, let her also be shorn; but if it is a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered. ⁷ For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of the man. ⁸ For the man is not of the woman, but the woman of the man. ⁹ Neither was the man created for the woman, but the woman for the man. ¹⁰ For this cause the woman ought to have authority over her head: because of the angels. ¹¹ Nevertheless, neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord. ¹² For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God. ¹³ Judge in yourselves: is it honest that a woman pray unto God uncovered? ¹⁴ Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man lets his hair grow, it is dishonest? ¹⁵ But if a woman lets her hair grow, it is a glory to her; for her hair is given her for a covering. ¹⁶ With all this, if anyone seems to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the congregation {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} of God. ¹⁷ ¶ Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not: that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse. ¹⁸ For first of all, when ye come together in the congregation {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones}, I hear that there are divisions among you; and I partly believe it. ¹⁹ For it is expedient that there also be heresies among you, so that those who are proved may become manifest among you. ²⁰ So that when ye come together in one place, this is not eating the Lord’s supper. ²¹ For in eating, each one takes his own supper first: and one is hungry, and another is drunken. ²² What? Do ye not have houses to eat and to drink in? or do ye despise the congregation {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} of God and shame those that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not. ²³ ¶ For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread; ²⁴ and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you; this do in remembrance of me. ²⁵ After the same manner also he took the cup, after he had eaten supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood; do this each time that ye drink, in remembrance of me. ²⁶ For each time that ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye declare the Lord’s death until he comes. ²⁷ Therefore whoever shall eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. ²⁸ But let each man prove himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. ²⁹ For he that eats and drinks unworthily, eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. ³⁰ For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. ³¹ For if we would examine ourselves, we should not be judged. ³² But being judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. ³³ Therefore, my brothers, when ye come together to eat, wait for one another. ³⁴ And if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home; that ye not come together unto judgment. And I will set the rest in order when I come.

²⁶ For if we sin wilfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins,

¹¹ For I know the thoughts that I think concerning you, said the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you the end that you wait for.

²⁷ ¶ Ye have heard that it was said to the ancients, Thou shalt not commit adultery; ²⁸ but I say unto you, That whosoever looks on a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart. ²⁹ Therefore if thy right eye should bring thee occasion to stumble, pluck it out and cast it from thee; for it is better for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. ³⁰ And if thy right hand should bring thee occasion to stumble, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is better for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

¹ ¶ Now concerning the things of which ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman.

⁹ Then he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth, thy handmaid; spread therefore the edge of thy mantle over thy handmaid; for thou art a redeemer. ¹⁰ And he said, Blessed be thou of the LORD, my daughter, for thou hast shown more mercy in the end than at the first, not going after the young men, whether poor or rich. ¹¹ And now, my daughter, fear not; I will do unto thee all that thou hast said, for all the city of my people know that thou art a valiant woman. ¹² And now it is true that I am thy redeemer; however, there is another redeemer nearer than I (in kinship). ¹³ Tarry this night, and it shall be in the morning that if he will redeem thee, well, let him redeem thee, but if he does not wish to redeem, then I will redeem thee, as the LORD lives; lie down until the morning.

⁵ And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and they shall be two in one flesh.

² Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.

¹⁸ Flee fornication. Any other sin that a man does is outside the body, but he that commits fornication sins against his own body.

²² ¶ Whosoever found a wife found a good thing and has attained the favour of the LORD.

¹² Let no man despise thy youth, but be thou an example of the faithful in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.

¹ ¶ Now concerning the things of which ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. ² Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. ³ Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence, and likewise also the wife unto the husband. ⁴ The wife does not have authority of her own body, but the husband; and likewise also the husband does not have authority of his own body, but the wife. ⁵ Do not defraud one another, except it be with mutual consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer and come together again, that Satan not tempt you for your incontinency. ⁶ But I speak this by permission, and not by commandment. ⁷ For I would that all men were even as I myself. But each one has his own gift from God, one after this manner and another after that. ⁸ I say, therefore, to the unmarried men and widowers, It is good for them if they abide even as I. ⁹ But if they do not have the gift of continence, let them marry, for it is better to marry than to burn. ¹⁰ ¶ And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife separate from her husband; ¹¹ and if she separates, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband, and let not the husband put away his wife. ¹² But to the rest I speak, not the Lord: If any brother has a wife that does not believe, and she consents to dwell with him, let him not put her away. ¹³ And the woman who has a husband that does not believe and if he consents to dwell with her, let her not leave him. ¹⁴ For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. ¹⁵ But if the unbelieving spouse separates, let them separate. The brother or the sister is not under slavery in such cases, but God has called us to peace. ¹⁶ For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or what knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife? ¹⁷ ¶ But as God has distributed to each one, as the Lord has called each one, so let them walk. And so I ordain in all the congregations {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones}. ¹⁸ Is anyone called being circumcised? Let him not become uncircumcised. Is anyone called in uncircumcision? Let him not be circumcised. ¹⁹ Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing but the keeping of the commandments of God. ²⁰ Let each abide in the same calling in which he was called. ²¹ Art thou called being a slave? care not for it; but if thou may be made free, use it rather. ²² For he that is called in the Lord, being a slave, is the Lord’s freeman; likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ’s slave. ²³ Ye are bought with a price; do not make yourselves the slaves of men. ²⁴ Each one, brothers, in that state in which he was called, let him abide with God. ²⁵ ¶ Now concerning virgins I have no commandment of the Lord, yet I give my advice, as one that has obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful. ²⁶ I hold, therefore, this to be good because of the present distress, that it is good for a man to be thus: ²⁷ Art thou bound unto a wife? Seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? Seek not a wife. ²⁸ But and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Nevertheless such shall have affliction in the flesh, but I forbear you. ²⁹ But this I say, brothers, the time is short; for the rest, let those that have wives be as though they had none; ³⁰ and those that weep, as though they wept not; and those that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and those that buy, as though they possessed not; ³¹ and those that use this world, as not using it as their own, for the fashion of this world passes away. ³² But I would have you without worry. He that is unmarried cares for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord; ³³ but he that is married cares for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife. ³⁴ There is a difference also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman cares for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit; but she that is married cares for the things of the world, how she may please her husband. ³⁵ And this I speak for your own profit, not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is honourable and that ye may attend upon the Lord without impediment. ³⁶ ¶ But if anyone thinks it uncomely regarding his daughter, if she passes the bloom of life, and need so requires, let him do what he will, he does not sin: let them marry. ³⁷ Nevertheless, he that stands steadfast in his heart, having no necessity, but has liberty regarding his own, and has so determined in his heart that he will keep his daughter, does well. ³⁸ So then he that gives her in marriage does well, but he that does not give her in marriage does better. ³⁹ ¶ The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband lives; but if her husband dies, she is free and may be married to whom she will, if it is in the Lord. ⁴⁰ But she shall be more blessed if she so abides, after my counsel, and I think also that I have the Spirit of God.