Appendix C (continued)
The (S)Word of God

30. Assassination by sword may be used as a tool of political security and revolution.

"...they slew Athaliah with the sword beside the king's house." 2Kgs 11:20

"Now when Jehoram was risen up to the kingdom of his father, he strengthened himself, and slew all his brethren with the sword, and divers also of the princes of Israel." 2Cr 21:4

"... they had slain Athaliah with the sword." 2Cr 23:21

"It is he that giveth salvation unto kings: who delivereth David his servant from the hurtful sword." Ps 144:10

"...Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote him with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Armenia: and Esarhaddon his son reigned in his stead." Isa 37:38

"For thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the houses of this city, and concerning the houses of the kings of Judah, which are thrown down by the mounts, and by the sword;" Jer. 33:4

"Then arose Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and the ten men that were with him, and smote Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan with the sword, and slew him, whom the king of Babylon had made governor over the land." Jer. 41:2

31. The sword is a symbol and tool of conquest and pillage.

"For, lo, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this." 2Cr 29:9

"And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia:" 2Cr 36:20

"And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword... The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword..." Job 1:15,17

"... thou hast stolen away unawares to me, and carried away my daughters, as captives taken with the sword?" Gen. 31:26

"The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them." Ex 15:9

"For they got not the land in possession by their own sword..." Ps 44:3

"They shall fall by the sword: they shall be a portion for foxes." Ps 63:10

"Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? he gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow." Isa 41:2

"...let us cut it off from being a nation. Also thou shalt be cut down, O Madmen; the sword shall pursue thee." Jer. 48:2

32. The sword may be invoked as a general threat: for punishment, revenge, war, terror, and fear.

"And they said unto them, The LORD look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us." Ex 5:21

"And the name of the other was Eliezer; for the God of my father, said he, was mine help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh:" Ex 18:4

"Therefore [God] brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary..." 2Cr 36:17

"In famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the power of the sword." Job 5:20

"He believeth not that he shall return out of darkness, and he is waited for of the sword." Job 15:22

"Be ye afraid of the sword: for wrath bringeth the punishments of the sword, that ye may know there is a judgment." Job 19:29

"It is drawn, and cometh out of the body; yea, the glittering sword cometh out of his gall: terrors are upon him." Job 20:25

"And upon them that are left alive of you I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth. And they shall fall one upon another, as it were before a sword, when none pursueth: and ye shall have no power to stand before your enemies." Lev 26:36,37

"He keepeth back his soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword." Job 33:18

"But if they obey not, they shall perish by the sword..." Job 36:12

"He mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted; neither turneth he back from the sword." Job 39:22

"Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog." Ps 22:20

"As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me..." Ps 42:10

"In vain have I smitten your children; they received no correction: your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion." Jer. 2:30

"Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul." Jer. 4:10

"These two things are come unto thee; who shall be sorry for thee? desolation, and destruction, and the famine, and the sword: by whom shall I comfort thee?" Isa 51:19

"They have belied the LORD, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine:" Jer. 5:12

"Go not forth into the field, nor walk by the way; for the sword of the enemy and fear is on every side." Jer. 6:25

"They shall die of grievous deaths... they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth: and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine; and their carcases shall be meat for the fowls of heaven, and for the beasts of the earth." Jer. 16:4

"Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, and pour out their blood by the force of the sword; and let their wives be bereaved of their children, and be widows; and let their men be put to death; let their young men be slain by the sword in battle." Jer. 18:21

"Thus saith the LORD, The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest." Jer. 31:2

"...Thus saith the LORD of thee, Thou shalt not die by the sword:" Jer. 34:4

"For I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword... saith the LORD." Jer. 39:18

"Yet a small number that escape the sword shall return..." Jer. 44:28

"...prepare thee; for the sword shall devour round about thee." Jer. 46:14

"...Arise, and let us go again to our own people, and to the land of our nativity, from the oppressing sword." Jer. 46:16

"...for fear of the oppressing sword they shall turn every one to his people, and they shall flee every one to his own land." Jer. 50:16

"A sword is upon the Chaldeans, saith the LORD.... A sword is upon the liars; and they shall dote: a sword is upon her mighty men; and they shall be dismayed. A sword is upon their horses, and upon their chariots, and upon all the mingled people that are in the midst of her; and they shall become as women: a sword is upon her treasures; and they shall be robbed." Jer. 50:33-37

"Ye that have escaped the sword, go away, stand not still..." Jer. 51:50

"...abroad the sword bereaveth, at home there is as death." Lam 1:20

"The young and the old lie on the ground in the streets: my virgins and my young men are fallen by the sword; thou hast slain them in the day of thine anger; thou hast killed, and not pitied." Lam 2:21

"They that be slain with the sword are better than they that be slain with hunger..." Lam 4:9

"We gat our bread with the peril of our lives because of the sword of the wilderness." Lam 5:9

"Yet will I leave a remnant, that ye may have some that shall escape the sword among the nations, when ye shall be scattered through the countries." Ezek 6:8

"And I will scatter toward every wind all that are about him to help him, and all his bands; and I will draw out the sword after them." Ezek 12:14

"They shall also bring up a company against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their swords." Ezek 16:40

"Also, thou son of man, appoint thee two ways, that the sword of the king of Babylon may come: both twain shall come forth out of one land: and choose thou a place, choose it at the head of the way to the city. Appoint a way, that the sword may come to Rabbath of the Ammonites, and to Judah in Jerusalem the defenced." Ezek 21:19,20

"Behold, therefore I will bring strangers upon thee... and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of thy wisdom, and they shall defile thy brightness." Ezek 28:7

"And the sword shall come upon Egypt..." Ezek 30:4

"Ethiopia, and Libya, and Lydia [etc.] shall fall with them by the sword... from the tower of Syene shall they fall in it by the sword, saith the Lord GOD." Ezek 30:5,6

"...they shall draw their swords against Egypt, and fill the land with the slain." Ezek 30:11

"The young men of Aven and of Pibeseth shall fall by the sword: and these cities shall go into captivity." Ezek 30:17

"Son of man, I have broken the arm of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and, lo, it shall not be bound up to be healed, to put a roller to bind it, to make it strong to hold the sword. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against Pharaoh king of Egypt, and will break his arms, the strong, and that which was broken; and I will cause the sword to fall out of his hand." Ezek 30:21,22

"Ye stand upon your sword, ye work abomination, and ye defile every one his neighbour's wife: and shall ye possess the land?" Ezek 33:26

"Because thou hast... shed the blood of the children of Israel by the force of the sword in the time of their calamity... I will fill his mountains with his slain men: in thy hills, and in thy valleys, and in all thy rivers, shall they fall that are slain with the sword." Ezek 35:5,8

"...in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword..." Ezek 38:8

"...yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days." Dan 11:33

"But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the LORD their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen." Hos 1:7

"...and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely." Hos 2:18

"...their princes shall fall by the sword for the rage of their tongue..." Hos 7:16

"And the sword shall abide on his cities, and shall consume his branches, and devour them, because of their own counsels." Hos 11:6

"...they shall fall by the sword: their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up." Hos 13:16

"Neither shall one thrust another; they shall walk every one in his path: and when they fall upon the sword, they shall not be wounded." Joel 2:8

"Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong." Joel 3:10

"...I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword." Amos 7:9

Amos 7:11 For thus Amos saith, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of their own land.

"And they shall waste the land of Assyria with the sword..." Mic 5:6

"...and that which thou deliverest will I give up to the sword." Mic 6:14

"Behold, I am against thee, saith the LORD of hosts... and the sword shall devour thy young lions..." Nah 2:13

"There shall the fire devour thee; the sword shall cut thee off..." Nah 3:15

"Ye Ethiopians also, ye shall be slain by my sword." Zeph 2:12

"And I will overthrow the... chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother." Hag. 2:22

"...they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." Mic 4:3

"Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye..." Zech 11:17

"Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones." Zech 13:7

"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword." Mt 10:34

"And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations..." Lk 21:24

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?" Rom 8:35

"Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword... They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;" Heb 11:34,37

33. The term "sword" is often used simply as a reference to its use as a weapon.

"...I know the evil that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel: their strong holds wilt thou set on fire, and their young men wilt thou slay with the sword..." 2Kgs 8:12

"Therefore set I in the lower places behind the wall, and on the higher places, I even set the people after their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows... For the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side..." Neh. 4:13,18

"And he said unto Jether his firstborn, Up, and slay them. But the youth drew not his sword: for he feared, because he was yet a youth." Judg 8:20

"And whosoever toucheth one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days." Num 19:16

"And David girded his sword upon his armour..." 1Sam 17:39

"Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield..." 1Sam 17:45

"And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle." 1Sam 18:4

"...is there not here under thine hand spear or sword? for I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me... And the priest said, The sword of Goliath..." 1Sam 21:8,9

"And David said unto his men, Gird ye on every man his sword. And they girded on every man his sword; and David also girded on his sword..." 1Sam 25:13

"...and gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine… thou hast given him bread, and a sword..." 1Sam 22:10,13

"...he being girded with a new sword, thought to have slain David." 2Sam 21:16

"...who fell upon two men more righteous and better than he, and slew them with the sword..." 1Kgs 2:32

"The sword of him that layeth at him cannot hold: the spear, the dart, nor the habergeon." Job 41:26

"If he turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready." Ps 7:12

"For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me." Ps 44:6

"Gird thy sword upon thy thigh..." Ps 45:3

"There brake he the arrows of the bow, the shield, and the sword, and the battle..." Ps 76:3

"Thou hast also turned the edge of his sword, and hast not made him to stand in the battle." Ps 89:43

"Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a twoedged sword in their hand;" Ps 149:6

"But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword." Prov. 5:4

"A man that beareth false witness against his neighbour is a maul, and a sword, and a sharp arrow." Prov. 25:18

"They all hold swords, being expert in war: every man hath his sword upon his thigh because of fear in the night." Song 3:8

"And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." Isa 2:4

"Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war." Isa 3:25

"...those that are slain, thrust through with a sword..." Isa 14:19

"For they fled from the swords, from the drawn sword, and from the bent bow, and from the grievousness of war." Isa 21:15

"... thy slain men are not slain with the sword, nor dead in battle." Isa 22:2

"Then shall the Assyrian fall with the sword, not of a mighty man; and the sword, not of a mean man, shall devour him: but he shall flee from the sword, and his young men shall be discomfited." Isa 31:8

"If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, then behold them that are sick with famine!...." Jer. 14:18

"And they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat: they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they shall impoverish thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the sword." Jer. 5:17

"And they shall not lie with the mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised, which are gone down to hell with their weapons of war: and they have laid their swords under their heads..." Ezek 32:27

"The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the glittering spear..." Nah 3:3

"When I have... made thee as the sword of a mighty man." Zech 9:1

"...Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves... And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand, and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest's, and smote off his ear. Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword... In that same hour said Jesus to the multitudes, Are ye come out as against a thief with swords and staves for to take me?" Mt 26:47,51,52,55

"And... cometh Judas, one of the twelve, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves... And one of them that stood by drew a sword, and smote a servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. And Jesus answered and said unto them, Are ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and with staves to take me?" Mk 14:43,47,48

"Then said he unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one... And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And he said unto them, It is enough." Lk 22:36,38

"When they which were about him saw what would follow, they said unto him, Lord, shall we smite with the sword?" Lk 22:49

"Then Jesus said unto[them], Be ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and staves?" Lk 22:52

"Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest's servant, and cut off his right ear... Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath..." Jn 18:10,11

"And he killed James the brother of John with the sword." Acts 12:2

34. The sword is often used as a symbol of military service, a soldier's badge and usage.

"And by thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt serve thy brother; and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the dominion, that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck." Gen 27:40

"If his children be multiplied, it is for the sword..." Job 27:14

"..four hundred thousand footmen that drew sword." Judg 20:2

"...twenty and six thousand men that drew sword..." Judg 20:15

"...numbered four hundred thousand men that drew sword: all these were men of war." Judg 20:17

"...eighteen thousand men; all these drew the sword." Judg 20:25

"...twenty and five thousand and an hundred men: all these drew the sword." Judg 20:35

"...twenty and five thousand men that drew the sword; all these were men of valour." Judg 20:46

"...an hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword." Judg 8:10

"...eight hundred thousand valiant men that drew the sword..." 2Sam 24:9

"...seven hundred men that drew swords..." 2Kgs 3:26

"...valiant men, men able to bear buckler and sword, and to shoot with bow, and skilful in war..." 1Cr 5:18

"...they of Israel were a thousand thousand and an hundred thousand men that drew sword: and Judah was four hundred threescore and ten thousand men that drew sword." 1Cr 21:5

"...thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:" Ezek 38:4

35. The term "sword" is used as a symbol for types of sharp speech or verbal barbs.

"The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords." Ps 55:21

"...sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword." Ps 57:4

"Behold, they belch out with their mouth: swords are in their lips..." Ps 59:7

"Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words:" Ps 59:7

"There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health." Prov. 12:18

"There is a generation, whose teeth are as swords, and their jaw teeth as knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, and the needy from among men." Prov 30:14

"And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me;" Isa 49:2

36. To be slain by the sword may be a symbol of damnation.

"They also went down into hell with him unto them that be slain with the sword... thou shalt lie in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord GOD." Ezek 31:17,18

"They shall fall in the midst of them that are slain by the sword: she is delivered to the sword: draw her and all her multitudes... they are gone down, they lie uncircumcised, slain by the sword... all of them slain, fallen by the sword... all of them slain, fallen by the sword... all of them slain, fallen by the sword, which are gone down uncircumcised into the nether parts of the earth... all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword... with them that go down to the pit... all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword... thou shalt be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised, and shalt lie with them that are slain with the sword... with their might are laid by them that were slain by the sword: they shall lie with the uncircumcised, and with them that go down to the pit... and they lie uncircumcised with them that be slain by the sword, and bear their shame with them that go down to the pit... even Pharaoh and all his army slain by the sword, saith the Lord GOD. For I have caused my terror in the land of the living: and he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised with them that are slain with the sword, even Pharaoh and all his multitude, saith the Lord GOD." Ezek 32:20-32

37. The term "sword" is used with poetic license and as an inherent part of symbolism.

"(Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed." Lk 2:35

"And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:" Eph 6:17

"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit..." Heb 4:12

"...and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword..." Rev 1:16

"...These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;" Rev 2:12

"Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth." Rev 2:16

"...and there was given unto him a great sword." Rev 6:4

"...he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword..." Rev 13:10

"...that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live." Rev 13:14

"And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth..." Rev 19:21