“Delight” Bible Study

(compiled by Bill Stevenson)

The King James Version word search resulted in 86 verses with “delight” in them. All but one are in the
Old Testament and even that one indicates desire for the obeying the Ten Commandments. Try to
determine why this happened in English. For each verse with “delight” in it think of New Testament
verses or passages which indicate similar. Also try to figure out the reasons I had for arranging the
verses as I did. Finally, insert thought-provoking questions where appropriate. If you do such, please e-
mail a copy of the results.

individuals in relation to other human beings:

 Deuteronomy 21:14-- “And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go
whither she will; but thou shalt not sell her at all for money, thou shalt not make merchandise of her,
because thou hast humbled her.”
 2 Samuel 15:26-- “But if he thus say, ‘I have no delight in thee; behold, here am I, let him do to
me as seemeth good unto him.’”
 Genesis 34:19-- “And the young man deferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in
Jacob's daughter: and he was more honorable than all the house of his father.”
 1 Samuel 18:22-- “And Saul commanded his servants, saying, ‘Commune with David secretly,
and say, ‘Behold, the king hath delight in thee, and all his servants love thee: now therefore be the
king's son in law.’’”
 1 Samuel 19:2-- “But Jonathan Saul's son delighted much in David: and Jonathan told David,
saying, ‘Saul my father seeketh to kill thee: now therefore, I pray thee, take heed to thyself until the
morning, and abide in a secret place, and hide thyself:’”
 1 Kings 10:9-- Queen of Sheba said to King Solomon, “Blessed be the Lord thy God, which
delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel: because the Lord loved Israel for ever, therefore
made He thee King, to do judgment and justice.” (also in 2 Chronicles 9:8)
 Esther 2:14-- “In the evening she went, and on the morrow she returned into the second house of
the women, to the custody of Shaashgaz, the king's chamberlain, which kept the concubines: she came
in unto the king no more, except the king delighted in her, and that she were called by name.”
 Esther 6:6-11-- “So Haman came in. And the king said unto him, ‘What shall be done unto the
man whom the king delighteth to honour?’ Now Haman thought in his heart, ‘To whom would the
king delight to do honour more than to myself?’ And Haman answered the king, For the man whom
the king delighteth to honour, Let the royal apparel be brought which the king useth to wear, and the
horse that the king rideth upon, and the crown royal which is set upon his head: And let this apparel
and horse be delivered to the hand of one of the king's most noble princes, that they may array the
man withal whom the king delighteth to honour, and bring him on horseback through the street of the
city, and proclaim before him, Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delighteth to honour.
Then the king said to Haman, ‘Make haste, and take the apparel and the horse, as thou hast said, and
do even so to Mordecai the Jew, that sitteth at the king's gate: let nothing fail of all that thou hast
spoken.’ Then took Haman the apparel and the horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and brought him on
horseback through the street of the city, and proclaimed before him, ‘Thus shall it be done unto the
man whom the king delighteth to honour.’”
 Psalms 16:3-- “As for the saints who are on the Earth, they are the excellent, in whom is all my
delight.”
 Proverbs 3:11-12-- “My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of His
correction: for whom the Lord loveth He correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.”
 Proverbs 29:17-- “Correct thy son, and he shall give thee rest; yea, he shall give delight unto thy
soul.”
 Solomon 2:3-- “As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons.
I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.”
 Solomon 7:6-- “6 How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights!”

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God towards people:
 Isaiah 65:1112-- “But ye are they that forsake the Lord, who forget my holy mountain, who
prepare a table for that troop, and who furnish the drink offering unto that number. Therefore will I
number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaughter: because when I called, ye did
not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein
I delighted not.”
 Isaiah 66:4-- “I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because
when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes,
and chose that in which I delighted not.”
 Numbers 14:8-- “If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a
land which floweth with milk and honey.”
 Deuteronomy 10:15-- “Only the Lord had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their
seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day.”
 Isaiah 62:4-- “Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed
Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the Lord delighteth in thee,
and thy land shall be married.”
 2 Samuel 22:20-- King David said, “He [God] brought me forth also into a large place: He
delivered me, because He delighted in me.”
 Psalms 18:17-- “He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for
they were too strong for me. They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the Lord was my stay.
He brought me forth also into a large place; He delivered me, because He delighted in me. The Lord
rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he
recompensed me. For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my
God. For all His judgments were before me, and I did not put away His statutes from me. I was also
upright before Him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity. Therefore hath the Lord recompensed me
according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.”
 Psalms 37:23-24-- “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and He delighteth in his
way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand.”
 Psalms 94:18-19-- “When I said, ‘My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O Lord, held me up.’ In the
multitude of my thoughts within me Thy comforts delight my soul.”
 Proverbs 11:20-- “They that are of a froward heart are abomination to the Lord: but such as are
upright in their way are His delight.”
 Proverbs 12:22-- “Lying lips are abomination to the Lord: but they who deal truly are His
delight.”
 Isaiah 42:1-- “Behold My servant, whom I uphold; Mine elect, in whom My soul delighteth; I
have put My spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.”
 Jeremiah 9:23-24-- “Thus saith the Lord, ‘Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let
the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth
glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth Me, that I am the Lord Who exercises
lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the Earth: for in these things I delight’, saith the
Lord.”

God towards things:

 1 Samuel 15:22-- “And Samuel said, ‘Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and
sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken
than the fat of rams.’”
 Isaiah 1:11-- “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto Me? saith the Lord: I am
full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks,
or of lambs, or of he goats.”
 Psalms 51:16-17-- “For Thou desirest not sacrifice, else would I give it: Thou delightest not in
burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou
wilt not despise.”
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 Proverbs 15:8-- “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord: but the prayer of the
upright is His delight.”
 Psalms 147:10-11-- “He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: He taketh not pleasure in the
legs of a man. The Lord taketh pleasure in them who fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy.”
 Proverbs 11:1-- “A false balance is abomination to the Lord: but a just weight is His delight.”
 Micah 7:18-- “Who is a God like unto thee, Who pardoneth iniquity and passeth by the
transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He retaineth not His anger for ever, because He
delighteth in mercy.”

things or in relation to things:

 Proverbs 8:22-31-- “The Lord possessed me [wisdom] in the beginning of His way, before His
works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the Earth was. When there
were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the
mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth: While as yet He had not made the Earth,
nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. When He prepared the heavens, I was
there: when He set a compass upon the face of the depth: when He established the clouds above:
when he strengthened the fountains of the deep: when He gave to the sea His decree, that the waters
should not pass His commandment: when He appointed the foundations of the Earth: then I was by
Him, as one brought up with Him: and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him; rejoicing
in the habitable part of His Earth; and my delights were with the sons of men.”
 2 Samuel 1:24-- “Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet with other
delights, who put on ornaments of gold upon your apparel.”
 Isaiah 13:17-- “17 Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, who shall not regard silver; and
as for gold, they shall not delight in it.”
 Malachi 3:10-12-- “‘Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in Mine
house, and prove Me now herewith’, saith the Lord of hosts, ‘if I will not open you the windows of
heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will
rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall
your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts. And all nations shall call
you blessed: for ye shall be a delightful land’, saith the Lord of hosts.”
 Ecclesiastes 2:8-- “I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of
the provinces: I gat me men singers and women singers, and the delights of the sons of men, as
musical instruments, and that of all sorts.”
 2 Samuel 24:3-- “And Joab said unto the King, ‘Now the Lord thy God add unto the people, how
many soever they be, an hundredfold, and that the eyes of my lord the King may see it: but why doth
my lord the King delight in this thing [counting of the Israelites]?’”
 Isaiah 55:1-2-- “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money;
come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do
ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken
diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.”
 Isaiah 66:3-- “”He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut
off a dog's neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine's blood; he that burneth incense, as
if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their
abominations.”
 Psalms 62:3-4-- “How long will ye imagine mischief against a man? Ye shall be slain all of you:
as a bowing wall shall ye be, and as a tottering fence. They only consult to cast him down from his
excellency: they delight in lies: they bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly. Selah.
 Psalms 68:30-- “Rebuke the company of spearmen, the multitude of the bulls, with the calves of
the people, till every one submit himself with pieces of silver: scatter thou the people that delight in
war.
 Proverbs 1:22-- “How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in
their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?”
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 Proverbs 2:13-15-- “who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness; who
rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked; whose ways are crooked, and they
froward in their paths:”
 Proverbs 16:13-- “Righteous lips are the delight of kings; and they love him who speaketh right.”
 Proverbs 18:2-- “A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself.”
 Proverbs 19:10-- “Delight is not fitting for a fool; much less for a servant to have rule over
princes.”
 Proverbs 24:23-25-- “These things also belong to the wise. It is not good to have respect of
persons in judgment. He who saith unto the wicked, ‘Thou art righteous’; him shall the people curse,
nations shall abhor him: but to them who rebuke him shall be delight, and a good blessing shall come
upon them.”
 Psalms 109:16-17-- “Because that he remembered not to show mercy, but persecuted the poor and
needy man, that he might even slay the broken in heart. As he loved cursing, so let it come unto him:
as he delighted not in blessing, so let it be far from him.”
 Nehemiah 9:25-- “And they took strong cities, and a fat land, and possessed houses full of all
goods, wells digged, vineyards, and oliveyards, and fruit trees in abundance: so they did eat, and were
filled, and became fat, and delighted themselves in Thy great goodness.”
 Isaiah 66:10-11-- “Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice
for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her: That ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her
consolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory.”
 Psalms 37:9-11-- “For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall
inherit the Earth. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider
his place, and it shall not be. But the meek shall inherit the Earth; and shall delight themselves in the
abundance of peace.”
 Jeremiah 6:10-- “To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear
is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the Word of the Lord is unto them a reproach;
they have no delight in it.”
 Psalms 1:1-2-- “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the unGodly, nor standeth in
the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the Law of the Lord; and
in His Law doth he meditate day and night.”
 Psalms 112:1-- “Praise ye the Lord. Blessed is the man who feareth the Lord, who delighteth
greatly in His commandments.”
 Psalms 119:16-- “I will delight myself in Thy statutes: I will not forget Thy Word.”
 Psalms 119:24-- “Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counselors.”
 Psalms 119:35-- “Make me to go in the path of Thy commandments; for therein do I delight.”
 Psalms 119:47-- “And I will delight myself in Thy commandments, which I have loved.”
 Psalms 119:70-- “Their heart is as fat as grease; but I delight in Thy Law.”
 Psalms 119:77-- “Let Thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may live: for Thy Law is my
delight.”
 Psalms 119:92-- “Unless Thy Law had been my delights, I should then have perished in mine
affliction.”
 Psalms 119:143-- “Trouble and anguish have taken hold on me: yet Thy commandments are my
delights.”
 Psalms 119:174-- “I have longed for Thy salvation, O Lord; and Thy Law is my delight.”
 Romans 7:22-25-- “For I delight in the Law of God after the inward man: But I see another law
in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin
which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this
death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the Law of
God; but with the flesh the law of sin.”

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humans in relating to God:
 Job 22:23-26-- Eliphaz exhorted Job, “‘If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thou
shalt put away iniquity far from thy tabernacles. Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of
Ophir as the stones of the brooks. Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defence, and thou shalt have plenty
of silver. For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God.’”
 Job 27:8-10-- “‘For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh
away his soul? Will God hear his cry when trouble cometh upon him? Will he delight himself in the
Almighty? Will he always call upon God?’”
 Job 34:5-9-- Elihu proclaims, “For Job hath said, I am righteous: and God hath taken away my
judgment. Should I lie against my right? My wound is incurable without transgression. What man is
like Job, who drinketh up scorning like water? Who goeth in company with the workers of iniquity,
and walketh with wicked men. For he hath said, ‘It profiteth a man nothing that he should delight
himself with God.’”
 Malachi 2:17-- “Ye have wearied the Lord with your words. Yet ye say, ‘Wherein have we
wearied Him?’ When ye say, ‘Every one who doeth evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and He
delighteth in them’; or, ‘Where is the God of judgment?’
 Psalms 22:6-8-- King David said, “But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and
despised of the people. All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the
head, saying, ‘He trusted on the Lord that He would deliver him: let Him deliver him, seeing he
delighted in Him.”
 Malachi 3:1-- “1 Behold, I will send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me: and
the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant,
Whom ye delight in: behold, He shall come’, saith the Lord of hosts.”
 Psalms 37:4-- “Delight thyself also in the Lord: and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.”
 Psalms 40:8-- “I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy Law is within my heart”.
 Isaiah 58:1-2-- “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show My people their
transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins. Yet they seek Me daily, and delight to know My
ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of Me
the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.”
 Isaiah 58:13-14-- “If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My
holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour Him, not
doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words; then shalt thou
delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the Earth, and feed
thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”

What conclusions did you come to? Who and what should you delight in and who and what should you
not delight in?