Bible Verses AboutSeparation
Bible verses about Separation
Understanding separation through scripture is vital for spiritual growth. The Bible highlights different types of separation: from sin, from the world, and even physical separation for spiritual pursuits. Exploring these verses reveals God's desire for us to be set apart for His holy purposes. It's not about isolation, but about aligning our hearts and minds with His will. Through studying separation, we gain discernment, learn to prioritize God's kingdom, and cultivate a deeper intimacy with Him. Embracing the scriptural understanding of separation empowers us to live lives that reflect His light and truth in a world often pulling us away from Him.
Most Helpful Verses
Begin with these carefully selected verses that address this topic most directly.
All fowls that creep, going upon all four, shall be an abomination unto you.
And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not.
Scripture Passages
And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant, and his men.
All fowls that creep, going upon all four, shall be an abomination unto you.
And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not.
And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant, and his men.
And if he that hath the issue spit upon him that is clean; then he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
And whosoever beareth ought of the carcase of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even.
But if ye will not hearken unto us, to be circumcised; then will we take our daughter, and we will be gone.
And the priest shall take the sodden shoulder of the ram, and one unleavened cake out of the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and shall put them upon the hands of the Nazarite, after the hair of his separation is shaven:
Ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or by any manner of living thing that creepeth on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean.
And the king went forth, and all the people after him, and tarried in a place that was far off.
The garment also that the plague of leprosy is in, whether it be a woollen garment, or a linen garment;
These also shall be unclean unto you among the creeping things that creep upon the earth; the weasel, and the mouse, and the tortoise after his kind,
But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.
For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.
But these are they of which ye shall not eat: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the ospray,
And if it be on her bed, or on any thing whereon she sitteth, when he toucheth it, he shall be unclean until the even.
Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall even be cut off from his people.
If there be among you any man, that is not clean by reason of uncleanness that chanceth him by night, then shall he go abroad out of the camp, he shall not come within the camp:
Now it came to pass, when they had heard the law, that they separated from Israel all the mixed multitude.
He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it.
But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he yet lived, eastward, unto the east country.
Then David went over to the other side, and stood on the top of an hill afar off; a great space being between them:
But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
And Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the congregation, and shall put off the linen garments, which he put on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them there:
And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.
All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the Lord, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.
All the days of his separation he is holy unto the Lord.
Whosoever compoundeth any like it, or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall even be cut off from his people.
It is better to dwell in the corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman and in a wide house.
Then Samuel told the people the manner of the kingdom, and wrote it in a book, and laid it up before the Lord. And Samuel sent all the people away, every man to his house.
I said, I shall not see the Lord, even the Lord, in the land of the living: I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world.
And the king went forth, and all the people after him, and tarried in a place that was far off.
And Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home to his father’s house.
For the Lord hath made Jordan a border between us and you, ye children of Reuben and children of Gad; ye have no part in the Lord: so shall your children make our children cease from fearing the Lord.
So he sent his brethren away, and they departed: and he said unto them, See that ye fall not out by the way.
And the men did so; and took two milch kine, and tied them to the cart, and shut up their calves at home:
Wherefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt separate three cities for thee.
And he said unto them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. And the people departed.
And the priest shall take the sodden shoulder of the ram, and one unleavened cake out of the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and shall put them upon the hands of the Nazarite, after the hair of his separation is shaven:
The garment also that the plague of leprosy is in, whether it be a woollen garment, or a linen garment;
Thou shalt not eat it; thou shalt pour it upon the earth as water.
And Moses let his father in law depart; and he went his way into his own land.
And her husband went with her along weeping behind her to Bahurim. Then said Abner unto him, Go, return. And he returned.
We be twelve brethren, sons of our father; one is not, and the youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan.
But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.
For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.
And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant, and his men.
And he shall cause the house to be scraped within round about, and they shall pour out the dust that they scrape off without the city into an unclean place:
At that time the Lord separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to minister unto him, and to bless in his name, unto this day.
Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways!
And if he that hath the issue spit upon him that is clean; then he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
And the vessel of earth, that he toucheth which hath the issue, shall be broken: and every vessel of wood shall be rinsed in water.
Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways!
Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men.
For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.
A foolish son is the calamity of his father: and the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping.
And the pelican, and the gier eagle, and the cormorant,
Whosoever compoundeth any like it, or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall even be cut off from his people.
It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house.
The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.
And the Lord have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.
Whereas thou camest but yesterday, should I this day make thee go up and down with us? seeing I go whither I may, return thou, and take back thy brethren: mercy and truth be with thee.
And he that toucheth the flesh of him that hath the issue shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
And the clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day: and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, and wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at even.
So Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem, and saw not the king’s face.
These also shall be unclean unto you among the creeping things that creep upon the earth; the weasel, and the mouse, and the tortoise after his kind,
All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the Lord, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow.
All the days of his separation he is holy unto the Lord.
And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept.
The lot causeth contentions to cease, and parteth between the mighty.
Thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with divers seeds: lest the fruit of thy seed which thou hast sown, and the fruit of thy vineyard, be defiled.
And he shall consecrate unto the Lord the days of his separation, and shall bring a lamb of the first year for a trespass offering: but the days that were before shall be lost, because his separation was defiled.
And every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth shall be an abomination; it shall not be eaten.
And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth.
And Abimelech said unto Isaac, Go from us; for thou art much mightier than we.
Whosoever compoundeth any like it, or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall even be cut off from his people.
Thou shalt not eat it; thou shalt pour it upon the earth as water.
Whatsoever hath no fins nor scales in the waters, that shall be an abomination unto you.
He shall be shaven, but the scall shall he not shave; and the priest shall shut up him that hath the scall seven days more:
Moreover ye shall eat no manner of blood, whether it be of fowl or of beast, in any of your dwellings.
And the Lord have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.
And every thing whereupon any part of their carcase falleth shall be unclean; whether it be oven, or ranges for pots, they shall be broken down: for they are unclean, and shall be unclean unto you.
And Judah spake unto him, saying, The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying, Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you.
And he shall consecrate unto the Lord the days of his separation, and shall bring a lamb of the first year for a trespass offering: but the days that were before shall be lost, because his separation was defiled.
Ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or by any manner of living thing that creepeth on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean.
I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer.
And if any man’s seed of copulation go out from him, then he shall wash all his flesh in water, and be unclean until the even.
And every beast that parteth the hoof, and cleaveth the cleft into two claws, and cheweth the cud among the beasts, that ye shall eat.
For afore the harvest, when the bud is perfect, and the sour grape is ripening in the flower, he shall both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks, and take away and cut down the branches.
But those that encamp before the tabernacle toward the east, even before the tabernacle of the congregation eastward, shall be Moses, and Aaron and his sons, keeping the charge of the sanctuary for the charge of the children of Israel; and the stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.
As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by themselves?
For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey:
And this is the law of the Nazarite, when the days of his separation are fulfilled: he shall be brought unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation:
And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two womenservants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok.
Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. Selah.
And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham’s servant, and his men.
If any man take a wife, and go in unto her, and hate her,
And whosoever beareth ought of the carcase of them shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even.
Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very far off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations.
Whosoever compoundeth any like it, or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall even be cut off from his people.
And he delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by themselves; and said unto his servants, Pass over before me, and put a space betwixt drove and drove.
And if any man’s seed of copulation go out from him, then he shall wash all his flesh in water, and be unclean until the even.
Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee.
Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.
For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass.
Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. Selah.
And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.
And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:
Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.
Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day.
Whosoever compoundeth any like it, or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall even be cut off from his people.
And ye shall be holy men unto me: neither shall ye eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field; ye shall cast it to the dogs.
Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.
And if any man’s seed of copulation go out from him, then he shall wash all his flesh in water, and be unclean until the even.
But all other flying creeping things, which have four feet, shall be an abomination unto you.
But Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, Jacob sent not with his brethren; for he said, Lest peradventure mischief befall him.
And that ye may put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean;
To teach when it is unclean, and when it is clean: this is the law of leprosy.
For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people.
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When either man or woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a Nazarite, to separate themselves unto the Lord:
And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people.
And he delivered them into the hand of his servants, every drove by themselves; and said unto his servants, Pass over before me, and put a space betwixt drove and drove.
And Saul took him that day, and would let him go no more home to his father’s house.
Thou shalt not eat it; thou shalt pour it upon the earth as water.
As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.
I said, I shall not see the Lord, even the Lord, in the land of the living: I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world.
This is the law of the Nazarite who hath vowed, and of his offering unto the Lord for his separation, beside that that his hand shall get: according to the vow which he vowed, so he must do after the law of his separation.
And every garment, and every skin, whereon is the seed of copulation, shall be washed with water, and be unclean until the even.
Then will I cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride: for the land shall be desolate.
The Lord shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father’s house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even the king of Assyria.
And this is the law of the Nazarite, when the days of his separation are fulfilled: he shall be brought unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation:
And he shall consecrate unto the Lord the days of his separation, and shall bring a lamb of the first year for a trespass offering: but the days that were before shall be lost, because his separation was defiled.
And if he that hath the issue spit upon him that is clean; then he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and be unclean until the even.
Then he called his servant that ministered unto him, and said, Put now this woman out from me, and bolt the door after her.
If any man take a wife, and go in unto her, and hate her,
Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.
And he set the one in Beth–el, and the other put he in Dan.
Then I separated twelve of the chief of the priests, Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and ten of their brethren with them,
So Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem, and saw not the king’s face.
There shall no stranger eat of the holy thing: a sojourner of the priest, or an hired servant, shall not eat of the holy thing.
And Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daughters, and all the persons of his house, and his cattle, and all his beasts, and all his substance, which he had got in the land of Canaan; and went into the country from the face of his brother Jacob.
And the priest shall take the sodden shoulder of the ram, and one unleavened cake out of the basket, and one unleavened wafer, and shall put them upon the hands of the Nazarite, after the hair of his separation is shaven:
And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place:
Reflection
Contemplating Separation
The Bible's verses on separation, as explored here, reveal a consistent call to distinguish between the sacred and the profane, righteousness and wickedness. From separating ourselves from harmful influences to maintaining purity in our thoughts and actions, these passages emphasize the importance of discerning God's will and living a life set apart for His purpose. This isn't about isolation or condemnation but about a conscious choice to align ourselves with God's character and avoid the corrupting influence of the world. May these verses prompt deeper reflection on our own lives, challenging us to identify areas where separation is needed and empowering us to pursue holiness. As we intentionally choose to separate from what hinders our relationship with God, we draw closer to Him and experience the abundant blessings of a life lived in obedience and devotion.
May these verses about separation bring wisdom and guidance to your spiritual journey
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