beloved! Bless (2127) (eulogeo from eu = good + lógos = word; see cognates eulogetos and eulogia) means speak good or well. When eulogeo is used by men toward men it means to speak well of with praise and thanksgiving (English "Eulogy" = an address in praise for one deceased ). To say good or positive things. Eulogeo can be from men to God, from men to men, and from God to men. When God blesses men He grants them favor and confers happiness upon them. Bible Dictionary Articles on Bless International Standard Bible Encyclopedia Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary In early Greek literature eulogeo meant simply, "to speak well of someone." Later on it came to mean "the advocacy of a person's cause." It is a word used frequently in the Septuagint Greek Old Testament to describe blessing, such as the blessing of Aaron (Nu 6:24). The LORD bless you, and keep you In context Paul is commanding us to speak well of those who chase after us! It means to even invoke God’s blessing upon them. This is not our NATURAL reaction to those who persecute us, but instead calls for a SUPERNATURAL response, a response which imitates our Lord Jesus facing the ultimate "persecution" on Calvary (1Cor 11:1, Lk 23:34, cp a Spirit filled Stephen's response even as the rocks were hitting him! See Acts 7:55, 59, 60 and compare Acts 6:3, 5, 10!). God's commandments always include his enablements - beloved of the Father, we can ONLY obey this command as we yield to and are filled by His Spirit and walk by His Spirit, for ONLY THEN will we be enabled to NOT fulfill the desires of the flesh, which are desires for revenge rather than blessing! (Memorize one of the most important verses in the New Testament -- and ask God to enable you to live it out in "shoe leather" Christianity! = Gal 5:16-see note) Bless (Webster's 1828 English Definition) - 1. To pronounce a wish of happiness to one; to express a wish or desire of happiness. - And Isaac called Jacob and blessed him. Genesis 28:1, 3, 6 2 . To make happy; to make successful; to prosper in temporal concerns; as, we are blest with peace and plenty. - The Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thou doest. Deuteronomy 15:4, 6, 10, 14, 18 3 . To make happy in a future life. - Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. Revelation 14 4 . To set apart or consecrate to holy purposes; to make and pronounce holy. = And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it. Revelation 14 5 . To consecrate by prayer; to invoke a blessing upon. = And Jesus took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven he blessed them. Luke 9:16 6 . To praise; to glorify, for benefits received. = Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. Psalms 103:1-2 7 . To praise; to magnify; to extol, for excellencies. Ps 104:1, 35 8 . To esteem or account happy; with the reciprocal pronoun. = The nations shall bless themselves in him. Jer 4:2 9 . To pronounce a solemn prophetical benediction upon. = Jer 4:2 . Deuteronomy 33:1, 11, 20 10 . In this line of Spenser, it may signify to throw, for this is nearly the primary sense. = His sparkling blade about his head he blest. Vine - lit., "to speak well of" (eu, "well," logos, "a word"), signifies, (a) "to praise, to celebrate with praises," of that which is addressed to God, acknowledging His goodness, with desire for His glory, Luke 1:64 ; 2:28 ; 24:51,53 ; James 3:9 ; (b) "to invoke blessings upon a person," e.g., Luke 6:28 ; Romans 12:14 . The present participle Passive, "blessed, praised," is especially used of Christ in Matthew 21:9 ; 23:39 , and the parallel passages; also in John 12:13 ; (c) "to consecrate a thing with solemn prayers, to ask God's blessing on a thing," e.g., Luke 9:16 ; 1 Corinthians 10:16 ; (d) "to cause to prosper, to make happy, to bestow blessings on," said of God, e.g., in Acts 3:26 ; Galatians 3:9 ; Ephesians 1:3 . Cp. the synonym aineo, "to praise." See Praise. (Bless, Blessed, Blessedness, Blessing - Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words) Friberg (summarized) - (1) of man's duty to speak well of God in the form of praise or thanksgiving praise, extol (Lk 1.64); give thanks (1Cor 14.16); (2) as calling down God's gracious power on persons bless, invoke a blessing on (Lk 24.50); on things bless, consecrate, pronounce blessing on (Mt 26.26); (3) of God's action in bestowing blessing confer favor or blessing on, graciously benefit, act kindly toward (Heb 6.14); passive be blessed, be favored (Lk 1.42) BDAG (summarized) - 1. to say something commendatory, speak well of, praise, extol 2. to ask for bestowal of special favor, esp. of calling down God’s gracious power, bless (LXX) 3. to bestow a favor, provide with benefits: w. God or Christ as subj. Thayer - 1. In Greek writings - to praise, to celebrate with praise (Lk 1:64, 2:28, 24:51, 53, Jas 3:9) absolutely, in the giving of thanks: Mt. 14:19; 26:26 (cf. 3 below); Mk 6:41; 8:7; 14:22 (cf. 3 below); Luke 24:30; 1 Cor. 14:16. 2. to invoke blessings: upon one, Matt. 5:44; Luke 6:28; Ro 12:14; absolutely, 1Cor. 4:12; 1 Pet. 3:9; of one taking leave, Luke 24:50f; of one at the point of death, Heb. 11:20f (Ge 48:9); in congratulations, Heb. 7:1,6f (Gen. 14:19); Mark 10:16 R G L; Luke 2:34; praised, blessed: Matt. 21:9; 23:39; Mark 11:9f; Luke 13:35; 19:38; John 12:13 (in all which passages it is an acclamation borrowed from: Ps. 118:26. 3. with the accusative of a thing, "to consecrate a thing with solemn prayers; to ask God's blessing on a thing, pray him to bless it to one's use, pronounce a consecratory blessing on": Mark 8:7 Luke 9:16; 1Cor. 10:16; 1Sa 9:13; Mt. 26:26; 4. of God, to cause to prosper, to make happy, to bestow blessings on, Acts 3:26; followed by en with the dative of the blessing, with every kind of blessing, Eph 1:3 Ge 22:17; I will bestow on thee the greatest blessings, Heb 6:14; Gal. 3:8 Gal. 3:9; favored of God, blessed, Luke 1:42b (cf. Dt. 28:4); blessed among women, i. e. before all other women, Lk 1:28 , Isa. 61:9; 65:23;appointed to eternal salvation by my father, Mt. 25:34. Here are the 41 NT uses of eulogeo -- Usage: bless(9), blessed(25), blessing(3), giving a blessing(1), praise(1), praising(1), surely*(1). Matthew 14:19 Ordering the people to sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food, and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds, Matthew 21:9 The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David; BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Hosanna in the highest!" Matthew 23:39 "For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, 'BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!'" Matthew 25:34 "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Matthew 26:26 While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, "Take, eat; this is My body." Mark 6:41 And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food and broke the loaves and He kept giving them to the disciples to set before them; and He divided up the two fish among them all. Mark 8:7 They also had a few small fish; and after He had blessed them, He ordered these to be served as well. Mark 11:9 Those who went in front and those who followed were shouting: "Hosanna! BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; 10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David; Hosanna in the highest!" Mark 14:22 While they were eating, He took some bread, and after a blessing He broke it, and gave it to them, and said, "Take it; this is My body." Luke 1:42 And she cried out with a loud voice and said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 64 And at once his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he began to speak in praise of God. Luke 2:28 then he took Him into his arms, and blessed God, and said, 34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary His mother, "Behold, this Child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed-- Luke 6:28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Luke 9:16 Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed them, and broke them, and kept giving them to the disciples to set before the people. Luke 13:35 "Behold, your house is left to you desolate; and I say to you, you will not see Me until the time comes when you say, 'BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!'" Luke 19:38 shouting: "BLESSED IS THE KING WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" Luke 24:30 When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them. 50 And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. 51 While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven. 53 and were continually in the temple praising God. John 12:13 took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him, and began to shout, "Hosanna! BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD, even the King of Israel." Acts 3:26 "For you first, God raised up His Servant and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways." Romans 12:14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 1 Corinthians 4:12 and we toil, working with our own hands; when we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure; 1 Corinthians 10:16 Is not the cup of blessing which we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread which we break a sharing in the body of Christ? 1 Corinthians 14:16 Otherwise if you bless in the spirit only, how will the one who fills the place of the ungifted say the "Amen " at your giving of thanks, since he does not know what you are saying? Galatians 3:9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer. Ephesians 1:3-note Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, Hebrews 6:14-note saying, "I WILL SURELY BLESS YOU AND I WILL SURELY MULTIPLY YOU." Hebrews 7:1-note For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham as he was returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 6-note But the one whose genealogy is not traced from them collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed the one who had the promises. 7 But without any dispute the lesser is blessed by the greater. Hebrews 11:20-note By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to come. 21 By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. James 3:9 With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; 1 Peter 3:9-note not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing. Eulogeo in Septuagint [LEH] = to bless, to praise Ge 1:22; to curse (euph.) 1Ki 21:10 = 249 verses in the non-apocryphal Septuagint = Ge 1:22, 28; 2:3; 5:2; 9:1; 12:2f; 14:19; 17:16, 20; 22:17; 24:1, 35, 48, 60; 25:11; 26:3, 12, 24; 27:4, 7, 10, 19, 23, 25, 27, 29ff, 33f, 38, 41; 28:1, 3, 6; 30:27, 30; 31:55; 32:26, 29; 35:9; 39:5; 47:7, 10; 48:3, 9, 15f, 20; 49:25, 28; Ex 12:32; 20:11, 24; 23:25; 39:43; Lev 9:22f; Nu 6:23-24; 22:6, 12; 23:11, 20, 25; 24:1, 9f; Deut 1:11; 2:7; 7:13; 8:10; 12:7; 14:24, 29; 15:4, 6, 10, 14, 18; 16:10, 15; 18:5; 21:5; 23:20; 24:13, 19; 26:15; 27:12; 28:3ff, 12; 30:16; 33:1, 11, 20; Josh 8:30; 14:13; 17:14; 22:6f, 33; 24:10; Jdg 5:2, 9, 24; 13:24; Ruth 2:4, 19; 3:10; 1 Sam 2:9, 20; 9:13; 13:10; 23:21; 25:14, 33; 26:25; 2 Sam 2:5; 6:11f, 18, 20; 7:29; 8:10; 13:25; 14:22; 19:39; 21:3; 24:23; 1 Kgs 1:47; 2:45; 8:14, 55, 66; 10:9; 21:10, 13; 2 Kgs 4:29; 10:15; 1 Chr 4:10; 13:14; 16:2, 36, 43; 17:27; 18:10; 26:5; 29:10, 20; 2 Chr 6:3; 9:8; 20:26; 30:27; 31:8, 10; Neh 8:6; 9:5; 11:2; Job 1:10f, 21; 2:5; 11:2; 29:13; 31:20; 42:12; Ps 5:12; 16:7; 26:12; 28:9; 29:11; 34:1; 37:22; 45:2; 49:18; 62:4; 63:4; 65:10; 66:8; 67:1, 6f; 68:26; 72:15, 17; 96:2; 103:1-2, 20ff; 104:1, 35; 107:38; 109:28; 112:2; 113:2; 115:12f, 15, 18; 118:26; 128:4f; 129:8; 132:15; 134:1, 3; 135:19f; 145:1f, 10, 21; 147:13; Pr 3:33; 11:25; 20:9; 22:8; 27:14; 28:20; 30:11; 31:30; Isa 12:1; 19:24f; 25:3, 5; 36:16; 38:18ff; 43:20; 51:2; 61:9; 64:11; 65:16, 23; Jer 4:2; 17:7; 31:23; Ezek 3:12; Dan 2:19f; 4:34; 5:4, 23; Hag 2:19; First use in OT Lxx - Gen 1:22 And God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” Last use in OT Lxx - Hag 2:19 ‘Is the seed still in the barn? Even including the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree, it has not borne fruit. Yet from this day on I will bless you.’” Our privilege - Ps 103:1-note A Psalm of David. Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name. 2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits; Spurgeon: Bless the Lord O my soul. Soul music is the very soul of music. The Psalmist strikes the best key note when he begins with stirring up his inmost self to magnify the Lord. He soliloquizes, holds self-communion and exhorts himself, as though he felt that dullness would all too soon steal over his faculties, as, indeed, it will over us all, unless we are diligently on the watch. Jehovah is worthy to be praised by us in that highest style of adoration which is intended by the term bless—"All thy works praise thee, O God, but thy saints shall bless thee." Our very life and essential self should be engrossed with this delightful service, and each one of us should arouse his own heart to the engagement. Let others forbear if they can: "Bless the Lord, O MY soul." Let others murmur, but do thou bless. Let others bless themselves and their idols, but do thou bless the LORD. Let others use only their tongues, but as for me I will cry, "Bless the Lord, O my soul." And all that is within me, bless his holy name. Many are our faculties, emotions, and capacities, but God has given them all to us, and they ought all to join in chorus to his praise. Half-hearted, ill-conceived, unintelligent praises are not such as we should render to our loving Lord. If the law of justice demanded all our heart and soul and mind for the Creator, much more may the law of gratitude put in a comprehensive claim for the homage of our whole being to the God of grace. It is instructive to note how the Psalmist dwells upon the holy name of God, as if his holiness were dearest to him; or, perhaps, because the holiness or wholeness of God was to his mind the grandest motive for rendering to him the homage of his nature in its wholeness. Babes may praise the divine goodness, but fathers in grace magnify his holiness. By the name we understand the revealed character of God, and assuredly those songs which are suggested, not by our fallible reasoning and imperfect observation, but by unerring inspiration, should more than any others arouse all our consecrated powers. Verse 2. Bless the LORD, O my soul. He is in real earnest, and again calls upon himself to arise. Had he been very sleepy before? Or was he now doubly sensible of the importance, the imperative necessity of adoration? Certainly, he uses no vain repetitions, for the Holy Spirit guides his pen; and thus he shews us that we have need, again and again, to bestir ourselves when we are about to worship God, for it would be shameful to offer him anything less than the utmost our souls can render. These first verses are a tuning of the harp, a screwing up of the loosened strings that not a note may fail in the sacred harmony. And forget not all his benefits. Not so much as one of the divine dealings should be forgotten, they are all really beneficial to us, all worthy of himself, and all subjects for praise. Memory is very treacherous about the best things; by a strange perversity, engendered by the fall, it treasures up the refuse of the past and permits priceless treasures to lie neglected, it is tenacious of grievances and holds benefits all too loosely. It needs spurring to its duty, though that duty ought to be its delight. Observe that he calls all that is within him to remember all the Lord's benefits. For our task our energies should be suitably called out. God's all cannot be praised with less than our all. Reader, have we not cause enough at this time to bless him who blesses us? Come, let us read our diaries and see if there be not choice favors recorded there for which we have rendered no grateful return. Remember how the Persian king, when he could not sleep, read the chronicles of the empire, and discovered that one who had saved his life had never been rewarded. How quickly did he do him honour! The Lord has saved us with a great salvation, shall we render no recompense? The name of ingrate is one of the most shameful that a man can wear; surely we cannot be content to run the risk of such a brand. Let us awake then, and with intense enthusiasm bless Jehovah. Wayne Barber explains that eulogeo... "means to speak good things about this person. Now careful, don’t jump ahead with surface interpretation. You may be thinking, "Now wait a minute! Do you mean when somebody, even in the body of Christ, treats me like dirt, I am supposed to say something good about them? That is a lie." Yeah, it sure is. And God is not telling you to lie about them. What does it mean to bless somebody, to speak well of somebody? You have to read the whole verse. He says, "bless and curse not." The word "curse" means to wish evil upon someone. That is what it means to curse them. It means to say, "Oh, I hope he gets his. I hope this happens in his life," wishing evil upon them. Instead, wish that good things could come upon them. Speak that which is good. Don’t lie about them because they are mean people, but speak good. Wish that which is good to come upon them. Now that is the way you treat those in the body of Christ who bring great grief and pain in your Christian walk. You are seeking to walk surrendered to Christ and they treat you as if you are dirt. You don’t wish evil upon them. Now you know, if you didn’t understand Romans 1-11, you can’t understand this. In Romans 8 we know why we can do this. ...Because God is causing all things, even those people who bring us grief, to work together for good to those that love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. You see, you have got to have the first 11 chapters of Romans to even begin to understand chapters 12 through 16. Everything in chapters 12 through 16 hinges on what we have already studied in Romans. God is in charge. He even uses the persecution. To do what? To drive us to the end of ourselves. Why? Because Romans 8:29 says that we might be conformed into the image of Christ Jesus. So the pain and all the things that we go through in this quarry, in this school, in this workshop down here on this earth are all tools that God is using to chip off and to hone and to make us into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ. It drives us to the end of ourselves where we learn to decrease and then He is able to increase in our life. That is what life is all about. So as a believer, when it comes, back off and say, "God, I don’t know what you are doing in this, but thank you that you are in control of it and I am not about to wish evil upon this person. I want them to know the same God I know and trust and walk with day by day." You don’t wish evil upon them. As a matter of fact, it is by the grace of God that you are not like they are. So speak well of them. Speak good of them. That is the response of a person whose love is without hypocrisy. Because you have got the bigger picture, you can see far beyond the pain and what the individual is doing to you in your life. It is the saddest thing in the world when people live with bitterness inside them. Hebrews says, "Don’t let a root of bitterness grow up thereby defiling many." Do you know where it comes from? It comes from not being surrendered. It comes from not understanding that only when you are surrendered, this is your logical, reasonable spiritual service of worship. When you make this offering of yourself to God, God can transform you, renew your mind and you are going to think differently from that point on. But a person not willing to live that way is a person who has put himself, his sinful body, right back up under bondage, the same bondage that God has freed him from. He lives in misery, bound to something that he should never be bound to. So, the response. (from sermon Romans 12:14-17 Responsibilities Under Grace 7)