Topical Bible

What Does the Bible Say About Envy?

Here are 14 Bible verses about envy, ordered by how relevant readers found them, with the King James Version and the modern Berean Standard Bible side by side.

  1. #1Proverbs 14:30

    A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones.

    BSBA tranquil heart is life to the body, but envy rots the bones.

  2. #2Exodus 34:14

    For thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:

    BSBFor you must not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

  3. #3James 3:16

    For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.

    BSBFor where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every evil practice.

  4. #4Proverbs 23:17

    Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long.

    BSBDo not let your heart envy sinners, but always continue in the fear of the LORD.

  5. #51 Corinthians 13:4

    Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,

    BSBLove is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

  6. #6Galatians 5:19-21

    Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

    BSBThe acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions, and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

  7. #7Galatians 5:26

    Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

    BSBLet us not become conceited, provoking and envying one another.

  8. #81 Peter 2:1

    Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,

    BSBRid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander.

  9. #9Proverbs 24:1

    Be not thou envious against evil men, neither desire to be with them.

    BSBDo not envy wicked men or desire their company;

  10. #10Titus 3:3

    For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.

    BSBFor at one time we too were foolish, disobedient, misled, and enslaved to all sorts of desires and pleasures—living in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.

  11. #11Proverbs 27:4

    Wrath is cruel, and anger is outrageous; but who is able to stand before envy?

    BSBWrath is cruel and anger is like a flood, but who can withstand jealousy?

  12. #12Ecclesiastes 4:4

    Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbour. This is also vanity and vexation of spirit.

    BSBI saw that all labor and success spring from a man’s envy of his neighbor. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

  13. #13Job 5:2

    For wrath killeth the foolish man, and envy slayeth the silly one.

    BSBFor resentment kills a fool, and envy slays the simple.

  14. #14Mark 7:20-23

    And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

    BSBHe continued: “What comes out of a man, that is what defiles him. For from within the hearts of men come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness. All these evils come from within, and these are what defile a man.”

Verse rankings: OpenBible.info Topical Bible (CC BY). Scripture: KJV & BSB (public domain).

Envy in Torrey's Topical Textbook

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