What Does the Bible Say About Waste?
Here are 14 Bible verses about waste, ordered by how relevant readers found them, with the King James Version and the modern Berean Standard Bible side by side.
- #1John 6:12
When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.
BSBAnd when everyone was full, He said to His disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over, so that nothing will be wasted.”
- #2Ezekiel 16:49
Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.
BSBNow this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed, and complacent; they did not help the poor and needy.
- #3Leviticus 23:22
And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the Lord your God.
BSBWhen you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap all the way to the edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the foreign resident. I am the LORD your God.’”
- #4Proverbs 18:9
He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster.
BSBWhoever is slothful in his work is brother to him who destroys.
- #5Proverbs 12:27
The slothful man roasteth not that which he took in hunting: but the substance of a diligent man is precious.
BSBA lazy man does not roast his game, but a diligent man prizes his possession.
- #6Proverbs 13:23
Much food is in the tillage of the poor: but there is that is destroyed for want of judgment.
BSBAbundant food is in the fallow ground of the poor, but without justice it is swept away.
- #7Deuteronomy 24:19
When thou cuttest down thine harvest in thy field, and hast forgot a sheaf in the field, thou shalt not go again to fetch it: it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow: that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hands.
BSBIf you are harvesting in your field and forget a sheaf there, do not go back to get it. It is to be left for the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
- #8Mark 14:3-5
And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head. And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made? For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her.
BSBWhile Jesus was in Bethany reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke open the jar and poured it on Jesus’ head. Some of those present, however, expressed their indignation to one another: “Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for over three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor.” And they scolded her.
- #9Isaiah 54:16
Behold, I have created the smith that bloweth the coals in the fire, and that bringeth forth an instrument for his work; and I have created the waster to destroy.
BSBBehold, I have created the craftsman who fans the coals into flame and forges a weapon fit for its task; and I have created the destroyer to wreak havoc.
- #10Mark 14:3-6
And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head. And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made? For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her. And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me.
BSBWhile Jesus was in Bethany reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke open the jar and poured it on Jesus’ head. Some of those present, however, expressed their indignation to one another: “Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for over three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor.” And they scolded her. But Jesus said, “Leave her alone; why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful deed to Me.
- #11Genesis 1:28
And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
BSBGod blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth.”
- #12Numbers 35:33
So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it.
BSBDo not pollute the land where you live, for bloodshed pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land on which the blood is shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it.
- #13Proverbs 4:2-3
For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law. For I was my father’s son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother.
BSBFor I give you sound teaching; do not abandon my directive. When I was a son to my father, tender and the only child of my mother,
- #14Deuteronomy 7:9
Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;
BSBKnow therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps His covenant of loving devotion for a thousand generations of those who love Him and keep His commandments.
Verse rankings: OpenBible.info Topical Bible (CC BY). Scripture: KJV & BSB (public domain).