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83 Bible Verses about Qualities Of A Good Leader

1 Timothy 4:12 ESV / 69 helpful votes

Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.

Exodus 18:21 ESV / 42 helpful votes

Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.

1 Timothy 3:2-7 ESV / 37 helpful votes

Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. ...

Philippians 2:3 ESV / 36 helpful votes

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

Galatians 6:9 ESV / 36 helpful votes

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

Proverbs 11:14 ESV / 31 helpful votes

Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.

Matthew 20:26 ESV / 26 helpful votes

It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,

Colossians 3:12-13 ESV / 25 helpful votes

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

2 Timothy 2:15 ESV / 22 helpful votes

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

James 4:10 ESV / 21 helpful votes

Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

John 3:30 ESV / 19 helpful votes

He must increase, but I must decrease.”

Acts 9:1-43 ESV / 18 helpful votes

But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. ...

Proverbs 29:2 ESV / 18 helpful votes

When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan.

Proverbs 4:23 ESV / 18 helpful votes

Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.

Hebrews 13:17 ESV / 16 helpful votes

Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

James 1:12 ESV / 15 helpful votes

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

Acts 20:28 ESV / 15 helpful votes

Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.

Matthew 7:12 ESV / 15 helpful votes

“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

1 Timothy 3:2 ESV / 14 helpful votes

Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,

Philippians 4:13 ESV / 14 helpful votes

I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Proverbs 29:4 ESV / 14 helpful votes

By justice a king builds up the land, but he who exacts gifts tears it down.

Proverbs 20:28 ESV / 14 helpful votes

Steadfast love and faithfulness preserve the king, and by steadfast love his throne is upheld.

Psalm 78:72 ESV / 13 helpful votes

With upright heart he shepherded them and guided them with his skillful hand.

Hebrews 13:7 ESV / 12 helpful votes

Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.

1 Timothy 4:8 ESV / 12 helpful votes

For while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

Romans 12:3-8 ESV / 12 helpful votes

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; ...

Mark 10:42-45 ESV / 12 helpful votes

And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Psalm 27:1 ESV / 12 helpful votes

Of David. The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

Luke 6:31 ESV / 11 helpful votes

And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.

Ezekiel 34:1-31 ESV / 11 helpful votes

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord God: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered; ...

Numbers 27:15-17 ESV / 11 helpful votes

Moses spoke to the Lord, saying, “Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.”

Philippians 4:6 ESV / 10 helpful votes

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Romans 8:28 ESV / 10 helpful votes

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Mark 1:35 ESV / 10 helpful votes

And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.

John 13:13-17 ESV / 9 helpful votes

You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

Luke 22:26 ESV / 9 helpful votes

But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves.

Nehemiah 1:1 ESV / 9 helpful votes

The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the citadel,

Isaiah 41:10 ESV / 8 helpful votes

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Proverbs 29:14 ESV / 8 helpful votes

If a king faithfully judges the poor, his throne will be established forever.

Proverbs 16:12 ESV / 8 helpful votes

It is an abomination to kings to do evil, for the throne is established by righteousness.

Nehemiah 1:1-11 ESV / 8 helpful votes

The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the citadel, that Hanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and shame. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are destroyed by fire.” As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven. And I said, “O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, ...

Joshua 5:13-15 ESV / 8 helpful votes

When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing before him with his drawn sword in his hand. And Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” And he said, “No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord. Now I have come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped and said to him, “What does my lord say to his servant?” And the commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.

2 Timothy 4:1-5 ESV / 7 helpful votes

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Romans 13:1 ESV / 7 helpful votes

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.

Psalm 130:1-8 ESV / 7 helpful votes

A Song of Ascents. Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord! O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy! If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared. I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; ...

Exodus 18:13-27 ESV / 7 helpful votes

The next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning till evening. When Moses' father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning till evening?” And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God; when they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I make them know the statutes of God and his laws.” Moses' father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good. ...

Revelation 1:1-20 ESV / 6 helpful votes

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near. John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood ...

James 3:1 ESV / 6 helpful votes

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

Philippians 2:4 ESV / 6 helpful votes

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Romans 13:3 ESV / 6 helpful votes

For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval,

Luke 12:48 ESV / 6 helpful votes

But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.

Matthew 24:45-47 ESV / 6 helpful votes

“Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions.

Matthew 23:1-12 ESV / 6 helpful votes

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, ...

Jeremiah 1:5 ESV / 6 helpful votes

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

Ecclesiastes 5:18 ESV / 6 helpful votes

Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot.

Proverbs 22:29 ESV / 6 helpful votes

Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.

Proverbs 20:8 ESV / 6 helpful votes

A king who sits on the throne of judgment winnows all evil with his eyes.

Nehemiah 1:4 ESV / 6 helpful votes

As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven.

Joshua 1:1-6:25 ESV / 6 helpful votes

After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. ...

1 Timothy 3:5 ESV / 5 helpful votes

For if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church?

Acts 8:1-40 ESV / 5 helpful votes

And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. ...

Mark 10:1-52 ESV / 5 helpful votes

And he left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again. And again, as was his custom, he taught them. And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.” And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. ...

Mark 1:1-45 ESV / 5 helpful votes

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’” John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. ...

Matthew 20:25-28 ESV / 5 helpful votes

But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Matthew 5:37 ESV / 5 helpful votes

Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.

Micah 6:8 ESV / 5 helpful votes

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Isaiah 32:1-20 ESV / 5 helpful votes

Behold, a king will reign in righteousness, and princes will rule in justice. Each will be like a hiding place from the wind, a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land. Then the eyes of those who see will not be closed, and the ears of those who hear will give attention. The heart of the hasty will understand and know, and the tongue of the stammerers will hasten to speak distinctly. The fool will no more be called noble, nor the scoundrel said to be honorable. ...

Proverbs 21:1 ESV / 5 helpful votes

The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will.

Proverbs 16:13 ESV / 5 helpful votes

Righteous lips are the delight of a king, and he loves him who speaks what is right.

Proverbs 16:10 ESV / 5 helpful votes

An oracle is on the lips of a king; his mouth does not sin in judgment.

Proverbs 16:3 ESV / 5 helpful votes

Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.

Proverbs 16:1-33 ESV / 5 helpful votes

The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit. Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established. The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble. Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord; be assured, he will not go unpunished. ...

Psalm 32:8 ESV / 5 helpful votes

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

Hebrews 1:1-14 ESV / 4 helpful votes

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. For to which of the angels did God ever say, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”? Or again, “I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son”? ...

Philemon 1:2 ESV / 4 helpful votes

And Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house:

Titus 1:6 ESV / 4 helpful votes

If anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination.

1 Timothy 3:6 ESV / 4 helpful votes

He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil.

Ephesians 4:11-13 ESV / 4 helpful votes

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,

Proverbs 27:23-24 ESV / 4 helpful votes

Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds, for riches do not last forever; and does a crown endure to all generations?

Proverbs 15:22 ESV / 4 helpful votes

Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.

1 Samuel 17:1-23 ESV / 4 helpful votes

Now the Philistines gathered their armies for battle. And they were gathered at Socoh, which belongs to Judah, and encamped between Socoh and Azekah, in Ephes-dammim. And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered, and encamped in the Valley of Elah, and drew up in line of battle against the Philistines. And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them. And there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span. He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of mail, and the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. ...

Matthew 1:1-25 ESV / 3 helpful votes

The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, ...

Daniel 6:10 ESV / 3 helpful votes

When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.

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