100 Bible Verses about Ancestral Worship

Deuteronomy 18:9-13 ESV / 118 helpful votes

“When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you. You shall be blameless before the Lord your God,

Psalm 115:17 ESV / 100 helpful votes

The dead do not praise the Lord, nor do any who go down into silence.

2 Kings 1:1-18 ESV / 60 helpful votes

After the death of Ahab, Moab rebelled against Israel. Now Ahaziah fell through the lattice in his upper chamber in Samaria, and lay sick; so he sent messengers, telling them, “Go, inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether I shall recover from this sickness.” But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Arise, go up to meet the messengers of the king of Samaria, and say to them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Now therefore thus says the Lord, You shall not come down from the bed to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.’” So Elijah went. The messengers returned to the king, and he said to them, “Why have you returned?” ...

2 Chronicles 33:6 ESV / 56 helpful votes

And he burned his sons as an offering in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, and used fortune-telling and omens and sorcery, and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger.

John 4:21-24 ESV / 48 helpful votes

Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

John 4:24 ESV / 41 helpful votes

God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Romans 14:11 ESV / 40 helpful votes

For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.”

Joshua 24:15 ESV / 37 helpful votes

And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Isaiah 25:1 ESV / 35 helpful votes

O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you; I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure.

Luke 4:8 ESV / 34 helpful votes

And Jesus answered him, “It is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.’”

Joshua 23:7 ESV / 31 helpful votes

That you may not mix with these nations remaining among you or make mention of the names of their gods or swear by them or serve them or bow down to them,

Luke 16:19-31 ESV / 29 helpful votes

“There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. ...

Psalm 71:8 ESV / 28 helpful votes

My mouth is filled with your praise, and with your glory all the day.

Matthew 7:7 ESV / 24 helpful votes

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

Psalm 63:1 ESV / 21 helpful votes

A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

Psalm 95:6 ESV / 20 helpful votes

Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!

Deuteronomy 5:1-33 ESV / 19 helpful votes

And Moses summoned all Israel and said to them, “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and the rules that I speak in your hearing today, and you shall learn them and be careful to do them. The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. Not with our fathers did the Lord make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here alive today. The Lord spoke with you face to face at the mountain, out of the midst of the fire, while I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the Lord. For you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up into the mountain. He said: ...

Romans 12:1-2 ESV / 18 helpful votes

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Revelation 22:10-20 ESV / 17 helpful votes

And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.” “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. ...

Ecclesiastes 9:1-18 ESV / 17 helpful votes

But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God. Whether it is love or hate, man does not know; both are before him. It is the same for all, since the same event happens to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As the good one is, so is the sinner, and he who swears is as he who shuns an oath. This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten. ...

Hebrews 13:15 ESV / 16 helpful votes

Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.

Isaiah 42:8 ESV / 16 helpful votes

I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.

Psalm 96:9 ESV / 16 helpful votes

Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth!

John 4:23 ESV / 15 helpful votes

But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.

Proverbs 22:6 ESV / 15 helpful votes

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Exodus 23:25 ESV / 15 helpful votes

You shall serve the Lord your God, and he will bless your bread and your water, and I will take sickness away from among you.

Daniel 4:37 ESV / 14 helpful votes

Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.

Psalm 99:5 ESV / 14 helpful votes

Exalt the Lord our God; worship at his footstool! Holy is he!

Romans 12:1 ESV / 13 helpful votes

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Proverbs 11:29 ESV / 13 helpful votes

Whoever troubles his own household will inherit the wind, and the fool will be servant to the wise of heart.

Hebrews 1:6 ESV / 12 helpful votes

And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God's angels worship him.”

Matthew 12:34 ESV / 12 helpful votes

You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

Zephaniah 3:17 ESV / 12 helpful votes

The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

Psalm 150:6 ESV / 12 helpful votes

Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!

1 Timothy 5:8 ESV / 11 helpful votes

But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

Luke 16:19 ESV / 11 helpful votes

“There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day.

Ecclesiastes 9:5 ESV / 11 helpful votes

For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward, for the memory of them is forgotten.

Psalm 69:30 ESV / 11 helpful votes

I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving.

Revelation 14:7 ESV / 10 helpful votes

And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

Ephesians 5:19 ESV / 10 helpful votes

Addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart,

Ephesians 2:8 ESV / 10 helpful votes

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

Habakkuk 3:17-18 ESV / 10 helpful votes

Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.

Psalm 149:6 ESV / 10 helpful votes

Let the high praises of God be in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands,

Psalm 66:4 ESV / 10 helpful votes

All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name.” Selah

Deuteronomy 4:16 ESV / 10 helpful votes

Beware lest you act corruptly by making a carved image for yourselves, in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female,

Revelation 19:10 ESV / 9 helpful votes

Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

Colossians 3:16 ESV / 9 helpful votes

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Philippians 4:6-7 ESV / 9 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. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 ESV / 9 helpful votes

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

John 3:16-17 ESV / 9 helpful votes

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Isaiah 29:13 ESV / 9 helpful votes

And the Lord said: “Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,

Psalm 103:1 ESV / 9 helpful votes

Of David. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!

Psalm 86:9 ESV / 9 helpful votes

All the nations you have made shall come and worship before you, O Lord, and shall glorify your name.

1 Chronicles 16:29 ESV / 9 helpful votes

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him! Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;

1 Samuel 2:2 ESV / 9 helpful votes

“There is none holy like the Lord: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God.

Deuteronomy 26:14 ESV / 9 helpful votes

I have not eaten of the tithe while I was mourning, or removed any of it while I was unclean, or offered any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the voice of the Lord my God. I have done according to all that you have commanded me.

Colossians 3:20 ESV / 8 helpful votes

Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.

2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV / 8 helpful votes

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Acts 16:25 ESV / 8 helpful votes

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them,

John 4:23-24 ESV / 8 helpful votes

But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Jeremiah 29:11-12 ESV / 8 helpful votes

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.

Psalm 149:3 ESV / 8 helpful votes

Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!

Psalm 132:7 ESV / 8 helpful votes

“Let us go to his dwelling place; let us worship at his footstool!”

Psalm 100:2 ESV / 8 helpful votes

Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!

Psalm 91:1-16 ESV / 8 helpful votes

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, ...

Psalm 59:16 ESV / 8 helpful votes

But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress.

Psalm 42:11 ESV / 8 helpful votes

Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.

Psalm 34:1 ESV / 8 helpful votes

Of David, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away. I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Psalm 29:2 ESV / 8 helpful votes

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.

1 Chronicles 16:9 ESV / 8 helpful votes

Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works!

Revelation 4:11 ESV / 7 helpful votes

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

Revelation 1:1 ESV / 7 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,

Ephesians 6:1-2 ESV / 7 helpful votes

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise),

John 4:20 ESV / 7 helpful votes

Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.”

Matthew 2:2 ESV / 7 helpful votes

Saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

Proverbs 15:27 ESV / 7 helpful votes

Whoever is greedy for unjust gain troubles his own household, but he who hates bribes will live.

Psalm 127:3-5 ESV / 7 helpful votes

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

Psalm 100:4 ESV / 7 helpful votes

Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name!

Psalm 100:1-5 ESV / 7 helpful votes

A Psalm for giving thanks. Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

2 Chronicles 7:3 ESV / 7 helpful votes

When all the people of Israel saw the fire come down and the glory of the Lord on the temple, they bowed down with their faces to the ground on the pavement and worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.”

Deuteronomy 29:18 ESV / 7 helpful votes

Beware lest there be among you a man or woman or clan or tribe whose heart is turning away today from the Lord our God to go and serve the gods of those nations. Beware lest there be among you a root bearing poisonous and bitter fruit,

Exodus 20:12 ESV / 7 helpful votes

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

Exodus 20:4-5 ESV / 7 helpful votes

“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,

1 Peter 2:9 ESV / 6 helpful votes

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Colossians 3:3 ESV / 6 helpful votes

For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Ephesians 6:4 ESV / 6 helpful votes

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Acts 2:2 ESV / 6 helpful votes

And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.

Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV / 6 helpful votes

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Psalm 40:3 ESV / 6 helpful votes

He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.

Psalm 5:7 ESV / 6 helpful votes

But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house. I will bow down toward your holy temple in the fear of you.

Leviticus 19:1-37 ESV / 6 helpful votes

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. Every one of you shall revere his mother and his father, and you shall keep my Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God. Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves any gods of cast metal: I am the Lord your God. “When you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord, you shall offer it so that you may be accepted. ...

Exodus 20:5 ESV / 6 helpful votes

You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,

Genesis 18:19 ESV / 6 helpful votes

For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.”

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

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

John 14:6 ESV / 5 helpful votes

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Proverbs 6:20-23 ESV / 5 helpful votes

My son, keep your father's commandment, and forsake not your mother's teaching. Bind them on your heart always; tie them around your neck. When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you. For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life,

Psalm 150:1-6 ESV / 5 helpful votes

Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! ...

Psalm 136:26 ESV / 5 helpful votes

Give thanks to the God of heaven, for his steadfast love endures forever.

Revelation 11:1-19 ESV / 4 helpful votes

Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed. ...

James 5:13 ESV / 4 helpful votes

Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.

Suggest a Verse


Visit the Bible online to search for words if you don’t know the specific passage your’re looking for.