75 Bible Verses about Choosing Your Friends Carefully

1 Corinthians 15:33 ESV / 92 helpful votes

Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”

Proverbs 12:26 ESV / 44 helpful votes

One who is righteous is a guide to his neighbor, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.

Proverbs 13:20 ESV / 37 helpful votes

Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.

Proverbs 27:17 ESV / 21 helpful votes

Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.

Proverbs 18:24 ESV / 19 helpful votes

A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

2 Corinthians 6:14 ESV / 17 helpful votes

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?

Proverbs 17:17 ESV / 15 helpful votes

A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

Proverbs 22:24-25 ESV / 14 helpful votes

Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.

Psalm 26:4-5 ESV / 12 helpful votes

I do not sit with men of falsehood, nor do I consort with hypocrites. I hate the assembly of evildoers, and I will not sit with the wicked.

Proverbs 20:19 ESV / 11 helpful votes

Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets; therefore do not associate with a simple babbler.

Proverbs 16:29 ESV / 11 helpful votes

A man of violence entices his neighbor and leads him in a way that is not good.

Romans 16:17 ESV / 10 helpful votes

I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 ESV / 10 helpful votes

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!

Proverbs 27:5-6 ESV / 10 helpful votes

Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.

James 1:13-14 ESV / 9 helpful votes

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.

Proverbs 16:28 ESV / 9 helpful votes

A dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends.

John 3:13-15 ESV / 7 helpful votes

No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

Proverbs 19:20 ESV / 7 helpful votes

Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.

1 Corinthians 15:33-34 ESV / 6 helpful votes

Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.

2 Thessalonians 3:6 ESV / 5 helpful votes

Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us.

Philippians 3:2 ESV / 5 helpful votes

Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.

1 Corinthians 15:34 ESV / 5 helpful votes

Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.

Proverbs 27:6 ESV / 5 helpful votes

Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.

Proverbs 24:6 ESV / 5 helpful votes

For by wise guidance you can wage your war, and in abundance of counselors there is victory.

Proverbs 24:5 ESV / 5 helpful votes

A wise man is full of strength, and a man of knowledge enhances his might,

Proverbs 14:6 ESV / 5 helpful votes

A scoffer seeks wisdom in vain, but knowledge is easy for a man of understanding.

Proverbs 12:25 ESV / 5 helpful votes

Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.

Psalm 1:1 ESV / 5 helpful votes

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

1 Peter 2:18-21 ESV / 4 helpful votes

Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.

1 Timothy 3:1-16 ESV / 4 helpful votes

The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. 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? ...

Colossians 2:1-23 ESV / 4 helpful votes

For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ. ...

1 Corinthians 5:11 ESV / 4 helpful votes

But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one.

John 15:13 ESV / 4 helpful votes

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

Proverbs 27:9 ESV / 4 helpful votes

Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.

Proverbs 27:5 ESV / 4 helpful votes

Better is open rebuke than hidden love.

Proverbs 20:18 ESV / 4 helpful votes

Plans are established by counsel; by wise guidance wage war.

Proverbs 17:27 ESV / 4 helpful votes

Whoever restrains his words has knowledge, and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.

Proverbs 17:9 ESV / 4 helpful votes

Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.

Proverbs 12:27 ESV / 4 helpful votes

Whoever is slothful will not roast his game, but the diligent man will get precious wealth.

Proverbs 11:14 ESV / 4 helpful votes

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

Revelation 14:12 ESV / 3 helpful votes

Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.

Revelation 13:14 ESV / 3 helpful votes

And by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived.

Revelation 12:9 ESV / 3 helpful votes

And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

Revelation 1:1 ESV / 3 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,

2 Peter 2:18-22 ESV / 3 helpful votes

For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved. For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them. What the true proverb says has happened to them: “The dog returns to its own vomit, and the sow, after washing herself, returns to wallow in the mire.”

Hebrews 13:5 ESV / 3 helpful votes

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

1 Thessalonians 5:11 ESV / 3 helpful votes

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

John 17:17 ESV / 3 helpful votes

Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.

Luke 6:12-13 ESV / 3 helpful votes

In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose from them twelve, whom he named apostles:

Daniel 4:9-10 ESV / 3 helpful votes

“O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and that no mystery is too difficult for you, tell me the visions of my dream that I saw and their interpretation. The visions of my head as I lay in bed were these: I saw, and behold, a tree in the midst of the earth, and its height was great.

Isaiah 3:1-26 ESV / 3 helpful votes

For behold, the Lord God of hosts is taking away from Jerusalem and from Judah support and supply, all support of bread, and all support of water; the mighty man and the soldier, the judge and the prophet, the diviner and the elder, the captain of fifty and the man of rank, the counselor and the skillful magician and the expert in charms. And I will make boys their princes, and infants shall rule over them. And the people will oppress one another, every one his fellow and every one his neighbor; the youth will be insolent to the elder, and the despised to the honorable. ...

Proverbs 22:24 ESV / 3 helpful votes

Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man,

Proverbs 19:4 ESV / 3 helpful votes

Wealth brings many new friends, but a poor man is deserted by his friend.

Proverbs 15:22 ESV / 3 helpful votes

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

Proverbs 14:6-7 ESV / 3 helpful votes

A scoffer seeks wisdom in vain, but knowledge is easy for a man of understanding. Leave the presence of a fool, for there you do not meet words of knowledge.

Proverbs 12:13 ESV / 3 helpful votes

An evil man is ensnared by the transgression of his lips, but the righteous escapes from trouble.

Proverbs 1:10-19 ESV / 3 helpful votes

My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. If they say, “Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood; let us ambush the innocent without reason; like Sheol let us swallow them alive, and whole, like those who go down to the pit; we shall find all precious goods, we shall fill our houses with plunder; throw in your lot among us; we will all have one purse”— ...

Psalm 18:12-13 ESV / 3 helpful votes

Out of the brightness before him hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds. The Lord also thundered in the heavens, and the Most High uttered his voice, hailstones and coals of fire.

Psalm 16:3 ESV / 3 helpful votes

As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.

Job 2:11 ESV / 3 helpful votes

Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him.

Revelation 12:1-17 ESV / 2 helpful votes

And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, ...

Revelation 11:1-19 ESV / 2 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. ...

1 John 4:8 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

1 John 3:1 ESV / 2 helpful votes

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

1 John 2:26 ESV / 2 helpful votes

I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you.

James 4:8 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

James 4:4 ESV / 2 helpful votes

You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace. We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. ...

Ephesians 2:1-3 ESV / 2 helpful votes

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Acts 12:4 ESV / 2 helpful votes

And when he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out to the people.

Job 2:11-13 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him. And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven. And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great.

2 Kings 2:2 ESV / 2 helpful votes

And Elijah said to Elisha, “Please stay here, for the Lord has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel.

1 Samuel 18:1-3 ESV / 2 helpful votes

As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. And Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father's house. Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul.

1 Samuel 18:1-4 ESV / 2 helpful votes

As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. And Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father's house. Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt.

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