100 Bible Verses about Evil

Isaiah 5:20 ESV / 273 helpful votes

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

Proverbs 8:13 ESV / 227 helpful votes

The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.

Romans 12:21 ESV / 203 helpful votes

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Psalm 23:4 ESV / 165 helpful votes

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Romans 12:19 ESV / 144 helpful votes

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

Ephesians 6:12 ESV / 138 helpful votes

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

1 Corinthians 15:33 ESV / 136 helpful votes

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

Genesis 50:20 ESV / 126 helpful votes

As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.

Proverbs 6:16-19 ESV / 118 helpful votes

There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.

Romans 3:23 ESV / 112 helpful votes

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Psalm 5:4 ESV / 105 helpful votes

For you are not a God who delights in wickedness; evil may not dwell with you.

Psalm 34:14 ESV / 104 helpful votes

Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

Romans 12:9 ESV / 95 helpful votes

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.

1 Thessalonians 5:22 ESV / 86 helpful votes

Abstain from every form of evil.

Matthew 6:13 ESV / 86 helpful votes

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Psalm 97:10 ESV / 81 helpful votes

O you who love the Lord, hate evil! He preserves the lives of his saints; he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

Proverbs 3:7 ESV / 79 helpful votes

Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.

1 John 1:9 ESV / 77 helpful votes

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 Thessalonians 5:15 ESV / 70 helpful votes

See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.

Luke 1:37 ESV / 68 helpful votes

For nothing will be impossible with God.”

James 1:21 ESV / 66 helpful votes

Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

2 Timothy 4:18 ESV / 63 helpful votes

The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Genesis 6:5-7 ESV / 63 helpful votes

The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.”

Ephesians 6:11 ESV / 59 helpful votes

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

Romans 16:17 ESV / 56 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.

Matthew 7:21-23 ESV / 56 helpful votes

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

John 3:20 ESV / 54 helpful votes

For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.

John 1:5 ESV / 52 helpful votes

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

James 4:7 ESV / 51 helpful votes

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

James 1:13 ESV / 50 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.

Mark 7:20-23 ESV / 50 helpful votes

And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 ESV / 47 helpful votes

But test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.

Proverbs 17:13 ESV / 46 helpful votes

If anyone returns evil for good, evil will not depart from his house.

Psalm 121:7-8 ESV / 43 helpful votes

The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.

John 3:16 ESV / 42 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.

Isaiah 45:7 ESV / 42 helpful votes

I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the Lord, who does all these things.

Psalm 119:133 ESV / 42 helpful votes

Keep steady my steps according to your promise, and let no iniquity get dominion over me.

Genesis 6:5 ESV / 42 helpful votes

The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Romans 6:23 ESV / 41 helpful votes

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Ephesians 4:26-27 ESV / 40 helpful votes

Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.

Proverbs 4:27 ESV / 40 helpful votes

Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.

Proverbs 3:7-8 ESV / 40 helpful votes

Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.

1 Timothy 6:10 ESV / 39 helpful votes

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

Isaiah 1:16 ESV / 39 helpful votes

Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil,

2 Timothy 3:1-5 ESV / 38 helpful votes

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

John 17:15 ESV / 37 helpful votes

I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.

Zechariah 7:9-10 ESV / 35 helpful votes

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.”

Proverbs 10:12 ESV / 35 helpful votes

Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.

Psalm 23:1-6 ESV / 35 helpful votes

A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. ...

Revelation 1:1-20 ESV / 34 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 ...

Romans 13:4 ESV / 34 helpful votes

For he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.

John 14:6 ESV / 33 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 21:15 ESV / 32 helpful votes

When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers.

Matthew 7:12 ESV / 31 helpful votes

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

Proverbs 16:4 ESV / 31 helpful votes

The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble.

Psalm 34:16 ESV / 31 helpful votes

The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

1 Peter 3:9 ESV / 30 helpful votes

Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.

James 1:19-20 ESV / 30 helpful votes

Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

Ephesians 6:10-18 ESV / 30 helpful votes

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ...

Genesis 3:22 ESV / 30 helpful votes

Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—”

1 Peter 3:8-18 ESV / 29 helpful votes

Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. For “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” ...

Psalm 64:1-10 ESV / 29 helpful votes

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint; preserve my life from dread of the enemy. Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, from the throng of evildoers, who whet their tongues like swords, who aim bitter words like arrows, shooting from ambush at the blameless, shooting at him suddenly and without fear. They hold fast to their evil purpose; they talk of laying snares secretly, thinking, “Who can see them?” ...

Genesis 3:1-24 ESV / 29 helpful votes

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” ...

Romans 2:6-8 ESV / 28 helpful votes

He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.

Romans 8:28 ESV / 27 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.

Ephesians 4:31-32 ESV / 26 helpful votes

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Proverbs 20:22 ESV / 26 helpful votes

Do not say, “I will repay evil”; wait for the Lord, and he will deliver you.

Proverbs 17:15 ESV / 26 helpful votes

He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the Lord.

Ephesians 5:11 ESV / 24 helpful votes

Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.

Ephesians 4:29 ESV / 24 helpful votes

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

Proverbs 29:11 ESV / 24 helpful votes

A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.

Proverbs 25:26 ESV / 24 helpful votes

Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked.

Genesis 3:5 ESV / 24 helpful votes

For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Matthew 18:15-17 ESV / 23 helpful votes

“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

1 John 4:4 ESV / 22 helpful votes

Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

James 1:13-15 ESV / 22 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. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

Matthew 5:43-48 ESV / 22 helpful votes

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? ...

Genesis 2:17 ESV / 22 helpful votes

But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

John 3:16-17 ESV / 21 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.

Matthew 5:39 ESV / 21 helpful votes

But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

Malachi 2:17 ESV / 21 helpful votes

You have wearied the Lord with your words. But you say, “How have we wearied him?” By saying, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them.” Or by asking, “Where is the God of justice?”

Micah 2:1 ESV / 21 helpful votes

Woe to those who devise wickedness and work evil on their beds! When the morning dawns, they perform it, because it is in the power of their hand.

Deuteronomy 17:7 ESV / 21 helpful votes

The hand of the witnesses shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.

Colossians 1:1-29 ESV / 20 helpful votes

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, ...

John 10:10 ESV / 20 helpful votes

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

Isaiah 54:17 ESV / 20 helpful votes

No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.”

Proverbs 3:1-2 ESV / 20 helpful votes

My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you.

Joshua 24:15 ESV / 20 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.”

2 Peter 3:9 ESV / 19 helpful votes

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

Romans 7:13 ESV / 19 helpful votes

Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure.

Luke 10:19 ESV / 19 helpful votes

Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.

1 John 2:15 ESV / 18 helpful votes

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

James 1:14 ESV / 18 helpful votes

But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.

Colossians 2:1-23 ESV / 18 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. ...

John 1:1 ESV / 18 helpful votes

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Revelation 21:8 ESV / 17 helpful votes

But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

1 John 5:19 ESV / 16 helpful votes

We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

Deuteronomy 17:12 ESV / 16 helpful votes

The man who acts presumptuously by not obeying the priest who stands to minister there before the Lord your God, or the judge, that man shall die. So you shall purge the evil from Israel.

Exodus 14:14 ESV / 16 helpful votes

The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent.”

Revelation 1:1 ESV / 11 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,

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