17 Bible Verses about Character Assassination

He who hates, disguises it with his lips,
But he stores up deceit in his heart.

When he speaks graciously and kindly [to conceal his malice], do not trust him,
For seven abominations are in his heart.

“He has stripped me of my honor
And removed the crown from my head.

“Therefore, take notice, I am sending you prophets and wise men [interpreters, teachers] and scribes [men educated in the Mosaic Law and the writings of the prophets]; some of them you will kill and even crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues, and pursue and persecute from city to city,

In you are men who slander for the purpose of shedding blood, and in your presence they have eaten [food offered to idols] at the mountain shrines; in your midst they have committed acts of lewdness.

You shall not go around as a gossip among your people, and you are not to act against the life of your neighbor [with slander or false testimony]; I am the Lord.

These six things the Lord hates;
Indeed, seven are repulsive to Him:

A proud look [the attitude that makes one overestimate oneself and discount others], a lying tongue,
And hands that shed innocent blood,

A heart that creates wicked plans,
Feet that run swiftly to evil,
read more.

A false witness who breathes out lies [even half-truths],
And one who spreads discord (rumors) among brothers.

A perverse man spreads strife,
And one who gossips separates intimate friends.

He who covers and forgives an offense seeks love,
But he who repeats or gossips about a matter separates intimate friends.

Do not let unwholesome [foul, profane, worthless, vulgar] words ever come out of your mouth, but only such speech as is good for building up others, according to the need and the occasion, so that it will be a blessing to those who hear [you speak]. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God [but seek to please Him], by whom you were sealed and marked [branded as God’s own] for the day of redemption [the final deliverance from the consequences of sin]. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor [perpetual animosity, resentment, strife, fault-finding] and slander be put away from you, along with every kind of malice [all spitefulness, verbal abuse, malevolence]. read more.
Be kind and helpful to one another, tender-hearted [compassionate, understanding], forgiving one another [readily and freely], just as God in Christ also forgave you.

For I have heard the slander and whispering of many,
Terror is on every side;
While they schemed together against me,
They plotted to take away my life.

The arrogant have forged a lie against me,
But I will keep Your precepts with all my heart.

O God of my praise!
Do not keep silent,

For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me;
They have spoken against me with a lying tongue.

They have also surrounded me with words of hatred,
And have fought against me without a cause.

With his mouth the godless man destroys his neighbor,
But through knowledge and discernment the righteous will be rescued.

For the tyrant will come to an end and the scorner will be finished,
Indeed all who are intent on doing evil will be cut off—

Those who cause a person to be condemned with a [false] word,
And lay a trap for him who upholds justice at the [city] gate,
And defraud the one in the right with meaningless arguments.

For John the Baptist has come neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon!’

but the unbelieving Jews [who rejected Jesus as Messiah] stirred up and embittered the minds of the Gentiles against the believers.

Those who passed by were hurling abuse at Him and jeering at Him, wagging their heads [in scorn and ridicule], and they said [tauntingly], “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself [from death]! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, mocked Him, saying, read more.
“He saved others [from death]; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him and acknowledge Him. He trusts in God; let God rescue Him now, if He delights in Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” The robbers who had been crucified with Him also began to insult Him in the same way.