36 Bible Verses about Cowardice

Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard, and a female slave came up to him [and] said, "You also were with Jesus the Galilean." But he denied [it] in the presence of [them] all, saying, "I do not know what you mean!" And [when he] went out to the gateway, another [female slave] saw him and said to those [who were] there, "This man was with Jesus the Nazarene." read more.
And again he denied [it] with an oath, "I do not know the man!" And after a little [while] those who were standing there came up [and] said to Peter, "You really are [one] of them also, because even your accent {reveals who you are}." Then he began to curse and to swear with an oath, "I do not know the man!" And immediately a rooster crowed.

And [while] Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the female slaves of the high priest came up And [when] she saw Peter warming himself, she looked intently at him [and] said, "You also were with the Nazarene, Jesus." But he denied [it], saying, "I neither know nor understand what you mean!" And he went out into the gateway, and a rooster crowed. read more.
And the female slave, [when she] saw him, began to say again to the bystanders, "This man is one of them!" But he denied [it] again. And after a little [while], again the bystanders began to say to Peter, "You really are [one] of them, because you also are a Galilean, and your accent {shows it}!" And he began to curse and to swear with an oath, "I do not know this man whom you are talking about!" And immediately a rooster crowed for the second time. And Peter remembered the statement, how Jesus had said to him, "Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times," and throwing himself down, he began to weep.

And they arrested him [and] led [him] away and brought [him] into the house of the high priest. But Peter was following at a distance. And [when they] had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them. And a certain female slave, seeing him sitting in the light and looking intently at him, said, "This man also was with him!" read more.
But he denied [it], saying, "Woman, I do not know him!" And after a short time another person saw him [and] said, "You also are [one] of them!" But Peter said, "Man, I am not!" And [after] about one hour had passed, someone else was insisting, saying, "In truth this man also was with him, because he is also a Galilean!" But Peter said, "Man, I do not know what you are talking about!" And immediately, [while] he was still speaking, a rooster crowed.

But Peter was standing by the door outside. So the other disciple [who was] known to the high priest went out and spoke to the doorkeeper and brought Peter in. Then the female slave [who was] the doorkeeper said to Peter, "You are not also [one] of the disciples of this man, [are you]?" He said, "I am not!"

Now Simon Peter was standing there and warming himself. So they said to him, "You are not also [one] of his disciples, [are you]?" He denied [it] and said, "I am not!"

When all the men of Israel saw the man, they fled from his presence and were very afraid.

Saul {was threatened by David still more}, so Saul {became a perpetual enemy of David}.

There we saw the Nephilim (the descendants of Anak [came] from the Nephilim), and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their eyes." Then all the community {lifted up their voices}, and the people wept during that night.

The men of Ai killed about thirty-six of them, and they chased them from the gate up to Shebarim and killed them on the slope. And the hearts of the people melted and became like water.

And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea.

Then [when they] had rowed about twenty-five or thirty stadia, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat, and they were afraid.

For they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke with them and said to them, "Have courage, I am [he]! Do not be afraid!"

And he said to them, "Why are you fearful, [you] of little faith?" Then he got up [and] rebuked the winds and the sea and there was a great calm.

And he said to them, "Where [is] your faith?" But they were afraid [and] were astonished, saying to one another, "Who then is this, that he commands even the winds and the water and they obey him?"

And he was in the stern sleeping on the cushion, and they woke him up and said to him, "Teacher, is it not a concern to you that we are perishing?"

Then all the community {lifted up their voices}, and the people wept during that night. And all the {Israelites} grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and all the community said to them, "If only we had died in the land of Egypt or in this desert! Why did Yahweh bring us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little children will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return [to] Egypt?" read more.
{They said to each other}, "Let us appoint a leader, and we will return [to] Egypt." Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces {before} the assembly of the community of the {Israelites}.

But you were not willing to go up, and you rebelled against the {command} of Yahweh your God. And you grumbled in your tents, and you said, 'Because of the hatred of Yahweh [toward] us he has brought us out from the land of Egypt to give us into the hand of the Amorites to destroy us. Where [can] we go up? Our brothers have {made our hearts melt}, {saying}, "The people are greater and taller than we are, [and there are] great fortified cities [reaching] up to heaven, and we saw the sons of the Anakites [living] there." '

And it happened [that] as he drew near to enter into Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, "Look now, I know that you are a woman beautiful of appearance, and it shall happen [that], if the Egyptians see you, then they will say, 'This [is] his wife,' then they will kill me but let you live. Please say you are my sister so that it will go well for me on your account. {Then I will live} on account of you." read more.
And it happened [that] as Abram came into Egypt, the Egyptians saw the woman, that she [was] very beautiful. And the officials of Pharaoh saw her, and they praised her [beauty] to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken to the house of Pharaoh. And he dealt well with Abram on account of her, and he had sheep, cattle, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels. Then Yahweh afflicted Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues on account of the matter of Sarai the wife of Abram. Then Pharaoh called for Abram and said, "What [is] this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she [was] your wife? Why did you say 'She [is] my sister,' so that I took her to myself as a wife? Now then, here [is] your wife. Take her and go."

And Abraham said about Sarah his wife, "She [is] my sister." And Abimelech king of Gerar sent and took Sarah. And God came to Abimelech in a dream at night. And he said to him, "Look, you [are] a dead man on account of the woman you have taken. For she [is] {a married woman}." Now Abimelech had not approached her, so he said, "my Lord, will you even kill a righteous people?" read more.
Did not he himself say to me, 'She [is] my sister'? And she herself said, 'He [is] my brother.' With integrity of my heart and with cleanness of my hands I did this." Then God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know that in the integrity of your heart you did this, and I also {kept you from sinning} against me. Therefore, I did not allow you to touch her. So now, return the wife of the man, for he [is] a prophet, so that he will pray for you and you will live. And {if you do not return her}, know that you will certainly die, and all that [are] yours." So Abimelech rose early in the morning. And he called all his servants and {told them all these things}, and the men were very afraid. And Abimelech called for Abraham and said to him, "What have you done to us? And how have I sinned against you that you brought upon me and upon my kingdom a great sin? You have done things to me that should not be done." And Abimelech said to Abraham, "{What were you thinking} that you did this thing?" And Abraham said, "Because I thought, surely there is no fear of God in this place; they will kill me on account of the matter of my wife. {Besides}, she [is] my sister, the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother. And she became my wife.

Then David said to all his servants who [were] with him in Jerusalem, "Get up and let us flee, for there will be no escape for us from Absalom! Hurry to go, otherwise he will come quickly and overtake us! And he will bring disaster on us and evil! He will attack the city with the edge of the sword!"

Yet the people who are inhabiting [it are] strong and the cities [are] fortified and very large; moreover, we saw the descendants of the Anakites there.

And the men who went up with him said, "We are not able to go up to the people because they [are] stronger than us." And they presented the report of the land that they explored to the {Israelites}, saying, "The land that we went through to explore [is] a land that eats its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in its midst [are] {men of great size}. There we saw the Nephilim (the descendants of Anak [came] from the Nephilim), and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their eyes."

But all this has happened in order that the scriptures of the prophets would be fulfilled." Then the disciples all abandoned him [and] fled.

And it happened, when all the kings of the Amorites who [were] beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the Canaanites who [were] by the sea heard that Yahweh dried up the waters of the Jordan in front of the {Israelites} until they crossed [over], their hearts melted, and {there was no courage left in them} because of the presence of the {Israelites}.

We heard [this], and our hearts melted, and {no courage was left in anyone} because of your presence. For Yahweh your God [is] God in the heavens above and on the earth below.

From this [point on] Pilate was seeking to release him, but the Jews shouted, saying, "If you release this man, you are not a friend of Caesar! Everyone who makes himself out to be a king opposes Caesar!" So Pilate, [when he] heard these words, brought Jesus outside and sat down on the judgment seat, in the place called The Stone Pavement (but Gabbatha in Aramaic). (Now it was the day of preparation of the Passover; it was about the sixth hour.) And he said to the Jews, "Behold your king!" read more.
Then those shouted, "Away [with him]! Away [with him]! Crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your king?" The chief priests replied, "We do not have a king except Caesar!" So then he handed him over to them in order that he could be crucified.

Yet despite that, even many of the rulers believed in him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess [it], so that they would not be expelled from the synagogue. For they loved the praise of men more than praise from God.

Then the messenger came to David, saying, "The hearts of the men of Israel have gone after Absalom." Then David said to all his servants who [were] with him in Jerusalem, "Get up and let us flee, for there will be no escape for us from Absalom! Hurry to go, otherwise he will come quickly and overtake us! And he will bring disaster on us and evil! He will attack the city with the edge of the sword!" Then the servants of the king said to the king, "According to all that my lord the king chooses, {your servants are ready to act}!" read more.
The king went out with all his household {following him}, but the king left behind ten concubines to look after the house. So the king went out with all the people {following him}, and they stopped {at the last house}.

The descendants of Joseph spoke with Joshua, saying, "Why have you given us one allotment and one share [as] an inheritance? We are many people, which Yahweh has blessed." And Joshua said to them, "If you [are] many people, go up to the forest and clear [a place] there for yourselves in the land of the Perizzites and Rephaim, since the hill country of Ephraim is [too] narrow for you." And the descendants of Joseph said, "The hill country is not enough for us, and all of the Canaanites living in the land of the valley [have] chariots of iron, those in Beth-shean and its villages, and those in the Jezreel Valley." read more.
And Joshua said to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasseh, "You are many people and have great power; you will not have one allotment [only]; [the] hill country will be yours. Even though it [is] a forest, you will clear it, and it will be yours [to] its farthest borders. You will drive out the Canaanites, even though they have iron chariots and [are] strong."

And Aaron said, "{Let not my lord become angry}. You yourself know the people, that {they are intent on evil}. And they said to me, 'Make for us gods who will go before us, because this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.' And I said to them, 'Whoever [has] gold, take [it] off.' And they gave [it] to me, and I threw it in the fire, and out came this bull calf."

So then, please proclaim in the {hearing} of the troops, saying, 'Whoever [is] fearful and trembling, let him return and depart from the Mount of Gilead.'" About twenty-two thousand troops returned, and ten thousand remained.

The sons of Ephraim, {armed with archers}, turned back on [the] day of battle.

But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed [him] to his face, because he was condemned. For before certain people came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles, but when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, [because he] was afraid of those [who were] of the circumcision, and the rest of the Jews also joined in [this] hypocrisy with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with them in [their] hypocrisy. read more.
But when I saw that they were not being straightforward with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of [them] all, "If you, [although you] are a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you try to compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?"

When the men of Israel saw that [it was] {too difficult} for them, because the army was hard pressed, the people hid themselves in the caves, in the thorn bushes, in the cliffs, in the vaults and in the wells. [Some] of the Hebrews crossed over the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead. But Saul was still at Gilgal, and all the army {followed him trembling}.

And after these [things], Joseph [who was] from Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus (but a secret one for fear of the Jews), asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus. And Pilate allowed [it], so he came and took away his body.

Now there was a man of the Pharisees {whose name was} Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to him at night and said to him, "Rabbi, we know that [you are] a teacher who has come from God, for no one is able to perform these signs that you are performing unless God were with him."

When the men of the place asked concerning his wife, he said, "She [is] my sister," for he was afraid to say, "my wife," thinking "the men of the place will kill me on account of Rebekah, for {she was beautiful}." And it happened [that], {when he had been there a long time}, Abimelech the king of the Philistines looked through the window, and saw--behold--Isaac [was] fondling Rebekah his wife. And Abimelech called Isaac and said, "Surely she [is] your wife. Now why did you say 'She [is] my sister'?" And Isaac said to him, "Because I thought I would die on account of her."

But these five kings fled and hid themselves in the cave at Makkedah.

When all the men of Israel saw the man, they fled from his presence and were very afraid.

But Samuel said, "How can I go? If Saul hears, he will kill me." Yahweh said, "You must take a heifer from the herd {with you}, and you must say, 'I have come to sacrifice to Yahweh.'

(His parents said these [things] because they were afraid of the Jews, for the Jews had already decided that if anyone should confess him [to be] Christ, he would be expelled from the synagogue.

Then Jacob answered and said to Laban, "Because I [was] afraid, for I thought, 'Lest you take your daughters from me by force.'

And [after] the jailer was awake and saw the doors of the prison open, he drew [his] sword [and] was about to kill himself, [because he] thought the prisoners had escaped.

But all this has happened in order that the scriptures of the prophets would be fulfilled." Then the disciples all abandoned him [and] fled.

And the man replied, "The woman whom you gave [to be] with me--she gave to me from the tree and I ate."

And the guards trembled from the fear of him and became like dead men.

The men of Ai killed about thirty-six of them, and they chased them from the gate up to Shebarim and killed them on the slope. And the hearts of the people melted and became like water.

The sons of Ephraim, {armed with archers}, turned back on [the] day of battle.

So then, please proclaim in the {hearing} of the troops, saying, 'Whoever [is] fearful and trembling, let him return and depart from the Mount of Gilead.'" About twenty-two thousand troops returned, and ten thousand remained.