12 Bible Verses about Envy

Do not be angry because of the wrongdoers, or have envy of the workers of evil.

Love is never tired of waiting; love is kind; love has no envy; love has no high opinion of itself, love has no pride;

With right behaviour as in the day; not in pleasure-making and drinking, not in bad company and unclean behaviour, not in fighting and envy.

Let us not be full of self-glory, making one another angry, having envy of one another.

Have no envy of the violent man, or take any of his ways as an example.

They came together against Moses and against Aaron, and said to them, You take overmuch on yourselves, seeing that all the people are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them; why then have you put yourselves in authority over the people of the Lord?

Then the chief rulers and the captains were looking for some cause for putting Daniel in the wrong in connection with the kingdom, but they were unable to put forward any wrongdoing or error against him; because he was true, and no error or wrong was to be seen in him.

But in Cain and his offering he had no pleasure. And Cain was angry and his face became sad.

For he had great wealth of flocks and herds and great numbers of servants; so that the Philistines were full of envy.

And his brothers were full of envy; but his father kept his words in mind.

Do not be angry because of the wrongdoers, or have envy of the workers of evil. For they will quickly be cut down like grass, and become dry like the green plants.

Have no envy for evil men, or any desire to be with them: For the purposes of their hearts are destruction, and their lips are talking of trouble.

Have no envy of the violent man, or take any of his ways as an example.

Have no envy of sinners in your heart, but keep in the fear of the Lord all through the day;

With right behaviour as in the day; not in pleasure-making and drinking, not in bad company and unclean behaviour, not in fighting and envy.

So putting away all wrongdoing, and all tricks and deceits and envies and evil talk,

Let us not be full of self-glory, making one another angry, having envy of one another.

Do not be angry because of the wrongdoers, or have envy of the workers of evil.

Because of my envy of the men of pride, when I saw the well-being of the wrongdoers.

Till I went into God's holy place, and saw the end of the evil-doers. You put their feet where there was danger of slipping, so that they go down into destruction. How suddenly are they wasted! fears are the cause of their destruction. read more.
As a dream when one is awake, they are ended; they are like an image gone out of mind when sleep is over.

And the teaching I gave you, my brothers, was such as I was able to give, not to those who have the Spirit, but to those who are still in the flesh, even to children in Christ.

Because you are still in the flesh: for when there is envy and division among you, are you not still walking after the way of the flesh, even as natural men?

Then the high priests and the Pharisees had a meeting and said, What are we doing? This man is doing a number of signs.

For he saw that the chief priests had given him up through envy.

For he saw that for envy they had given him up.

A quiet mind is the life of the body, but envy is a disease in the bones.

Give now a cry for help; is there anyone who will give you an answer? and to which of the holy ones will you make your prayer? For wrath is the cause of death to the foolish, and he who has no wisdom comes to his end through passion.

Envy, uncontrolled drinking and feasting, and such things: of which I give you word clearly, even as I did in the past, that they who do such things will have no part in the kingdom of God.

Or does it seem to you that it is for nothing that the holy Writings say, The spirit which God put into our hearts has a strong desire for us?

And because his brothers saw that Joseph was dearer to his father than all the others, they were full of hate for him, and would not say a kind word to him. Now Joseph had a dream, and he gave his brothers an account of it, which made their hate greater than ever. And he said to them, Let me give you the story of my dream. read more.
We were in the field, getting the grain stems together, and my grain kept upright, and yours came round and went down on the earth before mine. And his brothers said to him, Are you to be our king? will you have authority over us? And because of his dream and his words, their hate for him became greater than ever. Then he had another dream, and gave his brothers an account of it, saying, I have had another dream: the sun and the moon and eleven stars gave honour to me. And he gave word of it to his father and his brothers; but his father protesting said, What sort of a dream is this? am I and your mother and your brothers to go down on our faces to the earth before you? And his brothers were full of envy; but his father kept his words in mind.

Saying to one another, See, here comes this dreamer. Let us now put him to death and put his body into one of these holes, and we will say, An evil beast has put him to death: then we will see what becomes of his dreams.

And the brothers, moved with envy against Joseph, gave him to the Egyptians for money: but God was with him,

For wrath is the cause of death to the foolish, and he who has no wisdom comes to his end through passion.

A quiet mind is the life of the body, but envy is a disease in the bones.

They came together against Moses and against Aaron, and said to them, You take overmuch on yourselves, seeing that all the people are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them; why then have you put yourselves in authority over the people of the Lord?

They were full of envy against Moses among the tents, and against Aaron, the holy one of the Lord. The earth opening put an end to Dathan, covering up Abiram and his band. And a fire was lighted among their tents; the sinners were burned up by the flames.

But when the Jews saw such a great number of people, they were full of envy and said evil words against Paul's preaching.

But the Jews, being moved with envy, took with them certain low persons from among the common people, and getting together a great number of people, made an outcry in the town, attacking the house of Jason with the purpose of taking them out to the people.

And Saul's fear of David became all the greater, and he went on hating him, day by day.

And Saul was very angry and this saying was unpleasing to him; and he said, They have given David credit for tens of thousands, and to me for only thousands: what more is there for him but the kingdom? And from that day Saul was looking with envy on David.

For while the son of Jesse is living on the earth, your position is unsafe and your kingdom is in danger. So make him come here to me, for it is certainly right for him to be put to death.

And Sarai said to Abram, May my wrong be on you: I gave you my servant for your wife and when she saw that she was with child, she no longer had any respect for me: may the Lord be judge between you and me. And Abram said, The woman is in your power; do with her whatever seems good to you. And Sarai was cruel to her, so that she went running away from her.

And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian playing with Isaac. So she said to Abraham, Send away that woman and her son: for the son of that woman is not to have a part in the heritage with my son Isaac.

Because you are still in the flesh: for when there is envy and division among you, are you not still walking after the way of the flesh, even as natural men?

Then Joshua, the son of Nun, who had been Moses' servant from the time when he was a child, said, My lord Moses, let them be stopped. And Moses said to him, Are you moved by envy on my account? If only all the Lord's people were prophets, and the Lord might put his spirit on them!

And I saw that the cause of all the work and of everything which is done well was man's envy of his neighbour. This again is to no purpose and a desire for wind.

But when the Jews saw such a great number of people, they were full of envy and said evil words against Paul's preaching.

But the Jews, being moved with envy, took with them certain low persons from among the common people, and getting together a great number of people, made an outcry in the town, attacking the house of Jason with the purpose of taking them out to the people.

And his brothers were full of envy; but his father kept his words in mind.

For this cause, by my life, says the Lord, I will do to you as you have done in your wrath and in your envy, which you have made clear in your hate for them; and I will make clear to you who I am when you are judged by me.

And Saul was very angry and this saying was unpleasing to him; and he said, They have given David credit for tens of thousands, and to me for only thousands: what more is there for him but the kingdom?

Who has wisdom and good sense among you? let him make his works clear by a life of gentle wisdom. But if you have bitter envy in your heart and the desire to get the better of others, have no pride in this, talking falsely against what is true. This wisdom is not from heaven, but is of the earth and the flesh and the Evil One. read more.
For where envy is, and the desire to get the better of others, there is no order, but every sort of evil-doing.

He has an over-high opinion of himself; being without knowledge, having only an unhealthy love of questionings and wars of words, from which come envy, fighting, cruel words, evil thoughts,

So putting away all wrongdoing, and all tricks and deceits and envies and evil talk, Be full of desire for the true milk of the word, as babies at their mothers' breasts, so that you may go on to salvation;

Wrath is cruel, and angry feeling an overflowing stream; but who does not give way before envy?

Then this Daniel did his work better than the chief rulers and the captains, because there was a special spirit in him; and it was the king's purpose to put him over all the kingdom. Then the chief rulers and the captains were looking for some cause for putting Daniel in the wrong in connection with the kingdom, but they were unable to put forward any wrongdoing or error against him; because he was true, and no error or wrong was to be seen in him.

Now it came to the ears of Jacob that Laban's sons were saying, Jacob has taken away all our father's property, and in this way he has got all this wealth.

Lord, your hand is lifted up, but they do not see: let them see ... yes, your haters will be burned up in the fire.

Being full of all wrongdoing, evil, desire for the goods of others, hate, envy, putting to death, fighting, deceit, cruel ways, evil talk, and false statements about others;

Then Joshua, the son of Nun, who had been Moses' servant from the time when he was a child, said, My lord Moses, let them be stopped. And Moses said to him, Are you moved by envy on my account? If only all the Lord's people were prophets, and the Lord might put his spirit on them! Then Moses, with the responsible men of Israel, went back to the tent-circle.

But all this is nothing to me while I see Mordecai the Jew seated by the king's doorway.

But in Cain and his offering he had no pleasure. And Cain was angry and his face became sad.

Now Miriam and Aaron said evil against Moses, because of the Cushite woman to whom he was married, for he had taken a Cushite woman as his wife. And they said, Have the words of the Lord been given to Moses only? have they not come to us? And the Lord took note of it. Now the man Moses was more gentle than any other man on earth. read more.
And suddenly the Lord said to Moses and Aaron and Miriam, Come out, you three, to the Tent of meeting. And the three of them went out. And the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud, taking his place at the door of the Tent, and made Aaron and Miriam come before him. And he said, Now give ear to my words: if there is a prophet among you I will give him knowledge of myself in a vision and will let my words come to him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so; he is true to me in all my house: With him I will have talk mouth to mouth, openly and not in dark sayings; and with his eyes he will see the form of the Lord: why then had you no fear of saying evil against my servant Moses? And burning with wrath against them, the Lord went away. And the cloud was moved from over the Tent; and straight away Miriam became a leper, as white as snow: and Aaron, looking at Miriam, saw that she was a leper.

For he saw that the chief priests had given him up through envy.

But if you have bitter envy in your heart and the desire to get the better of others, have no pride in this, talking falsely against what is true.

For where envy is, and the desire to get the better of others, there is no order, but every sort of evil-doing.

For in the past we were foolish, hard in heart, turned from the true way, servants of evil desires and pleasures, living in bad feeling and envy, hated and hating one another.

Or does it seem to you that it is for nothing that the holy Writings say, The spirit which God put into our hearts has a strong desire for us?

For he had great wealth of flocks and herds and great numbers of servants; so that the Philistines were full of envy.

But Leah said to her, Is it a small thing that you have taken my husband from me? and now would you take my son's love-fruits? Then Rachel said, You may have him tonight in exchange for your son's love-fruits.

And Abel gave an offering of the young lambs of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord was pleased with Abel's offering; But in Cain and his offering he had no pleasure. And Cain was angry and his face became sad. And the Lord said to Cain, Why are you angry? and why is your face sad? read more.
If you do well, will you not have honour? and if you do wrong, sin is waiting at the door, desiring to have you, but do not let it be your master. And Cain said to his brother, Let us go into the field: and when they were in the field, Cain made an attack on his brother Abel and put him to death.

Now it came to the ears of Jacob that Laban's sons were saying, Jacob has taken away all our father's property, and in this way he has got all this wealth.

But all this is nothing to me while I see Mordecai the Jew seated by the king's doorway.

Now Rachel, because she had no children, was full of envy of her sister; and she said to Jacob, If you do not give me children I will not go on living.

Then the chief rulers and the captains were looking for some cause for putting Daniel in the wrong in connection with the kingdom, but they were unable to put forward any wrongdoing or error against him; because he was true, and no error or wrong was to be seen in him.

And his brothers were full of envy; but his father kept his words in mind.