62 Bible Verses about Shrewdness

See, I send you out as sheep among wolves. Be then as wise as snakes, and as gentle as doves.

And his lord was pleased with the false servant, because he had been wise; for the sons of this world are wiser in relation to their generation than the sons of light. And I say to you, Make friends for yourselves through the wealth of this life, so that when it comes to an end, you may be taken into the eternal resting-places.

And another time he said to the disciples, There was a certain man of great wealth who had a servant; and it was said to him that this servant was wasting his goods. And he sent for him and said, What is this which is said about you? give me an account of all you have done, for you will no longer be the manager of my property. And the servant said to himself, What am I to do now that my lord takes away my position? I have not enough strength for working in the fields, and I would be shamed if I made requests for money from people in the streets.read more.
I have come to a decision what to do, so that when I am put out of my position they will take me into their houses. And sending for every one who was in debt to his lord he said to the first, What is the amount of your debt to my lord? And he said, A hundred measures of oil. And he said, Take your account straight away and put down fifty. Then he said to another, What is the amount of your debt? And he said, A hundred measures of grain. And he said to him, Take your account and put down eighty.

Everyone, then, to whom my words come and who does them, will be like a wise man who made his house on a rock; And the rain came down and there was a rush of waters and the winds were driving against that house, but it was not moved; because it was based on the rock.

Everyone who comes to me and gives ear to my words and does them, I will make clear to you what he is like: He is like a man building a house, who went deep and put the base of it on a rock; and when the water came up and the river was driving against that house, it was not moved, because the building was good.

A sharp man keeps back his knowledge; but the heart of foolish men makes clear their foolish thoughts.

The simple man has faith in every word, but the man of good sense gives thought to his footsteps.

A foolish man puts no value on his father's training; but he who has respect for teaching has good sense.

The heart of the man of good sense gets knowledge; the ear of the wise is searching for knowledge.

Who is the true and wise servant, whom his lord has put over those in his house, to give them their food at the right time? A blessing on that servant, who will be doing so when his lord comes. Truly, I say to you, he will put him over all he has.

And the Lord said, Who then is the wise and responsible servant whom his lord will put in control of his family, to give them their food at the right time? Happy is that servant who, when his lord comes, is doing so. Truly I say to you, he will put him in control of all his goods.

But Jesus saw their trick and said, Oh false ones, why are you attempting to put me in the wrong? Let me see the tax money. And they gave him a penny. And he said to them, Whose is this image and name on it?read more.
They say to him, Caesar's. Then he said to them, Give to Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and to God the things which are God's. And hearing it, they were full of wonder, and went away from him.

Are we to give or not to give? But he, conscious of their false hearts, said to them, Why do you put me to the test? give me a penny, so that I may see it. And they gave him one. And he said to them, Whose is this image and name on it? And they said to him, Caesar's. And Jesus said to them, Give to Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and to God the things which are God's. And they were full of wonder at him.

But he saw through their trick and said to them, Let me see a penny. Whose image and name are on it? And they said, Caesar's. And he said, Then give to Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and to God the things which are God's.read more.
And they were not able to get anything from these words before the people: but they were full of wonder at his answer, and said nothing.

But about the dead coming back to life, have you no knowledge of what was said to you by God in the Writings: I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead but of the living.

But as to the dead coming back to life; have you not seen in the book of Moses, about the burning thorn-tree, how God said to him, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living: you are greatly in error.

But even Moses made it clear that the dead come back to life, saying, in the story of the burning thorn-tree, The Lord, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Now he is not the God of the dead but of the living: for all men are living to him.

But when they went on with their questions, he got up and said to them, Let him among you who is without sin be the first to send a stone at her.

Go now, and take more steps, and see where he is living: for they say that he is expert in deceit. So take care to get knowledge of all the secret places where he is taking cover, and be certain to come back to me, and I will go with you: and without doubt, if he is anywhere in the land, I will get him, among all the families of Judah.

Now it was clear to Joab, the son of Zeruiah, that the king's heart was turning to Absalom. And Joab sent to Tekoa and got from there a wise woman, and said to her, Now make yourself seem like one given up to grief, and put on the clothing of sorrow, not using any sweet oil for your body, but looking like one who for a long time has been weeping for the dead: And come to the king and say these words to him. So Joab gave her words to say.

And news of this decision which the king had made went through all Israel; and they had fear of the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to give decisions.

And in his wisdom he had his sons stationed in every walled town through all the lands of Judah and Benjamin; and he gave them a great store of food, and took wives for them.

Then Daniel said to the keeper in whose care the captain of the unsexed servants had put Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: Put your servants to the test for ten days; let them give us grain for our food and water for our drink. Then take a look at our faces and the faces of the young men who have food from the king's table; and, having seen them, do to your servants as it seems right to you.

Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, was very angry; and he sent out, and put to death all the male children in Beth-lehem and in all the parts round about it, from two years old and under, acting on the knowledge which he had got with care from the wise men.

And he said to her, Let the children first have their food: for it is not right to take the children's bread and give it to the dogs. But she said to him in answer, Yes, Lord: even the dogs under the table take the bits dropped by the children. And he said to her, For this saying go your way; the evil spirit has gone out of your daughter.

And he made answer and said, It is not right to take the children's bread and give it to the dogs. But she said, Yes, Lord: but even the dogs take the bits from under their masters' table. Then Jesus, answering, said to her, O woman, great is your faith: let your desire be done. And her daughter was made well from that hour.

Or make discovery of our secret purpose? The design is framed with care; and the inner thought of a man, and his heart, is deep.

For your mouth is guided by your sin, and you have taken the tongue of the false for yourself.

O Lord, take me out of the power of the evil man; keep me safe from the violent man: For their hearts are full of evil designs; and they are ever making ready causes of war. Their tongues are sharp like the tongue of a snake; the poison of snakes is under their lips. (Selah.)

And the woman came out to him, in the dress of a loose woman, with a designing heart;

O you, who are full of false tricks and evil ways, a son of the Evil One, hating all righteousness, will you for ever be turning people from the right ways of the Lord?

So that we may be no longer children, sent this way and that, turned about by every wind of teaching, by the twisting and tricks of men, by the deceits of error;

On him who has mercy you will have mercy; to the upright you will be upright; He who is holy will see that you are holy; but to the man whose way is not straight you will be a hard judge.

On him who has mercy you will have mercy; to the upright you will be upright; He who is holy will see that you are holy; but to the man whose way is not straight you will be a hard judge.

Who makes the designs of the wise go wrong, so that they are unable to give effect to their purposes. He takes the wise in their secret designs, and the purposes of the twisted are cut off suddenly.

The Lord has knowledge of the thoughts of man, for they are only a breath.

A good-for-nothing man is an evil-doer; he goes on his way causing trouble with false words; Making signs with his eyes, rubbing with his feet, and giving news with his fingers; His mind is ever designing evil: he lets loose violent acts.read more.
For this cause his downfall will be sudden; quickly he will be broken, and there will be no help for him.

A good man has grace in the eyes of the Lord; but the man of evil designs gets punishment from him.

Cursed are those who seem wise to themselves, and who take pride in their knowledge!

The Lord, who has taken up your cause, and who gave you life in your mother's body, says, I am the Lord who makes all things; stretching out the heavens by myself, and giving the earth its limits; who was with me? Who makes the signs of those who give word of the future come to nothing, so that those who have knowledge of secret arts go off their heads; turning the wise men back, and making their knowledge foolish:

As it says in the holy Writings, I will put an end to the wisdom of the wise, and will put on one side the designs of those who have knowledge.

For this cause I will again do a strange thing among this people, a thing to be wondered at: and the wisdom of their wise men will come to nothing, and the sense of their guides will no longer be seen.

For the wisdom of this world is foolish before God. As it is said in the holy Writings, He who takes the wise in their secret designs: And again, The Lord has knowledge of the reasonings of the wise, that they are nothing.

He who is quickly angry will do what is foolish, but the man of good sense will have quiet.

As the north wind gives birth to rain, so is an angry face caused by a tongue saying evil secretly.

But I have a fear, that in some way, as Eve was tricked by the deceit of the snake, your minds may be turned away from their simple and holy love for Christ.

Now the snake was wiser than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, Has God truly said that you may not take of the fruit of any tree in the garden?

So that Satan may not get the better of us: for we are not without knowledge of his designs.

For such men are false Apostles, workers of deceit, making themselves seem like Apostles of Christ. And it is no wonder; for even Satan himself is able to take the form of an angel of light. So it is no great thing if his servants make themselves seem to be servants of righteousness; whose end will be the reward of their works.

Then the Pharisees went and had a meeting to see how they might make use of his words to take him. And they sent to him their disciples, with the Herodians, saying, Master, we see that you are true, and that you are teaching the true way of God, and have no fear of anyone, because you have no respect for a man's position. Give us, then, your opinion of this: Is it right to give tax to Caesar, or not?

Then they sent to him certain of the Pharisees and the Herodians, so that they might make use of his words to take him by a trick. And when they had come, they said to him, Master, we are certain that you are true, and have no fear of anyone: you have no respect for a man's position, but you are teaching the true way of God: Is it right to give taxes to Caesar or not? Are we to give or not to give? But he, conscious of their false hearts, said to them, Why do you put me to the test? give me a penny, so that I may see it.

And they kept watch on him, and sent out secret representatives, who were acting the part of good men, in order that they might get something from his words, on account of which they might give him up to the government and into the power of the ruler. And they put a question to him, saying, Master, we are certain that your teaching and your words are right, and that you have no respect for a man's position, but you are teaching the true way of God: Is it right for us to make payment of taxes to Caesar or not?

Then the chief priests and the rulers of the people came together in the house of the high priest, who was named Caiaphas. And they made designs together to take Jesus by some trick, and put him to death.

It was now two days before the feast of the Passover and the unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes made designs how they might take him by deceit and put him to death: But they said, Not while the feast is going on, for fear there may be trouble among the people.

Now the feast of unleavened bread was near, which is called the Passover. And the chief priests and the scribes were looking for a chance to put him to death, but they went in fear of the people.

And Jacob said, First of all give me your birthright. And Esau said, Truly, I am at the point of death: what profit is the birthright to me? And Jacob said, First of all give me your oath; and he gave him his oath, handing over his birthright to Jacob.

And Rebekah took the fair robes of her oldest son, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob, her younger son: And she put the skins of the young goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck:

Let us take care for fear that their numbers may become even greater, and if there is a war, they may be joined with those who are against us, and make an attack on us, and go up out of the land.

And the men of Gibeon, hearing what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, Acting with deceit, got food together as if for a long journey; and took old food-bags for their asses, and old and cracked wine-skins kept together with cord; And put old stitched-up shoes on their feet, and old clothing on their backs; and all the food they had with them was dry and broken up.read more.
And they came to Joshua to the tent-circle at Gilgal, and said to him and to the men of Israel, We have come from a far country: so now make an agreement with us.

But Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab, the son of Shimeah, David's brother: and Jonadab was a very wise man.

Sanballat and Geshem sent to me saying, Come, let us have a meeting in one of the little towns in the lowland of Ono. But their purpose was to do me evil. And I sent men to them saying, I am doing a great work, so that it is not possible for me to come down: is the work to be stopped while I go away from it and come down to you? And four times they sent to me in this way, and I sent them the same answer.read more.
Then Sanballat sent his servant to me a fifth time with an open letter in his hand; And in it these words were recorded: It is said among the nations, and Geshem says so, that you and the Jews are hoping to make yourselves free from the king's authority; and that this is why you are building the wall: and they say that it is your purpose to be their king; And that you have prophets preaching about you in Jerusalem, and saying, There is a king in Judah: now an account of these things will be sent to the king. So come now, and let us have a discussion. Then I sent to him, saying, No such things as you say are being done, they are only a fiction you have made up yourself. For they were hoping to put fear in us, saying, Their hands will become feeble and give up the work so that it may not get done. But now, O God, make my hands strong. And I went to the house of Shemaiah, the son of Delaiah, the son of Mehetabel, who was shut up; and he said, Let us have a meeting in the house of God, inside the Temple, and let the doors be shut: for they will come to put you to death; truly, in the night they will come to put you to death. And I said, Am I the sort of man to go in flight? what man, in my position, would go into the Temple to keep himself safe? I will not go in. Then it became clear to me that God had not sent him: he had given this word of a prophet against me himself: and Tobiah and Sanballat had given him money to do so. For this reason they had given him money, in order that I might be overcome by fear and do what he said and do wrong, and so they would have reason to say evil about me and put shame on me.

But let it be so, that I was not a trouble to you myself; but (someone may say) being false, I took you with deceit.