63 Bible Verses about Shrewdness
Most Relevant Verses
"Pay attention, now! I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. So be as cunning as serpents and as innocent as doves.
The master praised the dishonest servant manager for being so clever, because worldly people are more clever than enlightened people in dealing with their own. "I'm telling you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails, they will welcome you into eternal homes.
Now Jesus was saying to the disciples, "A rich man had a servant manager who was accused of wasting his assets. So he called for him and asked him, "What's this I hear about you? You can't be my manager any longer. Now give me a report about your management!' "Then the servant manager told himself, "What should I do? My master is taking my position away from me. I'm not strong enough to plow, and I'm ashamed to beg. read more.
I know what I'll do so that people will welcome me into their homes when I'm dismissed from my job.' "So he called for each of his master's debtors. He asked the first, "How much do you owe my master?' The man replied, "A hundred jars of olive oil.' The manager told him, "Get your bill. Sit down quickly and write "50."' Then he asked another debtor, "How much do you owe?' The man replied, "A hundred containers of wheat.' The manager told him, "Get your bill and write "80."'
"Therefore, everyone who listens to these messages of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on a rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, but it did not collapse because its foundation was on the rock.
I will show you what everyone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them. They are like a person building a house, who dug a deep hole to lay the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the floodwaters pushed against that house but couldn't shake it, because it had been founded on the rock.
A prudent man keeps what he knows to himself, but the hearts of fools shout forth their foolishness.
An unthinking person believes everything, but the prudent one thinks before acting.
A fool rejects his father's instructions, but anyone who respects reproof acts sensibly.
The mind of a discerning person gains knowledge, while the ears of wise people seek out knowledge.
"Who, then, is the faithful and wise servant whom his master has put in charge of his household to give the others their food at the right time? How blessed is that servant whom his master finds doing this when he comes! I tell all of you with certainty, he will put him in charge of all his property.
The Lord said, "Who, then, is the faithful and careful servant manager whom his master will put in charge of giving all his other servants their share of food at the right time? How blessed is that servant whom his master finds doing this when he comes! I tell you with certainty, he will put him in charge of all his property.
Recognizing their wickedness, Jesus asked, "Why are you testing me, you hypocrites? Show me the coin used for the tax." They brought him a denarius. Then he asked them, "Whose face and name is this?"read more.
They told him, "Caesar's." So he told them, "Then give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." When they heard this, they were amazed. Then they left him and went away.
Seeing through their hypocrisy, Jesus replied to them, "Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it." So they brought one. Then he asked them, "Whose face and name are on this?" They told him, "Caesar's." So Jesus told them, "Give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." And they were utterly amazed at him.
But he discerned their craftiness and responded to them, "Show me a denarius. Whose face and name does it have?" "Caesar's," they replied. So he told them, "Then give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."read more.
So they couldn't catch him before the people in what he said. Amazed at his answer, they became silent.
As for the resurrection from the dead, haven't you read what was spoken to you by God when he said, "I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living."
As for the dead being raised, haven't you read in the book of Moses, in the story about the bush, how God said, "I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!"
Even Moses demonstrated in the story about the bush that the dead are raised, when he calls the Lord, "the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, because he considers all people to be alive to him."
When they persisted in questioning him, he straightened up and told them, "Let the person among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her."
Go and again make sure, find out and investigate where he is and who has seen him there, for people tell me that he's very clever. Investigate and find out all the hiding places there where he hides, and return to me with reliable information. Then I'll go down with you, and if he's in the land, I'll search him out among all the thousands of Judah."
Meanwhile, Zeruiah's son Joab knew that the king's attention was focused on Absalom, so he sent messengers to Tekoa to bring a wise woman from there. He told her, "Please play the role of a mourner, wear the clothes of a mourner, and refrain from using makeup. Act like a woman who's been in mourning for the dead for many days. Then go to the king and speak to him like this"" Then Joab told her what to say.
When this decision that the king had handed down was announced, everybody in Israel was amazed at the king, because they all saw that God's wisdom was in him, enabling him to administer justice.
Rehoboam was wise to distribute some of his children throughout all of the territories of Judah and Benjamin, placing them in all of the fortified cities. He allotted them abundant supplies of food and sought many wives for them.
But Daniel told the guard whom the chief officer had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, "Please test your servants for ten days and let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare how we look with the young men who ate the king's rich food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you observe."
Herod flew into a rage when he learned that he had been tricked by the wise men, so he ordered the execution of all the male children in Bethlehem and all its neighboring regions, who were two years old and younger, according to the time that he had determined from the wise men.
But he kept telling her, "First let the children be filled. It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the puppies." But she answered him, "Yes, Lord. Yet even the puppies under the table eat some of the children's crumbs." Then he told her, "Because you have said this, go! The demon has left your daughter."
He replied, "It's not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the puppies." She said, "Yes, Lord. But even the puppies eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' tables." Then Jesus answered her, "Lady, your faith is great! What you want is granted." That very hour her daughter was healed.
They devise wicked schemes, saying, "We have completed our plans, hiding them deep in our hearts."
Because your sin dictates your speech, you have chosen the language of the crafty.
Deliver me, LORD, from evil people, preserve me from violent men, who craft evil plans in their minds, inciting wars every day. They sharpen their tongues like a serpent; the venom of vipers is on their lips. Interlude
Look! A woman makes her way to meet him, dressed as a prostitute and intending to entrap him.
and said, "You're full of every form of deception and trickery, you son of the Devil, you enemy of all that is right! You'll never stop perverting the straight ways of the Lord, will you?
Then we will no longer be little children, tossed like waves and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people's trickery, or by clever strategies that would lead us astray.
In the company of the gracious you demonstrate your gracious love. In the company of the blamelessly valiant you demonstrate your blamelessness. In the company of the pure you demonstrate your purity. In the company of the perverted you will appear to be perverse.
To the holy, you show your gracious love, to the upright, you show yourself upright; to the pure, you show yourself pure, and to the morally corrupt, you appear to be perverse.
He frustrates the plans of the crafty; so that what they work for never succeeds. He captures the wise in their own craftiness, bringing a quick end to their cunning advice.
A worthless man, a wicked man, goes around with devious speech, winking with his eyes, making signs with his feet, pointing with his fingers, planning evil with a perverse mind, continually stirring up discord.read more.
Therefore, disaster will overtake him suddenly. He will be broken in an instant, and he will never recover.
The good person will gain favor from the LORD, but the man who plots evil will be condemned by him.
"How terrible it will be for those who are wise in their own opinion, and clever in their own reckoning!
"This is what the LORD says, your Redeemer and the one who formed you in the womb: "I am the LORD, who has made everything, who alone stretched out the heavens, who spread out the earth Who was with me at that time? who frustrates the omens of idle talkers, and drives diviners mad, who turns back the wise, and makes their knowledge foolish;
For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the intelligence of the intelligent I will reject."
Therefore, watch out! "As for me, I will once again do amazing things with this people, wonder upon wonder. The wisdom of their wise men will perish, and the insights of their discerning men will stay hidden."
For the wisdom of this world is nonsense in God's sight. For it is written, "He catches the wise with their own trickery," and again, "The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are worthless."
A quick tempered person does foolish things, and a devious man is hated.
However, I am afraid that just as the serpent deceived Eve by its tricks, so your minds may somehow be lured away from sincere and pure devotion to the Messiah.
Now the Shining One was more clever than any animal of the field that the LORD God had made. He asked the woman, "Did God actually say, "You are not to eat from any tree of the garden'?"
so that we may not be outsmarted by Satan. After all, we are not unaware of his intentions.
Such people are false apostles, dishonest workers who are masquerading as apostles of the Messiah. And no wonder, since Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. So it is not surprising if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their doom will match their deeds!
Then the Pharisees went and planned how to trap Jesus in conversation. They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. They said, "Teacher, we know that you are sincere and that you teach the way of God truthfully. You don't favor any individual, because you pay no attention to external appearance. So tell us what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"
Then they sent some Pharisees and some Herodians to him, intending to trap him in what he said. They came and told him, "Teacher, we know that you are sincere. You don't favor any individual, because you pay no attention to external appearance. Rather, you teach the way of God truthfully. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay them or shouldn't we?" Seeing through their hypocrisy, Jesus replied to them, "Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it."
So they watched him closely and sent spies who pretended to be honest men in order to trap him in what he would say. They wanted to hand him over to the jurisdiction of the governor, so they asked him, "Teacher, we know that you're right in what you say and teach, and that you don't favor any individual, but teach the way of God truthfully. Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"
Then the high priests and the elders of the people assembled in the courtyard of the high priest, who was named Caiaphas. They conspired to arrest Jesus by treachery and to kill him.
Now it was two days before the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The high priests and the scribes were looking for a way to arrest Jesus secretly and to have him put to death, because they kept saying, "This must not happen during the festival. Otherwise, there'll be a riot among the people."
Now the Festival of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was near. So the high priests and the scribes were looking for a way to put him to death, because they were afraid of the crowd.
But Jacob responded, "Sell me your birthright. Do it now." "Look! I'm about to die," Esau replied. "What good is this birthright to me?" But Jacob insisted, "Swear it by an oath right now." So he swore an oath to him and sold his birthright to Jacob.
Then Rebekah took some garments that belonged to her elder son Esau the best ones available and put them on her younger son Jacob. She put some goat skins over his hands and on the smooth part of his neck.
Come on, let's be careful how we treat them, so that when they grow numerous, if a war breaks out they won't join our enemies, fight against us, and leave our land."
But when the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and Ai, they took the initiative by preparing their provisions shrewdly: they took tattered sacks for their donkeys, worn-out, torn, and mended wineskins, worn-out, patched sandals for their feet, and worn-out clothes. All of their food was dried out and covered in mold. read more.
Then they approached Joshua in the camp at Gilgal and addressed him and the Israelis, "We've arrived from a distant country, so please make a treaty with us right now."
Meanwhile, Amnon had a friend named Jonadab, who was the son of David's brother Shimeah. Now Jonadab was a very shrewd man.
Sanballat and Geshem sent word to me, saying "Come, let's meet together at Kephirim on the Ono Plain." But they were just trying to do me harm. So I sent messengers to them, replying "I am involved in a great endeavor, so I can't leave. Why should the work stop while I leave it to come down to you?" They sent me this message four times, and I answered them the same way.read more.
Then Sanballat sent his assistant to me the fifth time. But this time the letter was sent unsealed, and in it was written: It is reported among the nations and Gashmu confirms this that you and the Jews are planning a revolt, and that you're rebuilding the wall in order to declare yourself king. According to these reports, you also have appointed prophets to proclaim about you in Jerusalem, "There is a king in Judah!" Since these words are being reported to the king, come and let's meet together. I sent word back to him, "Nothing has happened as you've claimed. You're making up these charges in your imagination." For they all were trying to make us afraid by saying, "Their hands will become tired from laboring, so the work won't be completed." "Therefore, LORD, strengthen my hands!" Later I visited Delaiah's son Shemaiah, a grandson of Mehetabel, who was confined at home. He kept urging me, "Let's meet together at the house of God, within the Temple, and take refuge there, because they're coming to kill you. In fact, they're coming at night to kill you!" But I asked him, "Should a man like me run? Should someone like me run into the Temple to save his life? I won't go there!" I perceived that God had not sent him. Instead, Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him to pronounce this prophecy against me. He had been hired to make me afraid so I would sin by doing what he suggested. Then they could create a slanderous report to use against me.
Granting that I have not been a burden to you, was I a clever schemer who trapped you by some trick?
