4 Bible Verses about Temperance

And self-control to knowledge, and a quiet mind to self-control, and fear of God to a quiet mind,

And he said to his disciples, For this reason I say to you, Take no thought for your life, about what food you will take, or for your body, how it may be clothed.

When you take your seat at the feast with a ruler, give thought with care to what is before you; And put a knife to your throat, if you have a strong desire for food.

So then, if it is a question of food or drink, or any other thing, whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Whatever meat may be had at the public market, take as food without question of right or wrong;

The lover of pleasure will be a poor man: the lover of wine and oil will not get wealth.

When you take your seat at the feast with a ruler, give thought with care to what is before you; And put a knife to your throat, if you have a strong desire for food.

If you have honey, take only as much as is enough for you; for fear that, being full of it, you may not be able to keep it down.

And while he was talking about righteousness and self-control and the judging which was to come, Felix had great fear and said, Go away for the present, and when the right time comes I will send for you.

And every man who takes part in the sports has self-control in all things. Now they do it to get a crown which is of this world, but we for an eternal crown.

Because for long enough, in times past, we have been living after the way of the Gentiles, given up to the desires of the flesh, to drinking and feasting and loose behaviour and unclean worship of images;

He who keeps the law is a wise son, but he who keeps company with feasters puts shame on his father.

For the evil which overtakes them is the reward of their evil-doing: such men take their pleasure in the delights of the flesh even in the daytime; they are like the marks of a disease, like poisoned wounds among you, feasting together with you in joy;

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.

Belshazzar the king made a great feast for a thousand of his lords, drinking wine before the thousand.

Do not be among those who give themselves to wine-drinking, or among those who make themselves full with meat:

But I give blows to my body, and keep it under control, for fear that, after having given the good news to others, I myself might not have God's approval.

And he said to his disciples, For this reason I say to you, Take no thought for your life, about what food you will take, or for your body, how it may be clothed.

But give attention to yourselves, for fear that your hearts become over-full of the pleasures of food and wine, and the cares of this life, and that day may come on you suddenly, and take you as in a net:

When you take your seat at the feast with a ruler, give thought with care to what is before you; And put a knife to your throat, if you have a strong desire for food.

Like a thorn which goes up into the hand of a man overcome by drink, so is a wise saying in the mouth of a foolish man.

Cursed are those who are strong to take wine, and great in making mixed drinks!

The crown of pride of those who are given up to wine in Ephraim will be crushed under foot;

Come out of your sleep, you who are overcome with wine, and give yourselves to weeping; give cries of sorrow, all you drinkers of wine, because of the sweet wine; for it has been cut off from your mouths.

For though they are like twisted thorns, and are overcome as with drink, they will come to destruction like stems of grass fully dry.

He is to keep himself from wine and strong drink, and take no mixed wine or strong drink or any drink made from grapes, or any grapes, green or dry.

You have had no bread, or wine, or strong drink: so that you might see that I am the Lord your God.

Now then take care to have no wine or strong drink and to take no unclean thing for food;

And they have put the fate of my people to the decision of chance: giving a boy for the price of a loose woman and a girl for a drink of wine.

But if that servant says to himself, My lord is a long time coming; and goes about giving blows to the men-servants and the women-servants, feasting and taking overmuch wine;

For when you take your food, everyone takes his meal before the other; and one has not enough food, and another is the worse for drink.

And Daniel had come to the decision that he would not make himself unclean with the king's food or wine; so he made a request to the captain of the unsexed servants that he might not make himself unclean.

I had no pleasing food, no meat or wine came into my mouth, and I put no oil on my body till three full weeks were ended.

For John came, taking no food or drink, and they say, He has an evil spirit.

It is better not to take meat or wine or to do anything which might be a cause of trouble to your brother.

For this reason, if food is a cause of trouble to my brother, I will give up taking meat for ever, so that I may not be a cause of trouble to my brother.

I am free to do all things; but not all things are wise. I am free to do all things; but I will not let myself come under the power of any.

For this cause do not let sin be ruling in your body which is under the power of death, so that you give way to its desires;

He who is slow to be angry is better than a man of war, and he who has control over his spirit than he who takes a town.

He whose spirit is uncontrolled is like an unwalled town which has been broken into.

He who is slow to be angry is better than a man of war, and he who has control over his spirit than he who takes a town.

Simon Peter, a servant and Apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who with us have a part in the same holy faith in the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ: May grace and peace ever be increasing in you, in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; Because by his power he has given us everything necessary for life and righteousness, through the knowledge of him who has been our guide by his glory and virtue; read more.
And through this he has given us the hope of great rewards highly to be valued; so that by them we might have our part in God's being, and be made free from the destruction which is in the world through the desires of the flesh. So, for this very cause, take every care; joining virtue to faith, and knowledge to virtue, And self-control to knowledge, and a quiet mind to self-control, and fear of God to a quiet mind, And love of the brothers to fear of God, and to love of the brothers, love itself. For if you have these things in good measure, they will make you fertile and full of fruit in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the man who has not these things is blind, seeing only what is near, having no memory of how he was made clean from his old sins. For this reason, my brothers, take all the more care to make your selection and approval certain; for if you do these things you will never have a fall: For so the way will be open to you into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

He whose spirit is uncontrolled is like an unwalled town which has been broken into.

Simon Peter, a servant and Apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who with us have a part in the same holy faith in the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ: May grace and peace ever be increasing in you, in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; Because by his power he has given us everything necessary for life and righteousness, through the knowledge of him who has been our guide by his glory and virtue; read more.
And through this he has given us the hope of great rewards highly to be valued; so that by them we might have our part in God's being, and be made free from the destruction which is in the world through the desires of the flesh. So, for this very cause, take every care; joining virtue to faith, and knowledge to virtue, And self-control to knowledge, and a quiet mind to self-control, and fear of God to a quiet mind, And love of the brothers to fear of God, and to love of the brothers, love itself. For if you have these things in good measure, they will make you fertile and full of fruit in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the man who has not these things is blind, seeing only what is near, having no memory of how he was made clean from his old sins.

Do you not see that in a running competition all take part, but only one gets the reward? So let your minds be fixed on the reward. And every man who takes part in the sports has self-control in all things. Now they do it to get a crown which is of this world, but we for an eternal crown.

Take no wine, or strong drink, you or your sons with you, when you go into the Tent of meeting, that it may not be the cause of death to you; this is an order for ever through all your generations.

Keep your eyes from looking on the wine when it is red, when its colour is bright in the cup, when it goes smoothly down:

And Abigail went back to Nabal; and he was feasting in his house like a king; and Nabal's heart was full of joy, for he had taken much wine; so she said nothing to him till dawn came.

And when David sent for him, he took meat and drink with him, and David made him the worse for drink: and when evening came, he went to rest on his bed with the servants of his lord, but he did not go down to his house.

And in the middle of the day they went out. But Ben-hadad was drinking in the tents with the thirty-two kings who were helping him.

But they said, We will take no wine: for Jonadab, the son of Rechab our father, gave us orders, saying, You are to take no wine, you or your sons, for ever:

It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to take wine, or for rulers to say, Where is strong drink?

So, for this very cause, take every care; joining virtue to faith, and knowledge to virtue, And self-control to knowledge, and a quiet mind to self-control, and fear of God to a quiet mind, And love of the brothers to fear of God, and to love of the brothers, love itself.

Come, they say, I will get wine, and we will take strong drink in full measure; and tomorrow will be like today, full of pleasure.

And his servant Zimri, captain of half his war-carriages, made secret designs against him: now he was in Tirzah, drinking hard in the house of Arza, controller of the king's house in Tirzah.

And he took of the wine of it and was overcome by drink; and he was uncovered in his tent.

On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was glad with wine, he gave orders to Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven unsexed servants who were waiting before Ahasuerus the king,

But let your words be in agreement with true and right teaching: That old men are to be simple in their tastes, serious, wise, true in faith, in love, and of a quiet mind.

And while he was talking about righteousness and self-control and the judging which was to come, Felix had great fear and said, Go away for the present, and when the right time comes I will send for you.

On the day of our king, the rulers made him ill with the heat of wine; his hand was stretched out with the men of pride.

For he will be great in the eyes of the Lord; he will not take wine or strong drink; and he will be full of the Spirit of God from his birth.

For we all go wrong in a number of things. If a man never makes a slip in his talk, then he is a complete man and able to keep all his body in control.