'Evil' in the Bible

“Who among all these does not recognize [in all these things that good and evil are randomly scattered throughout nature and human life]That the hand of the Lord has done this,

“They have gaped at me with their mouths,With contempt they have struck me on the cheek;They massed themselves together [and conspired] against me.

“God hands me over to criminalsAnd tosses me [headlong] into the hands of the wicked.

“That evil men are [now] reserved for the day of disaster and destruction,They will be led away on the day of [God’s] wrath?

“He preys on the barren (childless) womanAnd does no good for the widow.

“But to man He said, ‘Behold, the reverential and worshipful fear of the Lord—that is wisdom;And to depart from evil is understanding.’”

“When I expected good, then came evil [to me];And when I waited for light, then came darkness.

“Have I rejoiced at the destruction of the enemy [who hated me],Or exulted [in malicious triumph] when evil overtook him?

“God who says to a king, ‘You are worthless and vile,’Or to princes and nobles, ‘You are wicked and evil’?

“The people cry out, but He does not answerBecause of the pride of evil men.

For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness;No evil [person] dwells with You.

If I have done evil to him who was at peace with me,Or without cause robbed him who was my enemy,

Break the arm of the wicked and the evildoer,Seek out his wickedness until You find no more.

You, O Lord, will preserve and keep them;You will protect him from this [evil] generation forever.

He does not slander with his tongue,Nor does evil to his neighbor,Nor takes up a reproach against his friend;

You have tried my heart;You have visited me in the night;You have tested me and You find nothing [evil in me];I intend that my mouth will not transgress.

For they planned evil against You;They devised a [malevolent] plotAnd they will not succeed.

Even though I walk through the [sunless] valley of the shadow of death,I fear no evil, for You are with me;Your rod [to protect] and Your staff [to guide], they comfort and console me.

Keep your tongue from evilAnd your lips from speaking deceit.

Turn away from evil and do good;Seek peace and pursue it.

The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,To cut off the memory of them from the earth.

Evil will cause the death of the wicked,And those who hate the righteous will be held guilty and will be condemned.

They repay me evil for good,To the sorrow of my soul.

He plans wrongdoing on his bed;He sets himself on a path that is not good;He does not reject or despise evil.

They will not be ashamed in the time of evil,And in the days of famine they will have plenty and be satisfied.

Depart from evil and do good;And you will dwell [securely in the land] forever.

They repay evil for good, they attack and try to kill me,Because I follow what is good.

Let those be ashamed and humiliated togetherWho seek my life to destroy it;Let those be turned back [in defeat] and dishonoredWho delight in my hurt.

Blessed [by God’s grace and compassion] is he who considers the helpless;The Lord will save him in the day of trouble.

My enemies speak evil of me, saying,“When will he die and his name perish?”

“A wicked thing is poured out upon him and holds him;And when he lies down, he will not rise up again.”

Why should I fear in the days of evil,When the wickedness of those who would betray me surrounds me [on every side],

“You give your mouth to evilAnd your tongue frames deceit.

Against You, You only, have I sinnedAnd done that which is evil in Your sight,So that You are justified when You speak [Your sentence]And faultless in Your judgment.

You love evil more than good,And falsehood more than speaking what is right. Selah.

The [empty-headed] fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”They are corrupt and evil, and have committed repulsive injustice;There is no one who does good.

Have workers of wickedness no knowledge or no understanding?They eat up My people as though they ate breadAnd have not called upon God.

He will pay back the evil to my enemies;In Your faithfulness destroy them.

All day long they twist my words and say hurtful things;All their thoughts are against me for evil.

Deliver me from those who practice wrongdoing,And save me from bloodthirsty men.

You, O Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel,Arise to punish all the nations;Spare no one and do not be merciful to any who treacherously plot evil. Selah.

They encourage themselves in [their pursuit of] an evil agenda;They talk of laying snares secretly;They say, “Who will discover us?”

Make us glad in proportion to the days You have afflicted us,And the years we have suffered evil.

You will not be afraid of the terror of night,Nor of the arrow that flies by day,

No evil will befall you,Nor will any plague come near your tent.

You who love the Lord, hate evil;He protects the souls of His godly ones (believers),He rescues them from the hand of the wicked.

A perverse heart shall depart from me;I will not tolerate evil.

And He remembered His covenant for their sake,And relented [rescinding their sentence] according to the greatness of His lovingkindness [when they cried out to Him],

They have repaid me evil for good,And hatred for my love.

Let this be the reward of my attackers from the Lord,And of those who speak evil against my life.

He will not fear bad news;His heart is steadfast, trusting [confidently relying on and believing] in the Lord.

I have restrained my feet from every evil way,That I may keep Your word.

The Lord will protect you from all evil;He will keep your life.

Rescue me, O Lord, from evil men;Protect me from violent men.

“Do not let a slanderer be established in the earth;Let evil quickly hunt the violent man [to overthrow him and stop his evil acts].”

Do not incline my heart to [consent to or tolerate] any evil thing,Or to practice deeds of wickednessWith men who plan and do evil;And let me not eat of their delicacies (be tempted by their gain).

Who gives salvation to kings,Who sets David His servant free from the evil sword.

For their feet run to evil,And they hurry to shed blood.

“How long, O naive ones [you who are easily misled], will you love being simple-minded and undiscerning?How long will scoffers [who ridicule and deride] delight in scoffing,How long will fools [who obstinately mock truth] hate knowledge?

“But whoever listens to me (Wisdom) will live securely and in confident trustAnd will be at ease, without fear or dread of evil.”

To keep you from the way of evil and the evil man,From the man who speaks perverse things;

Who find joy in doing evilAnd delight in the perversity of evil,

Do not be wise in your own eyes;Fear the Lord [with reverent awe and obedience] and turn [entirely] away from evil.

Do not devise evil against your neighbor,Who lives securely beside you.

Do not enter the path of the wicked,And do not go the way of evil men.

Do not turn away to the right nor to the left [where evil may lurk];Turn your foot from [the path of] evil.

“I was almost in total ruinIn the midst of the assembly and congregation.”

Who perversely in his heart plots trouble and evil continually;Who spreads discord and strife.

A heart that creates wicked plans,Feet that run swiftly to evil,

To keep you from the evil woman,From [the flattery of] the smooth tongue of an immoral woman.

So is the one who goes in to his neighbor’s wife;Whoever touches her will not be found innocent or go unpunished.

“The [reverent] fear and worshipful awe of the Lord includes the hatred of evil;Pride and arrogance and the evil way,And the perverted mouth, I hate.

The foolish woman is restless and noisy;She is naive and easily misled and thoughtless, and knows nothing at all [of eternal value].

He who is steadfast in righteousness attains life,But he who pursues evil attains his own death.

He who diligently seeks good seeks favor and grace,But he who seeks evil, evil will come to him.

The wicked desire the plunder of evil men,But the root of the righteous yields richer fruit.

Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil,But counselors of peace have joy.

No harm befalls the righteous,But the wicked are filled with trouble.

A wicked messenger falls into hardship,But a faithful ambassador brings healing.

Desire realized is sweet to the soul;But it is detestable to fools to turn away from evil [which they have planned].

Adversity pursues sinners,But the [consistently] upright will be rewarded with prosperity.

A wise man suspects danger and cautiously avoids evil,But the fool is arrogant and careless.

The evil will bow down before the good,And the wicked [will bow down] at the gates of the righteous.

Do they not go astray who devise evil and wander from the way of righteousness?But kindness and truth will be to those who devise good.

The eyes of the Lord are in every place,Watching the evil and the good [in all their endeavors].

All the days of the afflicted are bad,But a glad heart has a continual feast [regardless of the circumstances].

The heart of the righteous thinks carefully about how to answer [in a wise and appropriate and timely way],But the [babbling] mouth of the wicked pours out malevolent things.

The Lord has made everything for its own purpose,Even the wicked [according to their role] for the day of evil.

By mercy and lovingkindness and truth [not superficial ritual] wickedness is cleansed from the heart,And by the fear of the Lord one avoids evil.

The highway of the upright turns away and departs from evil;He who guards his way protects his life (soul).

He who [slyly] winks his eyes does so to plot perverse things;And he who compresses his lips [as if in a secret signal] brings evil to pass.

A rebellious man seeks only evil;Therefore a cruel messenger will be sent against him.

Whoever returns evil for good,Evil will not depart from his house.

When the wicked man comes [to the depth of evil], contempt [of all that is pure and good] also comes,And with inner baseness (dishonor) comes outer shame (scorn).

The name of the Lord is a strong tower;The righteous runs to it and is safe and set on high [far above evil].

A man’s stomach will be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth;He will be satisfied with the consequence of his words.

The fear of the Lord leads to life,So that one may sleep satisfied, untouched by evil.

A [discerning] king who sits on the throne of judgmentSifts all evil [like chaff] with his eyes [and cannot be easily fooled].

Do not say, “I will repay evil”;Wait [expectantly] for the Lord, and He will rescue and save you.

Blows that wound cleanse away evil,And strokes reach to the innermost parts.