18 Bible Verses about Cynicism

Then they said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What is this that you have done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Did we not say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians?’ For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians [as slaves] than to die in the wilderness.”

and the Israelites said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and ate bread until we were full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this entire assembly with hunger.”

The people contended with Moses, and said, “If only we had perished when our brothers perished [in the plague] before the Lord!

Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me, and even more, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like the life of one of them.” And Elijah was afraid and arose and ran for his life, and he came to Beersheba which belongs to Judah, and he left his servant there. But he himself traveled a day’s journey into the wilderness, and he came and sat down under a juniper tree and asked [God] that he might die. He said, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.”

After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. And Job said,
“Let the day on which I was born perish,
And the night which announced: ‘There is a man-child conceived.’
read more.

“May that day be darkness;
Let God above not care about it,
Nor light shine on it.

“Why is the light given to him who is in misery,
And life to the bitter in soul,

Who wait for death, but it does not come,
And dig (search) for death more [diligently] than for hidden treasures,

Then You frighten me with dreams
And terrify me through visions,

So that I would choose suffocation,
Death rather than my pain.

“I waste away and loathe my life; I will not live forever.
Let me alone, for my days are but a breath [futile and without substance].

‘Why then did You bring me out of the womb?
Would that I had perished and no eye had seen me!

‘I should have been as though I had not existed;
[I should have been] carried from the womb to the grave.’

Woe to me, my mother, that you have given birth to me
To be a man of strife and a man of contention to all the earth!
I have not loaned, nor have men lent money to me,
Yet everyone curses me.

Cursed be the day on which I was born;
Do not bless the day on which my mother gave birth to me!

Cursed be the man who brought the news
To my father, saying,
“A son has been born to you!”
Making him very glad.

And let that man be like the cities
Which the Lord overthrew without regret.
Let him hear an outcry in the morning
And a shout of alarm at noon;
read more.

Because he did not kill me before my birth,
So that my mother might have been my grave,
And her womb always pregnant.

Why did I come out of the womb
To see trouble and sorrow,
So that my days have been filled with shame?

Therefore now, O Lord, just take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

When the sun came up God prepared a scorching east wind, and the sun beat down on Jonah’s head so that he fainted and he wished to die, and said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”

What good has it done me if, [merely] from a human point of view, I fought with wild animals at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised [at all], let us eat and drink [enjoying ourselves now], for tomorrow we die.

“The strength [of the wicked] is famished and weakened,
And disaster is ready at his side [if he stops].

Then Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite said,

“I am young, and you are aged;
For that reason I was anxious and dared not tell you what I think.

“I thought age should speak,
And a multitude of years should teach wisdom.

“But there is [a vital force and] a spirit [of intelligence] in man,
And the breath of the Almighty gives them understanding.
read more.

“Those [who are] abundant in years may not [always] be wise,
Nor may the elders [always] understand justice.

Like snow in summer and like rain in harvest,
So honor is not fitting for a [shortsighted] fool.

Like the sparrow in her wandering, like the swallow in her flying,
So the curse without cause does not come and alight [on the undeserving].

A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey,
And a rod for the backs of fools [who refuse to learn].
read more.

Do not answer [nor pretend to agree with the frivolous comments of] a [closed-minded] fool according to his folly,
Otherwise you, even you, will be like him.

Answer [and correct the erroneous concepts of] a fool according to his folly,
Otherwise he will be wise in his own eyes [if he thinks you agree with him].

He who sends a message by the hand of a fool
Cuts off his own feet (sabotages himself) and drinks the violence [it brings on himself as a consequence].

Like the legs which are useless to the lame,
So is a proverb in the mouth of a fool [who cannot learn from its wisdom].

Like one who [absurdly] binds a stone in a sling [making it impossible to throw],
So is he who [absurdly] gives honor to a fool.

Like a thorn that goes [without being felt] into the hand of a drunken man,
So is a proverb in the mouth of a fool [who remains unaffected by its wisdom].

Like a [careless] archer who [shoots arrows wildly and] wounds everyone,
So is he who hires a fool or those who [by chance just] pass by.

Like a dog that returns to his vomit
Is a fool who repeats his foolishness.

For I have taken all this to heart, exploring and examining it all, how the righteous (those in right standing with God) and the wise and their deeds are in the hands of God. No man knows whether it will be love or hatred; anything awaits him. It is the same for all. There is one fate for the righteous and for the wicked; for the good, for the clean and for the unclean; for the man who offers sacrifices and for the one who does not sacrifice. As the good man is, so is the sinner; as he who swears an oath is, so is he who is afraid to swear an oath.

So they watched [for a chance to trap] Him. They sent spies who pretended to be upright and sincere, in order that they might catch Him in some statement [that they could distort and use against Him], so that they could turn Him over to the control and authority of [Pilate] the governor. They asked Him, “Teacher, we know that You speak and teach correctly, and that You show no partiality to anyone, but teach the way of God truthfully. Is it lawful [according to Jewish law and tradition] for us to pay taxes (tribute money) to Caesar or not?” read more.
But He saw through their trickery and said to them, “Show Me a [Roman] denarius. Whose image and inscription does the coin have?” They answered, “[the Emperor Tiberius] Caesar’s.” He said to them, “Then pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” They were not able to seize on anything He said in the presence of the people; and being unnerved at His reply, they were silent.