12 Bible Verses about Envy

By David. Do not fret when wicked men seem to succeed! Do not envy evildoers!

Love is patient, love is kind, it is not envious. Love does not brag, it is not puffed up.

Let us live decently as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in discord and jealousy.

Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, being jealous of one another.

Do not envy a violent man, and do not choose to imitate any of his ways;

And they assembled against Moses and Aaron, saying to them, "You take too much upon yourselves, seeing that the whole community is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the community of the Lord?"

Consequently the supervisors and satraps were trying to find some pretext against Daniel in connection with administrative matters. But they were unable to find any such damaging evidence, because he was trustworthy and guilty of no negligence or corruption.

but with Cain and his offering he was not pleased. So Cain became very angry, and his expression was downcast.

He had so many sheep and cattle and such a great household of servants that the Philistines became jealous of him.

His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept in mind what Joseph said.

By David. Do not fret when wicked men seem to succeed! Do not envy evildoers! For they will quickly dry up like grass, and wither away like plants.

Do not envy evil people, do not desire to be with them; for their hearts contemplate violence, and their lips speak harm.

Do not envy a violent man, and do not choose to imitate any of his ways;

Do not let your heart envy sinners, but rather be zealous in fearing the Lord all the time.

Let us live decently as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in discord and jealousy.

So get rid of all evil and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.

Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, being jealous of one another.

By David. Do not fret when wicked men seem to succeed! Do not envy evildoers!

For I envied those who are proud, as I observed the prosperity of the wicked.

Then I entered the precincts of God's temple, and understood the destiny of the wicked. Surely you put them in slippery places; you bring them down to ruin. How desolate they become in a mere moment! Terrifying judgments make their demise complete! read more.
They are like a dream after one wakes up. O Lord, when you awake you will despise them.

So, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but instead as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ.

for you are still influenced by the flesh. For since there is still jealousy and dissension among you, are you not influenced by the flesh and behaving like unregenerate people?

So the chief priests and the Pharisees called the council together and said, "What are we doing? For this man is performing many miraculous signs.

(For he knew that the chief priests had handed him over because of envy.)

(For he knew that they had handed him over because of envy.)

A tranquil spirit revives the body, but envy is rottenness to the bones.

"Call now! Is there anyone who will answer you? To which of the holy ones will you turn? For wrath kills the foolish person, and anger slays the silly one.

envying, murder, drunkenness, carousing, and similar things. I am warning you, as I had warned you before: Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God!

Or do you think the scripture means nothing when it says, "The spirit that God caused to live within us has an envious yearning"?

When Joseph's brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated Joseph and were not able to speak to him kindly. Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him even more. He said to them, "Listen to this dream I had: read more.
There we were, binding sheaves of grain in the middle of the field. Suddenly my sheaf rose up and stood upright and your sheaves surrounded my sheaf and bowed down to it!" Then his brothers asked him, "Do you really think you will rule over us or have dominion over us?" They hated him even more because of his dream and because of what he said. Then he had another dream, and told it to his brothers. "Look," he said. "I had another dream. The sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me." When he told his father and his brothers, his father rebuked him, saying, "What is this dream that you had? Will I, your mother, and your brothers really come and bow down to you?" His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept in mind what Joseph said.

They said to one another, "Here comes this master of dreams! Come now, let's kill him, throw him into one of the cisterns, and then say that a wild animal ate him. Then we'll see how his dreams turn out!"

The patriarchs, because they were jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt. But God was with him,

For wrath kills the foolish person, and anger slays the silly one.

A tranquil spirit revives the body, but envy is rottenness to the bones.

And they assembled against Moses and Aaron, saying to them, "You take too much upon yourselves, seeing that the whole community is holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the community of the Lord?"

In the camp they resented Moses, and Aaron, the Lord's holy priest. The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan; it engulfed the group led by Abiram. Fire burned their group; the flames scorched the wicked.

But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, and they began to contradict what Paul was saying by reviling him.

But the Jews became jealous, and gathering together some worthless men from the rabble in the marketplace, they formed a mob and set the city in an uproar. They attacked Jason's house, trying to find Paul and Silas to bring them out to the assembly.

Saul became even more afraid of him. Saul continued to be at odds with David from then on.

This made Saul very angry. The statement displeased him and he thought, "They have attributed to David tens of thousands, but to me they have attributed only thousands. What does he lack, except the kingdom?" So Saul was keeping an eye on David from that day onward.

For as long as this son of Jesse is alive on the earth, you and your kingdom will not be established. Now, send some men and bring him to me. For he is as good as dead!"

Then Sarai said to Abram, "You have brought this wrong on me! I allowed my servant to have sexual relations with you, but when she realized that she was pregnant, she despised me. May the Lord judge between you and me!" Abram said to Sarai, "Since your servant is under your authority, do to her whatever you think best." Then Sarai treated Hagar harshly, so she ran away from Sarai.

But Sarah noticed the son of Hagar the Egyptian -- the son whom Hagar had borne to Abraham -- mocking. So she said to Abraham, "Banish that slave woman and her son, for the son of that slave woman will not be an heir along with my son Isaac!"

for you are still influenced by the flesh. For since there is still jealousy and dissension among you, are you not influenced by the flesh and behaving like unregenerate people?

Joshua son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his choice young men, said, "My lord Moses, stop them!" Moses said to him, "Are you jealous for me? I wish that all the Lord's people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!"

Then I considered all the skillful work that is done: Surely it is nothing more than competition between one person and another. This also is profitless -- like chasing the wind.

But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy, and they began to contradict what Paul was saying by reviling him.

But the Jews became jealous, and gathering together some worthless men from the rabble in the marketplace, they formed a mob and set the city in an uproar. They attacked Jason's house, trying to find Paul and Silas to bring them out to the assembly.

His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept in mind what Joseph said.

therefore, as surely as I live, declares the sovereign Lord, I will deal with you according to your anger, and according to your envy, by which you acted spitefully against them. I will reveal myself to them when I judge you.

This made Saul very angry. The statement displeased him and he thought, "They have attributed to David tens of thousands, but to me they have attributed only thousands. What does he lack, except the kingdom?"

Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct he should show his works done in the gentleness that wisdom brings. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfishness in your hearts, do not boast and tell lies against the truth. Such wisdom does not come from above but is earthly, natural, demonic. read more.
For where there is jealousy and selfishness, there is disorder and every evil practice.

he is conceited and understands nothing, but has an unhealthy interest in controversies and verbal disputes. This gives rise to envy, dissension, slanders, evil suspicions,

So get rid of all evil and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. And yearn like newborn infants for pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up to salvation,

Wrath is cruel and anger is overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?

Now this Daniel was distinguishing himself above the other supervisors and the satraps, for he had an extraordinary spirit. In fact, the king intended to appoint him over the entire kingdom. Consequently the supervisors and satraps were trying to find some pretext against Daniel in connection with administrative matters. But they were unable to find any such damaging evidence, because he was trustworthy and guilty of no negligence or corruption.

Jacob heard that Laban's sons were complaining, "Jacob has taken everything that belonged to our father! He has gotten rich at our father's expense!"

O Lord, you are ready to act, but they don't even notice. They will see and be put to shame by your angry judgment against humankind, yes, fire will consume your enemies.

They are filled with every kind of unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, malice. They are rife with envy, murder, strife, deceit, hostility. They are gossips,

Joshua son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his choice young men, said, "My lord Moses, stop them!" Moses said to him, "Are you jealous for me? I wish that all the Lord's people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!" Then Moses returned to the camp along with the elders of Israel.

Yet all of this fails to satisfy me so long as I have to see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate."

but with Cain and his offering he was not pleased. So Cain became very angry, and his expression was downcast.

Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman he had married (for he had married an Ethiopian woman). They said, "Has the Lord only spoken through Moses? Has he not also spoken through us?" And the Lord heard it. (Now the man Moses was very humble, more so than any man on the face of the earth.) read more.
The Lord spoke immediately to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam: "The three of you come to the tent of meeting." So the three of them went. And the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the tent; he then called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward. The Lord said, "Hear now my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known to him in a vision; I will speak with him in a dream. My servant Moses is not like this; he is faithful in all my house. With him I will speak face to face, openly, and not in riddles; and he will see the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?" The anger of the Lord burned against them, and he departed. When the cloud departed from above the tent, Miriam became leprous as snow. Then Aaron looked at Miriam, and she was leprous!

(For he knew that the chief priests had handed him over because of envy.)

But if you have bitter jealousy and selfishness in your hearts, do not boast and tell lies against the truth.

For where there is jealousy and selfishness, there is disorder and every evil practice.

For we too were once foolish, disobedient, misled, enslaved to various passions and desires, spending our lives in evil and envy, hateful and hating one another.

Or do you think the scripture means nothing when it says, "The spirit that God caused to live within us has an envious yearning"?

He had so many sheep and cattle and such a great household of servants that the Philistines became jealous of him.

But Leah replied, "Wasn't it enough that you've taken away my husband? Would you take away my son's mandrakes too?" "All right," Rachel said, "he may sleep with you tonight in exchange for your son's mandrakes."

But Abel brought some of the firstborn of his flock -- even the fattest of them. And the Lord was pleased with Abel and his offering, but with Cain and his offering he was not pleased. So Cain became very angry, and his expression was downcast. Then the Lord said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why is your expression downcast? read more.
Is it not true that if you do what is right, you will be fine? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. It desires to dominate you, but you must subdue it." Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the field." While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.

Jacob heard that Laban's sons were complaining, "Jacob has taken everything that belonged to our father! He has gotten rich at our father's expense!"

Yet all of this fails to satisfy me so long as I have to see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate."

When Rachel saw that she could not give Jacob children, she became jealous of her sister. She said to Jacob, "Give me children or I'll die!"

Consequently the supervisors and satraps were trying to find some pretext against Daniel in connection with administrative matters. But they were unable to find any such damaging evidence, because he was trustworthy and guilty of no negligence or corruption.

His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept in mind what Joseph said.