18 Bible Verses about Instruction

Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; protect it, because it is your life.

Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; protect it, because it is your life.

Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah -- all of whom were Levites -- were teaching the people the law, as the people remained standing.

He began to speak out fearlessly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained the way of God to him more accurately.

In the third year of his reign he sent his officials Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah to teach in the cities of Judah.

So Philip started speaking, and beginning with this scripture proclaimed the good news about Jesus to him.

Then he began to teach them by saying:

Tax collectors also came to be baptized, and they said to him, "Teacher, what should we do?"

Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him saying, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field."

When he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables.

Now when Jesus had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about the parable.

Then they asked him, "Why do the experts in the law say that Elijah must come first?"

Then when they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these do?" He replied, "Yes, Lord, you know I love you." Jesus told him, "Feed my lambs."

Train a child in the way that he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

Again, however, pay very careful attention, lest you forget the things you have seen and disregard them for the rest of your life; instead teach them to your children and grandchildren.

and you must teach them to your children and speak of them as you sit in your house, as you walk along the road, as you lie down, and as you get up.

Teach them to your children and speak of them as you sit in your house, as you walk along the road, as you lie down, and as you get up.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and exhorting one another with all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, all with grace in your hearts to God.

and you must teach them to your children and speak of them as you sit in your house, as you walk along the road, as you lie down, and as you get up.

And the Lord's slave must not engage in heated disputes but be kind toward all, an apt teacher, patient,

and to teach the Israelites all the statutes that the Lord has spoken to them through Moses."

so that the next generation, children yet to be born, might know about them. They will grow up and tell their descendants about them.

But they mocked God's messengers, despised his warnings, and ridiculed his prophets. Finally the Lord got very angry at his people and there was no one who could prevent his judgment.

Fearing the Lord is the beginning of moral knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

"How long will you simpletons love naivet?? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge?

The messengers journeyed from city to city through the land of Ephraim and Manasseh as far as Zebulun, but people mocked and ridiculed them.

For you hate instruction and reject my words.

Joshua read aloud every commandment Moses had given before the whole assembly of Israel, including the women, children, and resident foreigners who lived among them.

Come children! Listen to me! I will teach you what it means to fear the Lord.

Throughout his lifetime Jehoash did what the Lord approved, just as Jehoiada the priest taught him.

My child, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments,

and how from infancy you have known the holy writings, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

Listen, my child, to the instruction from your father, and do not forsake the teaching from your mother.

For the commandments are like a lamp, instruction is like a light, and rebukes of discipline are like the road leading to life,

The one who loves discipline loves knowledge, but the one who hates reproof is stupid.

The words of the sages are like prods, and the collected sayings are like firmly fixed nails; they are given by one shepherd.

So I again considered all the oppression that continually occurs on earth. This is what I saw: The oppressed were in tears, but no one was comforting them; no one delivers them from the power of their oppressors.

I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of one who lacks wisdom. I saw that thorns had grown up all over it, the ground was covered with weeds, and its stone wall was broken down. When I saw this, I gave careful consideration to it; I received instruction from what I saw: read more.
"A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to relax, and your poverty will come like a bandit, and your need like an armed robber."

I decided to carefully and thoroughly examine all that has been accomplished on earth. I concluded: God has given people a burdensome task that keeps them occupied. I reflected on everything that is accomplished by man on earth, and I concluded: Everything he has accomplished is futile -- like chasing the wind! What is bent cannot be straightened, and what is missing cannot be supplied. read more.
I thought to myself, "I have become much wiser than any of my predecessors who ruled over Jerusalem; I have acquired much wisdom and knowledge." So I decided to discern the benefit of wisdom and knowledge over foolish behavior and ideas; however, I concluded that even this endeavor is like trying to chase the wind! For with great wisdom comes great frustration; whoever increases his knowledge merely increases his heartache.

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Isn't there more to life than food and more to the body than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky: They do not sow, or reap, or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren't you more valuable than they are? And which of you by worrying can add even one hour to his life? read more.
Why do you worry about clothing? Think about how the flowers of the field grow; they do not work or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these! And if this is how God clothes the wild grass, which is here today and tomorrow is tossed into the fire to heat the oven, won't he clothe you even more, you people of little faith?

A fool rejects his father's discipline, but whoever heeds reproof shows good sense.

Fearing the Lord is the beginning of moral knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Do not speak in the ears of a fool, for he will despise the wisdom of your words.

God says this to the evildoer: "How can you declare my commands, and talk about my covenant? For you hate instruction and reject my words.

His God instructs him; he teaches him the principles of agriculture.

O God, you have taught me since I was young, and I am still declaring your amazing deeds.

Indeed this is what the Lord told me. He took hold of me firmly and warned me not to act like these people:

Now as for you, the anointing that you received from him resides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things, it is true and is not a lie. Just as it has taught you, you reside in him.

Now on the topic of brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another.

You imparted your good Spirit to instruct them. You did not withhold your manna from their mouths; you provided water for their thirst.

Look! I have taught you statutes and ordinances just as the Lord my God told me to do, so that you might carry them out in the land you are about to enter and possess.

Listen to advice and receive discipline, that you may become wise by the end of your life.

"So now, children, listen to me; blessed are those who keep my ways. Listen to my instruction so that you may be wise, and do not neglect it.

Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to the words of knowledge.

It is written in the prophets, 'And they will all be taught by God.' Everyone who hears and learns from the Father comes to me.

Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things that are freely given to us by God.

Whoever corrects a mocker is asking for insult; whoever reproves a wicked person receives abuse. Do not reprove a mocker or he will hate you; reprove a wise person and he will love you. Give instruction to a wise person, and he will become wiser still; teach a righteous person and he will add to his learning. read more.
The beginning of wisdom is to fear the Lord, and acknowledging the Holy One is understanding.

When a scorner is punished, the naive becomes wise; when a wise person is instructed, he gains knowledge.

The one who refuses correction despises himself, but whoever hears reproof acquires understanding.

The one who neglects discipline ends up in poverty and shame, but the one who accepts reproof is honored.

Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; protect it, because it is your life.

For the commandments are like a lamp, instruction is like a light, and rebukes of discipline are like the road leading to life,

Every scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the person dedicated to God may be capable and equipped for every good work.

The Lord told me, "Make a yoke out of leather straps and wooden crossbars and put it on your neck. Use it to send messages to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon. Send them through the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to King Zedekiah of Judah. Charge them to give their masters a message from me. Tell them, 'The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says to give your masters this message. read more.
"I made the earth and the people and animals on it by my mighty power and great strength, and I give it to whomever I see fit. I have at this time placed all these nations of yours under the power of my servant, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I have even made all the wild animals subject to him. All nations must serve him and his son and grandson until the time comes for his own nation to fall. Then many nations and great kings will in turn subjugate Babylon. But suppose a nation or a kingdom will not be subject to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Suppose it will not submit to the yoke of servitude to him. I, the Lord, affirm that I will punish that nation. I will use the king of Babylon to punish it with war, starvation, and disease until I have destroyed it. So do not listen to your prophets or to those who claim to predict the future by divination, by dreams, by consulting the dead, or by practicing magic. They keep telling you, 'You do not need to be subject to the king of Babylon.' Do not listen to them, because their prophecies are lies. Listening to them will only cause you to be taken far away from your native land. I will drive you out of your country and you will die in exile. Things will go better for the nation that submits to the yoke of servitude to the king of Babylon and is subject to him. I will leave that nation in its native land. Its people can continue to farm it and live in it. I, the Lord, affirm it!"'"

if indeed you heard about him and were taught in him, just as the truth is in Jesus.

They have turned away from me instead of turning to me. I tried over and over again to instruct them, but they did not listen and respond to correction.

If you stop listening to instruction, my child, you will stray from the words of knowledge.

The one who heeds instruction is on the way to life, but the one who rejects rebuke goes astray.

Insight is like a life-giving fountain to the one who possesses it, but folly leads to the discipline of fools.

A wise son accepts his father's discipline, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.

The one who loves discipline loves knowledge, but the one who hates reproof is stupid.

"Son of man, eat your bread with trembling, and drink your water with anxious shaking. Then say to the people of the land, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says about the inhabitants of Jerusalem and of the land of Israel: They will eat their bread with anxiety and drink their water in fright, for their land will be stripped bare of all it contains because of the violence of all who live in it. The inhabited towns will be left in ruins and the land will be devastated. Then you will know that I am the Lord.'"

"As for you, son of man, take one branch, and write on it, 'For Judah, and for the Israelites associated with him.' Then take another branch and write on it, 'For Joseph, the branch of Ephraim and all the house of Israel associated with him.' Join them as one stick; they will be as one in your hand. When your people say to you, 'Will you not tell us what these things mean?' read more.
tell them, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to take the branch of Joseph which is in the hand of Ephraim and the tribes of Israel associated with him, and I will place them on the stick of Judah, and make them into one stick -- they will be one in my hand.' The sticks you write on will be in your hand in front of them. Then tell them, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to take the Israelites from among the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from round about and bring them to their land. I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel, and one king will rule over them all. They will never again be two nations and never again be divided into two kingdoms.

"Son of man, realize that I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you with a jolt, but you must not mourn or weep or shed tears. Groan in silence for the dead, but do not perform mourning rites. Bind on your turban and put your sandals on your feet. Do not cover your lip and do not eat food brought by others." So I spoke to the people in the morning, and my wife died in the evening. In the morning I acted just as I was commanded. read more.
Then the people said to me, "Will you not tell us what these things you are doing mean for us?" So I said to them: "The word of the Lord came to me: Say to the house of Israel, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: Realize I am about to desecrate my sanctuary -- the source of your confident pride, the object in which your eyes delight, and your life's passion. Your very own sons and daughters whom you have left behind will die by the sword. Then you will do as I have done: You will not cover your lip or eat food brought by others. Your turbans will be on your heads and your sandals on your feet; you will not mourn or weep, but you will rot for your iniquities and groan among yourselves. Ezekiel will be an object lesson for you; you will do all that he has done. When it happens, then you will know that I am the sovereign Lord.' "And you, son of man, this is what will happen on the day I take from them their stronghold -- their beautiful source of joy, the object in which their eyes delight, and the main concern of their lives, as well as their sons and daughters: On that day a fugitive will come to you to report the news. On that day you will be able to speak again; you will talk with the fugitive and be silent no longer. You will be an object lesson for them, and they will know that I am the Lord."

The people went up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month and camped in Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho. Now Joshua set up in Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken from the Jordan. He told the Israelites, "When your children someday ask their fathers, 'What do these stones represent?' read more.
explain to your children, 'Israel crossed the Jordan River on dry ground.' For the Lord your God dried up the water of the Jordan before you while you crossed over. It was just like when the Lord your God dried up the Red Sea before us while we crossed it. He has done this so all the nations of the earth might recognize the Lord's power and so you might always obey the Lord your God."

"Speak to the Israelites and tell them to make tassels for themselves on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and put a blue thread on the tassel of the corners. You must have this tassel so that you may look at it and remember all the commandments of the Lord and obey them and so that you do not follow after your own heart and your own eyes that lead you to unfaithfulness.

"Therefore, son of man, pack up your belongings as if for exile. During the day, while they are watching, pretend to go into exile. Go from where you live to another place. Perhaps they will understand, although they are a rebellious house. Bring out your belongings packed for exile during the day while they are watching. And go out at evening, while they are watching, as if for exile. While they are watching, dig a hole in the wall and carry your belongings out through it. read more.
While they are watching, raise your baggage onto your shoulder and carry it out in the dark. You must cover your face so that you cannot see the ground because I have made you an object lesson to the house of Israel." So I did just as I was commanded. I carried out my belongings packed for exile during the day, and at evening I dug myself a hole through the wall with my hands. I went out in the darkness, carrying my baggage on my shoulder while they watched. The word of the Lord came to me in the morning: "Son of man, has not the house of Israel, that rebellious house, said to you, 'What are you doing?' Say to them, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: The prince will raise this burden in Jerusalem, and all the house of Israel within it.' Say, 'I am an object lesson for you. Just as I have done, it will be done to them; they will go into exile and captivity.' "The prince who is among them will raise his belongings onto his shoulder in darkness, and will go out. He will dig a hole in the wall to leave through. He will cover his face so that he cannot see the land with his eyes. But I will throw my net over him, and he will be caught in my snare. I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chaldeans (but he will not see it), and there he will die. All his retinue -- his attendants and his troops -- I will scatter to every wind; I will unleash a sword behind them. "Then they will know that I am the Lord when I disperse them among the nations and scatter them among foreign countries. But I will let a small number of them survive the sword, famine, and pestilence, so that they can confess all their abominable practices to the nations where they go. Then they will know that I am the Lord."

The Lord told Jeremiah, "Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. Take with you some of the leaders of the people and some of the leaders of the priests. Go out to the part of the Hinnom Valley which is near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. Announce there what I tell you. Say, 'Listen to what the Lord says, you kings of Judah and citizens of Jerusalem! The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, "I will bring a disaster on this place that will make the ears of everyone who hears about it ring! read more.
I will do so because these people have rejected me and have defiled this place. They have offered sacrifices in it to other gods which neither they nor their ancestors nor the kings of Judah knew anything about. They have filled it with the blood of innocent children. They have built places here for worship of the god Baal so that they could sacrifice their children as burnt offerings to him in the fire. Such sacrifices are something I never commanded them to make! They are something I never told them to do! Indeed, such a thing never even entered my mind! So I, the Lord, say: "The time will soon come that people will no longer call this place Topheth or the Hinnom Valley. But they will call this valley the Valley of Slaughter! In this place I will thwart the plans of the people of Judah and Jerusalem. I will deliver them over to the power of their enemies who are seeking to kill them. They will die by the sword at the hands of their enemies. I will make their dead bodies food for the birds and wild beasts to eat. I will make this city an object of horror, a thing to be hissed at. All who pass by it will be filled with horror and will hiss out their scorn because of all the disasters that have happened to it. I will reduce the people of this city to desperate straits during the siege imposed on it by their enemies who are seeking to kill them. I will make them so desperate that they will eat the flesh of their own sons and daughters and the flesh of one another."'" The Lord continued, "Now break the jar in front of those who have come here with you. Tell them the Lord who rules over all says, 'I will do just as Jeremiah has done. I will smash this nation and this city as though it were a potter's vessel which is broken beyond repair. The dead will be buried here in Topheth until there is no more room to bury them.' I, the Lord, say: 'That is how I will deal with this city and its citizens. I will make it like Topheth.

The Lord said to me, "Go and buy some linen shorts and put them on. Do not put them in water." So I bought the shorts as the Lord had told me to do and put them on. Then the Lord spoke to me again and said, read more.
"Take the shorts that you bought and are wearing and go at once to Perath. Bury the shorts there in a crack in the rocks." So I went and buried them at Perath as the Lord had ordered me to do. Many days later the Lord said to me, "Go at once to Perath and get the shorts I ordered you to bury there." So I went to Perath and dug up the shorts from the place where I had buried them. I found that they were ruined; they were good for nothing. Then the Lord said to me, "I, the Lord, say: 'This shows how I will ruin the highly exalted position in which Judah and Jerusalem take pride. These wicked people refuse to obey what I have said. They follow the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts and pay allegiance to other gods by worshiping and serving them. So they will become just like these linen shorts which are good for nothing. For,' I say, 'just as shorts cling tightly to a person's body, so I bound the whole nation of Israel and the whole nation of Judah tightly to me.' I intended for them to be my special people and to bring me fame, honor, and praise. But they would not obey me.

I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of one who lacks wisdom. I saw that thorns had grown up all over it, the ground was covered with weeds, and its stone wall was broken down. When I saw this, I gave careful consideration to it; I received instruction from what I saw: read more.
"A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to relax, and your poverty will come like a bandit, and your need like an armed robber."

The word of the Lord came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month: "Son of man, write down the name of this day, this very day. The king of Babylon has laid siege to Jerusalem this very day. Recite a proverb to this rebellious house and say to them, 'This is what the sovereign Lord says: "'Set on the pot, set it on, pour water in it too; read more.
add the pieces of meat to it, every good piece, the thigh and the shoulder; fill it with choice bones. Take the choice bone of the flock, heap up bones under it; boil rapidly, and boil its bones in it. "'Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Woe to the city of bloodshed, the pot whose rot is in it, whose rot has not been removed from it! Empty it piece by piece. No lot has fallen on it. For her blood was in it; she poured it on an exposed rock; she did not pour it on the ground to cover it up with dust. To arouse anger, to take vengeance, I have placed her blood on an exposed rock so that it cannot be covered up. "'Therefore this is what the sovereign Lord says: Woe to the city of bloodshed! I will also make the pile high. Pile up the bones, kindle the fire; cook the meat well, mix in the spices, let the bones be charred. Set the empty pot on the coals, until it becomes hot and its copper glows, until its uncleanness melts within it and its rot is consumed. It has tried my patience; yet its thick rot is not removed from it. Subject its rot to the fire! You mix uncleanness with obscene conduct. I tried to cleanse you, but you are not clean. You will not be cleansed from your uncleanness until I have exhausted my anger on you. "'I the Lord have spoken; judgment is coming and I will act! I will not relent, or show pity, or be sorry! I will judge you according to your conduct and your deeds, declares the sovereign Lord.'"

At that time the Lord announced through Isaiah son of Amoz: "Go, remove the sackcloth from your waist and take your sandals off your feet." He did as instructed and walked around in undergarments and barefoot. Later the Lord explained, "In the same way that my servant Isaiah has walked around in undergarments and barefoot for the past three years, as an object lesson and omen pertaining to Egypt and Cush,

"As for you, take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and spelt, put them in a single container, and make food from them for yourself. For the same number of days that you lie on your side -- 390 days -- you will eat it. The food you eat will be eight ounces a day by weight; you must eat it at fixed times. And you must drink water by measure, a pint and a half; you must drink it at fixed times. read more.
And you must eat the food like you would a barley cake. You must bake it in front of them over a fire made with dried human excrement." And the Lord said, "This is how the people of Israel will eat their unclean food among the nations where I will banish them." And I said, "Ah, sovereign Lord, I have never been ceremonially defiled before. I have never eaten a carcass or an animal torn by wild beasts; from my youth up, unclean meat has never entered my mouth." So he said to me, "All right then, I will substitute cow's manure instead of human excrement. You will cook your food over it." Then he said to me, "Son of man, I am about to remove the bread supply in Jerusalem. They will eat their bread ration anxiously, and they will drink their water ration in terror because they will lack bread and water. Each one will be terrified, and they will rot for their iniquity.

"And you, son of man, groan with an aching heart and bitterness; groan before their eyes. When they ask you, 'Why are you groaning?' you will reply, 'Because of the report that has come. Every heart will melt with fear and every hand will be limp; everyone will faint and every knee will be wet with urine.' Pay attention -- it is coming and it will happen, declares the sovereign Lord."

"Also for your part lie on your left side and place the iniquity of the house of Israel on it. For the number of days you lie on your side you will bear their iniquity. I have determined that the number of the years of their iniquity are to be the number of days for you -- 390 days. So bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. "When you have completed these days, then lie down a second time, but on your right side, and bear the iniquity of the house of Judah 40 days -- I have assigned one day for each year. read more.
You must turn your face toward the siege of Jerusalem with your arm bared and prophesy against it. Look here, I will tie you up with ropes, so you cannot turn from one side to the other until you complete the days of your siege.

"And you, son of man, take a brick and set it in front of you. Inscribe a city on it -- Jerusalem. Lay siege to it! Build siege works against it. Erect a siege ramp against it! Post soldiers outside it and station battering rams around it. Then for your part take an iron frying pan and set it up as an iron wall between you and the city. Set your face toward it. It is to be under siege; you are to besiege it. This is a sign for the house of Israel.

Moses said, "This is what the Lord has commanded: 'Fill an omer with it to be kept for generations to come, so that they may see the food I fed you in the desert when I brought you out from the land of Egypt.'"

Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah -- all of whom were Levites -- were teaching the people the law, as the people remained standing.

He began to speak out fearlessly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained the way of God to him more accurately.

In the third year of his reign he sent his officials Ben-Hail, Obadiah, Zechariah, Nethanel, and Micaiah to teach in the cities of Judah.

So Philip started speaking, and beginning with this scripture proclaimed the good news about Jesus to him.

Then he began to teach them by saying: