19 Bible Verses about Madness

For thus hath the LORD God of Israel said unto me: Take the wine cup of this fury from my hand and cause all the Gentiles, to whom I send thee, to drink of it. And they shall drink and be moved and become mad, before the sword that I will send among them.

The LORD shall smite thee with madness and blindness and astonishment of heart.

A sword is upon the Chaldeans, said the LORD, and upon the inhabitants of Babylon and upon her princes and upon her wise men. A sword is upon the fortune-tellers; and they shall be fools: a sword is upon her mighty men; and they shall be broken. A sword is upon their horses and upon their chariots and upon all the mingled people that are in the midst of her; and they shall become as women; a sword is upon her treasures; and they shall be robbed.read more.
A drought is upon her waters; and they shall be dried up; for it is the land of graven images, and they are become mad upon their idols.

Babylon has been a golden cup in the LORD's hand that made all the earth drunken: the Gentiles have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.

All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of twelve months as he was walking upon the palace of the kingdom of Babylon, the king spoke and said, Is this not the great Babylon that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power and for the glory of my greatness?read more.
The word was yet in the king's mouth when there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O King Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee; and they drive thee from among men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field; and they shall feed thee as the oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee until thou know that the most High takes rule in the kingdom of men and gives it to whomever he will. The same hour the word was fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from among men and ate grass as the oxen, and his body was bathed with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like eagles' feathers and his nails like birds' claws. But at the end of the time I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up my eyes unto heaven, and my understanding was returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and glorified him that lives for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is through all ages: and all the inhabitants of the earth are counted as nothing; and in the army of heaven and in the inhabitants of the earth, he does according to his will; nor is there anyone who can interfere with his hand and say unto him, What doest thou? In the same time my reason was returned unto me, and I turned to the majesty of my kingdom; my dignity and greatness returned unto me; and my governors and my great ones sought me; and I was restored in my kingdom, and more excellent greatness was added unto me. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and build up and glorify the King of heaven because all his works are truth, and his ways judgment: and he is able to humble those that walk with arrogance.

In that day, said the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment and his rider with madness; but I will open my eyes upon the house of Judah and will smite every horse of the peoples with blindness.

As a mad man who casts firebrands, arrows, and death,

and was rebuked for his iniquity; a dumb animal accustomed to a yoke (upon which he was seated), speaking with man's voice, hindered the madness of the prophet.

There was a division therefore again among the Jews for these words. And many of them said, He has a demon and is beside himself; why do ye hear him? Others said, These are not the words of him that has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?

Then Elisha, the prophet, called one of the sons of the prophets and said unto him, Gird up thy loins and take this flask of oil in thy hand and go to Ramothgilead. And when thou comest there, thou shalt see Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat the son of Nimshi, there; go in and make him arise up from among his brethren and take him to an inner chamber. Then take the flask of oil and pour it on his head and say, Thus hath the LORD said, I have anointed thee king over Israel. Then open the door and flee and do not tarry.read more.
So the young man, the servant of the prophet, went to Ramothgilead. And when he came, behold, the captains of the host were sitting, and he said, I have an errand to thee, O captain. And Jehu said, Unto which of all us? And he said, To thee, O captain. And he arose and went into the house, and he poured the oil on his head and said unto him, Thus hath said the LORD God of Israel, I have anointed thee king over the people of the LORD, even over Israel. And thou shalt smite the house of Ahab, thy master, that I may avenge the blood of my slaves, the prophets, and the blood of all the slaves of the LORD, at the hand of Jezebel. For the whole house of Ahab shall perish, and I will cut off from Ahab him that pisses against the wall, he that is shut up as well as he that is left in Israel. And I will make the house of Ahab like the house of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha, the son of Ahijah. And the dogs shall eat Jezebel in the portion of Jezreel, and there shall be no one to bury her. And he opened the door and fled. Then Jehu came forth to the slaves of his lord, and one said unto him, Is there peace? Why did this mad fellow come to thee? And he said unto them, Ye know the man and his communication.

Thus hath the LORD of the hosts the God of Israel spoken, saying, Because thou hast sent letters in thy name unto all the people that are at Jerusalem and to Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah and to all the priests, saying, The LORD has made thee priest in the stead of Jehoiada the priest, that ye should preside in the house of the LORD over every man that is furious and prophesies, putting him in the prison and in the stocks. Now therefore why hast thou not reprehended Jeremiah of Anathoth, for prophesying falsely unto you?read more.
For therefore he sent unto us in Babylon, saying, This captivity is long: build houses and dwell in them and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them.

The days of visitation are come, the days of recompense are come; Israel shall know it; the prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is a fool, for the multitude of thine iniquity, and the great hatred. The watchman of Ephraim regarding my God, the prophet, is a snare of a fowler in all his ways, hatred in the house of his God.

But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow does not cast out demons but by Beelzebub the prince of the demons.

And the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. And when his friends and family heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him; for they said, He is beside himself. But the scribes who had come down from Jerusalem said that he had Beelzebub and that by the prince of the devils he cast out devils.

But some of them said, He casts out devils through Beelzebub the prince of the demons.

And as he spoke these things and answered for himself, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad. But he said, I am not mad, most noble Festus, but speak forth words of truth and temperance.

For whether we are fools, it is unto God; or whether we are sane, it is for your cause.

Aleph I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

And David arose and fled that day from the presence of Saul and went to Achish, the king of Gath. And the slaves of Achish said unto him, Is this not David, the king of the land? Did they not sing one to another of him in dances, saying, Saul has slain his thousands and David his ten thousands? And David laid up these words in his heart and was sore afraid of Achish, the king of Gath.read more.
And he changed his behaviour before them and feigned himself a fool in their hands and scrabbled on the doors of the gate and let his spittle fall down upon his beard. Then Achish said unto his slaves, Behold, ye see the man is mad; why then have ye brought him to me? Have I need of mad men that ye have brought this fellow to play the mad man in my presence? Shall this fellow come into my house?