15 Bible Verses about Malice

Now when the Council members heard these things they were enraged and ground their teeth at him.

And when they had come to the place called Golgotha, which means "the place of a skull" [i.e., probably because it was a skull-shaped knoll in appearance],

But the leading priests made plans to kill Lazarus also,

So, put away from you all [kinds of] bitterness and anger and wrath and brawling and slander, along with all [kinds of] malice [i.e., bad attitudes],

But now you also should stop practicing them: anger, wrath, malice, slander, filthy language from your mouth.

So, we should observe the Festival [i.e., live the Christian life], but not with the old yeast [i.e., old sinful ways], such as the leavening [effect] of evil and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Brothers, do not be children in the way you think, but be babies in wrongdoing; yet be mature in your thinking.

Therefore, you should put out of your lives all malice [i.e., bad attitudes], and all deceit and hypocrisy, and all envy and unwholesome talk.

[Psa. 4:4 says], "Be angry [i.e., at wrongdoing. See Mark 3:5], but do not sin" [i.e., by harboring bitterness or retaliation]. Do not allow the sun to go down while you are still provoked. And do not give the devil an opportunity [to lead you into sin].

But now you also should stop practicing them: anger, wrath, malice, slander, filthy language from your mouth.

Brothers, do not be children in the way you think, but be babies in wrongdoing; yet be mature in your thinking.

For he perceived that the leading priests had turned Jesus over to him out of envy.

For he knew that the reason they had turned Jesus over to him was out of envy.

And they [i.e., the leading priests and experts in the Law of Moses] attempted to arrest Jesus, but [hesitated because] they feared what the crowd might do, for they understood that He was speaking the parable against them. So, they left Him and went away.

And when Jesus left there [i.e., probably the Pharisee's house. See verse 37], the experts in the law of Moses and the Pharisees began opposing Him with hostility and bombarding Him with many questions, [and] plotting to trap Him by something He might say.

So, put away from you all [kinds of] bitterness and anger and wrath and brawling and slander, along with all [kinds of] malice [i.e., bad attitudes],

Therefore, you should put out of your lives all malice [i.e., bad attitudes], and all deceit and hypocrisy, and all envy and unwholesome talk.

But the rest of them grabbed his servants, physically abused them and [finally] killed them.

For Herod had arrested John and had him chained and put in prison in order to please Herodias, his brother Philip's wife. For John had said to him, "It is not lawful for you to be married to her." Now Herod wanted to have him put to death, [but hesitated], fearing the crowd, because they considered John to be a prophet. read more.
But when Herod's birthday came, Herodias' daughter [Note: According to Josephus her name was Salome], pleased him by [her sensual] dancing in front of the party guests. [Herod was so pleased with her performance that] he promised, with an oath, to give her whatever she asked for [i.e., with limitations. See Mark 6:23]. Her mother persuaded her to say, "Give me the head of John, the Immerser, here on this [large] platter." Now King Herod became very distressed [over such a gruesome request]; but because he had [promised with] oaths and [to look good in front of] his party guests, he ordered John's head to be given [to her]. So, he sent [word to his officers] and had John decapitated in the prison.

So, she went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask for?" And her mother said, " [Ask for] the head of John the Immerser." At once she hurried in to the king and said, "I would like you to give me the head of John the Immerser on a [large] platter right away." And the king became very distressed [over such a gruesome request], but because he had promised her with oaths, and [to keep from looking bad] in front of his party guests, he did not refuse her [request]. read more.
And immediately the king sent a soldier who served as his guard and ordered him to bring John's head to him. So, he went and decapitated him in the prison, and brought his head on a [large] platter and gave it to the young woman. She [in turn] gave it to her mother [Herodias].

When daylight came, [a group of] Jews conspired together, agreeing under oath that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul.

But [other] Jews became jealous and, recruiting certain ungodly riffraff, they gathered a mob and brought the city to near-riot conditions. They [even] attacked Jason's house and attempted to bring Paul and Silas before the [assembly of] people.

to do them a favor by having Paul brought [from Caesarea] to Jerusalem, for they were plotting to kill him on the way.

Get rid of the old yeast [i.e., of sin, and especially the unrepentant sinner], so that you can be a new batch of dough, without yeast in it [i.e., a godly church without unrepentant sinners in it] as [I know] you really are. For our Passover [Lamb], Christ, has already been sacrificed. So, we should observe the Festival [i.e., live the Christian life], but not with the old yeast [i.e., old sinful ways], such as the leavening [effect] of evil and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

For evil thoughts, murder, extramarital affairs, sexual immorality, stealing, perjury, slander --- [all these] come from a person's heart, and are what corrupt him [spiritually]. But eating [a meal] with [ceremonially] unwashed hands does not [spiritually] corrupt him."

Therefore, you should put out of your lives all malice [i.e., bad attitudes], and all deceit and hypocrisy, and all envy and unwholesome talk. [So], like newly born babies, you should desire the genuine, spiritual milk [i.e., God's word. See Heb. 5:12-13], so that by it you may grow toward [final] salvation,

As servants of God, you should live as free people, but do not use this freedom to cover up your wrongdoing.

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

They are full of all kinds of wickedness, evil, greed, and maliciousness. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips,

But when the girl's slave-owners saw that their prospects for income [from her activities] were [now] gone, they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them to the open shopping market, in front of the authorities. And when they brought them before the city officials, they made this charge [against them]: "These Jewish men are causing too much trouble in our city, and they are teaching people to observe customs which we Romans are not permitted to accept or practice." read more.
Then the large crowd began attacking them, and the city officials had their clothes ripped off and ordered them to be beaten. After beating them severely, they threw them in jail and ordered the jailor to have them securely guarded. After receiving these orders, the jailor threw them into the maximum security cell and had their feet securely fastened in wooden restraints.

So, if I come [to visit you], I will remind you of what he is doing, [such as] using wicked words to talk nonsense against us [apostles]. And, not being satisfied with that, he [also] refuses to welcome the [other] brothers, and prevents [other] people from doing so [i.e., from welcoming these brothers], and even kicks them out of the church [for trying to].

So, if I come [to visit you], I will remind you of what he is doing, [such as] using wicked words to talk nonsense against us [apostles]. And, not being satisfied with that, he [also] refuses to welcome the [other] brothers, and prevents [other] people from doing so [i.e., from welcoming these brothers], and even kicks them out of the church [for trying to].

Now [because of this] Herodias had a grudge against John and wanted to kill him, but had not been able to.

For we [Christians] were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various kinds of [evil] desires and [sinful] pleasures. [We used to] live in malice and envy, hating people and being hated by them.

Then Herod and his soldiers treated Jesus with contempt and mocked Him. They dressed Him in a luxurious robe and then sent Him back to Pilate.

And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said [to Him], "Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to burn them up?"