20 Bible Verses about Presumption

But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded back from you, but who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'

He then told them a parable: "The land of a certain rich man produced an abundant crop, so he thought to himself, 'What should I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?' Then he said, 'I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.

But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded back from you, but who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'

He then told them a parable: "The land of a certain rich man produced an abundant crop, so he thought to himself, 'What should I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?' Then he said, 'I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.

But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded back from you, but who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'

He then told them a parable: "The land of a certain rich man produced an abundant crop, so he thought to himself, 'What should I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?' Then he said, 'I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.

And I will say to myself, "You have plenty of goods stored up for many years; relax, eat, drink, celebrate!"'

especially those who indulge their fleshly desires and who despise authority. Brazen and insolent, they are not afraid to insult the glorious ones,

"'But the person who acts defiantly, whether native-born or a resident foreigner, insults the Lord. That person must be cut off from among his people.

One who argues with his creator is in grave danger, one who is like a mere shard among the other shards on the ground! The clay should not say to the potter, "What in the world are you doing? Your work lacks skill!"

Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into this or that town and spend a year there and do business and make a profit."

"But if any prophet presumes to speak anything in my name that I have not authorized him to speak, or speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet must die.

Then they said, "Come, let's build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens so that we may make a name for ourselves. Otherwise we will be scattered across the face of the entire earth."

But they dared to go up to the crest of the hill, although neither the ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses departed from the camp.

Then Moses raised his hand, and struck the rock twice with his staff. And water came out abundantly. So the community drank, and their beasts drank too.

But once he became powerful, his pride destroyed him. He disobeyed the Lord his God. He entered the Lord's temple to offer incense on the incense altar.

But the one who denies me before men will be denied before God's angels.

"'But the person who acts defiantly, whether native-born or a resident foreigner, insults the Lord. That person must be cut off from among his people.

As much as she exalted herself and lived in sensual luxury, to this extent give her torment and grief because she said to herself, 'I rule as queen and am no widow; I will never experience grief!' For this reason, she will experience her plagues in a single day: disease, mourning, and famine, and she will be burned down with fire, because the Lord God who judges her is powerful!"

Then little children were brought to him for him to lay his hands on them and pray. But the disciples scolded those who brought them.

Now people were even bringing their babies to him for him to touch. But when the disciples saw it, they began to scold those who brought them.

Now people were bringing little children to him for him to touch, but the disciples scolded those who brought them. But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, "Let the little children come to me and do not try to stop them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

"Why wasn't this oil sold for three hundred silver coins and the money given to the poor?"

When the disciples saw this, they became indignant and said, "Why this waste? It could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor!"

But some who were present indignantly said to one another, "Why this waste of expensive ointment? It could have been sold for more than three hundred silver coins and the money given to the poor!" So they spoke angrily to her.

Because you say, "I am rich and have acquired great wealth, and need nothing," but do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked,

Ephraim boasts, "I am very rich! I have become wealthy! In all that I have done to gain my wealth, no one can accuse me of any offense that is actually sinful."

Those who passed by defamed him, shaking their heads and saying, "Aha! You who can destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself and come down from the cross!" In the same way even the chief priests -- together with the experts in the law -- were mocking him among themselves: "He saved others, but he cannot save himself! read more.
Let the Christ, the king of Israel, come down from the cross now, that we may see and believe!" Those who were crucified with him also spoke abusively to him.

"He saved others, but he cannot save himself! He is the king of Israel! If he comes down now from the cross, we will believe in him! He trusts in God -- let God, if he wants to, deliver him now because he said, 'I am God's Son'!"

They say, 'Keep to yourself! Don't get near me, for I am holier than you!' These people are like smoke in my nostrils, like a fire that keeps burning all day long.

The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself like this: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other people: extortionists, unrighteous people, adulterers -- or even like this tax collector.

Then he said, 'I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.

Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into this or that town and spend a year there and do business and make a profit."

"You have criticized me sharply," says the Lord, "but you ask, 'How have we criticized you?'

"A son naturally honors his father and a slave respects his master. If I am your father, where is my honor? If I am your master, where is my respect? The Lord who rules over all asks you this, you priests who make light of my name! But you reply, 'How have we made light of your name?' You are offering improper sacrifices on my altar, yet you ask, 'How have we offended you?' By treating the table of the Lord as if it is of no importance!

"But you are profaning it by saying that the table of the Lord is common and its offerings despicable.

From the days of your ancestors you have ignored my commandments and have not kept them! Return to me, and I will return to you," says the Lord who rules over all. "But you say, 'How should we return?' Can a person rob God? You indeed are robbing me, but you say, 'How are we robbing you?' In tithes and contributions!

Are you not aware of what I and my predecessors have done to all the nations of the surrounding lands? Have the gods of the surrounding lands actually been able to rescue their lands from my power? Who among all the gods of these nations whom my predecessors annihilated was able to rescue his people from my power?

Then Jesus asked, "Who was it who touched me?" When they all denied it, Peter said, "Master, the crowds are surrounding you and pressing against you!"

From that time on Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. So Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him: "God forbid, Lord! This must not happen to you!" But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, because you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but on man's."

He spoke openly about this. So Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.

He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, and as a result he takes his seat in God's temple, displaying himself as God.

But once he became powerful, his pride destroyed him. He disobeyed the Lord his God. He entered the Lord's temple to offer incense on the incense altar.

whenever a prophet speaks in my name and the prediction is not fulfilled, then I have not spoken it; the prophet has presumed to speak it, so you need not fear him."

The way of a fool is right in his own opinion, but the one who listens to advice is wise.

Would they have enough if the flocks and herds were slaughtered for them? If all the fish of the sea were caught for them, would they have enough?"

And Moses said to the Lord, "Why have you afflicted your servant? Why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of this entire people on me? Did I conceive this entire people? Did I give birth to them, that you should say to me, 'Carry them in your arms, as a foster father bears a nursing child,' to the land which you swore to their fathers? From where shall I get meat to give to this entire people, for they cry to me, 'Give us meat, that we may eat!' read more.
I am not able to bear this entire people alone, because it is too heavy for me! But if you are going to deal with me like this, then kill me immediately. If I have found favor in your sight then do not let me see my trouble."

Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into this or that town and spend a year there and do business and make a profit." You do not know about tomorrow. What is your life like? For you are a puff of smoke that appears for a short time and then vanishes.

Do not boast about tomorrow; for you do not know what a day may bring forth.

So go now and strike down the Amalekites. Destroy everything that they have. Don't spare them. Put them to death -- man, woman, child, infant, ox, sheep, camel, and donkey alike.'"

However, Saul and the army spared Agag, along with the best of the flock, the cattle, the fatlings, and the lambs, as well as everything else that was of value. They were not willing to slaughter them. But they did slaughter everything that was despised and worthless. Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: "I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned away from me and has not done what I told him to do." Samuel became angry and he cried out to the Lord all that night. read more.
Then Samuel got up early to meet Saul the next morning. But Samuel was informed, "Saul has gone to Carmel where he is setting up a monument for himself. Then Samuel left and went down to Gilgal." When Samuel came to him, Saul said to him, "May the Lord bless you! I have done what the Lord said." Samuel replied, "If that is the case, then what is this sound of sheep in my ears and the sound of cattle that I hear?" Saul said, "They were brought from the Amalekites; the army spared the best of the flocks and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord our God. But everything else we slaughtered." Then Samuel said to Saul, "Wait a minute! Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night." Saul said to him, "Tell me." Samuel said, "Is it not true that when you were insignificant in your own eyes, you became head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord chose you as king over Israel. The Lord sent you on a campaign saying, 'Go and exterminate those sinful Amalekites! Fight against them until you have destroyed them.' Why haven't you obeyed the Lord? Instead you have greedily rushed upon the plunder! You have done what is wrong in the Lord's estimation." Then Saul said to Samuel, "But I have obeyed the Lord! I went on the campaign the Lord sent me on. I brought back King Agag of the Amalekites after exterminating the Amalekites. But the army took from the plunder some of the sheep and cattle -- the best of what was to be slaughtered -- to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal." Then Samuel said, "Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as he does in obedience? Certainly, obedience is better than sacrifice; paying attention is better than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and presumption is like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king."

But the Lord struck down some of the people of Beth Shemesh because they had looked into the ark of the Lord; he struck down 50,070 of the men. The people grieved because the Lord had struck the people with a hard blow.

But some itinerant Jewish exorcists tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were possessed by evil spirits, saying, "I sternly warn you by Jesus whom Paul preaches." (Now seven sons of a man named Sceva, a Jewish high priest, were doing this.)

But they dared to go up to the crest of the hill, although neither the ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses departed from the camp.

They marched out of the city with the servants of the district governors in the lead and the army behind them.

Each one says, 'Come on, I'll get some wine! Let's guzzle some beer! Tomorrow will be just like today! We'll have everything we want!'

Then when Jesus noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. He said to them, "When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, because a person more distinguished than you may have been invited by your host. So the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, 'Give this man your place.' Then, ashamed, you will begin to move to the least important place. read more.
But when you are invited, go and take the least important place, so that when your host approaches he will say to you, 'Friend, move up here to a better place.' Then you will be honored in the presence of all who share the meal with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted."

for he stretches out his hand against God, and vaunts himself against the Almighty, defiantly charging against him with a thick, strong shield!

Then they said, "Come, let's build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens so that we may make a name for ourselves. Otherwise we will be scattered across the face of the entire earth."

Are you not aware of what I and my predecessors have done to all the nations of the surrounding lands? Have the gods of the surrounding lands actually been able to rescue their lands from my power? Who among all the gods of these nations whom my predecessors annihilated was able to rescue his people from my power?

When the king heard what the prophet cried out against the altar in Bethel, Jeroboam, standing at the altar, extended his hand and ordered, "Seize him!" The hand he had extended shriveled up and he could not pull it back.

When they arrived at the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out and grabbed hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled.

Peter turned around and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them. (This was the disciple who had leaned back against Jesus' chest at the meal and asked, "Lord, who is the one who is going to betray you?") So when Peter saw him, he asked Jesus, "Lord, what about him?" Jesus replied, "If I want him to live until I come back, what concern is that of yours? You follow me!"

especially those who indulge their fleshly desires and who despise authority. Brazen and insolent, they are not afraid to insult the glorious ones,

But they dared to go up to the crest of the hill, although neither the ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses departed from the camp. So the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country swooped down and attacked them as far as Hormah.

Abraham approached and said, "Will you sweep away the godly along with the wicked? What if there are fifty godly people in the city? Will you really wipe it out and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty godly people who are in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing -- to kill the godly with the wicked, treating the godly and the wicked alike! Far be it from you! Will not the judge of the whole earth do what is right?" read more.
So the Lord replied, "If I find in the city of Sodom fifty godly people, I will spare the whole place for their sake." Then Abraham asked, "Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord (although I am but dust and ashes), what if there are five less than the fifty godly people? Will you destroy the whole city because five are lacking?" He replied, "I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there." Abraham spoke to him again, "What if forty are found there?" He replied, "I will not do it for the sake of the forty." Then Abraham said, "May the Lord not be angry so that I may speak! What if thirty are found there?" He replied, "I will not do it if I find thirty there." Abraham said, "Since I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty are found there?" He replied, "I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty." Finally Abraham said, "May the Lord not be angry so that I may speak just once more. What if ten are found there?" He replied, "I will not destroy it for the sake of the ten."

The Lord's anger again raged against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, "Go count Israel and Judah." The king told Joab, the general in command of his army, "Go through all the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beer Sheba and muster the army, so I may know the size of the army." Joab replied to the king, "May the Lord your God make the army a hundred times larger right before the eyes of my lord the king! But why does my master the king want to do this?" read more.
But the king's edict stood, despite the objections of Joab and the leaders of the army. So Joab and the leaders of the army left the king's presence in order to muster the Israelite army. They crossed the Jordan and camped at Aroer, on the south side of the city, at the wadi of Gad, near Jazer. Then they went on to Gilead and to the region of Tahtim Hodshi, coming to Dan Jaan and on around to Sidon. Then they went to the fortress of Tyre and all the cities of the Hivites and the Canaanites. Then they went on to the Negev of Judah, to Beer Sheba. They went through all the land and after nine months and twenty days came back to Jerusalem. Joab reported the number of warriors to the king. In Israel there were 800,000 sword-wielding warriors, and in Judah there were 500,000 soldiers. David felt guilty after he had numbered the army. David said to the Lord, "I have sinned greatly by doing this! Now, O Lord, please remove the guilt of your servant, for I have acted very foolishly." When David got up the next morning, the Lord had already spoken to Gad the prophet, David's seer: "Go, tell David, 'This is what the Lord says: I am offering you three forms of judgment. Pick one of them and I will carry it out against you.'" Gad went to David and told him, "Shall seven years of famine come upon your land? Or shall you flee for three months from your enemy with him in hot pursuit? Or shall there be three days of plague in your land? Now decide what I should tell the one who sent me." David said to Gad, "I am very upset! I prefer that we be attacked by the Lord, for his mercy is great; I do not want to be attacked by men!" So the Lord sent a plague through Israel from the morning until the completion of the appointed time. Seventy thousand men died from Dan to Beer Sheba. When the angel extended his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord relented from his judgment. He told the angel who was killing the people, "That's enough! Stop now!" (Now the Lord's angel was near the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.) When he saw the angel who was destroying the people, David said to the Lord, "Look, it is I who have sinned and done this evil thing! As for these sheep -- what have they done? Attack me and my family."

Although they fully know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but also approve of those who practice them.

He waited for seven days, the time period indicated by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the army began to abandon Saul. So Saul said, "Bring me the burnt offering and the peace offerings." Then he offered a burnt offering. Just when he had finished offering the burnt offering, Samuel appeared on the scene. Saul went out to meet him and to greet him. read more.
But Samuel said, "What have you done?" Saul replied, "When I saw that the army had started to abandon me and that you didn't come at the appointed time and that the Philistines had assembled at Micmash, I thought, 'Now the Philistines will come down on me at Gilgal and I have not sought the Lord's favor.' So I felt obligated to offer the burnt offering." Then Samuel said to Saul, "You have made a foolish choice! You have not obeyed the commandment that the Lord your God gave you. Had you done that, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever! But now your kingdom will not continue! The Lord has sought out for himself a man who is loyal to him and the Lord has appointed him to be leader over his people, for you have not obeyed what the Lord commanded you."

But some itinerant Jewish exorcists tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were possessed by evil spirits, saying, "I sternly warn you by Jesus whom Paul preaches." (Now seven sons of a man named Sceva, a Jewish high priest, were doing this.)

Moreover, keep me from committing flagrant sins; do not allow such sins to control me. Then I will be blameless, and innocent of blatant rebellion.

A song of ascents, by David. O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor do I have a haughty look. I do not have great aspirations, or concern myself with things that are beyond me.

While Paul was discussing righteousness, self-control, and the coming judgment, Felix became frightened and said, "Go away for now, and when I have an opportunity, I will send for you."

And I will say to myself, "You have plenty of goods stored up for many years; relax, eat, drink, celebrate!"'

I wrote something to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not acknowledge us.

He called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the contending of the Israelites and because of their testing the Lord, saying, "Is the Lord among us or not?"

So the people contended with Moses, and they said, "Give us water to drink!" Moses said to them, "Why do you contend with me? Why do you test the Lord?"

So Jesus' brothers advised him, "Leave here and go to Judea so your disciples may see your miracles that you are performing. For no one who seeks to make a reputation for himself does anything in secret. If you are doing these things, show yourself to the world." (For not even his own brothers believed in him.)

When they arrived at the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out and grabbed hold of the ark of God, because the oxen stumbled. The Lord was so furious with Uzzah, he killed him on the spot for his negligence. He died right there beside the ark of God.

Then Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, each took his fire pan and put fire in it, set incense on it, and presented strange fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them to do. So fire went out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them so that they died before the Lord.

Ben Hadad sent another message to him, "May the gods judge me severely if there is enough dirt left in Samaria for my soldiers to scoop up in their hands."

For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and nothing came of it.

But once he became powerful, his pride destroyed him. He disobeyed the Lord his God. He entered the Lord's temple to offer incense on the incense altar.

This displeased Jonah terribly and he became very angry. He prayed to the Lord and said, "Oh, Lord, this is just what I thought would happen when I was in my own country. This is what I tried to prevent by attempting to escape to Tarshish! -- because I knew that you are gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in mercy, and one who relents concerning threatened judgment. So now, Lord, kill me instead, because I would rather die than live!" read more.
The Lord said, "Are you really so very angry?" Jonah left the city and sat down east of it. He made a shelter for himself there and sat down under it in the shade to see what would happen to the city. The Lord God appointed a little plant and caused it to grow up over Jonah to be a shade over his head to rescue him from his misery. Now Jonah was very delighted about the little plant. So God sent a worm at dawn the next day, and it attacked the little plant so that it dried up. When the sun began to shine, God sent a hot east wind. So the sun beat down on Jonah's head, and he grew faint. So he despaired of life, and said, "I would rather die than live!"

You refuse to believe a day of disaster will come, but you establish a reign of violence.

Now the serpent was more shrewd than any of the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, "Is it really true that God said, 'You must not eat from any tree of the orchard'?" The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit from the trees of the orchard; but concerning the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the orchard God said, 'You must not eat from it, and you must not touch it, or else you will die.'" read more.
The serpent said to the woman, "Surely you will not die, for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will open and you will be like divine beings who know good and evil."

But the Lord struck down some of the people of Beth Shemesh because they had looked into the ark of the Lord; he struck down 50,070 of the men. The people grieved because the Lord had struck the people with a hard blow.

When the king heard what the prophet cried out against the altar in Bethel, Jeroboam, standing at the altar, extended his hand and ordered, "Seize him!" The hand he had extended shriveled up and he could not pull it back.

Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet!" Jesus replied, "If I do not wash you, you have no share with me."

Then they said, "Come, let's build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens so that we may make a name for ourselves. Otherwise we will be scattered across the face of the entire earth."

David was angry because the Lord attacked Uzzah; so he called that place Perez Uzzah, which remains its name to this very day.

Now when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do you want us to call fire to come down from heaven and consume them?"

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?"

I wrote something to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, does not acknowledge us.

For some time ago Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and nothing came of it.

And I will say to myself, "You have plenty of goods stored up for many years; relax, eat, drink, celebrate!"'