25 Bible Verses about Rivalry

And Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reign over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned over Israel two years. And he did evil in the sight of Jehovah, and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin with which he made Israel to sin. And Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him. And Baasha struck him at Gibbethon, which was to the Philistines. For Nadab and all Israel laid siege to Gibbethon.read more.
And in the third year of Asa king of Judah, Baasha killed him and reigned in his place. And it happened when he reigned, he struck all the house of Jeroboam. He did not leave Jeroboam any who breathed, until he had destroyed him, according to the saying of Jehovah which He spoke by His servant Ahijah the man of Shiloh, because of the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and which he made Israel sin, by his provocation with which he provoked Jehovah, the God of Israel to anger. And the rest of the acts of Nadab, and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Matters of the Days of the Kings of Israel?

And the people of Israel were divided into two parts. Half the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king. And half followed Omri. But the people who followed Omri were stronger than the people who followed Tibni the son of Ginath. And Tibni died and Omri reigned.

Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the people of other lands? Were the gods of the nations of those lands in any way able to deliver their lands out of my hands? Who among all the gods of those nations that my fathers completely destroyed is able to deliver his people out of my hand, that your God should be able to deliver you out of my hand? And now do not let Hezekiah deceive you or persuade you in this way, nor yet believe him. For no god of any nation was able to deliver his people out of my hand, and out of the hand of my fathers. How much less shall your God deliver you out of my hand?read more.
And his servants spoke still more against Jehovah God, and against His servant Hezekiah. He also wrote letters to revile Jehovah, the God of Israel, and to speak against Him, saying, As the gods of the nations of other lands have not delivered their people out of my hand, so shall not the God of Hezekiah deliver His people out of my hand. And they cried out with a loud voice in Jewish to the people of Jerusalem on the wall, in order to frighten them and to trouble them, so that they might take the city. And they spoke against the God of Jerusalem, as against the gods of the peoples of the earth, the work of the hands of man. And for this reason Hezekiah the king, and the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz, prayed and cried to Heaven. And Jehovah sent an angel to cut off all the mighty men of power, and the leaders and commanders in the camp of the king of Assyria. And he returned with shame of face to his own land. And he came into the house of his god, and those from his own bowels killed him there with the sword. And Jehovah saved Hezekiah and the people of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria, and from the hand of all others, and guided them on every side.

So you shall say to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Do not let your God, in whom you trust, deceive you, saying, Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by completely destroying them. And shall you be delivered? Have the gods of the nations delivered those whom my fathers have destroyed: Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the sons of Eden who were in Telassar?read more.
Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivah?

And Hezekiah received the letter from the courier's hand, and read it. And Hezekiah went up into the house of Jehovah and spread it before Jehovah. And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord, saying, O Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel, who dwells between the cherubs, You are He, God, You alone to all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made the heavens and the earth.read more.
Bow down Your ear, O Jehovah, and hear; open Your eyes, O Jehovah, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib which he has sent to mock the living God. Truly, O Jehovah, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their land, and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone; so they have destroyed them. And now, O Jehovah our God, save us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are Jehovah, You alone. And Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, So says Jehovah, the God of Israel, Because you have prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, this is the word which Jehovah has spoken concerning him: The virgin, the daughter of Zion, has despised you and laughed you to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem has shaken her head behind you. Whom have you mocked and blasphemed? And against whom have you raised your voice and lifted up your eyes on high? Even against the Holy One of Israel. By your servants you have mocked Jehovah and have said, by my many chariots I have come up to the height of the mountains, to the sides of Lebanon; and I will cut down the tall cedars of it, and its choice fir trees; and I will go to its greatest height, the forest of its Carmel. I have dug and drunk water; and with the sole of my feet I have dried up all the streams of Egypt. Have you not heard from afar? I made it from days of old, even I have formed it. Now I have caused it to come, and you are to cause fortified cities to crash into heaps, ruins. And their inhabitants were short of hand; dismayed and ashamed. They were as the grass of the field, and as the green herb, as the grass on the housetops, even grain blasted before it has risen. But I know your sitting down, and your going out, and your coming in, and your rage against Me. Because of your raging against Me, and your arrogance has come up into My ears, therefore I will put My hook in your nose, and My bridle in your lips, and I will turn you back by the way which you came. And this shall be a sign to you: You shall eat self-sown grain this year; and the second year that which springs of the same; and in the third year you shall sow, and reap, and plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them. The remnant that has escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward; for out of Jerusalem shall go out a remnant, and those who escape out of Mount Zion; the zeal of Jehovah of Hosts shall do this. So Jehovah says this to the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city nor shoot an arrow there, nor come before it with shield, nor cast a bank against it. By the way that he came, by the same he shall return, and shall not come into this city, says Jehovah. For I will defend this city to save it, for My own sake and for My servant David's sake. Then the angel of Jehovah went out and struck a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the camp of Assyria. And they rose early in the morning, and behold! They were all dead corpses. And Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went and returned, and lived at Nineveh. And it happened as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons struck him with the sword. And they escaped into the land of Ararat; and Esar-haddon his son reigned in his place.

And Jacob boiled soup. And Esau came from the field, and he was faint. And Esau said to Jacob, I beg you, Let me eat of the red, this red soup, for I am faint. Therefore his name was called Edom. And Jacob said, Sell me your birthright today.read more.
And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point of dying, and what profit shall this birthright be to me? And Jacob said, Swear to me this day. And he swore to him, and he sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and soup of lentils. And he ate and drank, and rose up and went his way. And Esau despised his birthright.

And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him. And Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are at hand. Then I will kill my brother Jacob.

And her foe also provoked her grievously, in order to make her tremble, because Jehovah had shut up her womb. And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of Jehovah, so she provoked her. And she wept and did not eat.

And the women answered as they played, and said, Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands. And Saul was very angry, and this thing was evil in his eyes. And he said, They have given David ten thousands, and to me they have given only thousands. And what more can he have but the kingdom? And Saul eyed David from that day and forward.

For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, you shall not be established, nor your kingdom. And now send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die.

And it happened after this, Absalom prepared himself chariots and horses and fifty men to run before him. And Absalom rose up early and stood beside the way of the gate. And it was so, if any man had a suit to come before the king for judgment, then Absalom called to him and said, What city are you from? And he said, Your servant is of one of the tribes of Israel. And Absalom said to him, See! Your matters are good and right. But no listener from the king will hear you.read more.
And Absalom said, Oh that I might be made judge in the land, so that every man who has any suit or cause might come to me, and I would do him justice! And it was so, when any man came near to bow down to him, he put forth his hand and took him and kissed him. And in this way Absalom did to all Israel that came to the king for judgment. And Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel. And it happened at the end of forty years, Absalom said to the king, Please let me go and pay my vow which I have vowed to Jehovah in Hebron. For your servant vowed a vow while I lived at Geshur in Syria, saying, If Jehovah will indeed bring me again to Jerusalem, then I will serve Jehovah. And the king said to him, Go in peace. And he arose and went to Hebron. But Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, As soon as you hear the sound of the ram's horn, then you shall say, Absalom reigns in Hebron! And with Absalom went two hundred called men out of Jerusalem. And they went in their honesty, and did not know anything. And Absalom sent for Ahithophel of Giloh, David's counselor, from his city Giloh, while he offered sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong, for the people with Absalom grew more and more. And a messenger came to David saying, The hearts of the men of Israel are after Absalom.

And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now the kingdom shall return to the house of David! If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of Jehovah at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah.

And you shall not take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness, beside the other in her life.

And an argument came in among them, who might be the greater of them. And seeing the argument of their heart, Jesus took a child and set him beside Him. And He said to them, Whoever shall receive this child in My name receives Me. And whoever shall receive Me receives Him who sent Me. For he who is least among you all, he shall be great.

At that hour the disciples came to Jesus, saying, Who is the greater in the kingdom of Heaven? And Jesus called a little child to Him and set him in their midst, and said, Truly I say to you, Unless you are converted and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of Heaven.read more.
Therefore whoever shall humble himself like this little child, this one is the greater in the kingdom of Heaven.

But they were silent. For in the way they had disputed among themselves who was the greatest. And He sat down and called the Twelve and said to them, If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all. And He took a child, and embraced it, and set him in their midst. And He said to them,read more.
Whoever receives one of such children on My name receives Me. And whoever receives Me does not only receives Me, but Him who sent Me.

Then the mother of Zebedee's children came to Him with her sons, worshiping and desiring a certain thing from Him. And He said to her, What do you desire? She said to Him, Grant that these my two sons may sit in Your kingdom, the one on Your right hand and the other on the left. But Jesus answered and said, You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They said to Him, We are able.read more.
And He said to them, You shall indeed drink of My cup and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with; but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but to those for whom it has been prepared by My Father. And when the ten heard it, they were indignant concerning the two brothers.

And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to Him, saying, Master, we desire that You should do for us whatever we shall ask. And He said to them, What do you desire that I should do for you? They said to Him, Grant to us that we may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on Your left hand, in Your glory.read more.
But Jesus said to them, You do not know what you ask. Can you drink of the cup that I drink of, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? And they said to Him, We can. And Jesus said to them, You shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of, and with the baptism that I am baptized with you shall be baptized. But to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but to those for whom it is prepared. And when the ten heard, they began to be indignant with James and John.

But you must not be called Rabbi, for One is your teacher, Christ, and you are all brothers. And call no one your father on the earth, for One is your Father in Heaven. Nor be called teachers, for One is your Teacher, even Christ.read more.
But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.

For you are yet carnal. For in that there is among you envyings and strife and divisions, are you not carnal, and do you not walk according to men? For while one says, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are you not carnal?

But I say this, that every one of you says, I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you, or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many as were baptized into Christ, you put on Christ. There cannot be Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is no male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

But Jesus called them and said to them, You know that they who are accounted rulers over the nations exercise lordship over them. And their great ones exercise authority on them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever desires to be great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever of you desires to become first, he shall be servant of all.read more.
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.

But Jesus called them and said, You know that the rulers of the nations exercise dominion over them, and they who are great exercise authority over them. However, it shall not be so among you. But whoever desires to be great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be chief among you, let him be your servant;read more.
even as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.

Some indeed even preach Christ because of envy and strife, and some also of good will. Those, indeed, preach Christ out of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds. But these others preach in love, knowing that I am set for the defense of the gospel.read more.
What then? Nevertheless, in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached. And I rejoice in this. Yet, also I will rejoice.