63 Bible Verses about Shrewdness

"Behold, I am sending you out like sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

And the master praised the dishonest manager, because he had acted shrewdly. For the sons of this age are shrewder than the sons of light with regard to their own generation. And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it runs out they will welcome you into the eternal dwellings.

And he also said to the disciples, "A certain man was rich, who had a manager. And charges were brought to him that this person was squandering his possessions. And he summoned him [and] said to him, 'What is this I hear about you? Give the account of your management, because you can no longer manage.' And the manager said to himself, 'What should I do, because my master is taking away the management from me? I am not strong enough to dig; I am ashamed to beg.read more.
I know what I should do, so that when I am removed from the management they will welcome me into their homes!' And he summoned each one of his own master's debtors [and] said to the first, 'How much do you owe my master?' And he said, 'A hundred measures of olive oil.' So he said to him, 'Take your promissory note and sit down quickly [and] write fifty.' Then he said to another, 'And how much do you owe?' And he said, 'A hundred measures of wheat.' He said to him, 'Take your promissory note and write eighty.'

"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain came down and the rivers came and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it did not collapse, because its foundation was laid on the rock.

"Everyone who comes to me and listens to my words and does them--I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug and went down deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And [when] a flood came, the river burst against that house and was not able to shake it, because it had been built well.

A clever person conceals knowledge, but the heart of a fool announces folly.

The simple will believe every word, but the clever will consider his step.

A fool will despise the instruction of his father, but he who guards reproof is prudent.

An intelligent {mind} will acquire knowledge, and the ear of the wise will seek knowledge.

"Who then is the faithful and wise slave whom the master has put in charge of his household slaves to give them their food at the right time? Blessed [is] that slave whom his master will find so doing [when he] comes back. Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions.

And the Lord said, "Who then is the faithful wise manager whom the master will put in charge over his servants to give [them] [their] food allowance at the right time? Blessed [is] that slave whom his master will find so doing [when he] comes back. Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions.

But [because he] knew their maliciousness, Jesus said, "Hypocrites! Why are you testing me? Show me the coin for the tax!" So they brought him a denarius. And he said to them, "Whose image and inscription [is] this?"read more.
They said to him, "Caesar's." Then he said to them, "Therefore give to Caesar the things of Caesar, and to God the things of God!" And [when they] heard [this], they were astonished, and they left him [and] went away.

But [because he] knew their hypocrisy, he said to them, "Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius so that I can look at [it]!" So they brought [one]. And he said to them, "Whose image and inscription [is] this?" And they said to him, "Caesar's." And Jesus said to them, "Give to Caesar the things of Caesar, and to God the things of God!" And they were utterly amazed at him.

But seeing through their craftiness, he said to them, "Show me a denarius! Whose image and inscription does it have?" And they answered [and] said, "Caesar's." So he said to them, "Well then, give to Caesar the things of Caesar, and to God the things of God!"read more.
And they were not able to catch [him] in a statement in the sight of the people, and astonished at his answer, they became silent.

Now concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, who said, "I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob"? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living!"

Now concerning the dead, that they are raised, have you not read in the book of Moses {in the passage about the bush} how God spoke to him, saying, 'I [am] the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob'? He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are very much mistaken!"

But that the dead are raised, even Moses revealed in [the passage about] the bush, when he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and [the] God of Isaac and [the] God of Jacob. Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him!"

And when they persisted in asking him, straightening up he said to them, "The [one] of you without sin, let him throw the first stone at her!"

Go, please, make certain again! Find out and see {exactly where he is} and who has seen him there! For they have said to me, 'He [is] very cunning.' Look, find out all of the hiding places where he hides. Then return to me {with dependable information}, and I will go with you. And then if he [is] there in the land, then I will seek him among all the thousands of Judah."

Joab the son of Zeruiah realized that the mind of the king [was] on Absalom. So Joab sent to Tekoa and took from there a wise woman, and he said to her, "Please pretend to mourn and put on garments of mourning. You should not anoint yourself [with] oil, and you must act like this woman who has been mourning over the dead for {a long time}. Then you must go to the king and speak to him according to this word." [Thus] Joab put the words in her mouth.

When all of Israel heard the judgment that the king had rendered, they {stood in awe} of the king, because they realized that the wisdom of God was in him to execute justice.

And he dealt wisely and distributed some of his sons throughout all the land of Judah and Benjamin, through all the fortified cities, and gave abundant provisions to them and obtained many wives [for them].

Then Daniel asked the guard whom the commander of the court officials [had] appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, "Please test your servants [for] ten days, and let them give us {some of the vegetables}, and let us eat and let us drink water. Then let our appearances and the appearance of the young men who are eating the fine food of the king be compared {before you}, and [then] deal with your servants {according to what you see}."

Then Herod, [when he] saw that he had been deceived by the wise men, became very angry, and he sent [soldiers] [and] executed all the children in Bethlehem and in all the region [around] it from [the age of] two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined precisely from the wise men.

And he said to her, "Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw [it] to the dogs!" But she answered and said to him, "Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." And he said to her, "Because of this statement, go! The demon has gone out of your daughter."

And he answered [and] said, "It is not right to take the children's bread and throw [it] to the dogs!" So she said, "Yes, Lord, for even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master's table." Then Jesus answered [and] said to her, "O woman, your faith [is] great! Let it be done for you as you want." And her daughter was healed from that hour.

{They carefully plot} injustices [saying], "We have perfected {the perfect plot}!" Both [the] {inner thought} and heart of man [are] deep.

For your iniquity teaches your mouth, and you choose [the] tongue of [the] crafty.

They devise cunning schemes against your people, and consult together against your protected ones.

Rescue me, O Yahweh, from evil men. Preserve me from violent men, who plan evil [things] in [their] heart. They stir up wars continually. They sharpen their tongue as [sharp as] a snake's; [the] venom of a viper [is] under their lips. Selah

Then behold! A woman [comes] to meet him [with the] garment of a prostitute and {a secret heart}.

[and] said, "O [you who are] full of all deceit and of all unscrupulousness, [you] son of the devil, [you] enemy of all righteousness! Will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord!

so that we may no longer be infants, tossed about by waves and carried about by every wind of teaching, by the trickery of people, by craftiness with reference to the scheming of deceit.

With the loyal, you act as loyal, and with the blameless, you show yourself blameless. With the pure, you show yourself pure, but with the crooked, you appear as a fool.

To [the] loyal you show yourself loyal. To [the] blameless you show yourself blameless. To [the] pure you show yourself pure. but to [the] wicked you show yourself shrewd.

[He] is frustrating [the] devices of [the] crafty, and their hands do not achieve success. [He] is capturing [the] wise in their craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are rushed.

Yahweh knows [the] thoughts of humankind, that {they [are] to no purpose}.

A worthless man, an evil man, goes around with {deceitful speech}. Winking in his eye, shuffling in his foot, pointing in his fingers, perversion in his heart, he devises evil; at all times he will send out discord.read more.
Upon {such a man}, suddenly shall his calamity come; in a moment he will be damaged and there is no healing.

The good obtains favor from Yahweh, but anyone who schemes, he condemns.

Ah! [Those who are] wise in their own eyes and have understanding {in their view}!

Thus says Yahweh, your redeemer, and he who formed you in [the] womb: "I [am] Yahweh, who made everything, who stretched out [the] heavens alone, who spread out the earth--who [was] with me?-- who frustrates [the] signs of oracle priests and makes a fool of diviners, who drives [the] wise men back and makes their knowledge foolish,

For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the intelligence of the intelligent I will confound."

therefore look, I am again doing something spectacular and a spectacle with this spectacular people. And the wisdom of its wise men shall perish, and the discernment of its discerning ones shall keep itself hidden."

For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God, for it is written, "The one who catches the wise in their craftiness," and again, "The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile."

He who is short of {temper} will act foolishly, and the man who schemes will be hated.

The wind of the north produces rain, and a backbiting tongue, angry faces.

But I am afraid lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds may be led astray from the sincerity and the purity of [devotion] to Christ.

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other {wild animal} which Yahweh God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God indeed say, 'You shall not eat from any tree in the garden'?"

in order that we may not be exploited by Satan (for we are not ignorant of his schemes).

For such people [are] false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore [it is] not a great thing if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.

Then the Pharisees went {and consulted} so that they could entrap him with a statement. And they sent their disciples to him with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that you are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and {you do not care what anyone thinks}, {because you do not regard the opinion of people}. Therefore tell us what you think. Is it permitted to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"

And they sent some of the Pharisees and the Herodians to him so that they could catch him unawares in a statement. And [when they] came, they said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are truthful and {you do not care what anyone thinks}, {because you do not regard the opinion of people} but teach the way of God in truth. Is it permitted to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay or should we not pay?" But [because he] knew their hypocrisy, he said to them, "Why are you testing me? Bring me a denarius so that I can look at [it]!"

And they watched [him] closely [and] sent spies who pretended they were upright, in order that they could catch him in a statement, so that they could hand him over to the authority and the jurisdiction of the governor. And they asked him, saying, "Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and do not {show partiality}, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it permitted [for] us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"

Then the chief priests and the elders of the people assembled in the palace of the high priest, who was named Caiaphas, and plotted in order that they could arrest Jesus by stealth and kill [him].

Now after two days it was the Passover and the feast of Unleavened Bread, and the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how, [after] arresting him by stealth, they could kill [him]. For they said, "Not at the feast, lest there be an uproar by the people."

Now the feast of Unleavened Bread (which is called Passover) was drawing near. And the chief priests and the scribes were seeking how they could destroy him, because they were afraid of the people.

Then Jacob said, "Sell me your birthright {first}." And Esau said, "Look, I am going to die; now what [is] this birthright to me?" Then Jacob said, "Swear to me {first}." And he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob.

Then Rebekah took [some of] her older son Esau's best garments that [were] with her in the house, and she put [them] on Jacob her younger son. And she put the skins of the young goats over his hands and over the smooth [part of] his neck.

Come, we must deal shrewdly with them, lest they become many, and when war happens, they also will join our enemies and will fight against us and go up from the land."

But the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua did to Jericho and Ai, and they acted on their part with cunning: they went and prepared provisions, and took worn-out sacks for their donkeys and old wineskins [that were] torn and mended. The sandals on their feet [were] patched and old, their clothes [were] old, and their food was dry and crumbled.read more.
And they went to Joshua at the camp [at] Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, "We have come from a far land; so then {make a covenant with us}."

Now Amnon had a friend whose name [was] Jonadab the son of Shimeah, the brother of David. (Now Jonadab [was] a very crafty man.)

Sanballat and Geshem sent to me, saying, "Come and let us meet together in [one of] the villages in the plain of Ono." But they planned to do evil to me. So I sent messengers to them, saying, "I am doing a great work and I am not able to come down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and come down to you all?" And they sent a message to me four times like this, and I returned an answer like this to them.read more.
And Sanballat sent his servant with an open letter, [another] word like this to me a fifth time, in his hand. In it was written, "It has been reported among the nations, and Gashmu also is saying it, that you and the Jews are considering rebellion. Therefore, truly you are building the wall and you are becoming their king, according to these words. You have also set up prophets to proclaim in Jerusalem concerning you, saying, '[There is] a king in Judah.' And now it will be proclaimed to the king according to these words. Now, come and we will plan together." So I sent to him saying, "None of these words you have spoken has happened. You are indeed saying [things] created in your own mind"-- for all of them [sought] to frighten us, saying, "their hands will not do the work." And now, [God], strengthen my hands. Now I went into the house of Shemaiah son of Delaiah, son of Mehetabel, who was confined [at home], and he said, "Let us meet in the house of God, inside the temple, and let us close the doors of the temple; for they are coming to kill you--during the night they are coming to kill you." But I said, "Should a man like me run away? And would a man like me go into the temple so that he can save his life? I will not go in!" Then I look and realized God had not sent him; rather, he had spoken the prophecy against me [because] Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. For this reason he was hired: to frighten [me] so that I would act and sin, so that they would have a bad report so they could taunt me.

But let [it] be. I have not been a burden to you, but [because I] was crafty, I took you by cunning.