35 Bible Verses about Watchfulness, Of Leaders
Most Relevant Verses
Son of man, I have appointed thee a watchman unto the house of Israel, and thou shalt hear the word from my mouth, and give them warning from me.
So thou, son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; and thou shalt hear the word from my mouth, and warn them from me. When I say unto the wicked, Wicked man, thou shalt certainly die; and thou speakest not to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thy hand. But if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it, and he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
He says to him again a second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He says to him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I am attached to thee. He says to him, Shepherd my sheep.
When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt certainly die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, that he may live: the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thy hand.
it is as a man gone out of the country, having left his house and given to his bondmen the authority, and to each one his work, and commanded the doorkeeper that he should watch. Watch therefore, for ye do not know when the master of the house comes: evening, or midnight, or cock-crow, or morning;
Obey your leaders, and be submissive; for they watch over your souls as those that shall give account; that they may do this with joy, and not groaning, for this would be unprofitable for you.
Wherefore watch, remembering that for three years, night and day, I ceased not admonishing each one of you with tears.
Take heed therefore to yourselves, and to all the flock, wherein the Holy Spirit has set you as overseers, to shepherd the assembly of God, which he has purchased with the blood of his own.
The overseer then must be irreproachable, husband of one wife, sober, discreet, decorous, hospitable, apt to teach;
For the overseer must be free from all charge against him as God's steward; not headstrong, not passionate, not disorderly through wine, not a striker, not seeking gain by base means;
shepherd the flock of God which is among you, exercising oversight, not by necessity, but willingly; not for base gain, but readily;
Verily, verily, I say to you, He that enters not in by the door to the fold of the sheep, but mounts up elsewhere, he is a thief and a robber; but he that enters in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter opens; and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out.
For I know this, that there will come in amongst you after my departure grievous wolves, not sparing the flock;
proclaim the word; be urgent in season and out of season, convict, rebuke, encourage, with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time shall be when they will not bear sound teaching; but according to their own lusts will heap up to themselves teachers, having an itching ear; and they will turn away their ear from the truth, and will have turned aside to fables.read more.
But thou, be sober in all things, bear evils, do the work of an evangelist, fill up the full measure of thy ministry.
clinging to the faithful word according to the doctrine taught, that he may be able both to encourage with sound teaching and refute gainsayers. For there are many and disorderly vain speakers and deceivers of people's minds, specially those of the circumcision, who must have their mouths stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which ought not to be taught for the sake of base gain.
Not as chiding do I write these things to you, but as my beloved children I admonish you.
But I beseech you, brethren, to consider those who create divisions and occasions of falling, contrary to the doctrine which ye have learnt, and turn away from them.
envyings, murders, drunkennesses, revels, and things like these; as to which I tell you beforehand, even as I also have said before, that they who do such things shall not inherit God's kingdom.
For the rest, then, brethren, we beg you and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, even as ye have received from us how ye ought to walk and please God, even as ye also do walk, that ye would abound still more.
I testify to every one who hears the words of the prophecy of this book, If any one shall add to these things, God shall add to him the plagues which are written in this book.
I have set watchmen upon thy walls, Jerusalem; all the day and all the night they shall never hold their peace: ye that put Jehovah in remembrance, keep not silence, and give him no rest, till he establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth.
Moreover, as for me, far be it from me that I should sin against Jehovah in ceasing to pray for you; and I will teach you the good and right way.
For God is my witness, whom I serve in my spirit in the glad tidings of his Son, how unceasingly I make mention of you, always beseeching at my prayers, if any way now at least I may be prospered by the will of God to come to you.
do not cease giving thanks for you, making mention of you at my prayers,
constantly in my every supplication, making the supplication for you all with joy,
To which end we also pray always for you, that our God may count you worthy of the calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness and the work of faith with power,
But Peter said to him, Even if all should be offended, yet not I. And Jesus says to him, Verily I say to thee, that thou to-day, in this night, before the cock shall crow twice, thou shalt thrice deny me.
The overseer then must be irreproachable, husband of one wife, sober, discreet, decorous, hospitable, apt to teach; not given to excesses from wine, not a striker, but mild, not addicted to contention, not fond of money, conducting his own house well, having his children in subjection with all gravity;read more.
(but if one does not know how to conduct his own house, how shall he take care of the assembly of God?) not a novice, that he may not, being inflated, fall into the fault of the devil. But it is necessary that he should have also a good testimony from those without, that he may fall not into reproach and the snare of the devil.
Occupy thyself with these things; be wholly in them, that thy progress may be manifest to all. Give heed to thyself and to the teaching; continue in them; for, doing this, thou shalt save both thyself and those that hear thee.
if any one be free from all charge against him, husband of one wife, having believing children not accused of excess or unruly. For the overseer must be free from all charge against him as God's steward; not headstrong, not passionate, not disorderly through wine, not a striker, not seeking gain by base means; but hospitable, a lover of goodness, discreet, just, pious, temperate,
All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, all ye beasts in the forest. His watchmen are all of them blind, they are without knowledge; they are all dumb dogs that cannot bark, dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber: and the dogs are greedy, they know not to be satisfied, and these are shepherds that know not how to discern: they all turn to their own way, every one for his gain, even to the last of them:read more.
Come, say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to-morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant.
And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy; and say unto them, unto the shepherds, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Woe to the shepherds of Israel that feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock? Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool; ye kill them that are fattened: but ye feed not the flock.read more.
The weak have ye not strengthened, nor have ye healed the sick, and ye have not bound up what was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought for that which was lost; but with harshness and with rigour have ye ruled over them. And they were scattered because there was no shepherd; and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, and were scattered. My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill, and my sheep have been scattered upon all the face of the earth, and there was none that searched, or that sought for them. Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of Jehovah: As I live, saith the Lord Jehovah, verily because my sheep have been a prey, and my sheep have been meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, and my shepherds searched not for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock, therefore, ye shepherds, Hear the word of Jehovah. Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my sheep at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock: that the shepherds may feed themselves no more; and I will deliver my sheep from their mouth, that they may not be food for them.
For the teraphim have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams: they comfort in vain. Therefore they have gone away as a flock, they are in distress, because there is no shepherd. Mine anger is kindled against the shepherds, and I will punish the he-goats; for Jehovah of hosts visiteth his flock, the house of Judah, and maketh them as his majestic horse in the battle.
