30 Bible Verses about Weeds

Most Relevant Verses

Zephaniah 2:9


“Therefore, as I live,” declares the Lord of hosts,
The God of Israel,
“Moab will in fact become like Sodom
And the sons of Ammon like Gomorrah,
A land possessed by nettles and salt pits,
And a perpetual desolation.
The remnant of My people will plunder them
And what is left of My nation will inherit them [as their own].”

Proverbs 24:30-34


I went by the field of the lazy man,
And by the vineyard of the man lacking understanding and common sense;

And, behold, it was all overgrown with thorns,
And nettles were covering its surface,
And its stone wall was broken down.

When I saw, I considered it well;
I looked and received instruction.
read more.

“Yet a little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to rest [and daydream],”

Then your poverty will come as a robber,
And your want like an armed man.

Isaiah 5:3-6


“And now, says the Lord, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah,
Judge between Me and My vineyard (My people).

“What more could have been done for My vineyard that I have not done in it?
When I expected it to produce good grapes, why did it yield worthless ones?

“So now let me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard:
I will take away its thorn-hedge, and it will be burned up;
I will break down its stone wall and it will be trampled down [by enemies].
read more.

“I will turn it into a wasteland;
It will not be pruned or cultivated,
But briars and thorns will come up.
I will also command the clouds not to rain on it.”

Isaiah 7:18-25

In that day the Lord will whistle for the fly that is in the mouth of the rivers and canals of Egypt and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. These [armies, like flies and bees] will all come and settle on the steep and rugged ravines and in the clefts of the rocks, and on all the thorn bushes and in all the watering places. In that day [when foreign armies swarm the land] the Lord will shave with a razor, hired from the regions beyond the Euphrates (that is, with the king of Assyria), [that razor will shave] the head and the hair of the legs; and it will also remove the beard [leaving Judah stripped, shamed and scorned]. read more.
Now in that day [because of the poverty caused by the invaders] a man will keep alive only a young milk cow and two sheep; and because of the abundance of milk produced he will eat curds, for everyone that is left in the land will eat [only] curds and [wild] honey. And it will come to pass in that day, in every place where there used to be a thousand vines, worth a thousand silver shekels, there will be briars and thorns. People will come there [to hunt] with arrows and with bows because all the land will be briars and thorns. As for all the hills which used to be cultivated with the pick and the hoe, you will no longer go there for fear of briars and thorns; but they will become a place where oxen are pastured and where sheep tread.

Isaiah 32:11-15


Tremble, you women who are carefree;
Tremble with fear, you complacent ones!
Strip, undress and wear sackcloth on your waist [in grief],

Beat your breasts [in mourning] for the beautiful fields, for the fruitful vine,

For the land of my people growing over with thorns and briars—
Yes, [mourn] for all the houses of joy in the joyous city.
read more.

For the palace has been abandoned, the populated city deserted;
The hill [of the city] and the watchtower have become caves [for wild animals] forever,
A delight for wild donkeys, a pasture for flocks,

Until the Spirit is poured out upon us from on high,
And the wilderness becomes a fertile field,
And the fertile field is valued as a forest.

Isaiah 34:8-14


For the Lord has a day of vengeance,
A year of retribution for the cause of Zion.

The streams [of Edom] will be turned into pitch,
And its dust into brimstone,
And its land will become burning pitch.

The burning will not be quenched night or day;
Its smoke will go up forever.
From generation to generation it will lie in ruins;
No one will ever again pass through it.
read more.

But the pelican and the porcupine will take possession of it;
The owl and the raven will dwell in it.
And He will stretch over it (Edom) the measuring line of desolation
And the plumb line of emptiness.

Its nobles—there is no one there
Whom they may proclaim king—
And all its princes will be nothing.

Thorns will come up in its fortified palaces,
Nettles and brambles in its fortified cities;
It will be a haunt for jackals,
An abode for ostriches.

The creatures of the desert will encounter jackals
And the hairy goat will call to its kind;
Indeed, Lilith (night demon) will settle there
And find herself a place of rest.

Isaiah 55:13


“Instead of the thorn bush the cypress tree will grow,
And instead of the nettle the myrtle tree will grow;
And it will be a memorial to the Lord,
For an everlasting sign [of His mercy] which will not be cut off.”

Hosea 9:5-6


What will you do on the day of the appointed festival
And on the day of the feast of the Lord [when you are in exile]?

For behold, they will go away because of devastation and destruction;
Egypt will gather them up, Memphis will bury them.
Weeds will take over their treasures of silver;
Thorns will grow in their tents.

Isaiah 7:23

And it will come to pass in that day, in every place where there used to be a thousand vines, worth a thousand silver shekels, there will be briars and thorns.

Micah 7:4


The best of them is [injurious] like a briar;
The most upright is [prickly] like a thorn hedge.
The day of your watchmen [that is, the time predicted by the prophets]
And your punishment comes;
Now shall be their confusion.

Luke 6:44

For each tree is known and identified by its own fruit. For figs are not picked from thorn bushes, nor is a cluster of grapes picked from a briar bush.

Hosea 10:4


They have spoken empty (disingenuous) words,
Swearing falsely to make covenants [they intend to break];
Therefore, judgment springs up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field.

Job 31:38-40


“For if my land has cried out against me,
And its furrows weep together;

If I have eaten its fruits without paying for them,
Or have caused its [rightful] owners to lose their lives,

Let thorns grow instead of wheat,
And stinkweed and cockleburs instead of barley.”

So the words of Job [with his friends] are finished.

Matthew 13:24-30

Jesus gave them another parable [to consider], saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds [resembling wheat] among the wheat, and went away. So when the plants sprouted and formed grain, the weeds appeared also. read more.
The servants of the owner came to him and said, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? Then how does it have weeds in it?’ He replied to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants asked him, ‘Then do you want us to go and pull them out?’ But he said, ‘No; because as you pull out the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First gather the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

Numbers 33:55

But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those you let remain of them will be like pricks in your eyes and like thorns in your sides, and they will attack you in the land in which you live.

Joshua 23:9-13

For the Lord has driven out great and mighty nations from before you; and as for you, no man has been able to stand [in opposition] before you to this day. One of your men puts to flight a thousand, for the Lord your God is He who is fighting for you, just as He promised you. So be very careful and watchful of yourselves to love the Lord your God. read more.
For if you ever turn back and cling to the rest of these nations, these that are left among you, and intermarry with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, know and understand with certainty that the Lord your God will not continue to drive these nations out from before you; but they will be a snare and trap to you, and a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land which the Lord your God has given you.

Judges 2:1-3

Now the Angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up from Egypt and led you to the land which I swore [to give] to your fathers; and I said, ‘I will never break My covenant with you, and as for you, you shall not make a covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall tear down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed Me; what is this that you have done? So I also said, ‘I will not drive your enemies out before you; but they will be like thorns in your sides and their gods will be a snare to you.’”

2 Samuel 23:6-7


“But the wicked and worthless are all to be thrown away like thorns,
Because they cannot be taken with the hand;

“But the man who touches them
Must be armed with iron and the shaft of a spear,
And they are utterly burned and consumed by fire in their place.”

Ezekiel 2:3-6

And He said to me, “I am sending you, son of man, to the children of Israel, to a rebellious people [in both the north and the south] that have rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have sinned and revolted against Me to this very day. I am sending you to them who are stubborn and obstinate children, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ As for them, whether they listen or refuse [to listen]—for they are a rebellious house—yet they will know and be fully aware of the fact that there has been a prophet among them. read more.
And you, son of man, neither fear them nor fear their words; though briars and thorns are all around you and you sit among scorpions, neither fear their words nor be dismayed at their presence, for they are a rebellious house.

Ezekiel 28:20-24

Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Son of man, set your face toward Sidon, and prophesy against her and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God,

“Behold, I am against you, O Sidon,
And I will show My glory and be glorified in your midst.
Then they will know [by personal experience] that I am the Lord when I bring judgment and punishment on her,
And I will manifest My holiness in her.
read more.

“For I will send virulent disease to her
And blood into her streets,
And the wounded will fall in her midst
By the sword upon her from every side,
And they shall know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord. And there will no longer be a briar or a painful thorn to prick the house of Israel from all those around them who treated them with contempt; then they will know [with clarity] that I am the Lord God.”

Isaiah 27:4


“I have no wrath.
Should anyone give Me briars and thorns in battle,
I would step on them, I would set them all on fire.

Exodus 22:6

“If fire breaks out and spreads to thorn bushes so that the stacked grain or standing grain or the field is consumed, he who started the fire shall make full restitution.

Isaiah 9:18-19


For wickedness burns like a fire;
It consumes briars and thorns,
It even sets the forest thickets ablaze;
And it swirls upward in a column of smoke.

By the wrath of the Lord of hosts the land is burned up,
And the people are like fuel for the fire;
No man spares his brother.

Isaiah 10:16-17


Therefore the Lord, the God of hosts, will send a wasting disease among the stout warriors of Assyria;
And under his glory a fire will be kindled like a burning flame.

And the Light of Israel will become a fire and His Holy One a flame,
And it will burn and devour Assyria’s thorns and briars in a single day.

Matthew 13:3-8

He told them many things in parables, saying, “Listen carefully: a sower went out to sow [seed in his field]; and as he sowed, some seed fell beside the road [between the fields], and the birds came and ate it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil; and at once they sprang up because they had no depth of soil. read more.
But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and thorns came up and choked them out. Other seed fell on good soil and yielded grain, some a hundred times as much [as was sown], some sixty [times as much], and some thirty.

Mark 4:3-8

“Listen! A sower went out to sow seed; and as he was sowing, some seed fell by the road, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocks where there was not much soil; and immediately a plant sprang up because the soil had no depth. read more.
And when the sun came up, the plant was scorched; and because it had no root, it dried up and withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seed fell into good soil, and as the plants grew and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundred times [as much as had been sown].”

Luke 8:5-8

“The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road and it was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the sky ate it up. And some seed fell on [shallow soil covering] the rocks, and as soon as it sprouted, it withered away, because it had no moisture. Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it out. read more.
And some fell into good soil, and grew up and produced a crop a hundred times as great.” As He said these things, He called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear and heed My words.”

Matthew 13:18-23

“Listen then to the [meaning of the] parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom [regarding salvation] and does not understand and grasp it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. The one on whom seed was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and at once welcomes it with joy; read more.
yet he has no [substantial] root in himself, but is only temporary, and when pressure or persecution comes because of the word, immediately he stumbles and falls away [abandoning the One who is the source of salvation]. And the one on whom seed was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the worries and distractions of the world and the deceitfulness [the superficial pleasures and delight] of riches choke the word, and it yields no fruit. And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands and grasps it; he indeed bears fruit and yields, some a hundred times [as much as was sown], some sixty [times as much], and some thirty.”

Mark 4:13-20

Then He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand and grasp the meaning of all the parables? The sower sows the word [of God, the good news regarding the way of salvation]. These [in the first group] are the ones along the road where the word is sown; but when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them. read more.
In a similar way these [in the second group] are the ones on whom seed was sown on rocky ground, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy [but accept it only superficially]; and they have no real root in themselves, so they endure only for a little while; then, when trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately they [are offended and displeased at being associated with Me and] stumble and fall away. And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, but the worries and cares of the world [the distractions of this age with its worldly pleasures], and the deceitfulness [and the false security or glamour] of wealth [or fame], and the passionate desires for all the other things creep in and choke out the word, and it becomes unfruitful. And those [in the last group] are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word [of God, the good news regarding the way of salvation] and accept it and bear fruit—thirty, sixty, and a hundred times as much [as was sown].”

Luke 8:11-15

“Now [the meaning of] the parable is this: The seed is the word of God [concerning eternal salvation]. Those beside the road are the people who have heard; then the devil comes and takes the message [of God] away from their hearts, so that they will not believe [in Me as the Messiah] and be saved. Those on the rocky soil are the people who, when they hear, receive and welcome the word with joy; but these have no firmly grounded root. They believe for a while, and in time of trial and temptation they fall away [from Me and abandon their faith]. read more.
The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, but as they go on their way they are suffocated with the anxieties and riches and pleasures of this life, and they bring no fruit to maturity. But as for that seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word with a good and noble heart, and hold on to it tightly, and bear fruit with patience.

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Related Readings

Theasaurus: Weeds

Thorn-Fence (1 instance)