'Jealousy' in the Bible

and if a spirit (sense, attitude) of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous and angry at his wife who has defiled herself—or if a spirit of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous of his wife when she has not defiled herself—

then the man shall bring his wife to the priest, and he shall bring as an offering for her, a tenth of an ephah of barley meal; he shall not pour oil on it nor put frankincense on it [the symbols of favor and joy], because it is a grain offering of jealousy, a memorial grain offering, a reminder of [the consequences of] wickedness.

The priest shall then have the woman stand before the Lord, and let the hair of the woman’s head hang loose, and put the memorial grain offering in her hands, which is the jealousy offering, and in the hand of the priest is to be the water of bitterness that brings a curse.

Then the priest shall take the grain offering of jealousy out of the woman’s hand, and he shall wave the grain offering before the Lord and offer it on the altar.

‘This is the law of jealousy: when a wife goes astray [while married] and defiles herself,

or when a spirit (sense, attitude) of jealousy and suspicion comes on a man and he is jealous of his wife; then he shall have the woman stand before the Lord, and the priest shall apply this law to her.

“Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned my wrath away from the Israelites because he was jealous with My jealousy among them, so that I did not destroy the Israelites in My jealousy.

the Lord will not be willing to forgive him, but then the anger of the Lord and His jealousy will burn against that man, and every curse which is written in this book will rest on him; the Lord will blot out his name from under heaven.

“They provoked Him to jealousy with strange gods [by denying Him the honor and loyalty that is rightfully and uniquely His];And with repulsive acts they provoked Him to anger.

‘They have made Me jealous with what is not God;They have provoked Me to anger with their idols.So I will make them jealous with those who are not a people;I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.

And [the people of] Judah did evil in the sight of the Lord. They provoked Him to jealousy more than all that their fathers had done, with their sins which they had committed.

“For anger slays the foolish man,And jealousy kills the simple (naive).

For they provoked Him to [righteous] anger with their high places [devoted to idol worship]And moved Him to jealousy with their carved images [by denying Him the love, worship, and obedience that is rightfully and uniquely His].

How long, O Lord? Will You be angry forever?Will Your jealousy [which cannot endure a divided allegiance] burn like fire?

For jealousy enrages the [wronged] husband;He will not spare [the guilty one] on the day of vengeance.

A calm and peaceful and tranquil heart is life and health to the body,But passion and envy are like rottenness to the bones.

Wrath is cruel and anger is an overwhelming flood,But who is able to endure and stand before [the sin of] jealousy?

(The Shulammite Bride)“Under the apple tree I awakened you [to my love];There your mother was in labor with you,There she was in labor and gave you birth.“Put me like a seal on your heart,Like a seal on your arm;For love is as strong as death,Jealousy is as severe and cruel as Sheol (the place of the dead).Its flashes are flashes of fire,[A most vehement flame] the very flame of the Lord!

Then the jealousy of Ephraim will depart,And those who harass Judah will be cut off;Ephraim will not be jealous of Judah,And Judah will not harass Ephraim.

For He [the Lord] put on righteousness like a coat of armor,And salvation like a helmet on His head;He put on garments of vengeance for clothingAnd covered Himself with zeal [and great love for His people] as a cloak.

Look down from heaven and see from Your lofty dwelling place, holy and glorious.Where are Your zeal and Your mighty acts [Your miracles which you did for Your people]?The stirring of Your heart and Your compassion are restrained and withheld from me.

He stretched out the form of a hand and took me by a lock of hair on my head; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner courtyard, where the seat of the idol (image) of jealousy, which provokes to jealousy, was located.

Then He said to me, “Son of man, now raise your eyes toward the north.” So I looked toward the north, and behold, to the north of the altar gate was this idol (image) of jealousy at the entrance.

And I [the Lord God] will judge you like women who commit adultery or shed blood are judged; and I will bring on you the blood of wrath and jealousy.

So I will calm My wrath toward you and My jealousy [resulting from being denied what is rightfully and uniquely mine] will turn away from you; I will be pacified and no longer angry.

therefore thus says the Lord God, “Most certainly in the fire of My jealousy (love for that which is Mine) I have spoken against the rest of the nations and against all Edom, who appropriated My land for themselves as a possession with wholehearted joy and with uttermost contempt, so that they might empty it out [and possess it] as prey.”

Therefore prophesy concerning the land of Israel and say to the mountains and to the hills, to the ravines and to the valleys, “Thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold, I have spoken in My jealousy (love for that which is Mine) and in My wrath because you have endured the [shameful] insults of the nations.’

In My zeal and in My blazing rage I declare that on that day there will most certainly be a great earthquake in the land of Israel,

“Therefore [you of the godly remnant of Judah, patiently] wait for Me,” declares the Lord,“[Wait] for the day when I rise up as a witness [against the nations].For it is My decision and My right to gather the nations,To assemble kingdoms,To pour out on them My indignation,All [the heat of] My burning anger;For [in that day] all the earth shall be consumedBy the fire of My zeal.

So the angel who was speaking with me said to me, “Proclaim, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “I am jealous [with a burning, fiery passion] for Jerusalem and for Zion [demanding what is rightfully and uniquely mine] with a great jealousy.

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy [demanding what is rightfully and uniquely mine], and I am jealous for her with great wrath [against her enemies].’

His disciples remembered that it is written [in the Scriptures], “Zeal (love, concern) for Your house [and its honor] will consume Me.”

But the high priest stood up, along with all his associates (that is, the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with jealousy and resentment.

But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began contradicting the things said by Paul, and were slandering him.

But the [unbelieving] Jews became jealous, and taking along some thugs from [the lowlifes in] the market place, they formed a mob and set the city in an uproar; and then attacking Jason’s house tried to bring Paul and Silas out to the people.

until they were filled (permeated, saturated) with every kind of unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice and mean-spiritedness. They are gossips [spreading rumors],

Let us conduct ourselves properly and honorably as in the [light of] day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and irresponsibility, not in quarreling and jealousy.

You are still worldly [controlled by ordinary impulses, the sinful capacity]. For as long as there is jealousy and strife and discord among you, are you not unspiritual, and are you not walking like ordinary men [unchanged by faith]?

Do we [really] provoke the Lord to jealousy [when we eat food sacrificed to handmade “gods” at pagan feasts]? Are we [spiritually] stronger than He? [Certainly not! He knows that the idols are nothing. But we deeply offend Him.]

Love endures with patience and serenity, love is kind and thoughtful, and is not jealous or envious; love does not brag and is not proud or arrogant.

I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy because I have promised you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.

For I am afraid that perhaps when I come I may find you not to be as I wish, and that you may find me not as you wish—that perhaps there may be strife, jealousy, angry tempers, disputes, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder;

idolatry, sorcery, hostility, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions [that promote heresies],

he is conceited and woefully ignorant [understanding nothing]. He has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, which produces envy, quarrels, verbal abuse, evil suspicions,

For we too once were foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various sinful desires and pleasures, spending and wasting our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.

But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not be arrogant, and [as a result] be in defiance of the truth.

For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder [unrest, rebellion] and every evil thing and morally degrading practice.

So put aside every trace of malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander and hateful speech;