'Worthless' in the Bible

He may have him beaten forty times, but no more. He is not to be beaten with more stripes than these and he is not to be degraded [that is, treated like an animal] in your sight.

For it is not an empty or trivial matter for you; indeed it is your [very] life. By [honoring and obeying] this word you will live long in the land, which you are crossing the Jordan to possess.”

And they gave him seventy pieces of silver from the house of Baal-berith, with which Abimelech hired worthless and undisciplined men, and they followed (supported) him.

Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob; and worthless and unprincipled men gathered around Jephthah, and went out [on raids] with him.

While they were celebrating, behold, men of the city, certain worthless and evil men, surrounded the house, pounding on the door; and they spoke to the master of the house, the old man, saying, “Bring out the man who came to your house so that we may have relations with him.”

The sons of Eli [Hophni and Phinehas] were worthless (dishonorable, unprincipled) men; they did not know [nor respect] the Lord

But some worthless men said, “How can this man save and rescue us?” And they regarded Saul with contempt and did not bring him a gift. But he ignored the insult and kept silent.

You must not turn away, for then you would go after futile things which cannot profit or rescue, because they are futile.

Saul and the people spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and everything that was good, and they were not willing to destroy them entirely; but everything that was undesirable or worthless they destroyed completely.

Then David returned to bless his household. But [his wife] Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet David and said, “How glorious and distinguished was the king of Israel today, who uncovered himself and stripped [off his kingly robes] in the eyes of his servants’ maids like one of the riffraff who shamelessly uncovers himself!”

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

and worthless (unprincipled, unethical) men gathered around him, useless and wicked men, who proved too strong for Rehoboam the son of Solomon when Rehoboam was young and timid, and could not assert himself against them.

“And if this is not so, who can prove me a liarAnd make my speech worthless?”

“They are the sons of [worthless and nameless] fools,They have been driven out of the land.

“God who says to a king, ‘You are worthless and vile,’Or to princes and nobles, ‘You are wicked and evil’?

Job uselessly opens his mouthAnd multiplies words without knowledge [drawing the worthless conclusion that the righteous have no more advantage than the wicked].”

The wicked [those who live in disobedience to God’s law] are not so,But they are like the chaff [worthless and without substance] which the wind blows away.

A worthless person, a wicked man,Is one who walks with a perverse (corrupt, vulgar) mouth.

He who tills his land will have plenty of bread,But he who follows worthless things lacks common sense and good judgment.

A worthless man devises and digs up evil,And the words on his lips are like a scorching fire.

A wicked and worthless witness mocks justice,And the mouth of the wicked spreads iniquity.

“It is [almost] worthless, it is [almost] worthless,” says the buyer [as he negotiates the price];But when he goes his way, then he boasts [about his bargain].

He who cultivates his land will have plenty of bread,But he who follows worthless people and frivolous pursuits will have plenty of poverty.

For Egypt’s help is worthless and good for nothing.Therefore, I have called her“Rahab Who Has Been Exterminated.”

“In fact, all of these [pagan prophets and priests] are false;Their works are worthless,Their cast images are [merely] wind and emptiness.

“Woe (judgment is coming) to him who quarrels with his Maker—A [worthless] piece of broken pottery among other broken pieces [equally worthless]!Shall the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you doing?’Or does the thing say, ‘He has no hands’?

For the Lord, who created the heavens (He is God, who formed the earth and made it; He established it and did not create it to be a wasteland, but formed it to be inhabited) says this,“I am the Lord, and there is no one else.

Thus says the Lord,“What injustice or unrighteousness did your fathers find in Me,That they have wandered far from MeAnd [habitually] walked after emptiness and futility and became empty?

Then the Lord said to me, “The [counterfeit] prophets are prophesying lies in My Name. I have neither sent them nor authorized them nor spoken to them. They are prophesying to you made-up visions [pretending to call forth responses from handmade gods], a worthless divination and the deceit of their own mind.

[Then said Jeremiah] “O Lord, my Strength and my Stronghold,And my Refuge in the day of distress and need,The nations will come to YouFrom the ends of the earth and say,‘Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies and illusion,[Worthless] things in which there is no benefit!’

They are worthless (empty, false, futile), a work of delusion and worthy of derision;In the time of their inspection and punishment they will perish.

Your prophets have seen (imagined) for youFalse and foolish visions;And they have not exposed your wickednessTo restore you from captivity [by teaching you to repent],But they have seen (imagined) and declared to you false and misleading oracles.

[And as for us,] yet our eyes failed,Looking in vain for help.Watching [from the towers] we watchedFor a nation that could not save.

“Those who regard and follow worthless idolsTurn away from their [living source of] mercy and lovingkindness.

The Lord said to me, “Take again for yourself the equipment [of a shepherd, but this time] of a foolish shepherd.

“Woe (judgment is coming) to the worthless and foolish shepherdWho deserts the flock!The sword will strike his armAnd his right eye!His arm shall be totally witheredAnd his right eye completely blinded.”

Even so, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the unhealthy tree bears bad fruit.

A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.

and when it was full, they dragged it up on the beach; and they sat down and sorted out the good fish into baskets, but the worthless ones they threw away.

For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit.

Then the Pharisees told Him, “You are testifying on Your own behalf; Your testimony is not valid.”

Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory is [worth] nothing. It is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’

“All have turned aside, together they have become useless;There is none who does good, no, not one.”

Now, however, since you have come to know [the true] God [through personal experience], or rather to be known by God, how is it that you are turning back again to the weak and worthless elemental principles [of religions and philosophies], to which you want to be enslaved all over again?

Do not let unwholesome [foul, profane, worthless, vulgar] words ever come out of your mouth, but only such speech as is good for building up others, according to the need and the occasion, so that it will be a blessing to those who hear [you speak].

They profess to know God [to recognize and be acquainted with Him], but by their actions they deny and disown Him. They are detestable and disobedient and worthless for good work of any kind.

but if it persistently produces thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned.

If anyone thinks himself to be religious [scrupulously observant of the rituals of his faith], and does not control his tongue but deludes his own heart, this person’s religion is worthless (futile, barren).

But are you willing to recognize, you foolish [spiritually shallow] person, that faith without [good] works is useless?