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100 Bible Verses about Bad Words

Ephesians 4:29 ESV / 367 helpful votes

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

Colossians 3:8 ESV / 298 helpful votes

But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.

Ephesians 5:4 ESV / 233 helpful votes

Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.

Matthew 12:36 ESV / 216 helpful votes

I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak,

Psalm 19:14 ESV / 167 helpful votes

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Proverbs 18:21 ESV / 140 helpful votes

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.

James 1:26 ESV / 113 helpful votes

If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless.

Philippians 4:8 ESV / 107 helpful votes

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Exodus 20:7 ESV / 107 helpful votes

“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

Proverbs 21:23 ESV / 97 helpful votes

Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble.

Colossians 4:6 ESV / 95 helpful votes

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Luke 6:45 ESV / 91 helpful votes

The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Proverbs 15:1 ESV / 81 helpful votes

A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Proverbs 15:4 ESV / 79 helpful votes

A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.

James 3:8 ESV / 71 helpful votes

But no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

1 Peter 3:10 ESV / 69 helpful votes

For “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit;

James 3:9-10 ESV / 68 helpful votes

With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.

Psalm 39:1 ESV / 67 helpful votes

To the choirmaster: to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. I said, “I will guard my ways, that I may not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth with a muzzle, so long as the wicked are in my presence.”

Romans 12:14 ESV / 59 helpful votes

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.

1 Peter 3:9 ESV / 56 helpful votes

Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.

Psalm 119:97 ESV / 55 helpful votes

Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day.

John 3:16 ESV / 52 helpful votes

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Joel 2:28 ESV / 52 helpful votes

“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.

Proverbs 13:3 ESV / 51 helpful votes

Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.

Proverbs 12:18 ESV / 51 helpful votes

There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

Hebrews 4:12 ESV / 49 helpful votes

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Matthew 15:11 ESV / 49 helpful votes

It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.”

Proverbs 12:16 ESV / 49 helpful votes

The vexation of a fool is known at once, but the prudent ignores an insult.

Psalm 119:15 ESV / 48 helpful votes

I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.

James 3:1-6 ESV / 47 helpful votes

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! ...

Proverbs 4:19-21 ESV / 45 helpful votes

The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble. My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart.

Proverbs 5:11-21 ESV / 44 helpful votes

And at the end of your life you groan, when your flesh and body are consumed, and you say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof! I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors. I am at the brink of utter ruin in the assembled congregation.” Drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well. ...

James 3:10 ESV / 43 helpful votes

From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.

Proverbs 16:24 ESV / 43 helpful votes

Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.

Deuteronomy 5:11 ESV / 43 helpful votes

“‘You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

James 5:12 ESV / 42 helpful votes

But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.

Psalm 141:3 ESV / 41 helpful votes

Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!

Matthew 12:36-37 ESV / 40 helpful votes

I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Proverbs 11:9 ESV / 39 helpful votes

With his mouth the godless man would destroy his neighbor, but by knowledge the righteous are delivered.

Matthew 5:22 ESV / 36 helpful votes

But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.

2 Timothy 2:16 ESV / 34 helpful votes

But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness,

Leviticus 19:12 ESV / 34 helpful votes

You shall not swear by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.

1 Peter 1:15 ESV / 33 helpful votes

But as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,

Romans 8:28 ESV / 33 helpful votes

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Proverbs 10:19 ESV / 33 helpful votes

When words are many, transgression is not lacking, but whoever restrains his lips is prudent.

Psalm 109:17 ESV / 33 helpful votes

He loved to curse; let curses come upon him! He did not delight in blessing; may it be far from him!

James 1:21 ESV / 32 helpful votes

Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

Luke 12:10 ESV / 32 helpful votes

And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

Romans 10:9 ESV / 30 helpful votes

Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

John 1:1 ESV / 30 helpful votes

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Matthew 24:35 ESV / 30 helpful votes

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

Matthew 12:34 ESV / 30 helpful votes

You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 ESV / 29 helpful votes

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

Colossians 3:1-25 ESV / 29 helpful votes

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. ...

Psalm 119:105 ESV / 29 helpful votes

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Psalm 10:7 ESV / 29 helpful votes

His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression; under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.

Joshua 1:8 ESV / 29 helpful votes

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

James 3:1-18 ESV / 28 helpful votes

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! ...

John 14:27 ESV / 28 helpful votes

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

James 3:5 ESV / 27 helpful votes

So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire!

Colossians 3:8-10 ESV / 27 helpful votes

But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

John 16:33 ESV / 27 helpful votes

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Proverbs 25:11 ESV / 27 helpful votes

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver.

Titus 3:1-2 ESV / 25 helpful votes

Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.

Colossians 3:16 ESV / 25 helpful votes

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

Luke 6:28 ESV / 25 helpful votes

Bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.

Jeremiah 29:11 ESV / 25 helpful votes

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

2 Timothy 1:7 ESV / 24 helpful votes

For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

Colossians 4:1-18 ESV / 24 helpful votes

Masters, treat your bondservants justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven. Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. ...

Romans 12:2 ESV / 24 helpful votes

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Romans 3:13-18 ESV / 24 helpful votes

“Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.” ...

John 6:63 ESV / 24 helpful votes

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.

Jeremiah 23:10 ESV / 24 helpful votes

For the land is full of adulterers; because of the curse the land mourns, and the pastures of the wilderness are dried up. Their course is evil, and their might is not right.

Proverbs 15:23 ESV / 24 helpful votes

To make an apt answer is a joy to a man, and a word in season, how good it is!

Proverbs 4:23 ESV / 24 helpful votes

Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.

Revelation 1:1 ESV / 22 helpful votes

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,

Romans 8:31 ESV / 22 helpful votes

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Luke 1:37 ESV / 22 helpful votes

For nothing will be impossible with God.”

Hosea 10:4 ESV / 22 helpful votes

They utter mere words; with empty oaths they make covenants; so judgment springs up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field.

1 Peter 1:23 ESV / 20 helpful votes

Since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;

James 3:2 ESV / 20 helpful votes

For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body.

Colossians 2:1-23 ESV / 20 helpful votes

For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ. ...

Matthew 5:21-22 ESV / 20 helpful votes

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.

Revelation 1:1-20 ESV / 18 helpful votes

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near. John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood ...

1 Peter 2:12 ESV / 18 helpful votes

Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

Colossians 1:1-29 ESV / 18 helpful votes

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, ...

Ephesians 6:5 ESV / 18 helpful votes

Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ,

Ephesians 5:3-4 ESV / 18 helpful votes

But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.

Matthew 5:37 ESV / 18 helpful votes

Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.

Proverbs 26:2-20 ESV / 18 helpful votes

Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, a curse that is causeless does not alight. A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey, and a rod for the back of fools. Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself. Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes. Whoever sends a message by the hand of a fool cuts off his own feet and drinks violence. ...

Proverbs 17:9 ESV / 18 helpful votes

Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.

Proverbs 12:13 ESV / 18 helpful votes

An evil man is ensnared by the transgression of his lips, but the righteous escapes from trouble.

Proverbs 11:12 ESV / 18 helpful votes

Whoever belittles his neighbor lacks sense, but a man of understanding remains silent.

Psalm 34:13 ESV / 18 helpful votes

Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit.

1 Samuel 20:7-30 ESV / 18 helpful votes

If he says, ‘Good!’ it will be well with your servant, but if he is angry, then know that harm is determined by him. Therefore deal kindly with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with you. But if there is guilt in me, kill me yourself, for why should you bring me to your father?” And Jonathan said, “Far be it from you! If I knew that it was determined by my father that harm should come to you, would I not tell you?” Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father answers you roughly?” And Jonathan said to David, “Come, let us go out into the field.” So they both went out into the field. ...

Deuteronomy 23:1 ESV / 18 helpful votes

“No one whose testicles are crushed or whose male organ is cut off shall enter the assembly of the Lord.

Deuteronomy 21:18-21 ESV / 18 helpful votes

“If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey the voice of his father or the voice of his mother, and, though they discipline him, will not listen to them, then his father and his mother shall take hold of him and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gate of the place where he lives, and they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This our son is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.’ Then all the men of the city shall stone him to death with stones. So you shall purge the evil from your midst, and all Israel shall hear, and fear.

Genesis 3:17 ESV / 18 helpful votes

And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;

Genesis 3:14 ESV / 18 helpful votes

The Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.

Psalm 39:1-46:11 ESV / 16 helpful votes

To the choirmaster: to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. I said, “I will guard my ways, that I may not sin with my tongue; I will guard my mouth with a muzzle, so long as the wicked are in my presence.” I was mute and silent; I held my peace to no avail, and my distress grew worse. My heart became hot within me. As I mused, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue: “O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am! Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah ...

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