55 Bible Verses on Righteousness

Because God is righteous, every act of God is marked by complete righteousness. Likewise, God’s people should be marked by their righteousness. However, because all people fall short of the righteousness required to have salvation, no one can be a part of God’s people if it were not for the righteousness of Jesus Christ who not only died to take our sins but now stands in our place as our righteousness (Romans 3:23, 1 Corinthians 1:30). The righteousness required for salvation is now through faith, and those who have faith in Jesus are marked by practicing righteousness.

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What Does the Bible Say About Righteousness?

Old Testament

Genesis 6:9
These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.

Genesis 15:6
And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

Leviticus 19:15
“You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.

1 Samuel 26:23
The LORD rewards every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness, for the LORD gave you into my hand today, and I would not put out my hand against the LORD’s anointed.

Job 27:6
I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go;
my heart does not reproach me for any of my days.

Psalm 7:17
I will give to the LORD the thanks due to his righteousness,
and I will sing praise to the name of the LORD, the Most High.

Psalm 23:3
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.

Psalm 31:1
In you, O LORD, do I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame;
in your righteousness deliver me!

Psalm 36:10
Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you,
and your righteousness to the upright of heart!

Psalm 45:7
you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.
Therefore God, your God, has anointed you
with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;

Psalm 50:6
The heavens declare his righteousness,
for God himself is judge! Selah

Psalm 89:14
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.

Proverbs 10:2
Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit,
but righteousness delivers from death.

Proverbs 12:28
In the path of righteousness is life,
and in its pathway there is no death.

Proverbs 14:34
Righteousness exalts a nation,
but sin is a reproach to any people.

Isaiah 9:7
Of the increase of his government and of peace
there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

Isaiah 11:4
but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.

Isaiah 32:17
And the effect of righteousness will be peace,
and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever.

Daniel 9:18
O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy.

New Testament

Matthew 5:6
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”

Matthew 5:10
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Matthew 5:20
For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

John 16:8–10
And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer;

Romans 1:16–17
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

Romans 3:21–22
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:

Romans 4:3–5
For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,

Romans 5:19–21
For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Romans 6:13
Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.

Romans 8:10
But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

Romans 14:17
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

2 Corinthians 5:21
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Corinthians 9:9–10
As it is written,
“He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever.”
He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.

Galatians 5:5
For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.

Ephesians 4:24
And to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Ephesians 6:14
Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

1 Timothy 6:11
But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.

2 Timothy 2:22
So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

2 Timothy 3:16
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

2 Timothy 4:8
Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

Hebrews 5:13
for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child.

Hebrews 12:11
For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

1 Peter 2:24
He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

2 Peter 3:13
But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

1 John 2:29
If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.

1 John 3:7
Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.

1 John 3:10
By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.