60 Bible Verses on Pride

Pride is sin, and is, of course, at odds with our call to humility. God’s Word is clear that God opposes the proud. What else does the Bible say about pride? Let’s find out.

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What Does the Bible Say About Pride?

Old Testament

Deuteronomy 8:2-3
And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

1 Samuel 16:7
But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.’

Psalms 10:4
In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him;
all his thoughts are, ‘There is no God.’

Psalms 75:4
I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’
and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn;’

Psalms 138:6
For though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly,
but the haughty he knows from afar.

Proverbs 8:13
The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil.
Pride and arrogance and the way of evil
and perverted speech I hate.

Proverbs 11:2
When pride comes, then comes disgrace,
but with the humble is wisdom.

Proverbs 15:25-33
The LORD tears down the house of the proud
but maintains the widow’s boundaries.
The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD
but gracious words are pure.
Whoever is greedy for unjust gain troubles his own household,
but he who hates bribes will live.
The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer,
but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.
The LORD is far from the wicked,
but he hears the prayer of the righteous.
The light of the eyes rejoices the heart, and good news refreshes the bones.
The ear that listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise.
Whoever ignores instruction despises himself,
but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence.
The fear of the LORD is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor.

Proverbs 16:5
Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the LORD;
be assured, he will not go unpunished.

Proverbs 16:18-19
Pride goes before destruction,
and a haughty spirit before a fall.
It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor
than to divide the spoil with the proud.

Proverbs 18:10-12
The name of the LORD is a strong tower;
the righteous man runs into it and is safe.
A rich man’s wealth is his strong city,
and like a high wall in his imagination.
Before destruction a man’s heart is haughty,
but humility comes before honor.

Proverbs 21:4
Haughty eyes and a proud heart,
the lamp of the wicked, are sin.

Proverbs 21:24
‘Scoffer’ is the name of the arrogant, haughty man
who acts with arrogant pride.

Proverbs 26:12
Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.

Proverbs 27:2
Let another praise you, and not your own mouth;
a stranger, and not your own lips.

Proverbs 29:23
One’s pride will bring him low,
but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor.

Isaiah 2:12
For the LORD of hosts has a day
against all that is proud and lofty,
against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low;

Isaiah 23:9
The LORD of hosts has purposed it,
to defile the pompous pride of all glory,
to dishonor all the honored of the earth.

Jeremiah 9:23-24
Thus says the LORD: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.’

Daniel 4:37
Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and his ways are just; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble.

Daniel 5:20
But when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was brought down from his kingly throne, and his glory was taken from him.

New Testament

Mark 7:20-23
And he said, ‘What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.’

Romans 11:18-20
Do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. Then you will say, ‘Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.’ That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear.

Romans 12:3
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

Romans 12:16
Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.

1 Corinthians 1:28-29
God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

1 Corinthians 13:3-4
If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant,

2 Corinthians 10:12
Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measures themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.

2 Corinthians 10:17-18
‘Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.’ For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.

Galatians 6:3-4
For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor.

Philippians 2:3-4
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

1 Timothy 6:17
As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.

James 1:9-10
Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away.

James 4:6
But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’

James 4:10
But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’

1 John 2:16
For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.