Toxic people can have a detrimental impact on our lives, relationships, and well-being, yet the Bible offers wisdom and guidance for dealing with such individuals. Join us as we delve into verses that address the issue of toxic people, offering insights and strategies for setting boundaries, seeking wisdom, and extending grace, while protecting our hearts and preserving our peace in Christ.
Also Read: Bible Verses About Brothers Love
Bible Verses About Toxic People
2 Timothy 3:1-5 – Avoid Those Who Practice Wickedness
“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.”
Proverbs 22:24-25 – Do Not Befriend Hot-Tempered Individuals
“Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered, or you may learn their ways and get yourself ensnared.”
1 Corinthians 15:33 – Bad Company Corrupts Good Character
“Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character.'”
Proverbs 13:20 – The Wisdom of Walking with the Wise
“Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.”
Psalm 1:1 – Blessed Are Those Who Reject the Counsel of the Wicked
“Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers.”
Titus 3:10 – Warning Against Divisive People
“Warn a divisive person once, and then warn them a second time. After that, have nothing to do with them.”
Romans 16:17 – Keep Away from Those Who Cause Divisions
“I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.”
Matthew 7:15-16 – Jesus Warns About False Prophets
“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them.”
2 Thessalonians 3:6 – Keep Away from Every Brother Who Is Idle and Disruptive
“In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers and sisters, to keep away from every believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the teaching you received from us.”
Proverbs 6:16-19 – What the Lord Hates
“There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.”
2 Corinthians 6:14-15 – Avoid Being Unequally Yoked with Unbelievers
“Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?”
Ephesians 5:11 – Expose the Fruitless Deeds of Darkness
“Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.”
James 4:4 – Friendship with the World Is Enmity with God
“You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.”
Matthew 18:15-17 – Dealing with Sin in the Church
“If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.”
1 Timothy 5:20 – Those Who Persist in Sin Should Be Rebuked
“But those elders who are sinning you are to reprove before everyone, so that the others may take warning.”
Proverbs 14:7 – Walk Away from the Foolish
“Stay away from a fool, for you will not find knowledge on their lips.”
Psalm 26:4-5 – Avoid Hypocrites and Those Who Deceive
“I do not sit with the deceitful, nor do I associate with hypocrites. I abhor the assembly of evildoers and refuse to sit with the wicked.”
1 John 4:1 – Test the Spirits
“Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.”
Proverbs 20:19 – A Gossip Betrays Confidence
“A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid anyone who talks too much.”
Galatians 5:19-21 – Acts of the Flesh Are Obvious
“The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
1 Timothy 6:3-5 – Beware of Those Who Do Not Agree with the Doctrine
“If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, they are conceited and understand nothing. They have an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between people of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.”
Matthew 5:29-30 – If Your Right Hand Causes You to Stumble, Cut It Off
“If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.”
Romans 1:28-32 – God’s Wrath Against Sinful Humanity
“Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.”
Proverbs 21:9 – Better to Live on a Corner of the Roof
“Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.”
Ephesians 4:31 – Get Rid of All Bitterness and Anger
“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.”
Proverbs 4:14-15 – Avoid the Path of the Wicked
“Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evildoers. Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn from it and go on your way.”
1 Corinthians 5:11 – Do Not Associate with the Sexually Immoral
“But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people.”
Job 16:2 – Job Speaks of Miserable Comforters
“I have heard many things like these; you are miserable comforters, all of you!”
Proverbs 25:19 – Trusting in a Treacherous Person
“Like broken teeth or a lame foot is reliance on the unfaithful in a time of trouble.”
Micah 2:1 – Woe to Those Who Plan Iniquity
“Woe to those who plan iniquity, to those who plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they carry it out because it is in their power to do it.”
Ecclesiastes 7:9 – Do Not Be Quickly Provoked
“Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.”
1 Corinthians 5:6 – A Little Yeast Leavens the Whole Batch
“Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough?”
Proverbs 17:4 – A Wicked Person Listens to Deceitful Lips
“A wicked person listens to deceitful lips; a liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.”
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 – Wrongdoers Will Not Inherit the Kingdom of God
“Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”
Proverbs 19:19 – A Hot-Tempered Person Must Pay the Penalty
“A hot-tempered person must pay the penalty; rescue them, and you will have to do it again.”
Matthew 10:34-36 – Jesus Did Not Come to Bring Peace, but a Sword
“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’”
Psalm 101:4 – The Perverse Heart Will Be Far from Me
“The perverse of heart shall be far from me; I will have nothing to do with what is evil.”
Proverbs 12:26 – The Righteous Choose Their Friends Wisely
“The righteous choose their friends carefully, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.”
Revelation 2:2 – Test Those Who Claim to Be Apostles
“I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false.”