What Does the Bible Say About Jealousy?

What does the Bible say about jealousy?

Here’s a partial list of scriptures to get you started in exploring the question, “What does the Bible say about jealousy?” :

1. James 3:14-16: “But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.”
2. Proverbs 14:30: “A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot.”
3. Galatians 5:19-21: “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
4. 1 Corinthians 3:3: “For you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?”
5. Proverbs 27:4: “Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming, but who can stand before jealousy?”
6. Romans 13:13-14: “Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”
7. 1 Corinthians 13:4: “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant.”
8. Acts 7:9: “And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him.”
9. Proverbs 3:31-32: “Do not envy a man of violence and do not choose any of his ways, for the devious person is an abomination to the Lord, but the upright are in his confidence.”
10. Song of Solomon 8:6: “Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord.”

These verses provide a comprehensive biblical perspective on jealousy, offering insights into its causes, consequences, and the Christian approach to dealing with it.