bible verses about lust

Bible Verses About Lust: 12 Scriptures

Bible verses about lust: 12 Scriptures on desire that wanders and a clean heart.

Illustrated portrait of Christopher McAllister

By Christopher McAllister

Founder of theBibleand.Love

Published September 30, 20265 min readMatthew 5:28 (NIV)

A person cups clear spring water in both hands among pale rocks.

"But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart."

— Matthew 5:28 (NIV)

People who search bible verses about lust want Scripture for desire that takes what love should not — not only the purity list of clean living or the temptation list of resisting trials. This page is a numbered list of twelve passages with the NIV text and a short note on each. Related lists: Bible verses about purity, Bible verses about temptation, Bible verses about self-control, Bible verses about holiness, and Bible verse of the day. Lust here means epithymia that wanders into craving — desire aimed at possessing — distinct from godly longing and from general temptation language alone.

Word study (lead theme). In Greek, "lust" / "desire" is often ἐπιθυμία epithymia (Strong's G1939; Bible Hub G1939) — desire, craving, or longing — which can be godly or sinful depending on its object. The related verb ἐπιθυμέω epithymeō (Strong's G1937; Bible Hub G1937) means to desire or set the heart on. In Hebrew, תַּאֲוָה taʾăwāh (Strong's H8378; Bible Hub H8378) is desire or longing — sometimes wholesome, sometimes the craving that takes. Jesus names lustful looking as adultery of the heart — desire that already claims what is not yours.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Matthew 5 presses the heart's adultery: the look that lusts has already crossed the line Christ draws (Bible Hub commentaries on Matthew 5:28; Bible Hub MHC Matthew 5; Blue Letter Bible, Matthew Henry on Matthew 5). On Proverbs 6 he warns against the adulteress's path and the fire that scorches when desire ignores wisdom (Bible Hub commentaries on Proverbs 6:25; Bible Hub MHC Proverbs 6; Blue Letter Bible, Matthew Henry on Proverbs 6). (Purity virtues and temptation-escape lists live on those pages; this list centers craving desire and a clean heart.)

12 Bible verses about lust

  1. Matthew 5:28. "But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart." Lustful looking is already adultery of the heart — Jesus starts inside. See Bible verses about purity.

  2. Proverbs 6:25. "Do not lust in your heart after her beauty or let her captivate you with her eyes." Wisdom says do not lust in the heart — beauty is not a license to take. See Bible verses about wisdom.

  3. 1 John 2:16. "For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world." Three lust-patterns oppose the Father — flesh, eyes, pride. See Bible verses about holiness.

  4. Galatians 5:16. "So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh." Spirit-walking refuses flesh-gratifying desire — not by grit alone. See Bible verses about the Holy Spirit.

  5. Galatians 5:24. "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." Belonging to Christ means the flesh's passions and desires are crucified — identity before willpower. See Bible verses about jesus.

  6. Colossians 3:5. "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry." Lust sits with impurity and greed — put to death, not managed forever. See Bible verses about purity.

  7. 2 Timothy 2:22. "Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart." Flee evil desire and pursue — run toward purity with others. See Bible verses about purity.

  8. Romans 13:14. "Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh." Clothe with Christ — and stop planning how to gratify fleshly desire. See Bible verses about jesus.

  9. James 1:14-15. "…but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death." Desire conceives sin — the chain starts inside. See Bible verses about temptation.

  10. Job 31:1. "I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman." A covenant with the eyes refuses lustful looking before it starts. See Bible verses about self-control.

  11. Ephesians 4:22. "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires." Deceitful desires corrupt the old self — put it off. See Bible verses about holiness.

  12. Psalm 51:10. "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." After failure, David asks for a created pure heart — renewal, not self-polish. See Bible verses about repentance.

How to use these verses

Pick one verse for a look that needs stopping, a plan that needs fleeing, or a prayer for a clean heart — not twelve as shame pile-on. If you need Jesus's heart-standard, start with Matthew 5:28. If you need Spirit-walking over flesh desire, open Galatians 5:16. If you need purity practices and clean living, open Bible verses about purity. If you need help resisting temptation broadly, open Bible verses about temptation. For a daily verse, open Bible verse of the day.

Questions people ask

What is a good Bible verse about lust?

Matthew 5:28 (lustful looking as adultery of the heart), 1 John 2:16 (lust of flesh/eyes and pride of life), and Galatians 5:16 (walk by the Spirit) are clear starting places.

How do Bible verses about lust differ from purity or temptation?

Purity pages center clean living and holy bodies. Temptation pages center resisting trials and finding the way of escape. A lust page centers epithymia as craving desire that takes — then cross-links purity and temptation. See Bible verses about purity and Bible verses about temptation.

What does epithymia mean?

Greek epithymia (G1939) is desire, craving, or longing — godly or sinful by object. The verb epithymeō (G1937) means to desire or set the heart on. Hebrew taʾăwāh (H8378) is desire or longing.

Can lust be forgiven?

Yes. Scripture pairs put-to-death language with repentance and a created pure heart (Psalm 51:10). Christ clothes those who belong to him. See Bible verses about repentance and Bible verses about forgiveness.

Where can I read more about purity, temptation, and self-control?

Start with Bible verses about purity, then Bible verses about temptation, Bible verses about self-control, and Bible verses about holiness.

Sources

A woman cups spring water in her hands among pale rocks.

Keep reading