bible verses about pride

Bible Verses About Pride: 15 Scriptures

Bible verses about pride: 15 Scriptures on haughty spirits, God opposing the proud, and the wisdom of the lowly—with plain notes and links.

Illustrated portrait of Christopher McAllister

By Christopher McAllister

Founder of theBibleand.Love

Published September 28, 2026Updated October 28, 20265 min readProverbs 16:18 (NIV)

A person sets down a decorated jar and sits on the same low mat as the others at a meal.

"Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall."

— Proverbs 16:18 (NIV)

People who search bible verses about pride want Scripture for the ego that will not bend — not mild confidence, but the self-exaltation God resists. This page is a numbered list of fifteen passages with the NIV text and a short note on each. The wider essay sits under Love and pride. Related lists: Bible verses about humility, Bible verses about wisdom, Bible verses about faithfulness, Bible verses about truth, and Bible verses about self-control. Pride here is haughty self-lift — distinct from healthy dignity, and the opposite of lowliness in Bible verses about humility. Humble love puts others first and is the opposite of pride, which love and humility explains.

Word study (lead theme). In Greek, "pride" often uses ὑπερηφανία hyperēphania (Strong's G5243) — haughtiness, arrogance, appearing above others. See also Bible Hub G5243. In Hebrew, גָּאוֹן gaon (Strong's H1347; Bible Hub H1347) means exaltation, majesty, or arrogance — glory when it belongs to God, pride when a creature steals the height.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Proverbs 11:2 ties pride to shame and lowliness to wisdom: "Considering how safe, and quiet, and easy the humble are, we see that with the lowly is wisdom" (Bible Hub commentaries on Proverbs 11:2; fuller MHC at Bible Hub MHC Proverbs 11). Proverbs 16:18 states the pattern plainly: "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall" (Bible Hub commentaries on Proverbs 16:18; Bible Hub MHC Proverbs 16).

15 Bible verses about pride

  1. Proverbs 16:18. "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall." Pride writes the fall before the tumble arrives. See Love and pride.

  2. Proverbs 11:2. "When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom." Pride and shame travel together; lowliness and wisdom do too. See Bible verses about humility.

  3. Daniel 4:37. "Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. And those who walk in pride he is able to humble." Pride does not get the last word; God is able to humble it. See Love and pride.

  4. 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." The pride of life is grouped with desires that do not come from the Father.

  5. Proverbs 29:23. "Pride brings a person low, but the lowly in spirit gain honor." The elevator of pride only goes down.

  6. Proverbs 8:13. "To fear the Lord is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech." Wisdom names pride as something to hate, not manage. See Bible verses about wisdom.

  7. Isaiah 2:11. "The eyes of the arrogant will be humbled and human pride brought low; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day." Human pride has an expiration date under God's exaltation.

  8. Jeremiah 9:23-24. "This is what the Lord says: 'Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,' declares the Lord." Boasting in what you have is pride; the boast God accepts is knowing him. See Bible verses about wisdom.

  9. Proverbs 13:10. "Where there is strife, there is pride, but wisdom is found in those who take advice." Pride fuels fights; wisdom takes counsel. See Bible verses about wisdom.

  10. Obadiah 1:3-4. "The pride of your heart has deceived you… Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down…" Height does not hide pride from God.

  11. Proverbs 21:4. "Haughty eyes and a proud heart—the unplowed field of the wicked—produce sin." Haughty eyes and a proud heart are not a look; they produce sin.

  12. Proverbs 27:2. "Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth; an outsider, and not your own lips." Self-praise is pride with a microphone.

  13. 1 Timothy 3:6. "He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil." New authority without maturity breeds conceit. See Love and pride.

  14. Proverbs 16:5. "The Lord detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished." Pride is not a personality quirk God overlooks.

  15. Proverbs 18:12. "Before a downfall the heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor." A haughty heart walks toward a downfall; the lowly path is the one that leads to honor. See Bible verses about humility and Love and pride.

How to use these verses

Pick one verse for a win you want to advertise, a conflict fueled by being right, or a quiet conviction that you are above correction — not fifteen. Read it out loud. If you need the fall proverb, start with Proverbs 16:18. If you need God humbling the proud, start with Daniel 4:37. If you need the essay that frames love and pride, read Love and pride. For the lowliness side of the contrast, see Bible verses about humility. For a daily verse, open Bible verse of the day.

Questions people ask

What is a good Bible verse about pride?

Proverbs 16:18 is the classic: pride goes before destruction. Daniel 4:37 says those who walk in pride he is able to humble. Proverbs 16:5 says the Lord detests all the proud of heart.

What does the Bible say about pride?

Pride brings disgrace, strife, and a fall. God detests proud hearts and is able to humble those who walk in pride. Wisdom hates pride and arrogance. The lowliness side of that contrast is Bible verses about humility.

Is confidence the same as pride?

No. Proverbs 27:2 says let someone else praise you, not your own mouth. Pride exalts self against God and neighbor; confidence can still refuse that boast.

How is pride different from humility?

Pride lifts self; humility values others and walks with God. See Bible verses about humility for the companion list.

Start with Love and pride, then Bible verses about humility and Bible verses about wisdom.

Sources

A man sits on the same mat as a woman after setting down a jar.

Keep reading