18 Verses · World English Bible
18 Bible Verses About Pride
Pride is the sin that hides best in people trying hardest to be good. It rarely announces itself; it dresses up as confidence, self-sufficiency, or simply being right. Scripture takes it far more seriously than we tend to, tracing disgrace, broken relationships, and even the fall of kings back to a heart that grew too tall. The book of Proverbs returns to the theme constantly, warning that pride walks in front of destruction and that a haughty spirit goes before every fall. These Bible verses about pride gather those warnings honestly — not to crush you, but because Scripture insists the ground is safer down low, where grace lives. The proverbs were written to be held up as mirrors, and the reflection, once we stop flinching, is the beginning of freedom.
The verses below move through five themes: the fall that pride walks toward, the sobering truth that God actively opposes the proud, the danger of becoming wise in your own eyes, the one boast Scripture actually encourages, and the stories of proud hearts God humbled — and then restored. Pride is not only a problem for the obviously arrogant; it threads through self-reliance, defensiveness, and the quiet refusal to ask for help. As you read, resist the urge to think of someone else these verses describe. The good news running underneath every warning is that the same God who opposes the proud gives grace, gladly and generously, to everyone willing to come down from the high place and receive it.
Pride Goes Before a Fall
The most famous line about pride in all of literature comes from Proverbs, and it is less a threat than a diagnosis: a haughty spirit simply cannot see the ground it is about to trip on. These verses trace the pattern — pride, then disgrace; a proud heart, then a fall — and hold out the alternative Proverbs keeps pairing with it: the honor that finds the lowly.
“Pride goes before destruction,and an arrogant spirit before a fall.”
“When pride comes, then comes shame,but with humility comes wisdom.”
“Before destruction the heart of man is proud,but before honor is humility.”
“A man’s pride brings him low,but one of lowly spirit gains honor.”
God Opposes the Proud
Scripture says something startling here: God does not merely dislike pride, he sets himself against it. James quotes the proverb directly — God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble — and the psalmist observes that pride leaves no room in a person’s thoughts for God at all. These verses are sobering on purpose. Pride is not a personality quirk; it is a posture that puts us opposite God.
“But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.””
“Surely he mocks the mockers,but he gives grace to the humble.”
“Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD;they shall certainly not be unpunished.”
“The wicked, in the pride of his face,has no room in his thoughts for God.”
Wise in Your Own Eyes
Proverbs saves some of its sharpest words for the person who has stopped learning — there is more hope for a fool, it says, than for someone wise in their own eyes. Obadiah adds that pride does not just inflate us; it deceives us. These verses commend habits that quietly starve pride: letting others do the praising, staying teachable, and telling ourselves the truth about ourselves.
“Do you see a man wise in his own eyes?There is more hope for a fool than for him.”
“Let another man praise you,and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.”
“For if a man thinks himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.”
“The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high, who says in his heart, ‘Who will bring me down to the ground?’”
Boasting in the Lord Alone
Scripture never asks us to pretend we have nothing — it redirects the boasting. Jeremiah names the usual trophies, wisdom and strength and riches, and sets one thing above them all: knowing the Lord. Paul picks up the same line for the church. These verses offer pride’s true remedy, which is not thinking poorly of yourself but thinking rightly about where every good thing came from.
“The LORD says,“Don’t let the wise man glory in his wisdom.Don’t let the mighty man glory in his might. Don’t let the rich man glory in his riches. But let him who glories glory in this,that he has understanding, and knows me,that I am the LORD who exercises loving kindness, justice, and righteousness in the earth,for I delight in these things,” says the LORD.”
“that, as it is written, “He who boasts, let him boast in the Lord.””
“But “he who boasts, let him boast in the Lord.””
The Humbling of the Proud
The Bible tells these stories with a purpose. A king lifted up in pride loses everything until he learns who really rules; a religious man leaves the temple unjustified while a tax collector goes home forgiven. Jesus repeats the principle so often it becomes a refrain: whoever exalts himself will be humbled. God’s humbling is severe mercy — it brings the proud low so grace can finally reach them.
“I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.””
“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.””
“Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven; for all his works are truth, and his ways justice; and those who walk in pride he is able to abase.”
A Prayer About Pride
Father, we confess the pride we can see in ourselves and the pride we cannot. Forgive us for the boasting, the self-reliance, and the quiet certainty that we are usually right. Thank you that you do not leave the proud to their fall but offer grace to everyone willing to be made low. Search our hearts, humble us gently, and teach us to boast in one thing only: that we know you. Keep us teachable all our days. Amen.
Common Questions
What does the Bible say about pride?
Scripture treats pride as spiritually dangerous rather than merely unattractive. Proverbs warns that pride precedes destruction and disgrace, and James 4:6 says plainly that God opposes the proud while giving grace to the humble. The Bible’s deeper concern is that pride blinds us — to our limits, to other people, and ultimately to God himself, as Psalm 10:4 observes. Its consistent remedy is honest humility and boasting only in knowing the Lord.
What does “pride goes before a fall” mean?
The saying comes from Proverbs 16:18, which links pride with destruction and a haughty spirit with stumbling. The point is not that God trips proud people for sport, but that pride itself distorts judgment. A person who cannot be questioned stops seeing risks, ignores counsel, and overestimates their own strength — so the fall, when it comes, is usually self-built. Humility, by contrast, keeps our eyes open and our footing honest.
Why does God oppose the proud?
Because pride is a false claim about reality. Proverbs 16:5 says the Lord detests the proud of heart, and Proverbs 8:13 lists pride among the things the fear of the Lord hates. Pride asserts that we are self-made and self-sufficient, which crowds out both gratitude and grace. God’s opposition is ultimately merciful: by resisting pride, he protects us from a self-reliance that would keep us from ever receiving his help.
What is the difference between pride and confidence?
Confidence rests on something real and stays teachable; pride inflates and stops listening. Scripture never asks believers to think poorly of themselves — Jeremiah 9:23-24 simply relocates the boast, from our wisdom, strength, and riches to knowing the Lord. Healthy confidence can name its gifts and its limits, celebrate other people, and receive correction. Pride, as Galatians 6:3 warns, is self-deception: thinking we are something we are not.
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