Hypocrisy is a challenge the Bible addresses with wisdom and clarity. These Scriptures reveal God’s dislike for double standards and encourage us to live with integrity. Exploring these 115 Bible verses about hypocrisy helps us align our actions with our beliefs.

Hypocrisy Exposed

• Matthew 23:13 – “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.”
• Matthew 23:27-28 – “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.”
• Luke 12:1 – “Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: ‘Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.'”
• Job 8:13 – “Such is the destiny of all who forget God; so perishes the hope of the godless.”
• Proverbs 11:9 – “With their mouths the godless destroy their neighbors, but through knowledge the righteous escape.”
• Isaiah 29:13 – “The Lord says: ‘These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.'”
• Isaiah 32:6 – “For the fool speaks folly, his mind is busy with evil: He practices ungodliness and spreads error concerning the LORD; the hungry he leaves empty and from the thirsty he withholds water.”
• Jeremiah 42:20 – “You made a fatal mistake when you sent me to the LORD your God and said, ‘Pray to the LORD our God for us; tell us everything he says and we will do it.'”
• Ezekiel 33:31 – “My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to hear your words, but they do not put them into practice. Their mouths speak of love, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain.”

The Consequences of Hypocrisy

• Matthew 7:5 – “You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
• Matthew 24:51 – “He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
• Mark 7:6 – “He replied, ‘Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.'”
• James 3:17 – “But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”
• Psalm 26:4 – “I do not sit with the deceitful, nor do I associate with hypocrites.”
• 1 Peter 2:1 – “Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.”
• Proverbs 12:22 – “The LORD detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy.”
• 1 Timothy 4:2 – “Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.”
• Luke 11:44 – “Woe to you, because you are like unmarked graves, which people walk over without knowing it.”

Warning Against Hypocrisy

• Matthew 6:2 – “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.”
• Matthew 6:16 – “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.”
• Matthew 15:7-9 – “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.'”
• Mark 12:15 – “Should we pay or shouldn’t we?’ But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. ‘Why are you trying to trap me?’ he asked. ‘Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.'”
• Luke 6:42 – “How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
• Luke 13:15 – “The Lord answered him, ‘You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water?'”
• John 12:5-6 – “‘Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.’ He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.”
• Romans 12:9 – “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.”
• 1 John 2:9 – “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness.”

The True Nature of Hypocrisy

• Matthew 23:25 – “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.”
• Matthew 23:29 – “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous.”
• Luke 12:56 – “Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time?”
• Galatians 2:13 – “The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.”
• Proverbs 23:6-7 – “Do not eat the food of a begrudging host, do not crave his delicacies; for he is the kind of person who is always thinking about the cost. ‘Eat and drink,’ he says to you, but his heart is not with you.”
• James 1:26 – “Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.”
• James 2:14-17 – “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?”
• 2 Timothy 3:5 – “Having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.”
• Revelation 3:1 – “To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.”

The Hypocrisy of False Prophets

• Matthew 7:15 – “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.”
• 2 Peter 2:1 – “But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.”
• 1 Timothy 1:5-7 – “The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Some have departed from these and have turned to meaningless talk. They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.”
• 2 Timothy 4:3-4 – “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”
• 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 – “For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.”
• Jude 1:12-13 – “These people are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead.”
• Matthew 24:24 – “For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.”
• 1 John 4:1 – “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.”
• Acts 20:29-30 – “I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.”
• Revelation 2:2 – “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.”

Religious Hypocrisy

• Matthew 23:23 – “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.”
• Luke 11:39-42 – “Then the Lord said to him, ‘Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? But now as for what is inside you—be generous to the poor, and everything will be clean for you. Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.'”
• Mark 12:38-40 – “As he taught, Jesus said, ‘Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.'”
• Matthew 23:5-6 – “Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues.”
• Isaiah 58:4-5 – “Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for people to humble themselves?”
• Matthew 6:1 – “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.”
• Luke 16:15 – “He said to them, ‘You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.'”
• Galatians 6:3 – “If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves.”
• Romans 2:17-24 – “Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God; if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth—you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself?”
• James 2:1 – “My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism.”

Self-Deception in Hypocrisy

• 1 Corinthians 3:18 – “Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become ‘fools’ so that you may become wise.”
• James 1:22 – “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”
• Luke 12:2-3 – “There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.”
• Galatians 6:7 – “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.”
• Jeremiah 17:9-10 – “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.”
• 1 John 1:8 – “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.”
• Proverbs 20:6 – “Many claim to have unfailing love, but a faithful person who can find?”
• Proverbs 26:26 – “Their malice may be concealed by deception, but their wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.”
• Romans 12:3 – “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.”
• Proverbs 28:13 – “Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”

Hypocrisy in Praise and Appearance

• Matthew 6:5 – “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full.”
• Matthew 23:5 – “Everything they do is done for people to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long.”
• Luke 16:15 – “He said to them, ‘You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.'”
• Proverbs 27:2 – “Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth; an outsider, and not your own lips.”
• Galatians 1:10 – “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.”
• 1 Thessalonians 2:4 – “On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts.”
• John 5:44 – “How can you believe since you accept glory from one another but do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?”
• Luke 18:11-12 – “The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'”
• Colossians 3:23 – “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.”

Hypocrisy and Discerning True from False

• Matthew 7:16-20 – “By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.”
• 1 Timothy 6:3-5 – “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 among people who are corrupt in mind and deprived of the truth, who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.”
• 2 Corinthians 11:14-15 – “And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.”
• 2 Timothy 2:19 – “Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: ‘The Lord knows those who are his,’ and, ‘Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.'”
• Revelation 2:9 – “I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! I know about the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.”
• 1 John 3:7-10 – “Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. Whoever does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God.”
• 1 Corinthians 5:11 – “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.”
• James 3:13-14 – “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth.”
• Matthew 24:4-5 – “Jesus answered: ‘Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many.'”
• Acts 5:3-4 – “Then Peter said, ‘Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.'”

Actions Speak Louder Than Words in Hypocrisy

• James 2:17 – “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”
• 1 John 3:18 – “Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.”
• Titus 1:16 – “They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.”
• Matthew 15:8 – “‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.'”
• Luke 6:46 – “‘Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?'”
• 1 Samuel 15:22 – “But Samuel replied: ‘Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.'”
• Proverbs 21:3 – “To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.”
• James 1:23-25 – “Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.”
• Matthew 23:3 – “So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.”
• Romans 2:13 – “For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.”

False Appearances in Hypocrisy

• Luke 20:46-47 – “Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be severely punished.”
• Matthew 23:28 – “In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.”
• Proverbs 26:24-26 – “Enemies disguise themselves with their lips, but in their hearts they harbor deceit. Though their speech is charming, do not believe them, for seven abominations fill their hearts. Their malice may be concealed by deception, but their wickedness will be exposed in the assembly.”
• Galatians 2:4 – “This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves.”
• 2 Corinthians 11:13 – “For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ.”

Heart Over Appearance in Hypocrisy

• 1 Samuel 16:7 – “But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.'”
• James 4:6 – “But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: ‘God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.'”
• Matthew 5:8 – “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”
• Proverbs 21:2 – “A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart.”
• Jeremiah 17:10 – “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward each person according to their conduct, according to what their deeds deserve.”
• Psalms 51:17 – “My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.”
• Matthew 6:21 – “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
• Luke 12:34 – “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
• Ezekiel 36:26 – “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”
• Proverbs 4:23 – “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”

Hypocrisy and Divine Judgment

• Job 27:8 – “For what is our lot from God above, our heritage from the Almighty on high?”
• Proverbs 26:24-25 – “Enemies disguise themselves with their lips, but in their hearts they harbor deceit. Though their speech is charming, do not believe them, for seven abominations fill their hearts.”
• Matthew 15:7-8 – “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.'”
• Psalm 55:21 – “His talk is smooth as butter, yet war is in his heart; his words are more soothing than oil, yet they are drawn swords.”
• Romans 2:3 – “So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment?”

Conclusion