25 Bible Verses About Philosophy (NIV)

⁸ See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.

¹ "There is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined. ² Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore. ³ Man puts an end to the darkness; he searches the farthest recesses for ore in the blackest darkness. ⁴ Far from where people dwell he cuts a shaft, in places forgotten by the foot of man; far from men he dangles and sways. ⁵ The earth, from which food comes, is transformed below as by fire; ⁶ sapphires come from its rocks, and its dust contains nuggets of gold. ⁷ No bird of prey knows that hidden path, no falcon's eye has seen it. ⁸ Proud beasts do not set foot on it, and no lion prowls there. ⁹ Man's hand assaults the flinty rock and lays bare the roots of the mountains. ¹⁰ He tunnels through the rock; his eyes see all its treasures. ¹¹ He searches the sources of the rivers and brings hidden things to light. ¹² "But where can wisdom be found? Where does understanding dwell? ¹³ Man does not comprehend its worth; it cannot be found in the land of the living. ¹⁴ The deep says, 'It is not in me'; the sea says, 'It is not with me.' ¹⁵ It cannot be bought with the finest gold, nor can its price be weighed in silver. ¹⁶ It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir, with precious onyx or sapphires. ¹⁷ Neither gold nor crystal can compare with it, nor can it be had for jewels of gold. ¹⁸ Coral and jasper are not worthy of mention; the price of wisdom is beyond rubies. ¹⁹ The topaz of Cush cannot compare with it; it cannot be bought with pure gold. ²⁰ "Where then does wisdom come from? Where does understanding dwell? ²¹ It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing, concealed even from the birds of the air. ²² Destruction and Death say, 'Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.' ²³ God understands the way to it and he alone knows where it dwells, ²⁴ for he views the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens. ²⁵ When he established the force of the wind and measured out the waters, ²⁶ when he made a decree for the rain and a path for the thunderstorm, ²⁷ then he looked at wisdom and appraised it; he confirmed it and tested it. ²⁸ And he said to man, 'The fear of the Lord-that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.'"

¹³ This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.

²⁰ Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge,

⁹ But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. ¹⁰ Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him.

¹ When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. ² For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. ³ I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. ⁴ My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, ⁵ so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power.

²¹ For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.

⁶ We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. ⁷ No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. ⁸ None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. ⁹ However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"-- ¹⁰ but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.

² It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.

¹⁸ A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, "What is this babbler trying to say?" Others remarked, "He seems to be advocating foreign gods." They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.

¹⁶ Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. ¹⁷ These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. ¹⁸ Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. ¹⁹ He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.

¹⁹ You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder.

¹ A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth. ² It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart. ³ Sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart. ⁴ The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure. ⁵ It is better to heed a wise man's rebuke than to listen to the song of fools. ⁶ Like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of fools. This too is meaningless. ⁷ Extortion turns a wise man into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart. ⁸ The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride. ⁹ Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools. ¹⁰ Do not say, "Why were the old days better than these?" For it is not wise to ask such questions. ¹¹ Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing and benefits those who see the sun. ¹² Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: that wisdom preserves the life of its possessor. ¹³ Consider what God has done: Who can straighten what he has made crooked? ¹⁴ When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, a man cannot discover anything about his future. ¹⁵ In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these: a righteous man perishing in his righteousness, and a wicked man living long in his wickedness. ¹⁶ Do not be overrighteous, neither be overwise- why destroy yourself? ¹⁷ Do not be overwicked, and do not be a fool- why die before your time? ¹⁸ It is good to grasp the one and not let go of the other. The man who fears God will avoid all extremes. ¹⁹ Wisdom makes one wise man more powerful than ten rulers in a city. ²⁰ There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins. ²¹ Do not pay attention to every word people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you- ²² for you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others. ²³ All this I tested by wisdom and I said, "I am determined to be wise"- but this was beyond me. ²⁴ Whatever wisdom may be, it is far off and most profound- who can discover it? ²⁵ So I turned my mind to understand, to investigate and to search out wisdom and the scheme of things and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the madness of folly. ²⁶ I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a trap and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God will escape her, but the sinner she will ensnare. ²⁷ "Look," says the Teacher, "this is what I have discovered: "Adding one thing to another to discover the scheme of things- ²⁸ while I was still searching but not finding- I found one upright man among a thousand, but not one upright woman among them all. ²⁹ This only have I found: God made mankind upright, but men have gone in search of many schemes."

¹ Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Go near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong. ² Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. ³ As a dream comes when there are many cares, so the speech of a fool when there are many words. ⁴ When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. ⁵ It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it. ⁶ Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, "My vow was a mistake." Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands? ⁷ Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore stand in awe of God. ⁸ If you see the poor oppressed in a district, and justice and rights denied, do not be surprised at such things; for one official is eyed by a higher one, and over them both are others higher still. ⁹ The increase from the land is taken by all; the king himself profits from the fields. ¹⁰ Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless. ¹¹ As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them? ¹² The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep. ¹³ I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner, ¹⁴ or wealth lost through some misfortune, so that when he has a son there is nothing left for him. ¹⁵ Naked a man comes from his mother's womb, and as he comes, so he departs. He takes nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand. ¹⁶ This too is a grievous evil: As a man comes, so he departs, and what does he gain, since he toils for the wind? ¹⁷ All his days he eats in darkness, with great frustration, affliction and anger. ¹⁸ Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given him-for this is his lot. ¹⁹ Moreover, when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work-this is a gift of God. ²⁰ He seldom reflects on the days of his life, because God keeps him occupied with gladness of heart.

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.

¹⁶ "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

¹⁹ since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.

¹⁹ For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate."

²² Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom,

²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

²⁸ Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

¹ In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

¹⁷ For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel--not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

⁶ The tents of marauders are undisturbed, and those who provoke God are secure- those who carry their god in their hands. ⁷ "But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; ⁸ or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you. ⁹ Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? ¹⁰ In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind. ¹¹ Does not the ear test words as the tongue tastes food? ¹² Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding? ¹³ "To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are his. ¹⁴ What he tears down cannot be rebuilt; the man he imprisons cannot be released. ¹⁵ If he holds back the waters, there is drought; if he lets them loose, they devastate the land. ¹⁶ To him belong strength and victory; both deceived and deceiver are his. ¹⁷ He leads counselors away stripped and makes fools of judges. ¹⁸ He takes off the shackles put on by kings and ties a loincloth around their waist. ¹⁹ He leads priests away stripped and overthrows men long established. ²⁰ He silences the lips of trusted advisers and takes away the discernment of elders. ²¹ He pours contempt on nobles and disarms the mighty. ²² He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings deep shadows into the light. ²³ He makes nations great, and destroys them; he enlarges nations, and disperses them. ²⁴ He deprives the leaders of the earth of their reason; he sends them wandering through a trackless waste.

²⁰ For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.