Bible verses about gossip show how much damage a few careless words can do. Proverbs compares the whisperer to someone who separates close friends, and James likens the tongue to a spark that sets a forest ablaze. These passages teach why God cares about how we speak of others and how to replace gossip with words that heal.
Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour: I am the Lord.
Leviticus 19:16 (KJV)
God’s law directly commands His people not to go up and down as talebearers among them.
Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.
Exodus 23:1 (KJV)
Spreading a false report, or joining with others to pass one along, is forbidden in God’s law.
A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter.
Proverbs 11:13 (KJV)
A talebearer reveals secrets, but a faithful spirit keeps a matter quiet.
A froward man soweth strife: and a whisperer separateth chief friends.
Proverbs 16:28 (KJV)
Whispering behind someone’s back sows strife and can separate even the closest friends.
He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends.
Proverbs 17:9 (KJV)
Covering an offense seeks love, while repeating the matter to others divides friends.
The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.
Proverbs 18:8 (KJV)
Gossip can feel tempting to hear, yet its words go down deep and wound like blows.
He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets: therefore meddle not with him that flattereth with his lips.
Proverbs 20:19 (KJV)
Someone who goes about telling tales reveals secrets, so it is wise to keep distance from them.
Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth.
Proverbs 26:20 (KJV)
Just as fire goes out without wood, strife dies down when no one keeps carrying tales.
Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.
Psalms 15:1-3 (KJV)
The person who may dwell with God is one who does not backbite or take up a reproach against a neighbor.
Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off: him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer.
Psalms 101:5 (KJV)
David resolved not to tolerate anyone who secretly slanders a neighbor.
If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.
James 1:26 (KJV)
A person who does not bridle their tongue deceives themselves, and their religion is empty.
Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
James 3:5-6 (KJV)
The tongue is small, but like a spark it can set a whole forest on fire.
For I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as ye would not: lest there be debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults:
2 Corinthians 12:20 (KJV)
Paul feared finding backbitings and whisperings among the church, listing them with strife and division.
And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.
1 Timothy 5:13 (KJV)
Paul describes idle tattlers and busybodies who speak things they ought not.
To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.
Titus 3:2 (KJV)
Believers are told to speak evil of no one and to be gentle and courteous toward all.
But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
Matthew 12:36-37 (KJV)
Jesus says we will give account for every idle word, so our words matter to God.
Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
Ephesians 4:29 (KJV)
Rather than tearing others down, our words should build up and give grace to those who hear.
Gossip is addressed in Scripture from the law of Moses onward. Leviticus 19:16 tells God’s people not to go about as talebearers, and Exodus 23:1 forbids spreading a false report. The book of Proverbs returns to the theme again and again, warning that a whisperer separates close friends (Proverbs 16:28) and that strife dies down when tales stop being carried (Proverbs 26:20).
The New Testament shows that gossip is not a small matter. Paul lists whisperings and backbitings alongside strife and division in 2 Corinthians 12:20, and he describes idle busybodies who speak things they ought not in 1 Timothy 5:13. James compares the tongue to a small spark that can set a great forest on fire (James 3:5-6), and Jesus teaches that we will give account for every idle word (Matthew 12:36-37).
The alternative is not silence but speech that builds up. Proverbs 17:9 says that covering an offense seeks love, and Ephesians 4:29 calls believers to speak words that give grace to those who hear. Before sharing something about another person, it helps to ask whether it is true, whether it is kind, and whether it will help.
Proverbs 16:28s a talebearer separateth chief friends treats gossip as capable of real, lasting damage, not a harmless habit.
Bible Verses About Gossip are not only warnings in the abstract; Scripture tells several specific stories of what talebearing actually cost people. The six accounts below show gossip ranging from careless complaint to calculated slander, and what happened because of it.
Numbers 12:1-10 describes Miriam and Aaron criticizing Moses over his wife, speaking against him in a way God took seriously enough to call all three before Him directly. God defended Moses and Miriam was struck with leprosy for a time as a result. The episode is a sobering example of family members gossiping about someone instead of raising a concern to his face.
1 Samuel 22:9-19 describes Doeg the Edomite telling King Saul that the priest Ahimelech had helped David, information that was technically true but led directly to Saul slaughtering an entire town of priests and their families. Doeg’s report was not a lie, but it was told to the wrong person for the wrong reason, and the damage it caused was permanent.
2 Samuel 16:1-4 describes Ziba telling King David that Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s crippled son, was hoping to seize the throne, a claim 2 Samuel 19:24-30 suggests was false. David believed the report and gave Ziba half of Mephibosheth’s land before the full truth ever came out. The story shows how a convincing lie, told to someone with power, can cost an innocent person dearly.
Among the darker Bible Verses About Gossip examples, this one goes furthest. 1 Kings 21:8-13 describes Jezebel arranging for men to falsely accuse Naboth of cursing God and the king, testimony that was entirely fabricated and led to Naboth being stoned to death so Ahab could take his vineyard. This is gossip and slander taken to their worst possible conclusion, engineered deliberately rather than spoken carelessly.
Esther 3:8-11 describes Haman telling King Ahasuerus that the Jewish people were a danger to the kingdom and should be destroyed, an accusation built on his own wounded pride rather than any real threat. Haman’s words nearly led to the destruction of an entire nation before Esther intervened. His story shows how a single person’s slander, repeated to the right ears, can threaten far more than one reputation.
Matthew 26:59-61 describes the chief priests seeking false testimony against Jesus, eventually finding witnesses who distorted something He had actually said about the temple into something He never meant. Even Jesus was not exempt from having His words twisted and repeated out of context by people determined to find Him guilty of something.
Miriam’s complaint, Doeg’s true but damaging report, Ziba’s convincing lie, Jezebel’s engineered false witnesses, Haman’s wounded pride, and the twisted testimony against Jesus show gossip working in very different ways, from careless to calculated. Bible Verses About Gossip take the subject seriously for exactly this reason: words repeated to the wrong person, even true ones, can cause harm no one can undo.
Lord, keep me from speaking about Moses the way Miriam did, criticizing someone behind their back instead of to their face. Keep me from being a Doeg, passing along true information with a motive I know is not right. Guard me from believing a Ziba-style report without checking the full truth. Keep me far from Jezebel’s path of manufacturing lies to harm someone, and from Haman’s pattern of letting wounded pride turn into accusation. And when my own words are misunderstood or twisted, give me the same grace Jesus showed under false testimony. Amen.
These Bible Verses About Gossip only matter if they change how you actually talk about people. Like the lesson from Miriam, take a concern directly to the person involved instead of discussing it with everyone else first. Like the warning in Doeg’s story, ask not just whether something is true but whether you have any business repeating it. Like the caution in Ziba’s story, be slow to act on an accusation until you have heard the other side. Refuse, as Jezebel did not, to ever manufacture or exaggerate a story to get what you want. Watch, as Haman did not, for the moment your own hurt feelings start shaping how you describe someone else.
Before moving past these Bible Verses About Gossip, consider two honest questions. Doeg told the truth but for the wrong reason, and it cost innocent lives. Is there something true you are tempted to repeat that would be better left unsaid? Ziba’s lie worked because David never checked the other side. Whose story have you only heard from one person?
Proverbs 18:8 is blunt about something most of us would rather not admit. “The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.” Many readers know the older rendering that gossip is like tasty morsels, and the picture is the same: it goes down easily. Nobody has to be coaxed into listening to a juicy piece of news about a coworker. We lean in. The conversation quickens. For a minute, being the one who knows something makes us feel important.
The verse follows the story past the first bite. Those words settle deep, in the gut, where they sit and spread. A neighbor hears that a family is struggling with money, and for months afterward she cannot look at them without remembering the detail. A rumor about a teacher’s marriage keeps floating through a school years after the facts have been forgotten. The harm is rarely one dramatic moment. It is the slow soaking-in.
This helps explain why Bible Verses About Gossip use words like wounds rather than words like mistakes. A wound has a victim. Before you pass something along, ask who will carry it afterward, and whether they would pick it up if they could see you handing it over.
“Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth.” Anyone who has camped knows how this works. A fire left alone burns down to ash in under an hour. It keeps going only if somebody keeps feeding it. The proverb places a lot of responsibility on the person who feeds it, and also, more quietly, on the person who stands nearby and hands over another stick.
Picture a break room. Two coworkers are in a quiet disagreement about a schedule change. A third person starts repeating what each said about the other. By Thursday, the disagreement has hardened into a feud, and neither of the original two remembers exactly how it started. The talebearer did not invent the problem. The talebearer made it bigger than it needed to be.
The practical wisdom in this verse is that the middle person holds more power than they think. When someone begins to tell you what a third party said, you can let the stick fall. You can say, “I would rather hear that from her myself,” or just change the subject, or leave the room. Strife often ends not because someone wins an argument but because someone declines to carry the next message. Few Bible Verses About Gossip offer a plan as simple as this one.
Two proverbs sit close in spirit. Proverbs 11:13: “A talebearer revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter.” And Proverbs 17:9: “He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends.” Read together they describe two kinds of people. One treats information as something to spend. The other treats it as something entrusted to them.
The second line of 17:9 is almost painfully accurate about friendship. Friends survive plenty of failures. What often ends a friendship is the discovery that private things have been repeated. A woman confides that she is afraid her marriage is slipping, and three weeks later someone else brings it up at a church picnic. She does not need to be told who talked. The trust is gone, and it rarely comes back at the same size.
One place this shows up quietly is the prayer request. Sharing a need with a group so people can pray is good. Sharing someone else’s struggle, with details, and tacking on a sentence that begins “Pray for her, because” is different. If you are unsure whether you have permission, you probably do not. Ask the person first. Covering a matter is not the same as lying about it. It means leaving it where it was told.
Paul gave Timothy some practical advice about younger widows in the church at Ephesus. In 1 Timothy 5:13 he says they could fall into a pattern of “wandering about from house to house” and become “tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.” Notice what he is diagnosing. He does not say these women are wicked. He says they have too much unfilled time and too few meaningful tasks, and the empty hours fill up with other people’s business.
That diagnosis fits many of us, whatever our age. Gossip tends to flourish where people are bored, lonely or left out of real work. A retiree who no longer feels needed, a stay-at-home parent starved for adult conversation, an office employee waiting on a slow afternoon: the human mind goes looking for something to chew on, and other people’s lives are always close at hand. Today it is often the phone that does the wandering from house to house, scrolling through what everyone else is doing.
Paul’s remedy, in the verses around this one, is purposeful work and a settled household. The principle travels well. If you notice you are talking about people more than usual, look at your week. Is there something useful you could be doing instead, someone you could actually visit, a meal to take over? Hands that are busy with good tasks leave the tongue less to do. That is among the more practical bits of counsel in the Bible Verses About Gossip collected here.
Matthew 12:36-37 can frighten people. “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.” Some readers picture a list of every careless remark in their life being read aloud. That is not the mood of the passage, and the surrounding verses help.
Jesus is talking to Pharisees who had just called his healings the work of the devil. In verse 34 he points to the source: out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. His concern is the heart that produces the words. Idle here means careless or unproductive, speech that does no good. He is saying our casual talk is not neutral. It reveals what has been growing inside us, and it will be weighed.
There is a hopeful way to hear this, too. If words reveal the heart, then changing what we say starts with what we are feeding on. Spending time in prayer and Scripture, and with people who speak well of others, shifts the supply. And because grace runs all through the New Testament, a person who has gossiped can confess it, apologize to the one affected and begin again. The verse is a call to take our words seriously, not a reason to lie awake going through the past.
Psalm 15 opens with a question that sounds like an application to a very exclusive club. “LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?” The answer, in verses 2 and 3, lists a handful of traits, and one of them is that he “backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.” The phrase taketh up a reproach is vivid. A reproach is a piece of ugly talk about someone else, and the verse imagines a person simply declining to pick it up.
Psalm 101 is a king speaking about the kind of court he wants to run. Verse 5 says, “Whoso privily slandereth his neighbour, him will I cut off.” The key word is privily, meaning in secret. The slander that did the most harm in Bible stories was nearly always whispered where the victim could not answer. A leader who allows whispering to pass for information in a workplace, a ministry or a family is inviting the exact kind of climate this king was trying to prevent.
James adds a sober line about people who think they are devout. James 1:26 says that if someone “bridleth not his tongue”, that person’s religion is vain. Titus 3:2 gives the alternative, to speak evil of no man, “to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.” Gentleness and honesty can sit in the same sentence.
Everything so far has addressed the person doing the talking, but plenty of readers arrive here because they are the subject. They have walked into a room and felt the conversation stop. They have heard from a third person what was said. If that is you, Joseph’s story and David’s psalms both show that being slandered is not evidence that you did something wrong. Paul even listed “backbitings, whisperings” among the things he feared finding in the church at Corinth (2 Corinthians 12:20), which tells us the first Christians were not spared.
Jesus gave a method for the person who has been wronged. Matthew 18:15 says, “if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.” Going to the one involved, in private, with a calm voice, is usually harder than posting a rebuttal or telling your own side to everybody. It also tends to work better. Many a rumor has died in one honest conversation over coffee.
Some of it you cannot fix. People may keep believing what they want. In that case, the best answer is a steady life that does not match the story. Ephesians 4:29, already mentioned above, applies to you also: do not let a corrupt word come out of your mouth in return. Take the hurt to God plainly, find one trusted friend or pastor to talk with, and if the talk has become harassment at work or school, report it to someone with the authority to act.
Other collections you may find useful: Bible Verses About Faith, Bible Verses For Believing God's Promises, Bible Verses About Purpose, Bible Verses For Powerful Prayer, Bible Verses For Comfort, Bible Verses For Family Love, Bible Verses For God's Love, Bible Verses About Strength, Bible Verses For Healing and Faith, Bible Verses About Hard Times and Bible Verses For Money.
Free tools for studying these passages further: Bible Gateway, Bible Hub and Bible Study Tools.
Gossip is addressed in Scripture from the law of Moses onward. Leviticus 19:16 tells God's people not to go about as talebearers, and Exodus 23:1 forbids spreading a false report.
This page brings together 10 King James Version references about gossip, drawn from 8 different books of the Bible.
Yes. The verses about gossip gathered here include passages from both the Old Testament and the New Testament, such as Leviticus 19:16 and 2 Corinthians 12:20.
Leviticus 19:16 is one of the verses about gossip referenced in this collection, alongside Exodus 23:1.
Yes, the verses referenced on this page, including Leviticus 19:16, are quoted according to the King James Version (KJV), and are suitable for daily reading, memorization, or devotional use.
