Those who are close or who exercise influence, who prove to be unreliable or deceptive or who lead astray. Scripture provides numerous instructive examples of the negative effects of bad friends upon believers.
Friends who lead astray
From worship
Deuteronomy 13:6–8 See also Deuteronomy 23:6; 1 Kings 11:2
If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you embrace, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (which neither you nor your fathers have known, the gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, whether from one end of the earth or the other), you must not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity, and do not spare him or shield him.
From good character
1 Corinthians 15:33 See also Proverbs 12:26, Proverbs 22:24–25
Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
From friendship with God
James 4:4 See also Isaiah 52:11; Jeremiah 9:4–5; Micah 7:5; 2 Corinthians 6:14–18, 2 Corinthians 7:1
You adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world renders himself an enemy of God.
Friends who are unreliable
In their commitment
A despairing man should have the kindness of his friend, even if he forsakes the fear of the Almighty. But my brothers are as faithless as wadis, as seasonal streams that overflow, darkened because of the ice and the inflow of melting snow, but ceasing in the dry season and vanishing from their channels in the heat.
In their trustworthiness
Psalm 41:9 See also Psalm 38:11, Psalm 55:20–21; Obadiah 1:7; Matthew 26:14–15; John 13:18 Jesus Christ is speaking about his betrayal by Judas.
Even my close friend whom I trusted, the one who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.
In their support
2 Timothy 4:16 See also 2 Timothy 4:10
At my first defense, no one stood with me, but everyone deserted me. May it not be charged against them.
Examples of bad friends
Those who lead astray
Genesis 3:12 See also 1 Kings 12:8–11; Esther 5:14
And the man answered, “The woman whom You gave me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
Those who are inconstant
Job 19:19 Presumably these friends are not merely the ones who attempted to comfort him. See also Matthew 26:31, Matthew 26:33–34; 2 Timothy 4:10, 2 Timothy 4:16
All my best friends despise me, and those I love have turned against me.
Related themes
Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Bible Aquifer. Formatted for this site, with Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.