Scripture declares that ridicule of the weak, the poor and the godly is unacceptable. Those who ridicule them invite judgment upon themselves.
Warnings against ridicule
Ridicule is foolish
Proverbs 11:12 See also Proverbs 1:20–22, Proverbs 14:6, Proverbs 14:9
Whoever shows contempt for his neighbor lacks judgment, but a man of understanding remains silent.
Ridicule creates trouble
Proverbs 9:12 See also Proverbs 19:29, Proverbs 22:10, Proverbs 29:8, Proverbs 30:17; Matthew 5:22 “Raca” probably means “empty-head”, a term of derision.
If you are wise, you are wise to your own advantage; but if you scoff, you alone will bear the consequences.
Ridicule is a sign of the last days
2 Peter 3:3–4 See also Jude 1:18
Most importantly, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. “Where is the promise of His coming?” they will ask. “Ever since our fathers fell asleep, everything continues as it has from the beginning of creation.”
Examples of ridicule
Judges 9:28–29, Judges 9:38; 1 Samuel 17:41–44; 1 Kings 22:24; 2 Kings 2:23–24, 2 Kings 18:23–25; Nehemiah 2:19, Nehemiah 4:1–3
Ridicule associated with divine punishment
Isaiah 14:3–4 See also Isaiah 37:22–23; Jeremiah 49:17, Jeremiah 50:13; Ezekiel 36:1–7; Habakkuk 2:6; Zephaniah 2:15Micah 2:3–4 See also Deuteronomy 28:37; 1 Kings 9:6–9 parallel 2 Chronicles 7:19–22; Jeremiah 19:8, Jeremiah 24:9; Ezekiel 5:14–15, Ezekiel 23:32, Ezekiel 22:3–5; Hosea 7:16; Micah 6:16
On the day that the LORD gives you rest from your pain and torment, and from the hard labor into which you were forced, you will sing this song of contempt against the king of Babylon: How the oppressor has ceased, and how his fury has ended!
Therefore this is what the LORD says: “I am planning against this nation a disaster from which you cannot free your necks. Then you will not walk so proudly, for it will be a time of calamity. In that day they will take up a proverb against you and taunt you with this bitter lamentation: ‘We are utterly ruined! He has changed the portion of my people. How He has removed it from me! He has allotted our fields to traitors.’”
Prophets ridicule idolatry
1 Kings 18:27 See also Isaiah 41:7, Isaiah 41:21–24, Isaiah 44:12–17, Isaiah 46:1–2; Jeremiah 10:3–5
At noon Elijah began to taunt them, saying, “Shout louder, for he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or occupied, or on a journey. Perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened!”
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.