Blasphemy

An Israelite woman’s son quarrels in the camp and “blasphemed the name of the LORD, and cursed” (Leviticus 24:11). In the law, speaking against God was treated as among the gravest offences. Later writers use the word for any contempt toward God: Paul says that “the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you” when those who boast in God’s law live badly (Romans 2:24), and tells the Colossians to put off “anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy.” Jesus speaks of blasphemy against the Holy Ghost as unforgivable (Matthew 12:31), and Christians differ on what exactly that means. Read Mark 3:22-30 to see the setting.

151 verses

Exodus

Exodus 20:7

Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

Leviticus

Leviticus 19:12

And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.

Leviticus 22:32

Neither shall ye profane my holy name; but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel: I am the LORD which hallow you,

Leviticus 24:10

And the son of an Israelitish woman, whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel: and this son of the Israelitish woman and a man of Israel strove together in the camp;

Leviticus 24:11

And the Israelitish woman's son blasphemed the name of the LORD, and cursed. And they brought him unto Moses:(and his mother's name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan:)

Leviticus 24:12

And they put him in ward, that the mind of the LORD might be shewed them.

Leviticus 24:13

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

Leviticus 24:14

Bring forth him that hath cursed without the camp; and let all that heard him lay their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation stone him.

Leviticus 24:15

And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, Whosoever curseth his God shall bear his sin.

Leviticus 24:16

And he that blasphemeth the name of the LORD, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of the LORD, shall be put to death.

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 5:11

Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

2 Samuel

2 Samuel 12:14

Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.

2 Kings

2 Kings 18:22

But if ye say unto me, We trust in the LORD our God: is not that he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and hath said to Judah and Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem?

2 Kings 19:22

Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel.

2 Chronicles

2 Chronicles 32:19

And they spake against the God of Jerusalem, as against the gods of the people of the earth, which were the work of the hands of man.

Job

Job 9:16

If I had called, and he had answered me; yet would I not believe that he had hearkened unto my voice.

Job 9:17

For he breaketh me with a tempest, and multiplieth my wounds without cause.

Job 9:34

Let him take his rod away from me, and let not his fear terrify me:

Job 9:35

Then would I speak, and not fear him; but it is not so with me.

Job 10:2

I will say unto God, Do not condemn me; shew me wherefore thou contendest with me.

Job 10:3

Is it good unto thee that thou shouldest oppress, that thou shouldest despise the work of thine hands, and shine upon the counsel of the wicked?

Job 10:4

Hast thou eyes of flesh? or seest thou as man seeth?

Job 10:5

Are thy days as the days of man? are thy years as man's days,

Job 10:6

That thou enquirest after mine iniquity, and searchest after my sin?

Job 10:7

Thou knowest that I am not wicked; and there is none that can deliver out of thine hand.

Job 13:7

Will ye speak wickedly for God? and talk deceitfully for him?

Job 13:8

Will ye accept his person? will ye contend for God?

Job 13:9

Is it good that he should search you out? or as one man mocketh another, do ye so mock him?

Job 13:25

Wilt thou break a leaf driven to and fro? and wilt thou pursue the dry stubble?

Job 13:26

For thou writest bitter things against me, and makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth.

Job 13:27

Thou puttest my feet also in the stocks, and lookest narrowly unto all my paths; thou settest a print upon the heels of my feet.

Job 15:13

That thou turnest thy spirit against God, and lettest such words go out of thy mouth?

Job 15:25

For he stretcheth out his hand against God, and strengtheneth himself against the Almighty.

Job 15:26

He runneth upon him, even on his neck, upon the thick bosses of his bucklers:

Job 16:9

He teareth me in his wrath, who hateth me: he gnasheth upon me with his teeth; mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me.

Job 16:11

God hath delivered me to the ungodly, and turned me over into the hands of the wicked.

Job 16:14

He breaketh me with breach upon breach, he runneth upon me like a giant.

Job 19:6

Know now that God hath overthrown me, and hath compassed me with his net.

Job 19:7

Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard: I cry aloud, but there is no judgment.

Job 19:21

Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends; for the hand of God hath touched me.

Job 19:22

Why do ye persecute me as God, and are not satisfied with my flesh?

Job 21:13

They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave.

Job 21:14

Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.

Job 22:12

Is not God in the height of heaven? and behold the height of the stars, how high they are!

Job 22:13

And thou sayest, How doth God know? can he judge through the dark cloud?

Job 22:14

Thick clouds are a covering to him, that he seeth not; and he walketh in the circuit of heaven.

Job 22:17

Which said unto God, Depart from us: and what can the Almighty do for them?

Job 30:21

Thou art become cruel to me: with thy strong hand thou opposest thyself against me.

Job 33:10

Behold, he findeth occasions against me, he counteth me for his enemy,

Job 33:11

He putteth my feet in the stocks, he marketh all my paths.

Job 34:5

For Job hath said, I am righteous: and God hath taken away my judgment.

Job 34:6

Should I lie against my right? my wound is incurable without transgression.

Job 34:9

For he hath said, It profiteth a man nothing that he should delight himself with God.

Job 34:16

If now thou hast understanding, hear this: hearken to the voice of my words.

Job 34:17

Shall even he that hateth right govern? and wilt thou condemn him that is most just?

Job 34:18

Is it fit to say to a king, Thou art wicked? and to princes, Ye are ungodly?

Job 34:19

How much less to him that accepteth not the persons of princes, nor regardeth the rich more than the poor? for they all are the work of his hands.

Job 34:37

For he addeth rebellion unto his sin, he clappeth his hands among us, and multiplieth his words against God.

Job 37:20

Shall it be told him that I speak? if a man speak, surely he shall be swallowed up.

Job 40:2

Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him? he that reproveth God, let him answer it.

Psalms

Psalms 5:1

To the chief Musician upon Nehiloth, A Psalm of David. Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation.

Psalms 5:2

Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.

Psalms 10:11

He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it.

Psalms 10:13

Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? he hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it.

Psalms 50:21

These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.

Psalms 73:9

They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth.

Psalms 73:11

And they say, How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the most High?

Psalms 74:18

Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O LORD, and that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name.

Psalms 78:19

Yea, they spake against God; they said, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?

Psalms 78:20

Behold, he smote the rock, that the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed; can he give bread also? can he provide flesh for his people?

Psalms 94:7

Yet they say, The LORD shall not see, neither shall the God of Jacob regard it.

Psalms 139:20

For they speak against thee wickedly, and thine enemies take thy name in vain.

Proverbs

Proverbs 30:7

Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die:

Proverbs 30:8

Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me:

Proverbs 30:9

Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.

Isaiah

Isaiah 8:21

And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward.

Isaiah 8:22

And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.

Isaiah 29:15

Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the LORD, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us?

Isaiah 29:16

Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?

Isaiah 36:15

Neither let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD, saying, The LORD will surely deliver us: this city shall not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.

Isaiah 36:16

Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me: and eat ye every one of his vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his own cistern;

Isaiah 36:17

Until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and vineyards.

Isaiah 36:18

Beware lest Hezekiah persuade you, saying, The LORD will deliver us. Hath any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria?

Isaiah 36:19

Where are the gods of Hamath and Arphad? where are the gods of Sepharvaim? and have they delivered Samaria out of my hand?

Isaiah 36:20

Who are they among all the gods of these lands, that have delivered their land out of my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?

Isaiah 36:21

But they held their peace, and answered him not a word: for the king's commandment was, saying, Answer him not.

Isaiah 37:10

Thus shall ye speak to Hezekiah king of Judah, saying, Let not thy God, in whom thou trustest, deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.

Isaiah 37:23

Whom hast thou reproached and blasphemed? and against whom hast thou exalted thy voice, and lifted up thine eyes on high? even against the Holy One of Israel.

Isaiah 40:27

Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God?

Isaiah 45:9

Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands?

Isaiah 52:5

Now therefore, what have I here, saith the LORD, that my people is taken away for nought? they that rule over them make them to howl, saith the LORD; and my name continually every day is blasphemed.

Isaiah 65:7

Your iniquities, and the iniquities of your fathers together, saith the LORD, which have burned incense upon the mountains, and blasphemed me upon the hills: therefore will I measure their former work into their bosom.

Jeremiah

Jeremiah 4:10

Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul.

Jeremiah 17:15

Behold, they say unto me, Where is the word of the LORD? let it come now.

Jeremiah 20:7

O LORD, thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived: thou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed: I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me.

Jeremiah 23:10

For the land is full of adulterers; for because of swearing the land mourneth; the pleasant places of the wilderness are dried up, and their course is evil, and their force is not right.

Ezekiel

Ezekiel 8:12

Then said he unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen what the ancients of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the chambers of his imagery? for they say, The LORD seeth us not; the LORD hath forsaken the earth.

Ezekiel 9:9

Then said he unto me, The iniquity of the house of Israel and Judah is exceeding great, and the land is full of blood, and the city full of perverseness: for they say, The LORD hath forsaken the earth, and the LORD seeth not.

Ezekiel 18:25

Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?

Ezekiel 20:27

Therefore, son of man, speak unto the house of Israel, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Yet in this your fathers have blasphemed me, in that they have committed a trespass against me.

From Easton's Bible Dictionary

Matthew George Easton, 1897

In the sense of speaking evil of God this word is found in Ps. 74:18; Isa. 52:5; Rom. 2:24; Rev. 13:1, 6; 16:9, 11, 21. It denotes also any kind of calumny, or evil-speaking, or abuse (1 Kings 21:10; Acts 13:45; 18:6, etc.). Our Lord was accused of blasphemy when he claimed to be the Son of God (Matt. 26:65; comp. Matt. 9:3; Mark 2:7). They who deny his Messiahship blaspheme Jesus (Luke 22:65; John 10:36).

Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost (Matt. 12:31, 32; Mark 3:28, 29; Luke 12:10) is regarded by some as a continued and obstinate rejection of the gospel, and hence is an unpardonable sin, simply because as long as a sinner remains in unbelief he voluntarily excludes himself from pardon. Others regard the expression as designating the sin of attributing to the power of Satan those miracles which Christ performed, or generally those works which are the result of the Spirit’s agency.

Read the full entry

From Smith's Bible Dictionary

William Smith, 1884

in its technical English sense, signifies the speaking evil of God and in this sense it is found (Psalms 74:18; Isaiah 52:5; Romans 2:24) etc. But according to its derivation it may mean any species of calumny and abuse: see (1 Kings 21:10; Acts 18:6; Jude 1:9) etc. Blasphemy was punished by stoning, which was inflicted on the son of Shelomith. (Leviticus 24:11) On this charge both our Lord and St. Stephen were condemned to death by the Jews. The blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, (Matthew 12:32; Mark 3:28) consisted in attributing to the power of Satan those unquestionable miracles which Jesus performed by "the finger of God" and the power of the Holy Spirit. It is plainly such a state of wilful, determined opposition to God and the Holy Spirit that no efforts will avail to lead to repentance. Among the Jews it was a sin against God answering to treason in our times.

Based on Nave's Topical Bible by Orville J. Nave (1896). Dictionary entries from Easton's Bible Dictionary and Smith's Bible Dictionary. Public domain. KJV scripture text, public domain.