Bible Verses About Pleasure

The following Bible verses provide a biblical concept of pleasure. Feel free to use the list for a Bible study or group discussion material. Please keep in mind that these verses are taken out of the original context. In order to gain a better understanding of the meaning it's important to study each passage thoroughly. A careful systematic study ensures accurate interpretation of the biblical text.

Psalm 5:4
You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil; with you the wicked cannot dwell.

Psalm 16:11
You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Psalm 51:15-17
O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Psalm 147:10-11
His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of a man; the LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.

Proverbs 10:23
A fool finds pleasure in evil conduct, but a man of understanding delights in wisdom.

Proverbs 16:13
Kings take pleasure in honest lips; they value a man who speaks the truth.

Proverbs 18:2
A fool finds no pleasure in understanding but delights in airing his own opinions.

Proverbs 21:17
He who loves pleasure will become poor; whoever loves wine and oil will never be rich.

Ecclesiastes 2:1
I thought in my heart, "Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good." But that also proved to be meaningless.

Ecclesiastes 2:2
"Laughter," I said, "is foolish. And what does pleasure accomplish?"

Ecclesiastes 2:10
I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor.

Ecclesiastes 5:4
When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow.

Ecclesiastes 7:4
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.

Ecclesiastes 12:1
Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, "I find no pleasure in them"-

Isaiah 1:11
"The multitude of your sacrifices- what are they to me?" says the LORD. "I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.

Isaiah 9:17
Therefore the Lord will take no pleasure in the young men, nor will he pity the fatherless and widows, for everyone is ungodly and wicked, every mouth speaks vileness. Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.

Jeremiah 6:10
To whom can I speak and give warning? Who will listen to me? Their ears are closed so they cannot hear. The word of the LORD is offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it.

Ezekiel 18:32
For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live!

Ezekiel 33:11
Say to them, 'As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, O house of Israel?'

Daniel 4:2
It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me.

Malachi 2:13
Another thing you do: You flood the LORD's altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer pays attention to your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands.

Matthew 11:25-26
At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.

Luke 8:14
The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.

Ephesians 1:5
he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will-

Ephesians 1:9
And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ,

1 Timothy 5:6
But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives.

2 Timothy 3:1-5
But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God- having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.

Titus 3:3
At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.

Hebrews 11:24-26
By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.

James 4:3
When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

2 Peter 2:13
They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you.

Source: Holy Bible, New International Version