Friendship: General Scriptures Concerning
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Deuteronomy 13:6–9
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.
Job 6:14, 15
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,
Job 16:2, 20
“I have heard many things like these; miserable comforters are you all. / My friends are my scoffers as my eyes pour out tears to God.
Job 19:13–22
He has removed my brothers from me; my acquaintances have abandoned me. / My kinsmen have failed me, and my friends have forgotten me. / My guests and maidservants count me as a stranger; I am a foreigner in their sight.
Psalm 35:13, 14
Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting, but my prayers returned unanswered. / I paced about as for my friend or brother; I was bowed down with grief, like one mourning for his mother.
Psalm 41:9
Even my close friend whom I trusted, the one who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.
Psalm 55:12–14
For it is not an enemy who insults me; that I could endure. It is not a foe who rises against me; from him I could hide. / But it is you, a man like myself, my companion and close friend. / We shared sweet fellowship together; we walked with the crowd into the house of God.
Psalm 88:8, 18
You have removed my friends from me; You have made me repulsive to them; I am confined and cannot escape. / You have removed my beloved and my friend; darkness is my closest companion.
Proverbs 11:13
A gossip reveals a secret, but a trustworthy person keeps a confidence.
Proverbs 17:9, 17
Whoever conceals an offense promotes love, but he who brings it up separates friends. / A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
Proverbs 18:24
A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who stays closer than a brother.
Proverbs 22:24–27
Do not make friends with an angry man, and do not associate with a hot-tempered man, / or you may learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare. / Do not be one who gives pledges, who puts up security for debts.
Proverbs 25:17, 19
Seldom set foot in your neighbor’s house, lest he grow weary and hate you. / Like a broken tooth or a foot out of joint is confidence in a faithless man in time of trouble.
Proverbs 27:6, 9, 10, 14, 17, 19
The wounds of a friend are faithful, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful. / Oil and incense bring joy to the heart, and the sweetness of a friend is counsel to the soul. / Do not forsake your friend or your father’s friend, and do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity; better a neighbor nearby than a brother far away.
Ecclesiastes 4:9–12
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. / For if one falls down, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to help him up! / Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone?
Amos 3:3
Can two walk together without agreeing where to go?
2 Timothy 4:16
At my first defense, no one stood with me, but everyone deserted me. May it not be charged against them.