The world has a complicated relationship with humility. It gets confused with low self-esteem, with shrinking, with the kind of performative self-deprecation that is actually just another form of seeking attention from the opposite direction. Real humility looks nothing like any of that. It is the settled, secure, entirely undefensive posture of someone who does not need to prove themselves because they are not building their identity on the opinion of the room. It is the leader who listens more than they speak. The person who gives credit without needing to claim it. The one who serves without keeping score. Scripture consistently identifies this quality as the foundation of everything God does in and through a human life — and just as consistently identifies its opposite as the thing most likely to bring everything crashing down.
That’s exactly what this collection of Bible verses about humility is here to explore. You’ll find the best Scripture verses on serving others before yourself, the exaltation that follows genuine humility, learning from Jesus as the ultimate example of what lowliness in greatness looks like, and the practical daily posture of someone who is more interested in being useful than being noticed. Read them when pride is tempting and let them offer a better way. Read them when you feel overlooked and let them remind you who is keeping the real record. God has always done His most extraordinary work through the people willing to get low enough to be used — and these verses show you exactly what that looks like.
JUMP TO:
The Upside-Down Kingdom — Greatness Starts Where Most People Stop Going
- “For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” — Luke 14:11 (NIV)
- “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave — just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” — Matthew 20:26–28 (NIV)
- “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” — Matthew 5:3 (NIV)
- “The greatest among you will be your servant.” — Matthew 23:11 (NIV)
- “But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.” — Matthew 19:30 (NIV)
- “For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” — Matthew 23:12 (NIV)
- “Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, ‘Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.'” — Mark 9:35 (NIV)
- “He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble.” — Luke 1:52 (NIV)
- “He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.” — Luke 1:53 (NIV)
- “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” — Luke 18:14 (NIV)
- “For it is the one who is least among you all who is the greatest.” — Luke 9:48 (NIV)
- “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” — Matthew 20:16 (NIV)
- “He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.” — Luke 1:51 (ESV)
- “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” — Matthew 16:25 (ESV)
- “Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” — Matthew 18:4 (NIV)
- “He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them.” — Matthew 18:2 (NIV)
What Pride Costs — the Verses Nobody Wants to Read Before They Need Them
- “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” — Proverbs 16:18 (NIV)
- “Before a downfall the heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor.” — Proverbs 18:12 (NIV)
- “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.” — Proverbs 11:2 (NIV)
- “Haughty eyes and a proud heart — the unplowed field of the wicked — produce sin.” — Proverbs 21:4 (NIV)
- “The Lord detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.” — Proverbs 16:5 (NIV)
- “Pride brings a person low, but the lowly in spirit gain honor.” — Proverbs 29:23 (NIV)
- “A man’s pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.” — Proverbs 29:23 (BSB)
- “The arrogance of man will be brought low and human pride humbled; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.” — Isaiah 2:17 (NIV)
- “For you say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” — Revelation 3:17 (NIV)
- “Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.” — Proverbs 3:7 (NIV)
- “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.” — Romans 12:3 (NIV)
- “I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.” — Ecclesiastes 4:4 (NIV)
- “Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.” — Isaiah 5:21 (NIV)
- “The eyes of the arrogant will be humbled and human pride brought low; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.” — Isaiah 2:11 (NIV)
- “For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” — Matthew 23:12 (NIV)
- “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” — James 4:6 (NIV)
Jesus Humbled Himself — the Model That Changes Everything
- “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death — even death on a cross!” — Philippians 2:5–8 (NIV)
- “He made himself nothing.” — Philippians 2:7 (NIV)
- “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name.” — Philippians 2:9 (NIV)
- “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” — Matthew 11:29 (NIV)
- “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” — Mark 10:45 (NIV)
- “So he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.” — John 13:4–5 (NIV)
- “Do you understand what I have done for you? You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.” — John 13:12–14 (NIV)
- “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.” — John 13:15 (NIV)
- “He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.” — Isaiah 53:3 (NIV)
- “He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.” — Isaiah 53:7 (NIV)
- “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” — 2 Corinthians 8:9 (NIV)
- “Though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor.” — 2 Corinthians 8:9 (NIV)
- “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.” — Philippians 2:5 (NRSV)
- “He was in the form of God but did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped.” — Philippians 2:6 (ESV)
- “He humbled himself by becoming obedient to death — even death on a cross.” — Philippians 2:8 (NIV)
- “And being found in human form, he humbled himself.” — Philippians 2:8 (ESV)
- “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.” — Matthew 20:26 (NIV)
- “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” — Philippians 2:3–4 (NIV)
- “Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them — not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.” — 1 Peter 5:2–3 (NIV)
- “The greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.” — Luke 22:26 (NIV)
- “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” — John 10:11 (NIV)
- “He must become greater; I must become less.” — John 3:30 (NIV)
- “Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.” — Numbers 12:3 (NIV)
- “When you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests.” — Luke 14:10 (NIV)
- “Do not exalt yourself in the king’s presence, and do not claim a place among his great men; it is better for him to say to you, ‘Come up here,’ than for him to humiliate you before his nobles.” — Proverbs 25:6–7 (NIV)
- “Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, ‘Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.'” — Mark 9:35 (NIV)
- “Let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth; an outsider, and not your own lips.” — Proverbs 27:2 (NIV)
- “When the Lord your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you — a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide… then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the Lord.” — Deuteronomy 6:10–12 (NIV)
- “For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?” — 1 Corinthians 4:7 (NIV)
- “What do you have that you did not receive?” — 1 Corinthians 4:7 (NIV)
- “In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” — 1 Peter 5:5 (NIV)
Humility Before God — When You Realize How Big He Is
- “Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance? Who has understood the mind of the Lord, or instructed him as his counselor?” — Isaiah 40:12–13 (NIV)
- “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” — Isaiah 55:8–9 (NIV)
- “Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said: ‘Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand.'” — Job 38:1, 4 (NIV)
- “Then Job replied to the Lord: ‘I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted.'” — Job 42:1–2 (NIV)
- “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.” — Job 42:5–6 (NIV)
- “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” — Micah 6:8 (NIV)
- “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” — Proverbs 9:10 (NIV)
- “Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.” — 1 Corinthians 13:12 (NLT)
- “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” — Romans 11:33 (ESV)
- “‘For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?’ ‘Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?’ For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever.” — Romans 11:34–36 (ESV)
- “Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me.” — Jeremiah 9:23–24 (NIV)
- “Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care.” — Psalm 95:6–7 (NIV)
- “I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another.” — Isaiah 42:8 (NIV)
- “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” — Isaiah 6:3 (NIV)
- “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: ‘Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.'” — Revelation 1:17 (NIV)
- “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.” — 1 Peter 5:6 (NIV)
What Humility Actually Looks Like on a Normal Tuesday
- “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” — Ephesians 4:2 (NIV)
- “Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” — Colossians 3:12 (NIV)
- “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.” — Philippians 2:3 (NIV)
- “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another.” — Romans 13:8 (NIV)
- “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.” — Romans 12:15 (NIV)
- “Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.” — Romans 12:16 (NIV)
- “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.” — Romans 12:17 (NIV)
- “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.” — 1 Corinthians 13:4 (NIV)
- “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.” — Proverbs 11:2 (ESV)
- “A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.” — Proverbs 19:11 (NIV)
- “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.” — Proverbs 31:8 (NIV)
- “He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward him for what he has done.” — Proverbs 19:17 (NIV)
- “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself.” — Leviticus 19:18 (NIV)
- “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” — Colossians 3:12 (NIV)
- “Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.” — Romans 12:16 (ESV)
- “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” — Micah 6:8 (ESV)
The Rewards of Humility — What God Does With the Low Place
- “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” — James 4:10 (NIV)
- “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble and oppressed.” — James 4:6 (NLT)
- “For the Lord takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory.” — Psalm 149:4 (NIV)
- “He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.” — Psalm 25:9 (NIV)
- “The Lord sustains the humble but casts the wicked to the ground.” — Psalm 147:6 (NIV)
- “He mocks proud mockers but shows favor to the humble and oppressed.” — Proverbs 3:34 (NIV)
- “Humility is the fear of the Lord; its wages are riches and honor and life.” — Proverbs 22:4 (NIV)
- “For the Lord is exalted, yet he looks upon the lowly; but the proud he knows from afar.” — Psalm 138:6 (NASB)
- “This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.” — Isaiah 66:2 (NIV)
- “The humble will inherit the land and enjoy great peace.” — Psalm 37:11 (BSB)
- “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” — Matthew 5:5 (NIV)
- “Though the Lord is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly; though lofty, he sees them from afar.” — Psalm 138:6 (NIV)
- “The Lord lifts up the humble; he casts the wicked to the ground.” — Psalm 147:6 (ESV)
- “For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” — Luke 18:14 (NIV)
- “Toward the scorners he is scornful, but to the humble he gives favor.” — Proverbs 3:34 (ESV)
- “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.” — 1 Peter 5:6 (NIV)
When Life Does the Humbling — Verses for the Low Moments You Didn’t Choose
- “Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.” — Proverbs 18:12 (NIV)
- “It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.” — Psalm 119:71 (NIV)
- “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word.” — Psalm 119:67 (NIV)
- “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” — Psalm 51:17 (NIV)
- “He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.” — Deuteronomy 8:3 (NIV)
- “Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart.” — Deuteronomy 8:2 (NIV)
- “The Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” — Hebrews 12:6 (NIV)
- “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” — Hebrews 12:11 (NIV)
- “To keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh.” — 2 Corinthians 12:7 (NIV)
- “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” — 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV)
- “That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” — 2 Corinthians 12:10 (NIV)
- “When I am weak, then I am strong.” — 2 Corinthians 12:10 (NIV)
- “Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love.” — Lamentations 3:32 (NIV)
- “Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction.” — Isaiah 48:10 (ESV)
- “You let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance.” — Psalm 66:12 (NIV)
- “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” — Psalm 34:18 (ESV)
The Humble Prayers — People Who Got Low Before God and What Happened Next
- “Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven and said: ‘Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on the earth below.'” — 1 Kings 8:22–23 (NIV)
- “‘I am not worthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant.'” — Genesis 32:10 (NIV)
- “When Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.” — Daniel 6:10 (NIV)
- “Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.” — Numbers 12:3 (NIV)
- “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” — Luke 18:13 (NIV)
- “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'” — Luke 18:13 (NIV)
- “Isaiah said, ‘Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.'” — Isaiah 6:5 (NIV)
- “I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am.” — 1 Corinthians 15:9–10 (NIV)
- “By the grace of God I am what I am.” — 1 Corinthians 15:10 (NIV)
- “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.” — Matthew 8:8 (NIV)
- “‘I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant.'” — Genesis 32:10 (ESV)
- “When Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, ‘Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!'” — Luke 5:8 (NIV)
- “Mary said: ‘My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.'” — Luke 1:46–48 (NIV)
- “He has been mindful of the humble state of his servant.” — Luke 1:48 (NIV)
- “O Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof; but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.” — Matthew 8:8 (KJV)
- “Surely I am only a brute compared to other men; I do not have human understanding. I have not learned wisdom, nor have I attained to the knowledge of the Holy One.” — Proverbs 30:2–3 (NIV)
The Way Up Is Down — and It Always Has Been
- “For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” — Luke 14:11 (NIV)
- “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” — James 4:10 (NIV)
- “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.” — Philippians 2:9–10 (NIV)
- “The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.” — Proverbs 4:18 (NIV)
- “Humility is the fear of the Lord; its wages are riches and honor and life.” — Proverbs 22:4 (NIV)
- “Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, you who do what he commands. Seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the Lord’s anger.” — Zephaniah 2:3 (NIV)
- “He has told you, O man, what is good.” — Micah 6:8 (ESV)
- “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” — Matthew 5:5 (NIV)
- “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” — Ephesians 3:20–21 (NIV)
- “Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.” — Psalm 115:1 (NIV)
- “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” — 1 Corinthians 1:31 (ESV)
- “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” — Galatians 6:14 (NIV)
- “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” — 1 Corinthians 10:31 (NIV)
- “He must become greater; I must become less.” — John 3:30 (NIV)
- “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” — Psalm 23:6 (ESV)
- “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.” — Revelation 22:21 (NIV)