Distasteful Bible Verses
Cringe-worthy Verses
I gathered a list a few years ago, now decided to make it public on Medium for both educational purpose and would hopefully serve as a mini-reference guide on the World Wide Web. This post is in regards to Bible verses that will make you physically cringe. They are taken from both Old Testament and the New Testament. I will only be use King James Version (KJV) for this, as I find it being reliable to a certain extent — besides New International Version.
I have also noticed, that some Christians do not even know these verses and pronouncements exists in the Bible. Well, to be fair, some Christians do not even read the Bible but will defend it in a snap (as per my observation). Also, some do not even know that the Old Testament was written in Hebrew whilst the New Testament was written in Greek. Yeah, you would think.
Let’s get started, shall we…
Eating Pork & Shrimp — Leviticus 11 : 7 & 8 KJV
7. And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you.
8. Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you.
Rounded Haircuts — Leviticus 19 : 27 KJV
27. Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard.
Gossips — Leviticus 19 : 16 KJV
16. Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbour; I am the Lord.
Tattoos — Leviticus 19 : 28 KJV
28. Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the Lord.
Women Speaking In Church — 1 Corinthians 14 : 34–35 KJV
34. Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law.
35. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.
Wifes Helping Husbands In A Brawl — Deuteronomy 25 : 11–12 KJV
11. When men strive together one with another, and the wife of the one draweth near for to deliver her husband out of the hand of him that smiteth him, and putteth forth her hand, and taketh him by the secrets:
12. Then thou shalt cut off her hand, thine eye shall not pity her.
Sex Before Marriage — Deuteronomy 22 : 20–21 KJV
20. But if this thing be true, and the tokens of virginity be not found for the damsel:
21. Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die: because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the whore in her father’s house: so shalt thou put evil away from among you.
Working On A Sabbath — Exodus 31 : 14–15 KJV
14. Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
15. Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.
Children Cursing At Parents — Exodus 21 : 17 KJV
17. And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death.
Men With Cut Off Private Part — Deuteronomy 23 : 1 KJV
1. He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut off, shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord.
God Hates Human Kind / People — Psalm 7 : 11 KJV
11. God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.
— Romans 3 : 11–18 KJV
10. As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
11. There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
12. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
13. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:
14. Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:
15. Their feet are swift to shed blood:
16. Destruction and misery are in their ways:
17. And the way of peace have they not known:
18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.
— Psalm 5 : 5 KJV
5. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.
— Psalm 11 : 5 KJV
5. The Lord trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.
— Hosea 9 : 15 KJV
15. All their wickedness is in Gilgal: for there I hated them: for the wickedness of their doings I will drive them out of mine house, I will love them no more: all their princes are revolters.
Kill? Really? — Deuteronomy 13 : 6–9 KJV
6. If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers;
7. Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth;
8. Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him:
9. But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.
Public, Secret & Repetitive Prayers — Matthew 6 : 4–7 KJV
4. That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
5. And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
6. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
7. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
Dildo. Yes. DILDO! — Ezekiel 16 : 17 KJV
17. Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them
Lack of Knowledge — Hosea 4 : 6 KJV
6. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
Hate thy Family — Luke 14 : 25, 26 KJV
25. And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them,
26. If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
“he mercy on whom he will have mercy” — Romans 9 : 15–18 KJV
15. For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
16. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
17. For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
18. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
God created Evil — Isaiah 45 : 7 KJV
7. I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.
“i will love them no more”… Why so EMO?— Hosea 9 : 15 KJV
15. All their wickedness is in Gilgal: for there I hated them: for the wickedness of their doings I will drive them out of mine house, I will love them no more: all their princes are revolters.
“God is angry with the wicked” — Psalm 7 : 11 KJV
11. God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.
Stubborn & rebellious son — Deuteronomy 21 : 18–21 KJV
18. If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them:
19. Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place;
20. And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.
21. And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.
Women, hush-hush now — 1 Timothy 2 : 11–14 KJV
11. Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection.
12. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.
13. For Adam was first formed, then Eve.
14. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.
Anti-Humanist? — Hebrews 11 : 6 KJV
6. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
— Romans 3 : 23 KJV
23. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
— Acts 5 : 29 KJV
29. Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
— 1 Corinthians 6 : 9–11 KJV
9. Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
Sexist or Misogynistic? — 1 Corinthians 11 : 3 KJV
3. But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
— Genesis 3 : 16 KJV
16. Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
— Ephesians 5 : 22–25 KJV
22. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
23. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
24. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
25. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
— Colossians 3 : 18 KJV
18. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.
— Titus 2 : 3–5 KJV
3. The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;
4. That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,
5. To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.
Homophobia — Jude 1 : 7 KJV
7. Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
— Leviticus 18 : 22 KJV
22. Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.
Women wearing Men’s Pants? — Deuteronomy 22 : 5 KJV
5. The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God.
Slavery. Earth Master. Plus a Heaven Master? — Deuteronomy 15 : 12–15 KJV
12. And if thy brother, an Hebrew man, or an Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee.
13. And when thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not let him go away empty:
14. Thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy winepress: of that wherewith the Lord thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto him.
15. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing to day.
— Ephesians 6 : 9 KJV
9. And, ye masters, do the same things unto them, forbearing threatening: knowing that your Master also is in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him.
— Colossians 4 : 1 KJV
4. Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that ye also have a Master in heaven.
— Luke 12 : 47 KJV
47. And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
Rape & Violents — Numbers 31 : 6–7 KJV
6. And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand of every tribe, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the holy instruments, and the trumpets to blow in his hand.
7. And they warred against the Midianites, as the Lord commanded Moses; and they slew all the males.
— Judges 21 : 10–24 KJV
10. And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of the valiantest, and commanded them, saying, Go and smite the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the children.
11. And this is the thing that ye shall do, Ye shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain by man.
12. And they found among the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead four hundred young virgins, that had known no man by lying with any male: and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.
13. And the whole congregation sent some to speak to the children of Benjamin that were in the rock Rimmon, and to call peaceably unto them.
14. And Benjamin came again at that time; and they gave them wives which they had saved alive of the women of Jabeshgilead: and yet so they sufficed them not.
15. And the people repented them for Benjamin, because that the Lord had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.
16. Then the elders of the congregation said, How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?
17. And they said, There must be an inheritance for them that be escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe be not destroyed out of Israel.
18. Howbeit we may not give them wives of our daughters: for the children of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed be he that giveth a wife to Benjamin.
19. Then they said, Behold, there is a feast of the Lord in Shiloh yearly in a place which is on the north side of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.
20. Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards;
21. And see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances, then come ye out of the vineyards, and catch you every man his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.
22. And it shall be, when their fathers or their brethren come unto us to complain, that we will say unto them, Be favourable unto them for our sakes: because we reserved not to each man his wife in the war: for ye did not give unto them at this time, that ye should be guilty.
23. And the children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they caught: and they went and returned unto their inheritance, and repaired the cities, and dwelt in them.
24. And the children of Israel departed thence at that time, every man to his tribe and to his family, and they went out from thence every man to his inheritance.
— Deuteronomy 22 : 23–24 KJV
23. If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto an husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her;
24. Then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die; the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city; and the man, because he hath humbled his neighbour’s wife: so thou shalt put away evil from among you.
— 2 Samuel 12 : 11–14 KJV
11. Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.
12. For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.
13. And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.
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.
— Deuteronomy 21 : 10–14 KJV
10. When thou goest forth to war against thine enemies, and the Lord thy God hath delivered them into thine hands, and thou hast taken them captive,
11. And seest among the captives a beautiful woman, and hast a desire unto her, that thou wouldest have her to thy wife;
12. Then thou shalt bring her home to thine house, and she shall shave her head, and pare her nails;
13. And she shall put the raiment of her captivity from off her, and shall remain in thine house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month: and after that thou shalt go in unto her, and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife.
14. And it shall be, if thou have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go whither she will; but thou shalt not sell her at all for money, thou shalt not make merchandise of her, because thou hast humbled her.
— Exodus 21 : 7–11 KJV
7. And if a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the menservants do.
8. If she please not her master, who hath betrothed her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed: to sell her unto a strange nation he shall have no power, seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.
9. And if he have betrothed her unto his son, he shall deal with her after the manner of daughters.
10. If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish.
11. And if he do not these three unto her, then shall she go out free without money.
Why so much hate? — Leviticus 26 : 27–30 KJV
27. And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me;
28. Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.
29. And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat.
30. And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.
Are you kidding me, God? — Ezekiel 4 : 12–15 KJV
12. And thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it with dung that cometh out of man, in their sight.
13. And the Lord said, Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread among the Gentiles, whither I will drive them.
14. Then said I, Ah Lord God! behold, my soul hath not been polluted: for from my youth up even till now have I not eaten of that which dieth of itself, or is torn in pieces; neither came there abominable flesh into my mouth.
15. Then he said unto me, Lo, I have given thee cow’s dung for man’s dung, and thou shalt prepare thy bread therewith.
Kill? Again? When will this stop? — Zechariah 13 : 3 KJV
3. And it shall come to pass, that when any shall yet prophesy, then his father and his mother that begat him shall say unto him, Thou shalt not live; for thou speakest lies in the name of the Lord: and his father and his mother that begat him shall thrust him through when he prophesieth.
Slave, submit to your owner(s)! — Genesis 16 : 1–9 KJV
1. Now Sarai Abram’s wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.
2 And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.
3. And Sarai Abram’s wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.
4. And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.
5. And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the Lord judge between me and thee.
6. But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thine hand; do to her as it pleaseth thee. And when Sarai dealt hardly with her, she fled from her face.
7. And the angel of the Lord found her by a fountain of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to Shur.
8. And he said, Hagar, Sarai’s maid, whence camest thou? and whither wilt thou go? And she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai.
9. And the angel of the Lord said unto her, Return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands.
Submit, yet again? Really? No break? — 1 Peter 2 : 18 KJV
18. Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward.
Large dick/penis & cum. How arousing… — Ezekiel 23 : 20 KJV
20. For she doted upon their paramours, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses.
So, Wine is okay? Scotch Whisky too? — 1 Timothy 5 : 23 KJV
23. Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities.
No ‘touchy-touchy’ — 1 Corinthians 7:1 KJV
1. Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman.
What? Science? Huh? — 1 Timothy 6 : 20, 21 KJV
20. O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:
21. Which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen.
The unmarried should never marry? — 1 Corinthians 7 : 27 KJV
27. Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife.
Look... A murderer! — Romans 8 : 32 KJV
32. He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
Wait... “Unicorns”? Seriously? — Isaiah 34 : 7 KJV
7. And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness.
Of all the Bible verses listed above, the one verse that I utmost dislike has got to be 1 Timothy 2 : 11–14, which degrades Women and discourages them. This is disgraceful and if I was ever given the opportunity to remove one verse from the Bible, this will definitely be it.
To be fair, it does not end here. Believe me. There are many other discrepancies and ‘odd’ verses and phrasings in the Bible. Sadly, when one translate Ancient Hebrew or Greek to English, it leaves room for distortion.
Feel free to share a verse or two that you think should be floating on this list.
Disclosure: I was born into a Christian family. A Bible-thumping, evangelical, born-again, Bible-believer until I gave up my faith around a decade ago.
