Envy is grief and resentment at another's good — not merely desire for what they have, but displeasure that they have it. Scripture treats envy as one of the most destructive of sins: it was envy that caused the first murder (Cain and Abel, Gen 4), that drove Joseph's brothers to sell him into slavery (Acts 7:9), and that motivated the religious leaders to hand Jesus over to Pilate (Matt 27:18). Paul lists envy among the works of the flesh (Gal 5:21) and as a mark of depraved minds given over to sin (Rom 1:29). Proverbs diagnoses it clinically: "A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot" (Prov 14:30). The antidote is contentment grounded in the sovereign goodness of God's allocation of gifts and callings.
EN'VY, n.
EN'VY, n. [Fr. envie; L. invidia, from invideo, to look at with malice; in and video, to see.]
1. Pain, uneasiness, mortification or discontent excited by the sight of another's superiority or success, accompanied with some degree of hatred or malignity, and often or usually with a desire or an effort to depreciate the person, and with pleasure in seeing him depressed.
2. Rivalry; competition. [Obsolete in this sense]
Envy is a vice; it is sin. It differs from emulation, which desires to equal or excel what another has, without wishing to deprive him of it. The envious man cannot rejoice in another's good.
• Proverbs 14:30 — "A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot."
• Matthew 27:18 — "For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up."
• Galatians 5:19–21 — Envy listed among the works of the flesh.
• James 3:16 — "Where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice."
• 1 Corinthians 13:4 — "Love does not envy or boast."
Modern culture has rehabilitated envy as a social virtue — repackaged as "righteous indignation at inequality" or fue...
Modern culture has rehabilitated envy as a social virtue — repackaged as "righteous indignation at inequality" or fuel for activism. Social media is an envy machine by design: the infinite scroll of curated success triggers precisely the invidia that Scripture warns against. More insidious is the therapeutic normalization of envy: "You're allowed to feel what you feel." While feelings of envy are understandable, the biblical response is not validation but mortification — the killing of envy through grateful acknowledgment of God's sovereign wisdom in distributing gifts and callings differently. Comparison is the thief of contentment, and contentment is a learned grace (Phil 4:11).
H7068 — qin'ah (קִנְאָה): jealousy, envy, zeal; can denote righteous divine jealousy or sinful human envy depending o...
H7068 — qin'ah (קִנְאָה): jealousy, envy, zeal; can denote righteous divine jealousy or sinful human envy depending on context.
G5355 — phthonos (φθόνος): envy; always sinful in NT; contrasted with agape (love), which "does not envy" (1 Cor 13:4).
Latin invidia → Old French envie → Middle English envie → "envy" Root: invidēre (in + vidēre) — to look upon with i...
Latin invidia → Old French envie → Middle English envie → "envy" Root: invidēre (in + vidēre) — to look upon with ill-will → also → "invidious" (hateful, likely to provoke envy) Hebrew: קִנְאָה (qin'ah, H7068) — jealousy, zeal, envy → Can be righteous (God's jealousy for his people) or sinful (human envy) → Root: קָנָא (qana) — to be zealous/jealous (both senses in OT) Greek: φθόνος (phthonos, G5355) — envy, ill-will → Distinguished from ζῆλος (zēlos) — zeal/jealousy (can be positive) → phthonos is always negative in NT usage → Matt 27:18; Rom 1:29; Gal 5:21; Phil 1:15; 1 Tim 6:4; Titus 3:3; Jas 4:5; 1 Pet 2:1