26 Bible Verses about Modesty

The Bible teaches that modesty is important for both men and women. In 1 Timothy 2:9-10, Paul says, "I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God." He goes on to say in verse 11 that a woman's adornment should be "not with outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes."

The problem with immodesty is that it can be a distraction to both men and women. It can cause us to focus on the wrong things, and it can cause us to objectify each other. When we dress modestly, we are more likely to be seen as people, and not as objects.

The Bible also teaches us to be modest in our speech. In Ephesians 4:29, Paul says, "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." We should avoid using words that are hurtful or that would cause others to stumble.

Finally, the Bible teaches us to be modest in our behavior. In 1 Peter 4:3, Peter says, "For you have spent enough time in the past doing what the Gentiles like to do--living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry." We are called to live holy lives, set apart from the world. This means that our behavior should be different from those who do not know God.

Modesty is important because it allows us to focus on the things that are truly important, and it helps us to treat each other with respect. Being modest in our dress, speech, and behavior, focuses our attention on honoring God instead of seeking the approval of others. 

The following Bible verses about modesty give additional instructions on how to resist the world's pull toward a more lavish lifestyle.

Bible Verses about Dressing Modestly

1 Timothy 2:9-10

Likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works.

1 Peter 3:3-4

Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious.

Jeremiah 4:30

And you, O desolate one, what do you mean that you dress in scarlet, that you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold, that you enlarge your eyes with paint? In vain you beautify yourself. 

Psalm 119:37

Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways.

Proverbs 11:22

Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman without discretion.

Proverbs 31:25

Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.

Proverbs 31:30 

Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

Bible Verses about Modest Speech

Ephesians 4:29

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

1 Timothy 4:12

Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.

Bible Verses about Modest Behavior

1 Corinthians 10:31 

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

1 Peter 5:5-6

Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you.

Titus 2:3-5

Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.

1 Thessalonians 4:2-8

For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.

1 Timothy 3:2

Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach.

Proverbs 31:3-5

Do not give your strength to women, your ways to those who destroy kings. It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to take strong drink, lest they drink and forget what has been decreed and pervert the rights of all the afflicted.

1 Corinthians 6:20

For you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

Resist the Passions of the Flesh

Romans 13:14

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

1 Peter 2:11

Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.

Galatians 5:13

For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

1 John 2:16

For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world.

Titus 2:11-12

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

Do Not Conform to the World

Romans 12:1-2

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Leviticus 18:1-3 

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, I am the Lord your God. You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes. You shall follow my rules and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the Lord your God.”

Practice Humility

Romans 12:3

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

James 4:6

But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”