
Complete Bible Study Guide
What Does the Bible Say About Procrastination?
81 Scripture references with full text and commentary
Understanding Procrastination in the Bible
Explore what the Bible says about procrastination. This collection of 17 key Scripture passages reveals God's wisdom and guidance on this important theme.
Top 10 Verses About Procrastination
- 1Genesis 19:16
“And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.”
KJV - 2Exodus 8:10
“And he said, To morrow. And he said, Be it according to thy word: that thou mayest know that there is none like unto the LORD our God. To morrow: or, Against to morrow”
KJV - 3Exodus 22:29
“Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me. the first: Heb. thy fulness liquors: Heb. tear”
KJV - 4Deuteronomy 23:21
“When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee.”
KJV - 5Esther 5:8
“If I have found favour in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my petition, and to perform my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I shall prepare for them, and I will do to morrow as the king hath said. perform: Heb. do”
KJV - 6Psalms 27:8
“When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek. When: or, My heart said unto thee, Let my face seek thy face, etc”
KJV - 7Psalms 95:7
“For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice,”
KJV - 8Psalms 95:8
“Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness: provocation: Heb. contention”
KJV - 9
- 10Proverbs 12:24
“The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute. slothful: or, deceitful”
KJV
Subtopics of Procrastination
Old Testament: What Does the Bible Say About Procrastination? (26 Verses)
“And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth, and set him without the city.”
“And he said, To morrow. And he said, Be it according to thy word: that thou mayest know that there is none like unto the LORD our God. To morrow: or, Against to morrow”
“Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto me. the first: Heb. thy fulness liquors: Heb. tear”
“When thou shalt vow a vow unto the LORD thy God, thou shalt not slack to pay it: for the LORD thy God will surely require it of thee; and it would be sin in thee.”
“If I have found favour in the sight of the king, and if it please the king to grant my petition, and to perform my request, let the king and Haman come to the banquet that I shall prepare for them, and I will do to morrow as the king hath said. perform: Heb. do”
“When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek. When: or, My heart said unto thee, Let my face seek thy face, etc”
“For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice,”
“Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness: provocation: Heb. contention”
“I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy commandments.”
“The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute. slothful: or, deceitful”
“Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad.”
“The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.”
“In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury.”
“The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing. cold: or, winter”
“Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. to: Heb. to morrow day”
“When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.”
“Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.”
“He that observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.”
“Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;”
“Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near:”
“Give glory to the LORD your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness.”
“Then said he unto me, Son of man, these are the men that devise mischief, and give wicked counsel in this city:”
“Which say, It is not near; let us build houses: this city is the caldron, and we be the flesh. It is: or, It is not for us to build houses near”
“Son of man, what is that proverb that ye have in the land of Israel, saying, The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth?”
“Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, The vision that he seeth is for many days to come, and he prophesieth of the times that are far off.”
“Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; There shall none of my words be prolonged any more, but the word which I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord GOD.”
New Testament: What Does the Bible Say About Procrastination? (55 Verses)
“Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.”
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
“And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.”
“But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;”
“And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;”
“The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,”
“And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. cut: or, cut him off”
“And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.”
“They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:”
“But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.”
“While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.”
“And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.”
“Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.”
“And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. gone out: or, going out”
“But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.”
“And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.”
“Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.”
“But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.”
“Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.”
“And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.”
“Jesus said unto him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God.”
“And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee; but let me first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house.”
“And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back , is fit for the kingdom of God.”
“Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning;”
“Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.”
“When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:”
“I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.”
“And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance , and judgment to come , Felix trembled , and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.”
“(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)”
“See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,”
“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
“For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.”
“For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child ; and they shall not escape.”
“Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice,”
“Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:”
“When your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.”
“Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.”
“So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.) They: Gr. If they shall enter”
“Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.”
“But exhort one another daily , while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”
“For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;”
“While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.”
“For some, when they had heard, did provoke: howbeit not all that came out of Egypt by Moses.”
“But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?”
“And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?”
“So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.”
“Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.”
“For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. the word: Gr. the word of hearing not being: or, because they were not united by faith to”
“For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.”
“For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works.”
“And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.”
“Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein , and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief: it was: or, the gospel was”
“Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.”
“Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby .”
“Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”
How to Study What the Bible Says About Procrastination
- 1
Begin by reading through every verse listed on this page, noting which ones speak most directly to your current season of life. Write them down and revisit them throughout the week.
- 2
Use a concordance or the search tools on this site to find additional passages about procrastination. Look for patterns across both the Old and New Testaments to gain a complete picture of what God reveals on this subject.
- 3
Study the context of each verse. Read the surrounding chapter to understand who was speaking, who the audience was, and what circumstances prompted the passage. Context prevents misapplication.
- 4
Memorise at least one key verse about procrastination and meditate on it daily. Scripture memory transforms thinking and equips you to apply God's Word in real-time situations.
Practical Application
Studying what the Bible says about procrastination is only the beginning. Scripture is meant to be lived out in daily obedience and faith. Here are practical steps to apply these truths:
Identify one area of your life where the biblical teaching on procrastination needs to be applied more consistently. Write a specific, actionable step you can take this week.
Share what you have learned about procrastination with a fellow believer or in a small group setting. Teaching others solidifies your own understanding and encourages mutual growth.
Pray through the key verses about procrastination, asking God to reveal how His Word applies to your relationships, decisions, and daily habits.
How Well Do You Know What the Bible Says About Procrastination?
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Topics Included
This page consolidates Bible verses from 2 related topics: