62 Bible Verses about Complaints

Do all things without protests and arguments;

But I will not say anything about my needs, for I am able, wherever I am, to be dependent on myself.

In everything give praise: for this is the purpose of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Now the people were saying evil against the Lord; and the Lord, hearing it, was angry and sent fire on them, burning the outer parts of the tent-circle.

Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, How long am I to put up with this evil people and their outcries against me? The words which they say against me have come to my ears.

And Moses said, The Lord will give you meat for your food at evening, and in the morning bread in full measure; for your outcry against the Lord has come to his ears: for what are we? your outcry is not against us but against the Lord.

And crying out against God and against Moses, they said, Why have you taken us out of Egypt to come to our death in the waste land? For there is no bread and no water, and this poor bread is disgusting to us.

And do not say evil things against the Lord, as some of them did, and destruction overtook them. Now these things were done as an example; and were put down in writing for our teaching, on whom the last days have come.

And Moses said to the Lord, Why have you done me this evil? and why have I not grace in your eyes, that you have put on me the care of all this people? Am I the father of all this people? have I given them birth, that you say to me, Take them in your arms, like a child at the breast, to the land which you gave by an oath to their fathers? Where am I to get flesh to give to all this people? For they are weeping to me and saying, Give us flesh for our food.read more.
I am not able by myself to take the weight of all this people, for it is more than my strength. If this is to be my fate, put me to death now in answer to my prayer, if I have grace in your eyes; and let me not see my shame.

While he himself went a day's journey into the waste land, and took a seat under a broom-plant, desiring for himself only death; for he said, It is enough: now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.

My soul is tired of life; I will let my sad thoughts go free in words; my soul will make a bitter outcry. I will say to God, Do not put me down as a sinner; make clear to me what you have against me.

So I will not keep my mouth shut; I will let the words come from it in the pain of my spirit, my soul will make a bitter outcry. Am I a sea, or a sea-beast, that you put a watch over me? When I say, In my bed I will have comfort, there I will get rest from my disease;read more.
Then you send dreams to me, and visions of fear; So that a hard death seems better to my soul than my pains. I have no desire for life, I would not be living for ever! Keep away from me, for my days are as a breath. What is man, that you have made him great, and that your attention is fixed on him, And that your hand is on him every morning, and that you are testing him every minute? How long will it be before your eyes are turned away from me, so that I may have a minute's breathing-space? If I have done wrong, what have I done to you, O keeper of men? why have you made me a mark for your blows, so that I am a weariness to myself? And why do you not take away my sin, and let my wrongdoing be ended? for now I go down to the dust, and you will be searching for me with care, but I will be gone.

If I say, I will put my grief out of mind, I will let my face be sad no longer and I will be bright; I go in fear of all my pains; I am certain that I will not be free from sin in your eyes.

As for me, is my outcry against man? is it then to be wondered at if my spirit is troubled?

Even today my outcry is bitter; his hand is hard on my sorrow.

Why do you put forward your cause against him, saying, He gives no answer to any of my words?

O God, let the voice of my grief come to your ear: keep my life from the fear of those who are against me.

As for me, I have made my heart clean to no purpose, washing my hands in righteousness; For I have been troubled all the day; every morning have I undergone punishment. If I would make clear what it is like, I would say, You are false to the generation of your children.read more.
When my thoughts were turned to see the reason of this, it was a weariness in my eyes; Till I went into God's holy place, and saw the end of the evil-doers. You put their feet where there was danger of slipping, so that they go down into destruction. How suddenly are they wasted! fears are the cause of their destruction. As a dream when one is awake, they are ended; they are like an image gone out of mind when sleep is over. My heart was made bitter, and I was pained by the bite of grief:

I put all my sorrows before him; and made clear to him all my trouble.

You are in the right, O Lord, when I put my cause before you: still let me take up with you the question of your decisions: why does the evil-doer do well? why are the workers of deceit living in comfort? They have been planted by you, they have taken root; they go on and give fruit: you are near in their mouths but far from their thoughts. But you, O Lord, have knowledge of me; you see me, searching and testing how my heart is with you: let them be pulled out like sheep to be put to death, make them ready for the day of death.read more.
How long will the land have grief, and the plants of all the land be dry? because of the sins of the people living in it, destruction has overtaken the beasts and the birds; because they said, God does not see our ways.

But this seemed very wrong to Jonah, and he was angry. And he made prayer to the Lord and said, O Lord, is this not what I said when I was still in my country? This is why I took care to go in flight to Tarshish: for I was certain that you were a loving God, full of pity, slow to be angry and great in mercy, and ready to be turned from your purpose of evil. So now, O Lord, give ear to my prayer and take my life from me; for death is better for me than life.

And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to his disciples, Why does your Master take food with tax-farmers and sinners?

And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was taking food with the tax-farmers and sinners, said to his disciples, Why does he take food and drink with such men?

And the Pharisees and their scribes made protests against his disciples, saying, Why do you take food and drink with tax-farmers and sinners?

But the Pharisees, when they saw it, said to him, See, your disciples do that which it is not right to do on the Sabbath.

And the Pharisees said to him, Why are they doing what it is not right to do on the Sabbath?

But some of the Pharisees said, Why do you do what it is not right to do on the Sabbath?

Why do your disciples go against the teaching of the fathers? for they take food with unwashed hands.

And the Pharisees and the scribes put the question to him, Why do your disciples not keep the rules of the fathers, but take their bread with unwashed hands?

Why does this man say such things? he has no respect for God: from whom does forgiveness come but from God only?

And some of the scribes said among themselves, This man has no respect for God.

And the Pharisees and scribes were angry, saying, This man gives approval to sinners, and takes food with them.

Now the Jews said bitter things about Jesus because of his words, I am the bread which came down from heaven. And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we have seen? How is it then that he now says, I have come down from heaven? Jesus made answer and said, Do not say things against me, one to another.

Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was increasing, protests were made by the Greek Jews against the Hebrews, because their widows were not taken care of in the distribution of food every day.

And the people were in great need of water; and they made an outcry against Moses, and said, Why have you taken us out of Egypt to send death on us and our children and our cattle through need of water?

And they said to Moses, Was there no resting-place for the dead in Egypt, that you have taken us away to come to our death in the waste land? why have you taken us out of Egypt? Did we not say to you in Egypt, Let us be as we are, working for the Egyptians? for it is better to be the servants of the Egyptians than to come to our death in the waste land.

And the people, crying out against Moses, said, What are we to have for drink?

And all the children of Israel were crying out against Moses and Aaron in the waste land: And the children of Israel said to them, It would have been better for the Lord to have put us to death in the land of Egypt, where we were seated by the flesh-pots and had bread enough for our needs; for you have taken us out to this waste of sand, to put all this people to death through need of food.

But when Paul was about to say something, Gallio said to the Jews, If this was anything to do with wrongdoing or crime, there would be a reason for me to give you a hearing: But if it is a question of words or names or of your law, see to it yourselves; I will not be a judge of such things.

And all the children of Israel were crying out against Moses and Aaron in the waste land:

And you made an angry outcry in your tents, and said, In his hate for us the Lord has taken us out of the land of Egypt, to give us up into the hands of the Amorites for our destruction.

And when their fathers or their brothers come and make trouble, you are to say to them, Give them to us as an act of grace; for we did not take them as wives for ourselves in war; and if you yourselves had given them to us you would have been responsible for the broken oath.

Do not take your servant to be a good-for-nothing woman: for my words have come from my stored-up sorrow and pain.

So I will not keep my mouth shut; I will let the words come from it in the pain of my spirit, my soul will make a bitter outcry. Am I a sea, or a sea-beast, that you put a watch over me? When I say, In my bed I will have comfort, there I will get rest from my disease;

If I say, I will put my grief out of mind, I will let my face be sad no longer and I will be bright;

My soul is tired of life; I will let my sad thoughts go free in words; my soul will make a bitter outcry.

Give thought to me, and let my prayer be answered: I have been made low in sorrow;

I will keep God in memory, with sounds of grief; my thoughts are troubled, and my spirit is overcome. (Selah.)

Give ear to my prayer, O Lord, and let my cry come to you.

What protest may a living man make, even a man about the punishment of his sin?

But Martha had her hands full of the work of the house, and she came to him and said, Lord, is it nothing to you that my sister has let me do all the work? Say to her that she is to give me some help.

And when they saw it, they were all angry, saying, He has gone into the house of a sinner.

These are the men who make trouble, ever desiring change, going after evil pleasures, using high-sounding words, respecting men's position in the hope of reward.

Then the people came to Moses and said, We have done wrong in crying out against the Lord and against you: make prayer to the Lord to take away the snakes from us. So Moses made prayer for the people.

And Moses said to the Lord, Then it will come to the ears of the Egyptians; for by your power you took this people out from among them; And they will give the news to the people of this land: they have had word that you, Lord, are present with this people, letting yourself be seen face to face, and that your cloud is resting over them, and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. Now if you put to death all this people as one man, then the nations who have had word of your glory will say,read more.
Because the Lord was not able to take this people into the land which he made an oath to give them, he sent destruction on them in the waste land. So now, may my prayer come before you, and let the power of the Lord be great, as you said: The Lord is slow to wrath and great in mercy, overlooking wrongdoing and evil, and will not let wrongdoers go free; sending punishment on children for the sins of their fathers, to the third and fourth generation. May the sin of this people have forgiveness, in the measure of your great mercy, as you have had mercy on them from Egypt up till now. And the Lord said, I have had mercy, as you say: But truly, as I am living, and as all the earth will be full of the glory of the Lord; Because all these men, having seen my glory and the signs which I have done in Egypt and in the waste land, still have put me to the test ten times, and have not given ear to my voice; They will not see the land about which I made an oath to their fathers; not one of these by whom I have not been honoured will see it. But my servant Caleb, because he had a different spirit in him, and has been true to me with all his heart, him I will take into that land into which he went, and his seed will have it for their heritage. Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites are in the valley; tomorrow, turning round, go into the waste land by the way to the Red Sea. Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, How long am I to put up with this evil people and their outcries against me? The words which they say against me have come to my ears. Say to them, By my life, says the Lord, as certainly as your words have come to my ears, so certainly will I do this to you: Your dead bodies will be stretched out in this waste land; and of all your number, all those of twenty years old and over who have been crying out against me, Not one will come into the land which I gave my word you would have for your resting-place, but only Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, the son of Nun. And your little ones, whom you said would come into strange hands, I will take in, and they will see the land which you would not have. But as for you, your dead bodies will be stretched in this waste land. And your children will be wanderers in the waste land for forty years, undergoing punishment for your false ways, till your bodies become dust in the waste land. And as you went through the land viewing it for forty days, so for forty years, a year for every day, you will undergo punishment for your wrongdoing, and you will see that I am against you. I the Lord have said it, and this I will certainly do to all this evil people who have come together against me: in this waste land destruction will come on them, and death will be their fate. And the men whom Moses sent to see the land, and who, by the bad account they gave of the land, were the cause of the outcry the people made against Moses, Those same men who said evil of the land, came to their death by disease before the Lord. But Joshua, the son of Nun, and Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, of those who went to see the land, were not touched by disease. And when Moses put these words before the children of Israel, the people were full of grief.

But on the day after, all the children of Israel made an outcry against Moses and against Aaron, saying, You have put to death the Lord's people. Now when the people had come together against Moses and Aaron, looking in the direction of the Tent of meeting, they saw the cloud covering it, and the glory of the Lord came before their eyes. Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the Tent of meeting.read more.
And the Lord said to Moses, Come out from among this people, so that I may send sudden destruction on them. And they went down on their faces. And Moses said to Aaron, Take your vessel and put in it fire from the altar, and sweet spices, and take it quickly into the meeting of the people, and make them free from sin: for wrath has gone out from the Lord, and the disease is starting. And at the words of Moses, Aaron took his vessel, and went running among the people; and even then the disease had made a start among them; and he put spices in his vessel to take away the sin of the people. And he took his place between the dead and the living: and the disease was stopped. Now fourteen thousand, seven hundred deaths were caused by that disease, in addition to those who came to their end because of what Korah had done. Then Aaron went back to Moses to the door of the Tent of meeting: and the disease came to a stop.

And when they came to Marah, the water was no good for drinking, for the waters of Marah were bitter, which is why it was named Marah. And the people, crying out against Moses, said, What are we to have for drink? And in answer to his prayer, the Lord made him see a tree, and when he put it into the water, the water was made sweet. There he gave them a law and an order, testing them;

In the first month all the children of Israel came into the waste land of Zin, and put up their tents in Kadesh; there death came to Miriam, and they put her body to rest in the earth. And there was no water for the people: and they came together against Moses and against Aaron. And the people were angry with Moses and said, If only death had overtaken us when our brothers came to their death before the Lord!read more.
Why have you taken the Lord's people into this waste, for death to come to us and to our cattle there? Why have you made us come out of Egypt into this evil place? This is no place of seed or figs or vines or other fruits, and there is no water for drinking. Then Moses and Aaron went away from the people to the door of the Tent of meeting; and, falling on their faces there, they saw the glory of the Lord. And the Lord said to Moses, Take the rod, you and Aaron, your brother, and make all the people come together, and before their eyes give orders to the rock to give out its water; and so make water come out of the rock for them, and give the people and their cattle drink. And Moses took the rod from before the Lord as he gave him orders. Then Moses and Aaron made the people come together in front of the rock, and he said to them, Give ear now, you people whose hearts are turned from the Lord; are we to get water for you out of the rock? And lifting up his hand, Moses gave the rock two blows with his rod: and water came streaming out, and the people and their cattle had drink enough. Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, Because you had not enough faith in me to keep my name holy before the children of Israel, you will not take this people into the land which I have given them. These are the waters of Meribah; because the children of Israel went against the Lord, and they saw that he was holy among them.

So the people were angry with Moses, and said, Give us water for drinking. And Moses said, Why are you angry with me? and why do you put God to the test? And the people were in great need of water; and they made an outcry against Moses, and said, Why have you taken us out of Egypt to send death on us and our children and our cattle through need of water? And Moses, crying out to the Lord, said, What am I to do to this people? they are almost ready to put me to death by stoning.read more.
And the Lord said to Moses, Go on before the people, and take some of the chiefs of Israel with you, and take in your hand the rod which was stretched out over the Nile, and go. See, I will take my place before you on the rock in Horeb; and when you give the rock a blow, water will come out of it, and the people will have drink. And Moses did so before the eyes of the chiefs of Israel. And he gave that place the name Massah and Meribah, because the children of Israel were angry, and because they put the Lord to the test, saying, Is the Lord with us or not?

Then all the people gave load cries of grief, and all that night they gave themselves up to weeping. And all the children of Israel, crying out against Moses and Aaron, said, If only we had come to our death in the land of Egypt, or even in this waste land! Why is the Lord taking us into this land to come to our death by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will get into strange hands: would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?read more.
And they said to one another, Let us make a captain over us, and go back to Egypt. Then Moses and Aaron went down on their faces before the meeting of the people.

And Moses said to the Lord, Why have you done me this evil? and why have I not grace in your eyes, that you have put on me the care of all this people? Am I the father of all this people? have I given them birth, that you say to me, Take them in your arms, like a child at the breast, to the land which you gave by an oath to their fathers? Where am I to get flesh to give to all this people? For they are weeping to me and saying, Give us flesh for our food.read more.
I am not able by myself to take the weight of all this people, for it is more than my strength. If this is to be my fate, put me to death now in answer to my prayer, if I have grace in your eyes; and let me not see my shame. And the Lord said to Moses, Send for seventy of the responsible men of Israel, who are in your opinion men of weight and authority over the people; make them come to the Tent of meeting and be there with you. And I will come down and have talk with you there: and I will take some of the spirit which is on you and put it on them, and they will take part of the weight of the people off you, so that you do not have to take it by yourself. And say to the people, Make yourselves clean before tomorrow and you will have flesh for your food: for in the ears of the Lord you have been weeping and saying, Who will give us flesh for food? for we were well off in Egypt: and so the Lord will give you flesh, and it will be your food; Not for one day only, or even for five or ten or twenty days; But every day for a month, till you are tired of it, turning from it in disgust: because you have gone against the Lord who is with you, and have been weeping before him saying, Why did we come out of Egypt? Then Moses said, The people, among whom I am, are six hundred thousand men on foot; and you have said, I will give them flesh to be their food for a month. Are flocks and herds to be put to death for them? or are all the fish in the sea to be got together so that they may be full? And the Lord said to Moses, Has the Lord's hand become short? Now you will see if my word comes true for you or not. And Moses went out and gave the people the words of the Lord: and he took seventy of the responsible men of the people, placing them round the Tent. Then the Lord came down in the cloud and had talk with him, and put on the seventy men some of the spirit which was on him: now when the spirit came to rest on them, they were like prophets, but only at that time. But two men were still in the tent-circle one of them named Eldad and the other Medad: and the spirit came to rest on them; they were among those who had been sent for, but they had not gone out to the Tent: and the prophet's power came on them in the tent-circle. And a young man went running to Moses and said, Eldad and Medad are acting as prophets in the tent-circle. Then Joshua, the son of Nun, who had been Moses' servant from the time when he was a child, said, My lord Moses, let them be stopped. And Moses said to him, Are you moved by envy on my account? If only all the Lord's people were prophets, and the Lord might put his spirit on them! Then Moses, with the responsible men of Israel, went back to the tent-circle. Then the Lord sent a wind, driving little birds from the sea, so that they came down on the tents, and all round the tent-circle, about a day's journey on this side and on that, in masses about two cubits high over the face of the earth. And all that day and all night and the day after, the people were taking up the birds; the smallest amount which anyone got was ten homers: and they put them out all round the tents. But while the meat was still between their teeth, before it was tasted, the wrath of the Lord was moved against the people and he sent a great outburst of disease on them. So that place was named Kibroth-hattaavah; because there they put in the earth the bodies of the people who had given way to their desires. From Kibroth-hattaavah the people went on to Hazeroth; and there they put up their tents.

Then they went on from Mount Hor by the way to the Red Sea, going round the land of Edom: and the spirit of the people was overcome with weariness on the way. And crying out against God and against Moses, they said, Why have you taken us out of Egypt to come to our death in the waste land? For there is no bread and no water, and this poor bread is disgusting to us. Then the Lord sent poison-snakes among the people; and their bites were a cause of death to numbers of the people of Israel.read more.
Then the people came to Moses and said, We have done wrong in crying out against the Lord and against you: make prayer to the Lord to take away the snakes from us. So Moses made prayer for the people.