16 Bible Verses About Lust, and What Scripture Says to Do With Desire

The New Testament word usually translated lust, epithumia, means strong desire, and the Bible does not treat all desire as sin. Jesus uses the same word group at the Last Supper: “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you” (Luke 22:15). What Scripture condemns is desire turned toward what God forbids, which Colossians 3:5 calls “evil desire.” Scripture tells the tempted to flee (2 Timothy 2:22), to make no provision for the flesh (Romans 13:14), and to confess…