100 Bible Verses about Forgiving Your Enemies

Romans 12:17-21 ESV / 457 helpful votes

Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Matthew 5:44 ESV / 377 helpful votes

But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

Ephesians 4:32 ESV / 316 helpful votes

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Ephesians 4:31-32 ESV / 282 helpful votes

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Luke 6:27 ESV / 271 helpful votes

“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

Mark 11:25 ESV / 244 helpful votes

And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”

Matthew 6:14-15 ESV / 227 helpful votes

For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

John 15:12 ESV / 183 helpful votes

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

Matthew 5:43-48 ESV / 173 helpful votes

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? ...

Matthew 18:21-22 ESV / 161 helpful votes

Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.

1 John 1:9 ESV / 145 helpful votes

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Luke 23:34 ESV / 141 helpful votes

And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.

Ephesians 4:26-27 ESV / 133 helpful votes

Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.

Matthew 18:15 ESV / 123 helpful votes

“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.

Colossians 3:13 ESV / 122 helpful votes

Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

Luke 17:3-4 ESV / 118 helpful votes

Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

Proverbs 19:11 ESV / 111 helpful votes

Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.

Ephesians 4:31 ESV / 109 helpful votes

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

Matthew 6:12 ESV / 103 helpful votes

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Romans 12:19 ESV / 101 helpful votes

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

Luke 17:4 ESV / 94 helpful votes

And if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

Proverbs 10:12 ESV / 93 helpful votes

Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.

Colossians 3:12-14 ESV / 88 helpful votes

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

Matthew 6:14 ESV / 85 helpful votes

For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,

1 Corinthians 13:1-13 ESV / 59 helpful votes

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; ...

Matthew 18:21-35 ESV / 59 helpful votes

Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. ...

Luke 17:3 ESV / 58 helpful votes

Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him,

Proverbs 16:32 ESV / 57 helpful votes

Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.

Luke 6:31 ESV / 56 helpful votes

And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.

Romans 12:20 ESV / 55 helpful votes

To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”

Matthew 6:1-34 ESV / 52 helpful votes

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. ...

Proverbs 3:5 ESV / 50 helpful votes

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.

1 Peter 3:9 ESV / 47 helpful votes

Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.

Luke 6:37 ESV / 45 helpful votes

“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;

Luke 11:4 ESV / 42 helpful votes

And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.”

Matthew 6:15 ESV / 41 helpful votes

But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Romans 1:1-32 ESV / 40 helpful votes

Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, ...

1 Peter 3:7 ESV / 37 helpful votes

Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.

Romans 12:14 ESV / 36 helpful votes

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.

John 13:34-35 ESV / 36 helpful votes

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Proverbs 16:7 ESV / 34 helpful votes

When a man's ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

Luke 6:27-28 ESV / 33 helpful votes

“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.

Isaiah 1:18 ESV / 33 helpful votes

“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.

Proverbs 3:6 ESV / 31 helpful votes

In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Acts 7:60 ESV / 30 helpful votes

And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

Proverbs 17:9 ESV / 30 helpful votes

Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.

1 John 4:8 ESV / 29 helpful votes

Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Luke 6:35 ESV / 29 helpful votes

But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.

Proverbs 24:17 ESV / 29 helpful votes

Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles,

1 Peter 4:8 ESV / 28 helpful votes

Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.

Ephesians 4:29 ESV / 28 helpful votes

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

Proverbs 25:21-22 ESV / 28 helpful votes

If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.

Hebrews 10:17 ESV / 26 helpful votes

Then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”

2 Timothy 3:16 ESV / 26 helpful votes

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

Romans 14:19 ESV / 25 helpful votes

So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.

Luke 23:33-34 ESV / 25 helpful votes

And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.

Matthew 5:23-24 ESV / 25 helpful votes

So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Leviticus 19:18 ESV / 24 helpful votes

You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

2 Corinthians 6:14 ESV / 23 helpful votes

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?

Exodus 23:5 ESV / 23 helpful votes

If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him.

Hebrews 13:4 ESV / 22 helpful votes

Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.

Ephesians 6:1 ESV / 22 helpful votes

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

Galatians 5:13 ESV / 22 helpful votes

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.

2 Corinthians 2:5-8 ESV / 22 helpful votes

Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him.

Luke 14:8-11 ESV / 22 helpful votes

“When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Romans 12:18 ESV / 21 helpful votes

If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

Matthew 5:43 ESV / 21 helpful votes

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’

Daniel 9:9 ESV / 21 helpful votes

To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him

Proverbs 25:21 ESV / 21 helpful votes

If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink,

Colossians 3:19 ESV / 20 helpful votes

Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them.

Acts 17:28 ESV / 20 helpful votes

For “‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “‘For we are indeed his offspring.’

Acts 7:59-60 ESV / 20 helpful votes

And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

John 8:7 ESV / 20 helpful votes

And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”

John 3:16-17 ESV / 20 helpful votes

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Exodus 23:4-5 ESV / 20 helpful votes

“If you meet your enemy's ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him. If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying down under its burden, you shall refrain from leaving him with it; you shall rescue it with him.

2 Timothy 3:17 ESV / 19 helpful votes

That the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV / 19 helpful votes

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Acts 2:38 ESV / 19 helpful votes

And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 26:28 ESV / 19 helpful votes

For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

Exodus 23:4 ESV / 19 helpful votes

“If you meet your enemy's ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him.

1 Thessalonians 5:15 ESV / 18 helpful votes

See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.

Ephesians 1:7 ESV / 18 helpful votes

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,

1 Corinthians 4:12 ESV / 17 helpful votes

And we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure;

Mark 11:25-26 ESV / 17 helpful votes

And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”

1 Corinthians 4:12-13 ESV / 16 helpful votes

And we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.

Matthew 6:12-15 ESV / 16 helpful votes

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Matthew 5:32 ESV / 16 helpful votes

But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Romans 8:1 ESV / 15 helpful votes

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Luke 10:25-35 ESV / 15 helpful votes

And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” ...

Isaiah 43:17 ESV / 15 helpful votes

Who brings forth chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick:

Proverbs 20:22 ESV / 15 helpful votes

Do not say, “I will repay evil”; wait for the Lord, and he will deliver you.

Psalm 32:5 ESV / 15 helpful votes

I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

James 4:5 ESV / 14 helpful votes

Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”?

Colossians 1:13-14 ESV / 14 helpful votes

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

1 Corinthians 13:13 ESV / 14 helpful votes

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Acts 3:19 ESV / 14 helpful votes

Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out,

John 13:34 ESV / 14 helpful votes

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

John 10:34 ESV / 14 helpful votes

Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’?

Revelation 1:1 ESV / 13 helpful votes

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,

1 John 1:8 ESV / 13 helpful votes

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

Suggest a Verse


Visit the Bible online to search for words if you don’t know the specific passage your’re looking for.