We have all been in situations where we have done wrong and desire forgiveness—from a spouse, family member, friend, or even a co-worker. Sometimes the person we most need forgiveness from is ourselves. And then there are the times when someone is asking us for forgiveness, and we have to look deeply in ourselves to offer it, no strings attached. It’s hard! Whether you are giving or receiving forgiveness, it’s a very powerful thing. Luckily, the Bible offers tons of guidance on the topic, along with helpful Bible verses about healing and Bible verses about love, which can go hand in hand with forgiveness. After all, to forgive is to show love, and love is the most important thing we can give to our friends, family, neighbors, and even strangers.
The Christian view of love is not what we see in the movies. It’s not merely about a feeling or an emotion or a relationship. Nor is love something that people fall into.
Love in the Bible is much more than that. But it’s also important to keep in mind that love is not simply the act of giving to a charity, either. Paul makes this clear when he says that if he were to give away all that he had, and yet he didn’t have love, something’s still missing (1 Cor 13:3).
Now, don’t get me wrong. Charity is a good thing, and I’m sure that Paul believed that too. But there’s something more to love than just helping out those in need for the sake of doing so.
Perhaps, it may be helpful to look at how Paul describes love in order grasp the biblical understanding of it:
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (ESV)
Bible Verses About Forgiving Others Who Hurt You
Ephesians 4:32 ESV / 191 helpful votes
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Hebrews 8:12 ESV / 184 helpful votes
For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”
Matthew 6:14-15 ESV / 168 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.
Colossians 3:13 ESV / 133 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.
Mark 11:25 ESV / 117 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.”
Isaiah 43:25 ESV / 117 helpful votes
“I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.
Luke 6:37 ESV / 110 helpful votes
“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;
1 John 1:9 ESV / 83 helpful votes
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Matthew 18:21-22 ESV / 77 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 times seven.
Ephesians 4:31-32 ESV / 68 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.
Matthew 6:12 ESV / 67 helpful votes
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Hebrews 10:17 ESV / 64 helpful votes
Then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”
Romans 8:1 ESV / 64 helpful votes
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Romans 12:19 ESV / 62 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 17:3-4 ESV / 62 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.”
Psalm 25:7 ESV / 58 helpful votes
Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!
Ephesians 1:7 ESV / 55 helpful votes
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
Matthew 5:23-24 ESV / 52 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.
Bible Verses on Forgiveness And Reconciliation
Romans 3:23 ESV / 48 helpful votes
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Jeremiah 31:34 ESV / 48 helpful votes
And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
Luke 23:34 ESV / 46 helpful votes
And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.
Psalm 32:1-2 ESV / 46 helpful votes
A Maskil of David. Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
Acts 3:19 ESV / 45 helpful votes
Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out,
Matthew 6:15 ESV / 44 helpful votes
But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Isaiah 1:18 ESV / 42 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.
Matthew 5:44 ESV / 37 helpful votes
But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 ESV / 36 helpful votes
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; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Philippians 3:13 ESV / 35 helpful votes
Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
Matthew 5:7 ESV / 35 helpful votes
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
Matthew 6:14 ESV / 32 helpful votes
For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,
Psalm 103:12 ESV / 32 helpful votes
As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
Hebrews 12:15 ESV / 30 helpful votes
See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;
Romans 6:23 ESV / 29 helpful votes
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Acts 10:43 ESV / 29 helpful votes
To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
Hebrews 10:26 ESV / 27 helpful votes
For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
Philippians 3:13-14 ESV / 27 helpful votes
Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
What The Bible Says About Forgiveness And Letting Go
Hebrews 6:4-6 ESV / 25 helpful votes
For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.
Ephesians 4:26-27 ESV / 25 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.
Luke 6:27-28 ESV / 25 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.
Micah 7:18 ESV / 25 helpful votes
Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love.
1 Peter 4:8 ESV / 23 helpful votes
Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.
Mark 3:28-29 ESV / 23 helpful votes
“Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”—
Psalm 103:11-12 ESV / 23 helpful votes
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
Psalm 103:10 ESV / 23 helpful votes
He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.
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.
1 Corinthians 1:25 ESV / 22 helpful votes
For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
Matthew 18:18 ESV / 22 helpful votes
Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Isaiah 55:6-7 ESV / 22 helpful votes
“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
Isaiah 43:25-26 ESV / 22 helpful votes
“I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins. Put me in remembrance; let us argue together; set forth your case, that you may be proved right.
Isaiah 1:2 ESV / 22 helpful votes
Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the Lord has spoken: “Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me.
Hebrews 10:17-18 ESV / 21 helpful votes
Then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.” Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.
Hebrews 10:2 ESV / 21 helpful votes
Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins?
Colossians 1:14 ESV / 21 helpful votes
In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
1 Corinthians 13:5 ESV / 21 helpful votes
Or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
Matthew 18:21 ESV / 21 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?”
Matthew 5:1-48 ESV / 21 helpful votes
Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. …
Isaiah 38:17 ESV / 21 helpful votes
Behold, it was for my welfare that I had great bitterness; but in love you have delivered my life from the pit of destruction, for you have cast all my sins behind your back.
Deuteronomy 4:31 ESV / 21 helpful votes
For the Lord your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them.
Genesis 41:51 ESV / 21 helpful votes
Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh. “For,” he said, “God has made me forget all my hardship and all my father’s house.”
2 John 1:8 ESV / 20 helpful votes
Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward.
Acts 17:11 ESV / 20 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful
Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.
Bible Verses About Forgiving A Friend
Ephesians 4:32 ESV / 131 helpful votes
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Colossians 3:13 ESV / 85 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.
Ephesians 4:31 ESV / 54 helpful votes
Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
Luke 6:37 ESV / 49 helpful votes
“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;
Mark 11:25 ESV / 46 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.”
Ephesians 4:26-27 ESV / 36 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.
Proverbs 15:1 ESV / 33 helpful votes
A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
1 Peter 3:9 ESV / 30 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 6:27 ESV / 30 helpful votes
“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
1 John 1:9 ESV / 21 helpful votes
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Matthew 6:14-15 ESV / 20 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.
Proverbs 15:18 ESV / 18 helpful votes
A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow to anger quiets contention.
Matthew 5:44 ESV / 14 helpful votes
But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
Proverbs 31:26 ESV / 14 helpful votes
She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
Proverbs 17:17 ESV / 14 helpful votes
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
Matthew 18:21-22 ESV / 11 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 times seven.
Psalm 23:1-6 ESV / 11 helpful votes
A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. …
Matthew 6:14 ESV / 9 helpful votes
For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,
Hebrews 10:17 ESV / 8 helpful votes
Then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”
Romans 12:20 ESV / 8 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.”
Isaiah 1:18 ESV / 8 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 13:24 ESV / 8 helpful votes
Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.
Ephesians 1:7 ESV / 7 helpful votes
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
Exodus 34:7 ESV / 7 helpful votes
Keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”
Ephesians 4:31-32 ESV / 6 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.
Matthew 5:23-24 ESV / 6 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful
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.
