124 Bible verses about Offense, offending

When you face hurts, you can find real comfort and guidance in Scripture. God's word reminds us that He is our refuge and strength, especially when things get tough.

Facing hurts with humility and forgiveness can truly heal your wounds and restore relationships. Loving your neighbor is a fundamental command, and that includes loving your enemies and blessing those who persecute you. I know it's a challenge, but it's part of what God calls us to as His followers.

The Bible teaches us that offenses are just a part of life. But it also encourages us to handle them in a way that honors God and leads to reconciliation. In Matthew 18:21-22, Jesus gives us key instruction on forgiveness: "Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.’"

This passage tells me that Jesus wants us to have hearts that don't hold onto bitterness and resentment. He wants us to forgive others, just as our Heavenly Father has forgiven us.

For Christ also pleased not himself; but, as it is written, {\b The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell upon me.}

If therefore thou art offering thy gift at the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee,

leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way, first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn back their reproach upon their own head, and give them up for a spoil in a land of captivity;

neither will I let thee hear any more the shame of the nations, neither shalt thou bear the reproach of the peoples any more, neither shalt thou cause thy nation to stumble any more, saith the Lord Jehovah.\par

and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, even as God also in Christ forgave you.\par

His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and oppression:\par\tab Under his tongue is mischief and iniquity.

forbearing one another, and forgiving each other, if any man have a complaint against any; even as the Lord forgave you, so also do ye:

And the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it: and the men were grieved, and they were very wroth, because he had wrought folly in Israel in lying with Jacob's daughter; which thing ought not to be done.

And David spake to the men that stood by him, saying, What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine, and taketh away the reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?

And when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, Blessed be Jehovah, that hath pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and hath kept back his servant from evil: and the evil-doing of Nabal hath Jehovah returned upon his own head. And David sent and spake concerning Abigail, to take her to him to wife.

As with a sword in my bones, mine adversaries reproach me,\par\tab While they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?

If it be possible, as much as in you lieth, be at peace with all men.

And if thy brother sin, go, show him his fault between thee and him alone: if he hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.

Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother;\par\tab Thou slanderest thine own mother's son.

Because for thy sake I have borne reproach;\par\tab Shame hath covered my face.

not rendering evil for evil, or reviling for reviling; but contrariwise blessing; for hereunto were ye called, that ye should inherit a blessing.

For the zeal of thy house hath eaten me up;\par\tab And the reproaches of them that reproach thee are fallen upon me.

Thou knowest my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonor:\par\tab Mine adversaries are all before thee.

For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

But if ye forgive not men {\i their trespasses}, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.\par

Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge ye this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock in his brother's way, or an occasion of falling.

Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness:\par\tab And I looked for some to take pity, but there was none;\par\tab And for comforters, but I found none.

Take heed to yourselves: if thy brother sin, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.

And if he sin against thee seven times in the day, and seven times turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.}\par

And render unto our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom Their reproach, wherewith they have reproached thee, O Lord.

Ye know {\i this}, my beloved brethren. But let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:

for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

Take away from me reproach and contempt;\par\tab For I have kept thy testimonies.

Turn away my reproach whereof I am afraid;\par\tab For thine ordinances are good.

{\cf6 Judge not, that ye be not judged.

For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured unto you.

{\b Be ye angry, and sin not}: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:

Wounds and dishonor shall he get;\par\tab And his reproach shall not be wiped away.

A fool's vexation is presently known;\par\tab But a prudent man concealeth shame.

A soft answer turneth away wrath;\par\tab But a grievous word stirreth up anger.

Cease from anger, and forsake wrath:\par\tab Fret not thyself, {\i it tendeth} only to evil-doing.

He that covereth a transgression seeketh love;\par\tab But he that harpeth on a matter separateth chief friends.

The discretion of a man maketh him slow to anger;\par\tab And it is his glory to pass over a transgression.

Cast out the scoffer, and contention will go out;\par\tab Yea, strife and ignominy will cease.

It is good not to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor {\i to do anything} whereby thy brother stumbleth.

They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man's, will he return unto her again? will not that land be greatly polluted? But thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith Jehovah.

Give no occasion of stumbling, either to Jews, or to Greeks, or to the church of God:

Let him give his cheek to him that smiteth him; let him be filled full with reproach.

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called sons of God.

And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods; and he shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished; for that which is determined shall be done.

Pleasant words are {\i as} a honeycomb,\par\tab Sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.

I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the revilings of the children of Ammon, wherewith they have reproached my people, and magnified themselves against their border.

Then the high priest rent his garments, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy: what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard the blasphemy:

{\i doing} nothing through faction or through vainglory, but in lowliness of mind each counting other better than himself;

not looking each of you to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.

above all things being fervent in your love among yourselves; for love covereth a multitude of sins:

The Jews answered him, For a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.

There is that speaketh rashly like the piercings of a sword;\par\tab But the tongue of the wise is health.

Then came Peter and said to him, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? until seven times?

Jesus saith unto him, {\cf6 I say not unto thee, Until seven times; but, Until seventy times seven.

Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and railing, be put away from you, with all malice:

A wrathful man stirreth up contention;\par\tab But he that is slow to anger appeaseth strife.

Great peace have they that love thy law;\par\tab And they have no occasion of stumbling.

So then let us follow after things which make for peace, and things whereby we may edify one another.

doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not its own, is not provoked, taketh not account of evil;

Put on therefore, as God's elect, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, longsuffering;

forbearing one another, and forgiving each other, if any man have a complaint against any; even as the Lord forgave you, so also do ye:

Hatred stirreth up strifes;\par\tab But love covereth all transgressions.

Putting away therefore all wickedness, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,

The beginning of strife is {\i as} when one letteth out water:\par\tab Therefore leave off contention, before there is quarrelling.

All things therefore whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, even so do ye also unto them: for this is the law and the prophets.\par

But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.\par

and walk in love, even as Christ also loved you, and gave himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for an odor of a sweet smell.\par

And as ye would that men should do to you, do to them likewise.

Follow after peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no man shall see the Lord:

See that none render unto any one evil for evil; but always follow after that which is good, one toward another, and toward all.

And the Lord's servant must not strive, but be gentle towards all, apt to teach, forbearing,

It is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife;\par\tab But every fool will be quarrelling.

Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is begotten of God, and knoweth God.

He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

Now we that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.

Let each one of us please his neighbor for that which is good, unto edifying.

He that despiseth his neighbor is void of wisdom;\par\tab But a man of understanding holdeth his peace.

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without variance, without hypocrisy.

And {\i the} fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for them that make peace.\par

Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue\par\tab Keepeth his soul from troubles.

Depart from evil, and do good;\par\tab Seek peace, and pursue it.

Render to no man evil for evil. Take thought for things honorable in the sight of all men.

If it be possible, as much as in you lieth, be at peace with all men.

Avenge not yourselves, beloved, but give place unto the wrath {\i of God}: for it is written, {\b Vengeance belongeth unto me; I will recompense,} saith the Lord.

A brother offended {\i is harder to be won} than a strong city;\par\tab And {\i such} contentions are like the bars of a castle.

Ye have heard that it was said, {\b An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth}:

but I say unto you, Resist not him that is evil: but whosoever smiteth thee on {\i thy} right cheek, turn to him the other also.

Say not, I will do so to him as he hath done to me;\par\tab I will render to the man according to his work.

bless them that curse you, pray for them that despitefully use you.

Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but such as is good for edifying as the need may be, that it may give grace to them that hear.

but sanctify in your hearts Christ as Lord: {\i being} ready always to give answer to every man that asketh you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, yet with meekness and fear:

having a good conscience; that, wherein ye are spoken against, they may be put to shame who revile your good manner of life in Christ.

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

By pride cometh only contention;\par\tab But with the well-advised is wisdom.

Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer each one.\par

Set a watch, O Jehovah, before my mouth;\par\tab Keep the door of my lips.

Brethren, even if a man be overtaken in any trespass, ye who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; looking to thyself, lest thou also be tempted.

But to whom ye forgive anything, I {\i forgive} also: for what I also have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, for your sakes {\i have I forgiven it} in the presence of Christ;

that no advantage may be gained over us by Satan: for we are not ignorant of his devices.\par

By long forbearing is a ruler persuaded,\par\tab And a soft tongue breaketh the bone.

but I say unto you, Love your enemies, and pray for them that persecute you;

A gentle tongue is a tree of life;\par\tab But perverseness therein is a breaking of the spirit.

If any man thinketh himself to be religious, while he bridleth not his tongue but deceiveth his heart, this man's religion is vain.

Let your forbearance be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.

He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty;\par\tab And he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city.

For,\par\tab {\b He that would love life,\par\tab And see good days,\par\tab Let him refrain {\i his} tongue from evil,\par\tab And {\i his} lips that they speak no guile:}

{\b And let him turn away from evil, and do good;\par\tab Let him seek peace, and pursue it.}

Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.\par

Jehovah is merciful and gracious,\par\tab Slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness.

He will not always chide;\par\tab Neither will he keep {\i his anger} for ever.

He hath not dealt with us after our sins,\par\tab Nor rewarded us after our iniquities.

Woe unto the world because of occasions of stumbling! for it must needs be that the occasions come; but woe to the man through whom the occasion cometh!

But him that is weak in faith receive ye, {\i yet} not for decision of scruples.

A gift in secret pacifieth anger;\par\tab And a present in the bosom, strong wrath.

But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to the weak.

And he said unto his disciples, {\cf6 It is impossible but that occasions of stumbling should come; but woe unto him, through whom they come!

Wherefore, if meat causeth my brother to stumble, I will eat no flesh for evermore, that I cause not my brother to stumble.\par

but whoso shall cause one of these little ones that believe on me to stumble, it is profitable for him that a great millstone should be hanged about his neck, and {\i that} he should be sunk in the depth of the sea.\par

Jehovah is gracious, and merciful;\par\tab Slow to anger, and of great lovingkindness.

A man of great wrath shall bear the penalty;\par\tab For if thou deliver {\i him}, thou must do it yet again.

And I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.}\par

Nay, already it is altogether a defect in you, that ye have lawsuits one with another. Why not rather take wrong? why not rather be defrauded?

Nay, but ye yourselves do wrong, and defraud, and that {\i your} brethren.

And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but nurture them in the chastening and admonition of the Lord.\par

Fathers, provoke not your children, that they be not discouraged.

Blessed are ye when {\i men} shall reproach you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

Murmur not, brethren, one against another, that ye be not judged: behold, the judge standeth before the doors.

He that is slow to anger is of great understanding;\par\tab But he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly.

Stand in awe, and sin not:\par\tab Commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. {\i Selah\par

with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;

giving diligence to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

In the multitude of words there wanteth not transgression;\par\tab But he that refraineth his lips doeth wisely.

All things are lawful; but not all things are expedient. All things are lawful; but not all things edify.

Let no man seek his own, but {\i each} his neighbor's {\i good}.

But thou, why dost thou judge thy brother? or thou again, why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment-seat of God.

who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, threatened not; but committed {\i himself} to him that judgeth righteously:

A fool uttereth all his anger;\par\tab But a wise man keepeth it back and stilleth it.

When a man's ways please Jehovah,\par\tab He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.

Thy word have I laid up in my heart,\par\tab That I might not sin against thee.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue;\par\tab And they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.

In love of the brethren be tenderly affectioned one to another; in honor preferring one another;

A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; even as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.}\par

He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is no occasion of stumbling in him.

A man hath joy in the answer of his mouth;\par\tab And a word in due season, how good is it!

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