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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.
Even Christ did not do things to please himself. It is written in the Bible that he said this: ‘People have insulted you, God. In that way they have also insulted me.’
Maybe you go to the temple to give your gift to God. You take it to the altar. But then you remember that your brother is angry with you.
You must leave your gift there in front of God's altar. First you must go and find your brother. Tell him that you are sorry. Then you can both become friends with each other again. After that, you can return to the altar and give your gift to God.
So I prayed, ‘Hear us, our God. Our enemies think that we are fools. Make them seem like fools themselves! Let their enemies take them away as slaves.
People from other nations will no longer insult you or laugh at you. You will no longer cause your nation to suffer. That is what the Almighty Lord says.” ’
Instead, help each other and be kind to each other. Forgive one another. Remember that God has forgiven you because of what Christ has done.
Many lies come from their mouths, and they are always cursing people. They say evil things to be cruel and to hurt people.
Do not become angry with each other. If you think that someone has done something wrong against you, forgive them. Remember that the Lord has forgiven you. So you should also forgive other people.
Jacob's sons now heard what had happened and they came home from the fields. They were very angry because Shechem had done such a bad thing. When he caught Dinah and had sex with her, he had brought shame on Jacob's family. It was a wicked thing that nobody should ever do.
David asked the men who were standing near him, ‘If someone kills this Philistine soldier and takes away the shame from Israel, what gift will he get? He is an unclean Philistine! He must stop insulting the army of our God, who lives for ever.’
David heard the news that Nabal had died. He said, ‘I praise the Lord. He has shown that I was right. Nabal insulted me but the Lord has punished him for that. The Lord stopped me from doing an evil thing. Now he has punished Nabal for the evil thing that he did.’ Then David sent a message to Abigail to ask her to marry him.
My enemies laugh at me all the time. It is like they are breaking all my bones. They are always saying, ‘Where is your God?’
Jesus said, ‘If another believer has done something wrong against you, you must go and speak to him. When you are alone with him, tell him what he has done that is wrong. He may agree with what you say. If he does, then you can call him your friend again.
If people do bad things to you, do not do anything bad to them in return. If people insult you, do not insult them in return. Instead, pray that God will bless those people. That is what God wants you to do. Then you will receive the gift of God's blessing.
My love for your house burns inside me like a fire. Anybody who insults you, is also insulting me!
God, you know that people are insulting me. They laugh at me to make me feel ashamed. You can see what all my enemies are doing.
Then Jesus said, ‘When other people do wrong things against you, you must forgive them. Then God, your Father in heaven, will also forgive you for the wrong things that you have done.
But if you do not forgive other people, then your Father will not forgive you.’
So we must no longer judge other believers. Instead, decide never to cause them to do something wrong.
When they insult me, it makes me very upset. I feel helpless. I hoped that someone would be kind and help me, but there was nobody. I wanted someone to comfort me, but I did not find anyone.
Be careful how you live. If another believer does something wrong, warn him about it. He may say, “I am sorry for what I did. I will not do it again.” If he says that, you must forgive him.
It will happen quickly like that, on the day when I, the Son of Man, show myself clearly.
On that day, a person who is up on the roof of his house must not go back down into the house. He must not get his things that are inside the house to take with him. In the same way, people that are working outside in their fields must not go back to their homes.
Remember what happened to Lot's wife.
Whoever wants to keep his own life safe will lose it. But whoever agrees to lose his life will have true life.
I tell you this. At that time, two people will be sleeping in one bed. God will take one of them away but he will leave the other one behind.
Two women will be preparing food together in the same place. God will take one of them away but he will leave the other one behind.’
Jesus' disciples asked him, ‘Lord, where will this happen?’ Jesus replied, ‘If a dead body is lying somewhere, vultures will come together in that place.’
Your brother may do a bad thing against you seven times in one day. He may come to you each time and say, “I am sorry for what I did. I will not do it again.” If he does that, you must forgive him every time.’
Lord, those countries near to us have insulted you. Punish them as they deserve, seven times over! Give them as much trouble as they have given to you.
Understand this, my Christian friends: We must all be careful to listen. We should not be too quick to speak. We should not get angry quickly.
My Christian friends, remember to be happy, even when many kinds of trouble happen to you. Troubles can help you.
God wants us to do what is right. But when someone is angry, they do not do those right things.
Jesus then said, ‘Do not judge anyone, to say that they are a bad person. If you do that, God will judge you in the same way.
If he asks you for a fish, you would not give him a snake.
You may be bad, but even you know how to give good things to your children. Your Father in heaven knows much better than you do how to give good things to his children. He will give good things to everyone who asks him.
So do the good things for other people that you would want them to do for you. That is true in everything you do. That is what God's Law and the messages of God's prophets teach us.’
‘Go in through the narrow gate to get true life with God. There is a wide gate that is easy to go through. The wide path is easy to travel on. Many people find that wide gate, but it is the way that goes to God's final punishment.
It is difficult to go through the small gate. And it is difficult to walk on the narrow road. But when you do go that way, you will get true life. Not many people find that narrow gate.’
‘Some people say that they are prophets from God. But their words are false. They seem to be like sheep that are not dangerous. But they are really like hungry wild dogs. What they teach will hurt you.
You will know these people by the way that they live. The things that they do are like their fruit. Grapes do not grow on thorn bushes. Figs do not grow on weeds.
Good fruit grows on a tree that is good. Bad fruit grows on a tree that is not good.
A good tree cannot make bad fruit. A bad tree cannot make good fruit.
A farmer will cut down any tree that does not make good fruit. He will burn it on a fire.
God will think about you in the same way that you think about other people. He will use the same rules for you as you use for other people.
When you are angry, do not do anything bad as a result. Once the day comes to an end, do not continue to be angry.
When a fool becomes angry, everybody knows it! But a careful person keeps quiet when someone insults him.
If you answer people in a kind way, it stops them being angry. But if you say cruel things, it makes people angry.
If you forgive people when they hurt you, they will still love you. But if you continue to talk about what they have done, they will no longer be your friends.
If someone is wise, he controls his anger. When anyone hurts him, he is careful to forget it.
If someone laughs at what is right, send him away. Then there will be no more arguments, quarrels and insults.
It is better not to eat meat or drink wine if that will cause another believer to be upset. Do not do anything that he might think is wrong.
The Lord says this: ‘If a man sends his wife away, she may leave him and marry another man. Then her first husband may not take her as his wife again. That would be a sin against the land where you live. But you have left me to live with other gods. You have lived like a prostitute, but you still think that you can return to me.
Do not live in a way that causes problems for other people. That is true whether they are Jews or Gentiles, or people who belong to God's church.
If somebody hits us on one side of our face, we should let them hit the other side too. If people insult us, we should accept it.
The king will do whatever he wants to do. He will say that he is greater than any god. He will even say proud things to insult the God who rules all other gods. He will be successful until the time when God's anger finishes. God will finish doing what he has decided to do.
The Lord says, ‘I have heard the people of Moab and the people of Ammon. They have insulted my people and they have laughed at them. They have boasted that they would attack my people's land and take it for themselves.’
Then Caiaphas tore his clothes to show that he was angry. He said, ‘Jesus has spoken bad words against God. We do not need anyone else to speak against Jesus. You have heard him speak bad words against God.
In the way that you live, do not just try to help yourself. Do not be proud. Instead, respect other people. Think about other people as more important than yourself.
He nearly died because he was working to serve Christ. He came to help me, because you could not help me yourselves. He was even ready to die so that he could do that on your behalf.
Do not think only about the things that you want to do for yourself. Each of you should think also about how you can help other people.
Continue to love each other very much. That is more important than anything else. If you love people, you will forgive them for any wrong things that they have done.
The Jewish leaders answered, ‘We do not want to kill you because of any good things that you have done. We want to kill you because you are speaking against God. You are only a man, but you are saying that you are God.’
If you speak in a careless way, you may hurt other people. But when wise people speak, it makes people feel well.
Then Peter came to talk to Jesus. He asked, ‘Lord, if another believer does wrong things against me many times, how many times should I forgive him? Must I forgive him as many as seven times for the wrong things that he has done against me?’
Jesus replied, ‘I do not say only seven times. I say you should forgive him 77 times!’
Do not be jealous of other people. Do not become angry or shout at them. Do not quarrel with other people or insult them. Do not do anything or say anything that will hurt other people.
People who love your Law have peace in their minds. Nothing will cause them to fall down.
So we should try to live in a way that brings peace. We should help each other to become stronger as God's people.
If I love people, I will be polite. I will not just want to please myself. I will not quickly become angry. If someone does a wrong thing against me, I will not keep it in my thoughts.
God has chosen you to be his own special people. You belong to him and he loves you very much. So this is how you should live: Be kind to other people and help them. Do not think that you are better than other people. Instead, respect them and be patient with them.
Do not become angry with each other. If you think that someone has done something wrong against you, forgive them. Remember that the Lord has forgiven you. So you should also forgive other people.
So you must refuse to do any evil things. Do not tell lies to deceive people. Do not be hypocrites. Do not be jealous of other people. Do not say bad things against other people.
It is difficult to stop a quarrel once it has started. It is like water that pours out of a broken pot. Stop it quickly!
So do the good things for other people that you would want them to do for you. That is true in everything you do. That is what God's Law and the messages of God's prophets teach us.’
So do not live like wild animals. Wild animals fight and they eat each other. If you attack each other like that, be very careful! You may destroy one another completely.
Show that you love other people. Remember how much Christ loved us. He gave himself as a sacrifice on our behalf. He offered himself in a way that pleased God, like a sacrifice with a lovely smell.
Do everything that you can to live in peace with all people. Be faithful to the Lord. Nobody will see the Lord unless they are holy.
If someone does something bad against you, do not do anything bad against them in return. Never do that. Instead, always try to do good things that will help each other and help everyone else.
As the Lord's servant, you must not quarrel. Instead, you must be kind to everyone. You must be able to teach them well. And you must be patient when people cause you to have trouble.
My friends, we should all love each other. It is God who makes us able to love other people. Everyone who loves other people has become a child of God. That person knows God.
Anyone who does not love other people does not know God. We know this because God's own nature is love.
Some of us trust God with strong faith. We must help those believers whose faith is weaker. We must be patient with them. We should not only do things that will please ourselves.
It says also in the Bible: ‘Be very happy, you Gentiles! Praise God together with his people.’
It also says this: ‘Praise the Lord God, all you Gentiles. All people, from every country, should say how great he is.’
God's prophet Isaiah says this: ‘The root of Jesse will arrive. He will come to rule the Gentiles. The Gentiles will trust him to save them.’
God is the one who causes us to hope for good things. I pray that God will bless you very much. I pray that he will cause you to be happy and to have peace in your minds. He will do this because you believe in him. As a result, God's Holy Spirit will make you strong with his power, so that you hope even more certainly.
My Christian friends, I myself am completely sure about you. I know that you are good in every way. You know everything about God's message. You are able to teach one another what is right.
But I still needed to write this letter to you. I have written to you strongly about some things, so that you would remember them. God has kindly chosen me to serve him in this way.
I am a servant of Christ Jesus among the Gentiles, to tell them God's good news. Like a priest, I offer the Gentiles to God, so that he will accept them. The Holy Spirit has made them a pure offering that pleases God.
So I am proud about the way that I serve God, because I belong to Christ Jesus.
But I will only speak about the work that Christ has let me do. He has used the message that I have spoken and the things that I have done. As a result, the Gentiles have obeyed God.
They have seen miracles and great things as God's Holy Spirit worked powerfully among them. In this way, I have told the good news about Christ to many people. I have done this all the way from Jerusalem as far as Illyricum.
Instead, each of us should do things that will please other believers. We should help them to trust God more strongly.
When someone insults his neighbour, it shows that he is foolish. But a wise person stays quiet.
But if God makes you really wise, you will live in a completely good way. That is the most important thing. Also, you will live in a way that brings peace. You will be kind to other people so that they become your friends. You will listen to them and not argue. You will forgive them and do many good things to help them. You will not choose between people. And you will not be a hypocrite.
Those who bring peace to other people help them to live together in peace. As a result, people choose to do what is right and good.
If someone has done bad things against you, do not do bad things back to them. Try to live in a good way, so that people will respect you.
If it is possible, always try to live in peace with other people.
My friends, if someone has done bad things to you, do not try to punish them yourselves. Instead, let God be angry with them and punish them. This is what is written in the Bible: ‘The Lord God says, “When people do something wrong, I am the one who will punish them. I will pay them back.” ’
If you insult a relative, it will be difficult to become friends with him again. Arguments keep people apart, like the walls of a strong city.
Jesus then said, ‘You also know that God's Law says: “If somebody destroys your eye, then you should destroy that person's eye. If somebody destroys your tooth, then you should destroy that person's tooth.”
But what I tell you is this. If somebody does something bad to you, do not do anything against him. Somebody may hit you on one side of your face. Then you should also let him hit the other side of your face.
Do not say, ‘I will do to him the same thing that he did to me. I will punish him because of what he did.’
Say good things to people that say bad things against you. Pray for people who give you pain.
Do not say bad things that hurt or insult people. Instead, say only good things that will help people. Your words should help people to become strong when they hear them.
Instead, always remember that Christ is your Lord. Let him rule how you live. People may ask you, ‘Why do you trust God to help you?’ You must always be ready to answer them about that.
But when you tell them, be kind and polite. Do only what you know is right. Then those people will see that you live in a good way because you believe in Christ. When they say bad things against you they will become ashamed.
We have forgiven people who have done wrong things to us. In the same way, please forgive us for the wrong things that we have done.
A person who boasts only causes trouble. But if you accept good advice, it shows that you are wise.
When you speak to people, always speak kind words. Say things that will help them. Then, when someone asks you a question, you will know how to reply.
My friends, if you see that someone among you is doing something wrong, you must warn them. Those of you who have God's Spirit should warn that person. Show them how to live in a good way. But you must be kind and patient with them. Be very careful yourselves, so that it does not cause you to do wrong things too.
When you forgive anyone, I also forgive that person. Whatever bad thing somebody has done, I have Christ's authority to forgive them. And I do it to help you.
We do not want Satan to win against us. He is very clever. We know how he likes to cause us to have trouble.
If you are patient, you may make a ruler change his mind. If you speak a quiet word, you can remove a difficult problem.
What I tell you is this: You should love the people who want to hurt you. If people cause you to have trouble, pray that God would help them.
Kind words are like the fruit of a tree that gives life. But words that are not honest make people sad and weak.
Maybe some of you think that you are serving God well. But if you also say bad things about people, you do not serve God well at all. You are doing something bad even when you think you are doing good things.
A person who is patient is better than a brave soldier. If you can control your anger, you can win any battle.
The Bible says this: ‘Do you want to enjoy your life? Do you want to be happy? Then you must be careful not to say evil things. Do not tell any lies.
Stop doing evil things. Instead, do things that are good. Try to be friends with people. Help people to live in peace with each other.
Do not let evil things win against you! Instead, do good things. Then you will win against the evil things that people do.
Some things in this world will cause people to do wrong things. You can be sure that bad things will happen. But it will be very bad for the person who causes these things to happen.
It is difficult for some Christians to trust God completely about everything. You should accept people like that as your friends. Do not argue with them about what they think is right or wrong.
If someone is angry with you, give him a gift secretly. A secret bribe will make him quiet, even if he is very angry.
You are free to eat any kind of food. You understand that. But other Christians do not understand so well. So you must be careful. Do not cause them to do something that they think is wrong.
Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Some things in this world will cause people to do wrong things. You can be sure about that. But God will punish anyone who makes these bad things happen.
I do not want to hurt any of my Christian friends. So, if the food that I eat causes them to do something wrong, I will never eat meat again.
Jesus said, ‘A person who believes in me may not seem important. But you should never make that person do wrong things. Do not do that! It would be better for you if someone tied a big stone round your neck. Then you would sink deep down into the sea and die.
Anyone who cannot control his anger is always in trouble. If you try to help him once, you will have to do it every time.
I tell you this. One day, God will judge everybody. On that day, he will ask you about every useless word that you have spoken.
God will think about the words that you have spoken. Then he will decide whether to let you go free or to punish you.’
When you accuse each other like that, it shows that you have already failed. It would be better to accept it when other people hurt you. Even if people rob you, it would be better to accept it.
Instead, you yourselves hurt other people, and you even rob them. And those other people are believers like you!
Fathers, do not do things that make your children angry. Instead, teach them carefully as they grow up. Help them to understand the message of the Lord, and help them to obey it.
Fathers, do not cause your children to be upset. If you do, they might think that they never do anything that is good.
Yes, happy are you when people insult you because you believe in me. Or they may hurt you. Or they may say things about you that are not true.
My Christian friends, do not complain against each other. If you do, God will punish you. So be careful! He is the Judge and he is ready now to judge people.
A patient man shows that he understands what is right. But someone who quickly becomes angry shows that he is foolish.
Shake with fear and stop doing wrong things! Lie on your bed and think quietly about your life.
Do not think that you are better than other people. Always be kind and patient with each other. Love one another, so that you do not quickly become angry with each other.
But when you learned about Christ, you did not learn to do things like that!
I am sure that you have heard about him properly. People taught you the true message that comes from Jesus.
They taught you to change the way that you live. You must remove the nature that you had before. That old nature deceived you. As a result, you wanted to do things that would destroy you.
Instead, let God's Spirit make you think in a new way.
Take up the new nature that God has prepared for you. That nature is like God's own nature. Then you will live in a truly good way that pleases God.
So you must stop telling lies. Each of you must say only true things to one another. Remember that all of us belong to one another, like parts of the same body.
When you are angry, do not do anything bad as a result. Once the day comes to an end, do not continue to be angry.
Do not give the devil a chance to hurt you like that.
Any of you who robbed people before must now stop taking things. Instead, you should work hard with your own hands. Then you will be able to share what you have with people who are poor.
Do not say bad things that hurt or insult people. Instead, say only good things that will help people. Your words should help people to become strong when they hear them.
Do your best to let God's Spirit keep you united. You belong together so live in peace with each other.
If you talk too much, you will soon do something wrong. But if you are wise, you will stop talking.
Some of you might say, ‘We are free to do anything that we want to do!’ But I tell you that not everything is good for you to do. You might say, ‘We are free to do anything!’ But not everything helps us to be strong as believers.
Do not think about the things that will help you. Instead, each of you should think about what will help other people.
So, if you eat only vegetables, do not judge other believers. And if you eat anything, do not think that you are better than other believers. Remember that all of us will have to stand in front of God. He will decide whether we have done what is right or wrong.
People insulted Christ, but he did not say any bad thing to answer them. People caused him to have trouble, but he never tried to hurt them in return. Instead, Christ trusted God to help him. He knew that God always judges people fairly.
If you live in a way that pleases the Lord, even your enemies will become your friends.
Love each other truly like brothers and sisters. Be happy to give honour to other Christians.
I give a new rule to you. Love each other. You must love each other as I have loved you.
In this way, everyone will know that you are my disciples. They will know it, if you really love each other.’
Anyone who loves other believers shows that he is living in the light. There is nothing that will make him turn away from God.
It makes you happy when you give a good answer to a question. It is good when you find the right thing to say at the right time.