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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.
For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.”
Therefore if you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you,
leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.
Hear, O our God, for we are despised! Return their reproach on their own heads and give them up for plunder in a land of captivity.
I will not let you hear dishonor from the nations anymore, nor will you bear reproach from the peoples any longer, nor will you cause your nation to stumble any longer,” declares Lord Yahweh.’ ”
Instead, be kind to one another, tender-hearted, graciously forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has graciously forgiven you.
His mouth is full of curses and deceit and oppression; Under his tongue is mischief and wickedness.
bearing with one another, and graciously forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone, just as the Lord graciously forgave you, so also should you.
Now the sons of Jacob came in from the field when they heard it; and the men were grieved, and they were very angry because he had done a disgraceful thing in Israel by lying with Jacob’s daughter, for such a thing ought not to be done.
Then David spoke to the men who were standing by him, saying, “What will be done for the man who strikes down this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should reproach the battle lines of the living God?”
Then David heard that Nabal was dead, so he said, “Blessed be Yahweh, who has pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal and has kept back His servant from evil. Yahweh has also returned the evil of Nabal on his own head.” Then David sent a proposal to Abigail, to take her as his wife.
As a shattering of my bones, my adversaries reproach me, While they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
“Now if your brother sins , go and show him his fault, between you and him alone; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.
not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but giving a blessing instead, for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.
For zeal for Your house has consumed me, And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.
For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.
Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather judge this—not to put a stumbling block or offense before a brother.
¶Reproach has broken my heart and I am so sick. And I hoped for sympathy, but there was none, And for comforters, but I found none.
Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.
It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed.
On that day, the one who is on the housetop and whose goods are in the house must not go down to take them out, and likewise the one who is in the field must not turn back.
Remember Lot’s wife.
Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.
I tell you, on that night there will be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other will be left.
There will be two women grinding grain at the same place; one will be taken and the other will be left.
[Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other will be left.”]
And answering they *said to Him, “Where, Lord?” And He said to them, “Where the body is, there also the vultures will be gathered.”
And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”
And return to our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom The reproach with which they have reproached You, O Lord.
Know this, my beloved brothers. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger;
Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials,
for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.
“Do not judge, so that you will not be judged.
Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he?
If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!
“Therefore, in all things, whatever you want people to do for you, so do for them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.
For the gate is narrow and the way is constricted that leads to life, and there are few who find it.
“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes or figs from thistles?
Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.
A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.
Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with what measure you measure, it will be measured to you.
He who covers a transgression seeks love, But he who repeats a matter separates close companions.
A man’s insight makes him slow to anger, And it is his honor to overlook a transgression.
Drive out the scoffer, and strife will go out, Even contention and disgrace will cease.
It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles.
God says, “If a husband divorces his wife And she goes from him And belongs to another man, Will he still return to her? Will not that land be completely polluted? But you are a harlot with many lovers; Yet you turn to Me,” declares Yahweh.
Let him give his cheek to the one who strikes him; Let him be saturated with reproach.
“Then the king will do as he pleases, and he will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will speak astonishing things against the God of gods; and he will succeed until the indignation is finished, for that which is decreed will be done.
¶“I have heard the reproach of Moab And the revilings of the sons of Ammon, With which they have reproached My people And magnified themselves against their territory.
Then the high priest tore his garments and said, “He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy;
doing nothing from selfish ambition or vain glory, but with humility of mind regarding one another as more important than yourselves,
because he came close to death for the work of Christ, risking his life to fulfill what was lacking in your service to me.
not merely looking out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.
The Jews answered Him, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself God.”
There is one who speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword, But the tongue of the wise brings healing.
Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”
Jesus *said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.
Let all bitterness and anger and wrath and shouting and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
So then let us pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.
it does not act unbecomingly, does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered;
So, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience;
bearing with one another, and graciously forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone, just as the Lord graciously forgave you, so also should you.
Therefore, laying aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander,
The beginning of strife is like letting out water, So abandon the dispute before it breaks out.
“Therefore, in all things, whatever you want people to do for you, so do for them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
But if you bite and devour one another, beware that you are not consumed by one another.
and walk in love, just as Christ also loved us and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.
Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord,
See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people.
And the Lord’s slave must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged,
It is a glory for a man to cease quarreling, But any ignorant fool will break out in dispute.
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.
The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves.
And again he says, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people.”
And again, “Praise the Lord all you Gentiles, And let all the peoples praise Him.”
And again Isaiah says, “There shall come the root of Jesse, And He who arises to rule over the Gentiles, In Him shall the Gentiles hope.”
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
But I myself am also convinced about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, having been filled with all knowledge and being able also to admonish one another.
But I have written very boldly to you on some points so as to remind you again, because of the grace that was given me by God
for me to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest the gospel of God, so that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable, having been sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
Therefore in Christ Jesus I have reason for boasting in things pertaining to God.
For I will not be bold to speak of anything except what Christ has brought about through me, leading to the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed,
in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit; so that from Jerusalem and all around as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.
Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his building up.
He who despises his neighbor lacks a heart of wisdom, But a man of discernment keeps silent.
But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruits, without doubting, without hypocrisy.
And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
Never paying back evil for evil to anyone, respecting what is good in the sight of all men,
if possible, so far as it depends on you, being at peace with all men,
never taking your own revenge, beloved—instead leave room for the wrath of God. For it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
A brother offended is harder to win over than a strong city, And contentions are like the bars of a citadel.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’
But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.
Do not say, “As he did to me so I shall do to him; I will render to the man according to his work.”
Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for building up what is needed, so that it will give grace to those who hear.
but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and fear,
having a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who disparage your good conduct in Christ will be put to shame.
Let your words always be with grace, seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should answer each person.
Brothers, even if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, each of you looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.
But one whom you graciously forgive anything, I graciously forgive also. For indeed what I have graciously forgiven, if I have graciously forgiven anything, I did it for your sakes in the presence of Christ,
so that no advantage would be taken of us by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his schemes.
When one is slow to anger, a ruler may be persuaded, And a soft tongue breaks the bone.
A tongue that brings healing is a tree of life, But perversion in it breaks the spirit.
If anyone thinks himself to be religious while not bridling his tongue but deceiving his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless.
He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his own spirit, than he who captures a city.
For, “The one who desires life, to love and see good days, Must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit.
“He must turn away from evil and do good; He must seek peace and pursue it.
“Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; nevertheless, woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!
Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on opinions.
But see to it that this authority of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.
Now He said to His disciples, “It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come, but woe to him through whom they come!
Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again—ever, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble.
but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it is better for him that a heavy millstone be hung around his neck, and that he be drowned in the depth of the sea.
A man of great wrath will bear the penalty, For if you deliver him, you will only have to do it again.
But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment.
For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Actually, then, it is already a failure for you, that you have lawsuits with one another. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded?
On the contrary, you yourselves wrong and defraud. You do this even to your brothers.
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
“Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.
Do not groan, brothers, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged. Behold, the Judge is standing right at the door.
He who is slow to anger has great discernment, But he who is quick-tempered raises up folly.
with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,
But you did not learn Christ in this way—
if indeed you heard Him and were taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus,
to lay aside, in reference to your former conduct, the old man, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit,
and to be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
and to put on the new man, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.
Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.
Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,
and do not give the devil an opportunity.
He who steals must steal no longer, but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with one who has need.
Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for building up what is needed, so that it will give grace to those who hear.
being diligent to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, But he who holds back his lips has insight.
All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things build up.
Let no one seek his own good, but that of the other person.
But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you view your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.
who being reviled, was not reviling in return; while suffering, He was uttering no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously.
When a man’s ways are pleasing to Yahweh, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.
being devoted to one another in brotherly love, giving preference to one another in honor,
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him.