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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 just as it is written, “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.”
So then, if you bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,
leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother and then come and present your gift.
Hear, O our God, for we are despised! Return their reproach on their own head! Reduce them to plunder in a land of exile!
I will no longer subject you to the nations’ insults; no longer will you bear the shame of the peoples, and no longer will you bereave your nation, declares the sovereign Lord.’”
Instead, be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you.
His mouth is full of curses and deceptive, harmful words; his tongue injures and destroys.
bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if someone happens to have a complaint against anyone else. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also forgive others.
Now Jacob’s sons had come in from the field when they heard the news. They were offended and very angry because Shechem had disgraced Israel by sexually assaulting Jacob’s daughter, a crime that should not be committed.
David asked the men who were standing near him, “What will be done for the man who strikes down this Philistine and frees Israel from this humiliation? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he defies the armies of the living God?”
When David heard that Nabal had died, he said, “Praised be the Lord who has vindicated me and avenged the insult that I suffered from Nabal! The Lord has kept his servant from doing evil, and he has repaid Nabal for his evil deeds.” Then David sent word to Abigail and asked her to become his wife.
My enemies’ taunts cut into me to the bone, as they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
“If your brother sins, go and show him his fault when the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have regained your brother.
Do not return evil for evil or insult for insult, but instead bless others because you were called to inherit a blessing.
“For if you forgive others their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
But if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive you your sins.
Therefore we must not pass judgment on one another, but rather determine never to place an obstacle or a trap before a brother or sister.
Their insults are painful and make me lose heart; I look for sympathy, but receive none, for comforters, but find none.
Watch yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him. If he repents, forgive him.
It will be the same on the day the Son of Man is revealed.
On that day, anyone who is on the roof, with his goods in the house, must not come down to take them away, and likewise the person in the field must not turn back.
Remember Lot’s wife!
Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it.
I tell you, in that night there will be two people in one bed; one will be taken and the other left.
There will be two women grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.”
Then the disciples said to him, “Where, Lord?” He replied to them, “Where the dead body is, there the vultures will gather.”
Even if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times returns to you saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”
Pay back our neighbors in full! May they be insulted the same way they insulted you, O Lord!
Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters! Let every person be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger.
My brothers and sisters, consider it nothing but joy when you fall into all sorts of trials,
For human anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness.
“Do not judge so that you will not be judged.
Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?
If you then, although you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
In everything, treat others as you would want them to treat you, for this fulfills the law and the prophets.
“Enter through the narrow gate, because the gate is wide and the way is spacious that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.
But the gate is narrow and the way is difficult that leads to life, and there are few who find it.
“Watch out for false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are voracious wolves.
You will recognize them by their fruit. Grapes are not gathered from thorns or figs from thistles, are they?
In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.
A good tree is not able to bear bad fruit, nor a bad tree to bear good fruit.
Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
For by the standard you judge you will be judged, and the measure you use will be the measure you receive.
The one who forgives an offense seeks love, but whoever repeats a matter separates close friends.
A person’s wisdom makes him slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.
It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything that causes your brother to stumble.
“If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him and becomes another man’s wife, he may not take her back again. Doing that would utterly defile the land. But you, Israel, have given yourself as a prostitute to many gods. So what makes you think you can return to me?” says the Lord.
Let him offer his cheek to the one who hits him; let him have his fill of insults. כ (Kaf)
“Then the king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every deity and he will utter presumptuous things against the God of gods. He will succeed until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been decreed must occur.
“I have heard Moab’s taunts and the Ammonites’ insults. They taunted my people and verbally harassed those living in Judah.
Then the high priest tore his clothes and declared, “He has blasphemed! Why do we still need witnesses? Now you have heard the blasphemy!
Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself.
since it was because of the work of Christ that he almost died. He risked his life so that he could make up for your inability to serve me.
Each of you should be concerned not only about your own interests, but about the interests of others as well.
Above all keep your love for one another fervent, because love covers a multitude of sins.
The Jewish leaders replied, “We are not going to stone you for a good deed but for blasphemy, because you, a man, are claiming to be God.”
Speaking recklessly is like the thrusts of a sword, but the words of the wise bring healing.
Then Peter came to him and said, “Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother who sins against me? As many as seven times?”
Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, I tell you, but seventy-seven times!
You must put away every kind of bitterness, anger, wrath, quarreling, and evil, slanderous talk.
A quick-tempered person stirs up dissension, but one who is slow to anger calms a quarrel.
Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a heart of mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,
bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if someone happens to have a complaint against anyone else. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also forgive others.
In everything, treat others as you would want them to treat you, for this fulfills the law and the prophets.
However, if you continually bite and devour one another, beware that you are not consumed by one another.
and live in love, just as Christ also loved us and gave himself for us, a sacrificial and fragrant offering to God.
See that no one pays back evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue what is good for one another and for all.
And the Lord’s slave must not engage in heated disputes but be kind toward all, an apt teacher, patient,
Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been fathered by God and knows God.
The person who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
But we who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak, and not just please ourselves.
And again it 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, “The root of Jesse will come, and the one who rises to rule over the Gentiles, in him will the Gentiles hope.”
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in him, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
But I myself am fully convinced about you, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct one another.
But I have written more boldly to you on some points so as to remind you, because of the grace given to me by God
to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. I serve the gospel of God like a priest, so that the Gentiles may become an acceptable offering, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
So I boast in Christ Jesus about the things that pertain to God.
For I will not dare to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in order to bring about the obedience of the Gentiles, by word and deed,
in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem even as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.
Let each of us please his neighbor for his good to build him up.
The one who denounces his neighbor lacks wisdom, but the one who has discernment keeps silent.
But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and not hypocritical.
And the fruit that consists of righteousness is planted in peace among those who make peace.
Do not repay anyone evil for evil; consider what is good before all people.
If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all people.
Do not avenge yourselves, dear friends, but give place to God’s wrath, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.
A relative offended is harder to reach than a strong city, and disputes are like the barred gates of a fortified 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 the evildoer. But whoever strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other to him as well.
Do not say, “I will do to him just as he has done to me; I will pay him back according to what he has done.”
You must let no unwholesome word come out of your mouth, but only what is beneficial for the building up of the one in need, that it may give grace to those who hear.
But set Christ apart as Lord in your hearts and always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope you possess.
Yet do it with courtesy and respect, keeping a good conscience, so that those who slander your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame when they accuse you.
Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer everyone.
Brothers and sisters, if a person is discovered in some sin, you who are spiritual restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness. Pay close attention to yourselves, so that you are not tempted too.
If you forgive anyone for anything, I also forgive him – for indeed what I have forgiven (if I have forgiven anything) I did so for you in the presence of Christ,
so that we may not be exploited by Satan (for we are not ignorant of his schemes).
If someone thinks he is religious yet does not bridle his tongue, and so deceives his heart, his religion is futile.
Better to be slow to anger than to be a mighty warrior, and one who controls his temper is better than one who captures a city.
For the one who wants to love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from uttering deceit.
And he must turn away from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it.
Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! It is necessary that stumbling blocks come, but woe to the person through whom they come.
Now receive the one who is weak in the faith, and do not have disputes over differing opinions.
A gift given in secret subdues anger, and a bribe given secretly subdues strong wrath.
Jesus said to his disciples, “Stumbling blocks are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come!
For this reason, if food causes my brother or sister to sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I may not cause one of them to sin.
“But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a huge millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the open sea.
A person with great anger bears the penalty, but if you deliver him from it once, you will have to do it again.
I tell you that on the day of judgment, people will give an account for every worthless word they speak.
For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
The fact that you have lawsuits among yourselves demonstrates that you have already been defeated. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?
But you yourselves wrong and cheat, and you do this to your brothers and sisters!
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but raise them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
“Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil things about you falsely on account of me.
Do not grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be judged. See, the judge stands before the gates!
The one who is slow to anger has great understanding, but the one who has a quick temper exalts folly.
Tremble with fear and do not sin! Meditate as you lie in bed, and repent of your ways! (Selah)
with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,
But you did not learn about Christ like this,
if indeed you heard about him and were taught in him, just as the truth is in Jesus.
You were taught with reference to your former way of life to lay aside the old man who is being corrupted in accordance with deceitful desires,
to be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
and to put on the new man who has been created in God’s image – in righteousness and holiness that comes from truth.
Therefore, having laid aside falsehood, each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.
Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on the cause of your anger.
Do not give the devil an opportunity.
The one who steals must steal no longer; rather he must labor, doing good with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with the one who has need.
You must let no unwholesome word come out of your mouth, but only what is beneficial for the building up of the one in need, that it may give grace to those who hear.
making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
When words abound, transgression is inevitable, but the one who restrains his words is wise.
“Everything is lawful,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is lawful,” but not everything builds others up.
Do not seek your own good, but the good of the other person.
But you who eat vegetables only – why do you judge your brother or sister? And you who eat everything – why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.
When he was maligned, he did not answer back; when he suffered, he threatened no retaliation, but committed himself to God who judges justly.
When a person’s ways are pleasing to the Lord, he even reconciles his enemies to himself.
Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love its use will eat its fruit.
“I give you a new commandment – to love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
Everyone will know by this that you are my disciples – if you have love for one another.”
The one who loves his fellow Christian resides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him.
A person has joy in giving an appropriate answer, and a word at the right time – how good it is!