Bible verses about forgiving others
Jesus ties the forgiveness we receive to the forgiveness we give. He put the two in the same line of the Lord's Prayer: “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (Matthew 6:12, KJV). Right after the prayer, He says it again plainly. This is not a way of earning God's mercy. It is what mercy does in a person who has really received it: it starts to flow out.
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”
“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
“Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.”
“And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”
“Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”
Peter thought seven times was generous. Jesus answered, “Until seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:22, KJV): not a number to count up to, but a way of saying stop counting. Then He told the story of a servant forgiven a debt of ten thousand talents who would not forgive a fellow servant a hundred pence (Matthew 18:23-35). On the cross, Jesus prayed for the men who put Him there. He does not ask us to do anything He did not do Himself.
Forgiving does not mean pretending there is no justice. It means handing the case to God: “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord” (Romans 12:19, KJV). You let go of the right to get even because God will judge justly.
Bible verses about forgiving yourself
The words “forgive yourself” are not in the Bible, but the struggle behind them is real. Many people believe God has forgiven them and still cannot stop replaying what they did. Scripture's answer is not to lower the standard or to pretend the sin was small. It is to let God's verdict be louder than your own.
“I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.”
“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
“For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.”
“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
When Joseph's brothers finally stood before him, years after selling him into slavery, he told them, “be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves” (Genesis 45:5, KJV). Peter denied Jesus three times and wept; Jesus did not leave him there, but came to him by the lake and gave him work to do (John 21:15-17). Paul had persecuted the church (Philippians 3:6), and he chose to press on rather than live in his past.
Paul also names two kinds of sorrow. Godly sorrow leads to repentance and life, but “the sorrow of the world worketh death” (2 Corinthians 7:10, KJV). If your regret keeps dragging you back to a sin God has already forgiven, it is the second kind. Tell Him about it, and let Romans 8:1 have the last word. If shame will not lift, talking with a pastor or a Christian counselor can help. You do not have to carry it alone.
Forgiveness is not the same as trust
These two get confused, and the confusion keeps hurting people. Forgiveness is a decision to release a debt: you stop demanding that the other person pay for what they did. Trust is different. It is rebuilt slowly, by changed behavior over time, and it depends on the other person too.
Scripture shows the difference. Joseph forgave his brothers, but before he told them who he was, he tested whether they had changed (Genesis 42-44). Paul refused to take Mark on a second journey after Mark had left them partway through the first (Acts 15:37-39). Years later he wrote, “he is profitable to me for the ministry” (2 Timothy 4:11, KJV). Trust came back, but it took time.
“If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.”
“If it be possible” (Romans 12:18, KJV) is an honest phrase: sometimes peace is not possible, because it takes two. So you can forgive someone and still keep a boundary. You can forgive and still report a crime. If someone is hurting you, forgiveness never requires you to stay in harm's way. In the US, the National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233, or text START to 88788.
For a step-by-step answer, read How can I forgive someone who hurt me? If you are not ready to forgive yet, start by praying about it; our prayers for forgiveness can help you find the words.
How to begin forgiving someone
Tell God the truth about what happened
Name the wrong and how it hurt, without shrinking it. Forgiveness is not saying "it was nothing." It is saying "it was real, and I am letting it go."
Remember what you have been forgiven
Paul grounds our forgiving in God's: "even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you" (Ephesians 4:32, KJV). Mercy received is the fuel for mercy given.
Decide to release the debt
Tell God, in words, that you will not make them pay, and that you leave justice with Him (Romans 12:19). You may need to make that decision before you feel it.
Pray for the person
Jesus told us to pray for people who mistreat us (Matthew 5:44). Start small: ask God to do them good. It is hard to keep hating someone you pray for.
Expect to do it again
The hurt will come back the next time you see their name or pass the place where it happened. That is not failure. Forgive again; Jesus expected this when He told Peter to stop counting.
Get wise help
A pastor or a Christian counselor can help you work through deep wounds, and help keep you safe if the person is still a danger to you.
Frequently asked
What does the Bible say about forgiveness?
The Bible says God is ready to forgive everyone who turns to Him (Psalm 86:5, 1 John 1:9), and that His forgiveness is complete: "As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us" (Psalm 103:12, KJV). It also says that people who have been forgiven must forgive others, as Christ forgave them (Colossians 3:13).
How many times should I forgive someone?
When Peter suggested seven times, Jesus answered, "I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven" (Matthew 18:22, KJV). The point is not to keep count until you reach 490. It is to stop keeping score, the way God does not keep score with us.
Do I have to forgive someone who is not sorry?
Jesus tells us to forgive when we pray, whatever we hold against anyone (Mark 11:25), so you can let go of anger and the right to revenge even if the other person never apologizes. Full reconciliation is different. It needs honesty and change from both sides: "If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him" (Luke 17:3, KJV). One way to put it: forgiveness takes one person, reconciliation takes two.
What does the Bible say about forgiving yourself?
The Bible never uses the words "forgive yourself," but it speaks to the struggle. If you have confessed your sin, God has forgiven it (1 John 1:9), and "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1, KJV). When your own heart keeps accusing you, "God is greater than our heart" (1 John 3:20, KJV). Accepting His verdict is the biblical way to stop punishing yourself.
Does forgiving someone mean I have to trust them again?
No. Forgiveness releases the debt; trust is rebuilt over time by changed behavior. Joseph forgave his brothers but first tested whether they had changed (Genesis 42-44), and Paul took years to trust Mark again (Acts 15:37-39, 2 Timothy 4:11). If someone is hurting you, forgiving them never means staying in danger.
What are some forgiveness verses in the KJV?
King James verses on forgiveness to know include "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you" (Ephesians 4:32, KJV) and "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9, KJV). Psalm 103:12, Isaiah 1:18 and Micah 7:18-19 are worth knowing too; Micah says God "delighteth in mercy" (Micah 7:18, KJV).
Forgiveness usually starts small
Most forgiveness does not happen in one big moment. It starts with a small, honest prayer: “Lord, I am not ready to forgive them, but I am willing to be made willing.” Then the feelings come back the next time their name comes up, and you choose again. That is not failure. It is exactly the kind of repeated forgiving Jesus described to Peter.
And while you are learning to forgive, remember which direction forgiveness flows first. You are not trying to earn God's mercy by forgiving others. You are passing on, a little at a time, the mercy you have already received. In Faithero you can have Matthew 18 read aloud in the King James Version, including the parable of the unforgiving servant, and let Jesus make the point in His own words.
How does God forgive us?
God's forgiveness is not grudging. The Bible calls Him “ready to forgive” (Psalm 86:5, KJV), and it piles up pictures to show how complete His forgiveness is: stains washed white, sins sent as far as the east is from the west, thrown into the depths of the sea, no longer remembered.
Ephesians 1:7 names the cost: “redemption through his blood” (Ephesians 1:7, KJV). Forgiveness costs us nothing because it cost Christ everything. And when Hebrews 8:12 says God will remember our sins no more, it does not mean His memory fails. It means He has decided never to hold them against us again.
First John was written to people who already believed (1 John 2:1). Christians still sin, and the way back to God is the same as the way in: honest confession to a God who is “faithful and just to forgive us our sins” (1 John 1:9, KJV).