Forgiveness is the part of Christian teaching people most often agree with in principle and find hardest in practice. Scripture does not pretend otherwise — it keeps returning to the subject precisely because it does not come naturally.
These twenty Bible verses about forgiveness are grouped by where the difficulty actually sits: being forgiven yourself, forgiving someone who hurt you, the days it feels impossible, asking for forgiveness, and what forgiveness does and does not require. Read slowly; this is not a subject that yields to skimming.
Being forgiven
Most people find it easier to believe God forgives other people. These verses are about the scale of it — and notice how physical the images are: blotted out, removed, cast into the sea.
“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)
“As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.”
Psalm 103:12 (KJV)
“I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.”
Isaiah 43:25 (KJV)
“Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.”
Micah 7:19 (KJV)
Forgiving someone who hurt you
The New Testament consistently ties the two directions together — not as a transaction, but because someone who has genuinely received mercy finds it harder to withhold.
“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)
“Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.”
Colossians 3:13 (KJV)
“For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”
Matthew 6:14 (KJV)
“And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any.”
Mark 11:25 (KJV)
When it feels impossible
Peter asks whether seven times is enough, which is a very human question. The answer he gets is not a number but a direction, and it assumes forgiveness will need repeating.
“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.”
Matthew 18:21–22 (KJV)
“Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.”
Luke 23:34 (KJV)
“Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.”
Romans 12:19 (KJV)
“Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven.”
Luke 6:37 (KJV)
Asking to be forgiven
Scripture treats confession as something you do out loud, to God and sometimes to people — which is harder and more healing than deciding privately to move on.
“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.”
Psalm 32:5 (KJV)
“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed.”
James 5:16 (KJV)
“Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.”
Matthew 5:24 (KJV)
“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out.”
Acts 3:19 (KJV)
What forgiveness rests on
Forgiveness in the Bible is never presented as pretending the wrong was small. It is costly, and it is grounded in something outside the person doing the forgiving.
“In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.”
Ephesians 1:7 (KJV)
“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.”
Hebrews 8:12 (KJV)
“To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him.”
Daniel 9:9 (KJV)
“He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends.”
Proverbs 17:9 (KJV)
What forgiveness does not require
Forgiving someone is not the same as saying the wrong did not matter, and it does not oblige you to trust a person who is still dangerous or to return to a situation that is harming you. Scripture takes wrongdoing seriously enough to name it plainly. If you are being hurt, please tell someone you trust — a pastor, a friend, or the appropriate authorities. Forgiveness and safety are not opposites, and you do not have to choose between them.
Keeping one verse close
Forgiveness is rarely finished in one sitting, which is why a verse you can return to matters more here than almost anywhere else. Keep one where you will meet it again — written on a card, or marking the passage with a full-grain leather Bible bookmark.
Free Bible and prayer tools
The short daily prayers include words for the days you are willing to forgive but cannot find the sentence, and the private prayer journal keeps what you pray on your own device — useful when the same name comes up for months. Bible verses for every emotion covers the anger and grief that usually travel alongside.
If the anger has not cooled enough to begin, verses about anger come first — and where the person you needed to forgive is gone, verses for grief and comfort sit closer to it.
Letting go of a grudge
Forgiving and forgetting are not the same thing, and Scripture never asks for the second. What it asks is that you stop holding the debt — that you release the claim you have on someone rather than pretend the injury never happened.
“And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” — Ephesians 4:32
“Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you” — Ephesians 4:31
“Recompense to no man evil for evil” — Romans 12:17
“Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord” — Romans 12:19
Forgiveness and reconciliation
These two are often confused, and the difference matters for anyone weighing whether to let someone back in. Forgiveness is something you can do alone. Reconciliation takes two, and Scripture allows for the possibility that it may not be safe or possible.
“If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men” — Romans 12:18
“Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone” — Matthew 18:15
“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God” — Matthew 5:9
A verse to carry when forgiveness is slow
Forgiveness is rarely finished in one reading; it is returned to. The “God is Love” leather card holder carries 1 John 4:8 — “God is love” — debossed into full-grain leather on something handled every day, a quiet reminder of where the strength to forgive comes from. Browse all Christian wallets and card holders.
Common questions about bible verses about forgiveness
What does the Bible say about forgiveness?
Scripture teaches that God forgives fully — Psalm 103:12 says our transgressions are removed “as far as the east is from the west” — and repeatedly ties that to forgiving others (Ephesians 4:32, Matthew 6:14). It treats forgiveness as costly and often repeated rather than as a single decision.
How many times should I forgive someone?
When Peter asked whether seven times was enough, Jesus answered “until seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:21–22). The point is not an exact count but that forgiveness is expected to need repeating.
Does forgiving mean I have to trust them again?
No. Forgiveness releases the debt; it does not require you to trust someone who is still causing harm or to return to an unsafe situation. If you are being hurt, please tell a pastor, a friend, or the appropriate authorities.
Which translation are these verses in?
The King James Version (KJV), which is in the public domain.
What does the Bible say about letting go of a grudge?
Ephesians 4:31–32 pairs the two halves: put bitterness and anger away, and be kind and tenderhearted instead. Romans 12:19 gives the reason it is possible to release a debt — justice is not being cancelled, it is being handed to God rather than carried by you.
Is forgiveness the same as reconciliation?
No. Forgiveness is a decision you can make on your own, about what you will no longer hold against someone. Reconciliation is a restored relationship and requires both people. Romans 12:18 is careful about this: “if it be possible, as much as lieth in you” — which quietly acknowledges that sometimes it is not.
Do I have to forgive someone who is not sorry?
Scripture calls believers to forgive as they have been forgiven (Ephesians 4:32) without making it conditional on an apology. That is about releasing your own claim, not about declaring the wrong acceptable, and it does not require restoring access to someone who is still causing harm.