The Bible isn't just a sacred text—it's a source of inspiration packed with powerful stories and lessons about forgiveness that everyone, regardless of faith, can appreciate.
With this in mind, we've handpicked 45 Bible verses filled with the spirit of forgiveness and 15 compelling quotes to deepen your understanding and foster compassion.
“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
-Matthew 6:14-15
“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”
-Matthew 6:12
“For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”
-Matthew 6:14
“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
“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”
-Ephesians 4:32
“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.”
-Ephesians 1:7
“Then Peter came to Him and said, ‘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.’”
-Matthew 18:21-22
“And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.”
-Mark 11:25
“Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”
-Luke 6:37
“The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities.”
-Psalm 103:8-10
“For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.”
-Psalm 86:5
“Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy.”
-Micah 7:18
“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.”
-Acts 3:19
“If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
-2 Chronicles 7:14
“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
-Hebrews 8:12
“He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.”
-Proverbs 28:13
“Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”
-James 5:16
“I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.”
-Psalm 32:5
“Above all things have fervent love for one another, for love will cover a multitude of sins.”
-1 Peter 4:8
“But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.”
-Luke 6:32-33
“Let all that you do be done with love.”
-1 Corinthians 16:
“Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.”
-Matthew 18:15
“Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”
-Matthew 5:23-24
“Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.”
-2 Corinthians 5:18
“Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.”
-Matthew 18:23
“But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’”
-Matthew 18:28
“So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”
-Matthew 18:35
“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”
-Romans 8:1
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
-Jeremiah 29:11
“Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”
-Isaiah 43:18-19
“Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”
-Lamentations 3:22-23
“For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”
-Psalm 103:11-12
“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).”
-Ephesians 2:4-5
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
-Matthew 6:9-10
“Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”
-Matthew 6:11-12
“And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”
-Matthew 6:13
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
-Ephesians 2:8-9
“And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.”
-1 Timothy 1:14
“But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
-Romans 5:20-21
“Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”
-Ephesians 4:31-32
“Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled.”
-Hebrews 12:14-15
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
-Romans 12:21
“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”
-James 5:16
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
-1 John 1:8-9
“So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”
-Matthew 5:23-24
“And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.”
-Luke 15:20
“And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his servants, 'Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.' And they began to celebrate.”
-Luke 15:21-24
“It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.”
-Luke 15:32
“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.”
-Isaiah 1:18
“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.”
-Hebrews 8:12
“As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”
-Psalm 103:12
“Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart.”
-Corrie ten Boom
“To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.”
-C.S. Lewis
“Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.”
-Paul Boese
“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.”
-Lewis B. Smedes
“Forgive others, not because they deserve forgiveness, but because you deserve peace.”
-Jonathan Lockwood Huie
“The practice of forgiveness is our most important contribution to the healing of the world.”
-Marianne Williamson
“There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love.”
-Bryant H. McGill
“Forgiveness isn't just the absence of anger. It's also the presence of self-love, when you actually begin to value yourself.”
-Tara Westover
“Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.”
-Mark Twain
“Holding a grudge doesn't make you strong; it makes you bitter. Forgiving doesn't make you weak; it sets you free.”
-Dave Willis
“When you forgive, you in no way change the past but you sure do change the future.”
-Bernard Meltzer
“It's one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive. Forgive everybody.”
-Maya Angelou
“Forgiveness is not an emotion, it's a decision.”
-Randall Worley
“Forgiveness is a gift you give to someone else; it's an act of your own will.”
-Michael Hyatt
“To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.”
-C.S. Lewis
“Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart.”
-Corrie ten Boom
“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.”
-Lewis B. Smedes
“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”
-Colossians 3:13
“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”
-Matthew 6:14
“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”
-Luke 6:36-37
In this ocean of wisdom known as the Bible, we have discovered 45 inspiring verses about forgiveness that resonate with all of us, irrespective of our beliefs. Our additional 15 hand-selected quotes aim to enhance this journey toward understanding and compassion.
We hope these words inspire and guide you toward forgiveness, empathy, and emotional growth.
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