Sacred texts · Bible
28 Bible verses about forgiveness
Bible verses about forgiveness hold two movements together: the forgiveness we receive from God and the forgiveness we give others. “Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you,” Paul writes (Ephesians 4:32). The Bible doesn’t present forgiveness as forgetting or as an excuse for wrong, but as a choice that sets you free.
This page gathers verses about God’s mercy, about forgiving offenses and about forgiving yourself and starting over. They are quoted word for word from the King James Version and come from the Selfia app. Forgiving can take time, especially after a deep hurt; these texts can walk with you without rushing you, and forgiving someone never means staying exposed to a person who harms you.
God’s forgiveness: Bible verses about mercy
“Slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy”: this phrase runs through the Old Testament, from Exodus to the Psalms. These verses describe a God who forgives, remembers that we are dust, and runs to meet the son who comes home, like the father in the parable.
For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.
The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.
For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him.
Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.
For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.
The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.
But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.
It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
For the Lord will not cast off for ever: But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies.
And therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you.
The Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.
When he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
Bible verses about forgiving others
These passages are about forgiving in practice: passing over a transgression, not being overcome by evil, being slow to anger. They don’t ask you to act as if nothing happened; they invite you not to let resentment make your decisions for you.
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
The discretion of a man deferreth his anger; and it is his glory to pass over a transgression.
Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering.
He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.
Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath.
Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.
Forgiving yourself: Bible verses for a fresh start
Guilt can last long after the wrong. These verses say there is “no condemnation” for those who are in Christ Jesus, that God is greater than our heart when it condemns us, and that a new heart can be given.
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.
For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
How to pray with these verses about forgiveness
Start with a verse from the first section: before forgiving, many believers first need to know they are forgiven themselves. Read it slowly, then name before God, in your own words, what you regret or what weighs on you.
If you need to forgive someone, choose a verse from the second section and write that person’s first name next to it, nothing more. Come back to it several days in a row. Forgiveness sometimes begins with a simple decision to stop feeding the anger, long before the feelings follow. If the hurt runs deep, talking with a counselor or a pastor can help.
Frequently asked questions
What does the Bible say about forgiveness?
It ties the forgiveness we receive to the forgiveness we give: Ephesians 4:32 asks us to forgive one another “even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” In the Gospels, Jesus asks us to forgive without keeping count, and the parable of the prodigal son shows a father who runs to embrace his son before the apology is even finished.
Does forgiving mean forgetting?
No. Forgiving means giving up revenge and resentment, not erasing your memory or pretending nothing happened. You can forgive and still keep your distance, especially from someone who is dangerous. Proverbs 19:11 calls it a man’s glory “to pass over a transgression,” meaning no longer holding it against the other person.
How do I forgive myself, according to the Bible?
The Bible says little about forgiving yourself but a great deal about accepting God’s forgiveness. 1 John 3:20 says that if our heart condemns us, “God is greater than our heart.” Receiving that forgiveness helps you stop punishing yourself. If guilt is crushing you, talking to someone close or to a professional is also a good step.