bible verses about forgiveness

Bible Verses About Forgiveness: 15 Scriptures on Forgiving Others

Bible verses about forgiveness: 15 Scriptures on forgiving others and the forgiveness of sins, plus the best Bible chapters on forgiveness and what forgive and forget means.

Illustrated portrait of Christopher McAllister

By Christopher McAllister

Founder of theBibleand.Love

Published September 27, 2026Updated October 21, 20267 min readColossians 3:13 (NIV)

Two people meet on a path and take each other's hands, a cracked jar set aside nearby.

"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 (NIV)

People who search bible verses about forgiveness want Scripture for releasing a grievance — God's forgiveness toward us, and the call to forgive others. This page is a numbered list of fifteen passages with the NIV text and a short note on each. The wider theme hub is Bible verses about love. Patience and kindness — the other traits named beside love in 1 Corinthians 13 — sit under Bible verses about patience and Bible verses about kindness. The buy-back beside pardon is Bible verses about redemption. For Scripture on the blood that pays for sin, see Bible verses about the blood of Jesus.

15 Bible verses about forgiveness

  1. Colossians 3:13. "Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." The measure is the Lord's forgiveness, not how fair the other person seems. See Forgiveness and love: Colossians and Love and forgiveness.

  2. Ephesians 4:32. "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." Kindness, compassion, and forgiveness travel together, grounded in how God forgave in Christ. See also Bible verses about kindness.

  3. Matthew 6:14-15. "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." Jesus ties receiving forgiveness to extending it — not as a bargain, but as the shape of a forgiven life.

  4. Matthew 18:21-22. "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.'" Forgiveness is not a short checklist; Jesus refuses a small quota.

  5. Luke 6:37. "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven." Forgiveness sits beside refusing to condemn — a posture, not a one-time act.

  6. Luke 23:34. "Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.'" From the cross, Jesus prays forgiveness for those who are still harming him. Forgiveness here is prayer before apology.

  7. Mark 11:25. "And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins." Unforgiveness is something you bring into prayer — and Jesus tells you to release it there.

  8. Acts 3:19. "Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord." God's forgiveness includes wiping out sins and refreshing the one who turns.

  9. 1 John 1:9. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." Confession meets a faithful God who forgives and purifies — not a reluctant accountant.

  10. Psalm 103:12. "As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." The distance picture refuses a short leash on how far God removes guilt. See also Bible verses about God's love.

  11. Isaiah 1:18. "'Come now, let us settle the matter,' says the Lord. 'Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.'" God invites settlement; scarlet guilt becomes white — forgiveness that changes what remains.

  12. Micah 7:18-19. "Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea." God delights to show mercy and hurls iniquities into the deep.

  13. 2 Corinthians 5:19. "That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation." Reconciliation includes not counting sins against people — and handing that message to us.

  14. Proverbs 17:9. "Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends." Love covers; gossip separates. Forgiveness often looks like refusing to keep rehearsing the wound.

  15. Matthew 5:23-24. "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift." Reconciliation can take priority even over a religious act already in progress. Love that "keeps no record of wrongs" is named in 1 Corinthians 13:5. For a fuller survey, see What does the Bible say about forgiveness.

Bible chapters about forgiveness

If you want a whole chapter to read instead of one verse, start with these five.

  • Matthew 18. Peter asks how many times to forgive, and Jesus answers "seventy-seven times," then tells the parable of the unmerciful servant (Matthew 18:21-35). See Matthew 18:21-22.
  • Luke 15. The parable of the lost son. The father sees his son far off, runs to him, and welcomes him home before the son finishes his apology (Luke 15:11-32).
  • Psalm 51. David's prayer after his sin with Bathsheba: "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me" (Psalm 51:10).
  • Genesis 50. Joseph forgives the brothers who sold him: "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives" (Genesis 50:20).
  • Philemon. Paul's one-page letter asking Philemon to welcome back Onesimus, "no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother" (Philemon 1:16).

How to use these verses

Pick one verse for a hard conversation, a prayer, or a journal line — not fifteen. Read it out loud. If the wound is still fresh, start with God's forgiveness toward you (1 John 1:9, Psalm 103:12) before the call to forgive others. For the wider map of love themes, use Bible verses about love. For Peter, who denied Jesus and was restored by the lake, open Bible verses about Peter. For a daily verse, open Bible verse of the day.

Questions people ask

Does the Bible say to forgive and forget?

The phrase "forgive and forget" is not in the Bible. What Scripture says is that God chooses not to hold forgiven sin against us: "I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more" (Jeremiah 31:34). For people, forgiving means letting go of the debt and the grudge (1 Corinthians 13:5 says love "keeps no record of wrongs"). It does not mean pretending the harm never happened.

What does the Bible say about forgiveness of sins?

God forgives sin through Jesus: "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace" (Ephesians 1:7). The promise to the one who confesses is plain: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). See 1 John 1:9.

What chapter in the Bible is about forgiveness?

Matthew 18 is the clearest, with Jesus's "seventy-seven times" answer and the parable of the unmerciful servant. Luke 15, Psalm 51, Genesis 50, and Philemon are also good chapters to read.

What is the best Bible verse about forgiveness?

Colossians 3:13 and Ephesians 4:32 are strong starting places: forgive as the Lord forgave you. See Forgiveness and love: Colossians.

What does the Bible say about forgiving someone who isn't sorry?

Luke 23:34 shows Jesus praying forgiveness while people are still harming him. Mark 11:25 ties forgiveness to prayer even when the other person has not asked. Forgiveness can begin before an apology arrives.

Which verse says love keeps no record of wrongs?

1 Corinthians 13:5. See 1 Corinthians 13:5 and Love and forgiveness.

How is God's forgiveness different from ours?

God wipes out and removes sins (Acts 3:19, Psalm 103:12, Micah 7:18-19). We forgive as people who have already been forgiven in Christ (Colossians 3:13, Ephesians 4:32) — not as judges starting from a blank slate.

Read What does the Bible say about forgiveness, Love and forgiveness, and Bible verses about patience. Undeserved favor, a different search, is Bible verses about grace. The heat forgiveness releases is Bible verses about anger. The turn toward God that meets that pardon is Bible verses about repentance. The weight on the conscience, before that release, is Bible verses about guilt. When the wound is being handed over by someone close, see Bible verses about betrayal. For a daily verse, open Bible verse of the day.

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