Christian Pure

17 Bible Verses About Revenge

Christian Pure Team

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Summary

  • Leviticus 19:18 forbids taking vengeance or bearing a grudge in the same verse that commands “love your neighbor as yourself.”
  • “Vengeance is mine” comes from the Song of Moses (Deuteronomy 32:35); Romans 12:19 quotes it to forbid personal revenge, and Hebrews 10:30 quotes it as a warning to believers.
  • “An eye for an eye” is a sentence the law gives to judges (Deuteronomy 19:18-21); Jesus quotes it in Matthew 5:38-39 and tells his hearers to turn the other cheek.
  • Romans 12:20 quotes Proverbs 25:21-22 on feeding a hungry enemy, directly after the command to leave vengeance to God.
  • David spared Saul in the cave at En-gedi and asked the Lord to avenge him instead (1 Samuel 24:12).

The Bible forbids personal revenge and reserves vengeance to God. The law tells Israel, “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge” (Leviticus 19:18), and God says in the Song of Moses, “Vengeance is mine, and recompense” (Deuteronomy 32:35), a line Paul quotes when he tells the Roman church, “never avenge yourselves” (Romans 12:19). Proverbs 20:22 and 24:29 forbid paying a person back, Jesus answers “an eye for an eye” with the other cheek (Matthew 5:38-39), and Romans 12:20…

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Bibliography (Click to show)

Scripture quotations are from the English Standard Version.

Mennonite Church USA. Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective, Article 22, “Peace, Justice, and Nonresistance.” mennoniteusa.org

The Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 23, “Of the Civil Magistrate,” section 2. opc.org

Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2265, on legitimate defense. vatican.va

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