29 Bible Verses about Martyrdom

so that upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on the earth from the blood of righteous Abel up to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.

who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and who persecuted us, and [who are] not pleasing to God and [are] opposed to all people,

And the others, seizing his slaves, mistreated [them] and killed [them].

"Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have torn down your altars, and I alone am left, and they are seeking my life!"

And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, accomplished justice, obtained what was promised, shut the mouths of lions, extinguished the effectiveness of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong from weakness, became mighty in battle, put to flight enemy battle lines. read more.
Women received back their dead by resurrection. But others were tortured, not accepting release, in order that they might gain a better resurrection. And others {experienced mocking and flogging}, and in addition bonds and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they died by murder with a sword, they wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins, impoverished, afflicted, mistreated,

not as Cain, who was of the evil one and violently murdered his brother. And {for what reason} did he violently murder him? Because his deeds were evil and the [deeds] of his brother [were] righteous.

Then Cain said to his brother Abel, ["Let us go out into the field."] And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.

It had happened that when Jezebel killed the prophets of Yahweh, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them {by fifties} in the cave and sustained them [with] food and water.)

But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest

Then he said, "I have been very zealous for Yahweh the God of hosts, for the {Israelites} have forsaken your covenant. They have demolished your altars, and they have killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left over, and they seek to take my life.

"Then they will hand you over to persecution and will kill you, and you will be hated by all the nations because of my name.

{They will expel you from the synagogue}, but an hour is coming that everyone who kills you will think they are offering service to God.

"And brother will hand over brother to death, and a father [his] children, and children will rise up against parents and have them put to death,

And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the witnesses to Jesus. And {I was greatly astonished when I saw her}.

And in her was found the blood of prophets and saints and all those who had been slaughtered on the earth.

Do not be afraid of [the things] which you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw [some] of you into prison so that you may be tested, and you will experience affliction ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.

'I know where you live, where the throne of Satan [is]. And you hold fast to my name and did not deny your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan lives.

Do not be afraid of [the things] which you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw [some] of you into prison so that you may be tested, and you will experience affliction ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.

And to each one of them a white robe was given, and it was said to them that they should rest yet a short time, until [the number of] their fellow slaves and their brothers who were about to be killed as they [had been] were completed also.

And I saw thrones, and they sat down on them, and authority to judge was granted to them. And [I saw] the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God, and who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and did not receive the mark on their forehead and on their hand, and they came to life and reigned with Christ [for] a thousand years.

And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered because of the word of God and because of the testimony which they had,

Do not be afraid of [the things] which you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw [some] of you into prison so that you may be tested, and you will experience affliction ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.

And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul, but instead be afraid of the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Then the king said to Doeg, "You turn and attack the priests!" So Doeg the Edomite turned and attacked the priests himself, and on that day he killed eighty-five men who wore [the] linen ephod. And {he put to the sword} Nob, the city of the priests, from man to woman, from child to infant, and ox and donkey and sheep; [all] {to the sword}.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone wants to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life on account of me will find it.

'I know where you live, where the throne of Satan [is]. And you hold fast to my name and did not deny your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan lives.

And they brought out Uriah from Egypt and they brought him to King Jehoiakim, and he struck him down with the sword, and he threw his dead body into the burial sites of the sons of the people.

Truly, truly I say to you, when you were young, you tied [your clothes] around yourself and walked wherever you wanted. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will tie you up and carry [you] where you do not want [to go]. (Now he said this to indicate by what kind of death he would glorify God.) And [after he] had said this, he said to him, "Follow me!"

so that the blood of all the prophets that has been shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the temple building. Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation!

Then they conspired against him and stoned him [with] stones at the command of the king in the courtyard of the house of Yahweh. So King Joash did not remember the loyal love that Jehoiada had shown to him, and he killed his son. And as he was dying he said, "May Yahweh see and avenge!"

You have not yet resisted to the point of [shedding your] blood [as you] struggle against sin.

It had happened that when Jezebel killed the prophets of Yahweh, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them {by fifties} in the cave and sustained them [with] food and water.)

Has it not been told to my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of Yahweh? I hid a hundred men of the prophets of Yahweh {by fifties} in the cave, and I sustained them [with] food and water.

For John had been saying to Herod, "It is not permitted for you to have your brother's wife." So Herodias held a grudge against him and was wanting to kill him, and was not able [to do so]. For Herod was afraid of John, [because he] knew him [to be] a righteous and holy man and protected him. And [when he] listened to him, he was greatly perplexed, and [yet] he listened to him gladly. read more.
And a suitable day came when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet for his courtiers and military tribunes and the most prominent [men] of Galilee. And [when] the daughter of Herodias herself came in and danced and pleased Herod and {his dinner guests}, the king said to the girl, "Ask me [for] whatever you want, and I will give [it] to you." And he swore to her, "Anything whatever you ask me for I will give you, up to half my kingdom!" And she went out [and] said to her mother, "What should I ask for?" And she said, "The head of John the baptizer." And she came in immediately with haste to the king [and] asked, saying, "I want you to give me the head of John the Baptist on a platter immediately." And [although he] was deeply grieved, the king, because of his oaths and {dinner guests}, did not want to refuse her. And immediately the king sent an executioner [and] ordered [him] to bring his head. And he went [and] beheaded him in the prison. And he brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother.

And [after they] had driven [him] out of the city, they began to stone [him], and the witnesses laid aside their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. And they kept on stoning Stephen [as he] was calling out and saying, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!" And falling to [his] knees, he cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them!" And [after he] said this, he fell asleep.

And immediately the king sent an executioner [and] ordered [him] to bring his head. And he went [and] beheaded him in the prison.

And [after they] had driven [him] out of the city, they began to stone [him], and the witnesses laid aside their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul.

So he executed James the brother of John with a sword.

And {in the course of time} Cain brought an offering from the fruit of the ground to Yahweh, and Abel also brought [an offering] from {the choicest firstlings of his flock}. And Yahweh looked with favor to Abel and to his offering, but to Cain and to his offering he did not look with favor. And Cain became very angry, and his face fell. read more.
And Yahweh said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why is your face fallen? If you do well {will I not accept you}? But if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. And its desire [is] for you, but you must rule over it." Then Cain said to his brother Abel, ["Let us go out into the field."] And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.

So he executed James the brother of John with a sword.

but emptied himself [by] taking the form of a slave, [by] becoming in the likeness of people. And being found in appearance like a man,

For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is imminent.

Then Paul replied, "What are you doing weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be tied up, but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus!"

And if I parcel out all my possessions, and if I hand over my body in order that I will be burned, but do not have love, it benefits [me] nothing.

And I saw thrones, and they sat down on them, and authority to judge was granted to them. And [I saw] the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God, and who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and did not receive the mark on their forehead and on their hand, and they came to life and reigned with Christ [for] a thousand years.

"And brother will hand over brother to death, and a father [his] children, and children will rise up against parents and have them put to death,

And when he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered because of the word of God and because of the testimony which they had,