72 Bible Verses about Persecution, Nature Of

In arrogance [the] wicked persecutes [the] poor. Let them be caught in [the] schemes that they devised,

Thus says Yahweh: "For three transgressions of Gaza and for four I will not revoke [the punishment], because they exiled a whole community, handing them over to Edom!

Thus says Yahweh: "For three transgressions of Moab and for four I will not revoke [the punishment], because he burned to lime the bones of the king of Edom.

For look! I am raising up the Chaldeans, the bitter and impetuous nation, the one who walks through the spacious places of earth to take possession of dwellings not belonging to it. They [are] dreadful and awesome; their justice and their dignity proceed from themselves. Their horses [are] more swift than leopards; they are more menacing than wolves [at] dusk. Their horsemen gallop; their horsemen come from afar; they fly like an eagle [that is] swift to devour.read more.
All of them come for violence, their faces pressing forward. They gather captives like the sand. And they themselves scoff at kings and rulers [are] a joke to them. They laugh at every fortification, and they heap up earth and take it. Then they sweep [like the] wind and pass on; they become guilty, whose might [is] their god!"

And I looked, and behold, a pale green horse, and the one seated on it {was named} Death, and Hades followed after him. And authority was granted to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill by the sword and by famine and by pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth.

And the appearance of the locusts [was] like horses prepared for battle, and on their heads [were something] like crowns similar in appearance to gold, and their faces [were] like men's faces, and they had hair like the hair of women, and their teeth were like [the teeth] of lions, and they had breastplates like iron breastplates, and the sound of their wings [was] like the sound of many {horse-drawn chariots} running into battle.read more.
And they have tails similar in appearance to scorpions, and stings, and their power to injure people [for] five months [is] in their tails.

And I will put hostility between you and between the woman, and between your offspring and between her offspring; he will strike you [on the] head, and you will strike him [on the] heel."

So Yahweh said to Satan, "{All right}, he [is] in your {power}. Only spare his life." So Satan went out from {Yahweh's presence}, and he inflicted Job with loathsome skin sores from the sole of his foot up to the crown of his head.

And he showed me Joshua the high priest standing {before} the angel of Yahweh; and Satan was standing on his right to accuse him.

And Satan entered into Judas, the one called Iscariot, who was of the number of the twelve. And he went away [and] discussed with the chief priests and officers of the temple guard how he could betray him to them.

Be sober; be on the alert. Your adversary the devil walks around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.

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.

If the world hates you, you know that it has hated me before [it hated] you.

Do not marvel, brothers, if the world hates you.

But those tenant farmers said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and the inheritance will be ours!'

So on account of this the Jews were seeking even more to kill him, because he not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God his own Father, [thus] making himself equal with God.

If you were of the world, the world would love its own. But because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, for this [reason] the world hates you.

I have given them your word, and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world just as I am not of the world.

strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging [them] to continue in the faith and [saying], "Through many persecutions it is necessary [for] us to enter into the kingdom of God."

For you became imitators, brothers, of the churches of God [which] are in Judea in Christ Jesus, because you also suffered the same [things] at the hands of your own people, just as [they] themselves [did] also at the hands of the Jews, 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,

See what sort of love the Father has given to us: that we should be called children of God, and we are! Because of this the world does not know us: because it did not know him.

"But you, watch out for yourselves! They will hand you over to councils and you will be beaten in the synagogues and will have to stand before governors and kings because of me, for a witness to them.

Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "Thus may the gods do [to me], and may they add [to it], surely at this time tomorrow I will make your life as the life of one of them!"

Now when it was reported to Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and to the rest of our enemies that I had built the wall and that no gap was left in it--though up to that time I had not erected doors in the gates--

Princes persecute me without cause, but my heart trembles because of your word.

So they took Jeremiah and threw him into the pit [of] Malchiah, the son of the king, which [was] in the courtyard of the guard. And they let Jeremiah down by ropes. Now in the pit there was no water, {but only} mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.

Then Nebuchadnezzar said in rage and anger to bring in Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego; then they brought in these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, "[Is it] true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, [that] you are not serving my god, and [you are] not worshiping the statue of gold that I have set up? Now if you are ready so that {when} you hear the sound of the horn, the flute, the lyre, [the] trigon, [the] harp and [the] drum and all kinds of music, you fall down and you worship the statue that I have made, [that will be good]. But if you do not worship it, {immediately} you will be thrown into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire, and {who is the god} who will rescue you from my hands?"read more.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego answered and said to the king, Nebuchadnezzar, "We have no need on this matter {to present a defense to you}. {If it is so}, our God, whom we serve, is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire. And from your hand, O king, let him rescue us.

But beware of people, because they will hand you over to councils, and they will flog you in their synagogues.

Now at that time, Herod the king laid hands on some of those from the church to harm [them]. So he executed James the brother of John with a sword. And [when he] saw that it was pleasing to the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. ({Now this was during the feast} of Unleavened Bread.)

And because of this we also give thanks to God constantly, that [when you] received God's word {that you heard} from us, you accepted [it] not [as the] word of men, but as [it] truly is, [the] word of God, which also is at work in you who believe. For you became imitators, brothers, of the churches of God [which] are in Judea in Christ Jesus, because you also suffered the same [things] at the hands of your own people, just as [they] themselves [did] also at the hands of the Jews, 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,read more.
hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles in order that they may be saved, so that [they] always fill up their sins. But wrath has come upon them to the end.

{And then} as Jeremiah finished speaking all that Yahweh had commanded [him] to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold of him, {saying}, "You will die!

And Amaziah said to Amos, " seer, go, flee to the land of Judah and earn food there and prophesy there!" But do not prophesy again at Bethel, because this [is] a sanctuary of a king and this [is] a temple of a kingdom."

For this [reason], behold, I am sending to you prophets and wise men and scribes. [Some] of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues and will pursue from town to town, 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. Truly I say to you, all these [things] will come upon this generation!read more.
"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How many times I wanted to gather your children together {the way} a hen gathers her young together under [her] wings, and you were not willing!

For in truth both Herod and Pontius Pilate, together with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, assembled together in this city against your holy servant Jesus whom you anointed, to do all that your hand and plan had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, concern yourself with their threats and grant your slaves to speak your message with all boldness,

Now the high priest rose up and all those [who were] with him (that is, the party of the Sadducees), [and] they were filled with jealousy. And they laid hands on the apostles and put them in the public prison.

{I} persecuted this Way to the death, tying up and delivering to prison both men and women,

And it was given to him to make war with the saints and to conquer them. And authority was given to him over every tribe and people and language and nation.

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 the enemies of a man [will be] the members of his household.

For a son treats a father with contempt; a daughter rises up against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; [the] enemies of a man [are] the men of his own house.

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.

"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] {his family} heard [this], they went out to restrain him, for they were saying, "He has lost his mind!"

But just as at that time the [child] born according to human descent persecuted the [child born] according to the Spirit, so also now.

Therefore I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in calamities, in persecutions and difficulties for the sake of Christ, for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.

After whom did the king of Israel go out? After whom are you pursuing? After a dead dog? After one flea?

Deliver me from my enemies, O my God. Protect me from those who rise up against me. Deliver me from workers of iniquity, and from men of bloodshed save me. For look, they lie in wait for my life. The mighty attack against me, not [because of] my transgression or my sin, O Yahweh.read more.
Without guilt on my part they run and ready themselves. Awake to meet me and see.

Hear my voice, O God, in my lamenting. Preserve my life from [the] fear of [the] enemy. Hide me from [the] secret plots of evildoers, from [the] unrest of [those who] do iniquity, who sharpen their tongue like a sword. They bend [their bow to shoot] their arrows--bitter words,read more.
to shoot from their hiding places [at the] blameless. Suddenly they shoot [at] him and do not fear.

We are afflicted in every [way], but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying around the death of Jesus in our body, in order that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.read more.
For we who are alive [are] continually being handed over to death because of Jesus, in order that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal flesh. So then, death is at work in us, but life in you.

Are they servants of Christ?--I am speaking as though I were beside myself--I [am] more so, with far greater labors, with far more imprisonments, with beatings to a much greater degree, in [danger of] death many times. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews forty [lashes] less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked. A day and a night I have spent in the deep water.read more.
[I have been] on journeys many times, in dangers from rivers, in dangers from robbers, in dangers from [my own] people, in dangers from the Gentiles, in dangers in the city, in dangers in the wilderness, in dangers at sea, in dangers because of false brothers,

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, of whom the world was not worthy, wandering about on deserts and mountains and in caves and in holes in the ground.

And indeed, all those who want to live in a godly manner in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

But he does not have a root in himself, but {lasts only a little while}, and [when] affliction or persecution happens because of the word, immediately he falls away.

Jesus said, "Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields on account of me and on account of the gospel {who will not} receive a hundred times as much now in this time--houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and fields, together with persecutions--and in the age to come, eternal life.

for indeed when we were with you we told you beforehand that we were about to be afflicted, just as indeed it happened, and you know.

For nation will rise up against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in [various] places. But all these [things] [are] the beginning of birth pains. "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.read more.
And then many will be led into sin and will betray one another and will hate one another,

Do not let anyone deceive you in any way, for [that day will not come] unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and who exalts himself over every so-called god or object of worship, so that he sits down in the temple of God, proclaiming that he himself is God.

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.

The presence of Yahweh has scattered them, he will no longer watch over them; {they did not honor the priests}, they did not show mercy [to] elders. Still our eyes failed, [looking for] our help in vain; in our watchtower, we kept watch for a nation that could not save. They hunted our steps, from walking in our streets; our end has come near, {our days are finished}, our end has come.read more.
Our pursuers were swifter than [the] eagles of [the] heavens; they chased us on the mountains, they have set an ambush for us in the desert.

Thus says Yahweh: "Look, a people [is] coming from [the] land of [the] north, a great nation is woken up from [the] farthest part of [the] earth. [The] bow and [the] short sword they grasp [are] cruel, and they show no mercy. Their sound roars like the sea, and on horses they ride, drawn up like a man for battle against you, O daughter of Zion." We have heard news of it, our hands grow slack, anxiety has grasped us, pain as a [woman who] gives birth.read more.
You must not go out [into] the field, and you must not walk on the road, for {the enemy has a sword}, terror [is] all around. O daughter of my people, gird yourself [with] sackcloth, and roll about in the ashes in mourning, a mourning ceremony [as for] an only child. Make for yourself wailing of bitterness, for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us.

And the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah, {saying}, "Look, I [am] Yahweh, [the] God of all flesh; is {anything} too difficult for me?" {Therefore} thus says Yahweh: "Look, I [am] going to give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and he will capture it.read more.
And the Chaldeans, who are fighting against this city, will come and set this city on fire, and they will burn it, and the houses where they have made smoke offerings on their roofs to Baal, and [where] they have devoted libations to other gods, in order to provoke me to anger.

But the army of [the] Chaldeans pursued after them and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho. And they took him and brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon [at] Riblah in the land of Hamath. And he pronounced {sentence} on him. And the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah at Riblah before his eyes. The king of Babylon also slaughtered all the nobles of Judah. Then he blinded the eyes of Zedekiah and tied him up with bronze fetters to bring him [to] Babylon.read more.
And the Chaldeans burned the palace of the king and the houses of the people with fire and broke down the walls of Jerusalem. Then the rest of the people who were left in the city, and those deserting who had deserted to him, and the rest of the people who remained, Nebuzaradan, [the] captain of [the] guard, deported [to] Babylon. And some of the poor people, {who had nothing}, Nebuzaradan, [the] captain of [the] guard, left in the land of Judah. And he gave them vineyards and fields on that day.

because they persecute [those] whom you, yourself, have struck, and they tell of the pain of [those] you have wounded.

And on account of this the Jews began to persecute Jesus, because he was doing these [things] on the Sabbath.

I gave my back to those who struck [me], and my cheeks to those who pulled out my {beard}; I did not hide my face from insults and spittle.

He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was brought like lamb to [the] slaughter, and like a sheep is dumb before its shearers, so he did not open his mouth.

{who will not} receive a hundred times as much now in this time--houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and fields, together with persecutions--and in the age to come, eternal life.

"But before all these [things], they will lay their hands on you and will persecute [you], handing [you] over to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and governors because of my name.

Remember the word that I said to you: 'A slave is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will keep yours also.

You who know, Yahweh, remember me, and attend to me, and take revenge for me against my persecutors {in your forbearance}. You must take me away. Know [that] I [am] carrying disgrace because of you.

For thus said Yahweh of hosts, after glory he sent me against the nations plundering you: Truly, the one touching you [is] touching the apple of his eye.

And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" So he said, "Who are you, Lord?" And he [said], "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting!