59 Bible Verses about Persecution

So they went away from the Sanhedrin, happy to undergo shame for the Name.

Happy are you when men give you a bad name, and are cruel to you, and say all evil things against you falsely, because of me.

I came to send a fire on the earth, and it may even now have been lighted. But there is a baptism which I have to undergo; and how am I kept back till it is complete! Is it your opinion that I have come to give peace on earth? I say to you, No, but division: read more.
For from this time, a family of five in one house will be on opposite sides, three against two and two against three. They will be at war, the father against his son, and the son against his father; mother against daughter, and daughter against mother; mother-in-law against daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.

Happy are you when men give you a bad name, and are cruel to you, and say all evil things against you falsely, because of me.

Happy are you when men give you a bad name, and are cruel to you, and say all evil things against you falsely, because of me.

So they went away from the Sanhedrin, happy to undergo shame for the Name.

Alexander the copper-worker did me much wrong: the Lord will give him the reward of his works:

And about that time a great outcry took place about the Way. For there was a certain man named Demetrius, a silver-worker, who made silver boxes for the images of Diana, and gave no small profit to the workmen; Whom he got together, with other workmen of the same trade, and said to them, Men, it is clear that from this business we get our wealth. read more.
And you see, for it has come to your ears, that not only at Ephesus, but almost all through Asia, this Paul has been teaching numbers of people and turning them away, saying that those are not gods who are made by men's hands: And there is danger, not only that our trade may be damaged in the opinion of men, but that the holy place of the great goddess Diana may be no longer honoured, and that she to whom all Asia and the world give worship, will be put down from her high position. And hearing this, they were very angry, crying out and saying, Great is Diana of Ephesus. And the town was full of noise and trouble, and they all came running into the theatre, having taken by force Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia who were journeying in company with Paul. And when Paul was about to go in to the people, the disciples did not let him. And some of the rulers of Asia, being his friends, sent to him, requesting him seriously not to put himself in danger by going into the theatre. And some said one thing, and some another: for there was no order in the meeting; and most of them had no idea why they had come together. Then they took Alexander out from among the people, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander, making a sign with his hand, was about to make a statement to the people in answer: But when they saw that he was a Jew, all of them with one voice went on crying out for about two hours, Great is Diana of Ephesus. And when the chief secretary had got the people quiet, he said, Men of Ephesus, is any man without knowledge that the town of Ephesus is the keeper of the holy place of the great Diana, who was sent down from Jupiter? So then, because these things may not be doubted, it would be better for you to be quiet, and do nothing unwise. For you have taken these men, who are not doing damage to the holy place or talking against our goddess. If, then, Demetrius and the workmen who are with him have a protest to make against any man, the law is open to them, and there are judges; let them put up a cause at law against one another. But if any other business is in question, let it be taken up in the regular meeting. For, truly, we are in danger of being made responsible for this day's trouble, there being no cause for it: and we are not able to give any reason for this coming together. And when he had said this, he sent the meeting away.

For it is our desire that you may not be without knowledge of our trouble which came on us in Asia, that the weight of it was very great, more than our power, so that it seemed that we had no hope even of life:

But when the Jews of Thessalonica had news that Paul was preaching the word at Beroea, they came there, troubling the people and working them up. So the brothers sent Paul straight away to the sea: but Silas and Timothy kept there still. But those who went with Paul took him as far as Athens, and then went away, with orders from him to Silas and Timothy to come to him quickly.

Yes, and all whose purpose is to be living in the knowledge of God in Christ Jesus, will be cruelly attacked.

For it seems to me that God has put us the Apostles last of all, as men whose fate is death: for we are put on view to the world, and to angels, and to men. We are made to seem foolish for Christ, but you are wise in Christ; we are feeble, but you are strong; you have glory, but we have shame. Even to this hour we are without food, drink, and clothing, we are given blows and have no certain resting-place; read more.
And with our hands we do the hardest work: when they give us curses we give blessings, when we undergo punishment we take it quietly; When evil things are said about us we give gentle answers: we are made as the unclean things of the world, as that for which no one has any use, even till now.

And when he was going out of the Temple, one of his disciples said to him, Master, see, what stones and what buildings! And Jesus said to him, Do you see these great buildings? there is not one stone here resting on another which will not be overturned. And while he was seated on the Mountain of Olives opposite the Temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew said to him privately, read more.
Say when these things will be, and what will be the sign when these things are all about to be done. And Jesus said to them, Take care that you are not tricked by anyone. People will come in my name, saying, I am he; and a number will be turned from the true way. And when you have news of wars and talk of wars, do not be troubled; these things have to be, but it is still not the end. Nation will go to war with nation, and kingdom with kingdom: there will be earth-shocks in different places; there will be times when there is no food; these things are the first of the troubles. But take care: for they will give you up to the Sanhedrins; and in Synagogues you will be whipped; and you will be taken before rulers and kings because of me, for a sign to them. And the good news has first to be given to all the nations. And when you are taken and given up to be judged, do not be troubled about what to say: but whatever is given to you in that hour, say: because it is not you who say it, but the Holy Spirit. And brother will give up brother to death, and the father his child; and children will go against their fathers and mothers, and put them to death. And you will be hated by all men, because of my name; but he who goes through to the end will have salvation.

See, I send you out as sheep among wolves. Be then as wise as snakes, and as gentle as doves. But be on the watch against men: for they will give you up to the Sanhedrins, and in their Synagogues they will give you blows; And you will come before rulers and kings because of me, for a witness to them and to the Gentiles. read more.
But when you are given up into their hands, do not be troubled about what to say or how to say it: for in that hour what you are to say will be given to you; Because it is not you who say the words, but the Spirit of your Father in you. And brother will give up brother to death, and the father his child: and children will go against their fathers and mothers, and put them to death. And you will be hated by all men because of my name: but he who is strong to the end will have salvation. But when they are cruel to you in one town, go in flight to another: for truly, I say to you, You will not have gone through the towns of Israel before the Son of man comes. A disciple is not greater than his master, or a servant than his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he may be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have given the name Beelzebub to the master of the house, how much more to those of his house!

And Jesus went out of the Temple, and on the way his disciples came to him, pointing out the buildings of the Temple. But he, answering, said to them, See you not all these things? truly I say to you that here there will not be one stone resting on another, which will not be pulled down. And while he was seated on the Mountain of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, Make clear to us, when will these things be? and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the world? read more.
And Jesus said to them in answer, Take care that you are not tricked. For people will come in my name, saying, I am the Christ; and a number will be turned from the true way through them. And news will come to you of wars and talk of wars: do not be troubled, for these things have to be; but it is still not the end. For nation will be moved against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and men will be without food, and the earth will be shaking in different places; But all these things are the first of the troubles. Then they will be cruel to you, and will put you to death: and you will be hated by all nations because of my name. And numbers of people will be turned from the right way, and will give one another up and have hate for one another.

O Lord my God, I put my faith in you; take me out of the hands of him who is cruel to me, and make me free;

The chances of my life are in your hand; take me out of the hands of my haters, and of those who go after me.

All your teachings are certain; they go after me with evil design; give me your help.

Great is the number of those who are against me; but I have not been turned away from your unchanging word.

Rulers have been cruel to me without cause; but I have the fear of your word in my heart.

Have no fear of the things which you will have to undergo: see, the Evil One will send some of you into prison, so that you may be put to the test; and you will have great trouble for ten days. Be true till death, and I will give you the crown of life.

Then they will be cruel to you, and will put you to death: and you will be hated by all nations because of my name.

But be on the watch against men: for they will give you up to the Sanhedrins, and in their Synagogues they will give you blows;

But before all this, they will take you and be very cruel to you, giving you up to the Synagogues and to prisons, taking you before kings and rulers, because of my name.

Keep in mind the words I said to you, A servant is not greater than his lord. If they were cruel to me, they will be cruel to you; if they kept my words, they will keep yours.

And there he came across a certain Jew named Aquila, a man of Pontus by birth, who not long before had come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had given orders that all Jews were to go away from Rome: and he came to them;

At that time the king of Edom got Elath back for Edom, and sent the Jews out of Elath; and the Edomites came back to Elath where they are living to this day.

And letters were sent by the runners into every division of the kingdom ordering the death and destruction of all Jews, young and old, little children and women, on the same day, even the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month Adar, and the taking of all their goods by force.

They have said in their hearts, Let us put an end to them all together; they have given over to the fire all God's places of worship in the land.

And the king gave orders to Jerahmeel, the king's son, and Seraiah, the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah, the son of Abdeel, to take Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet: but the Lord kept them safe.

Sorrow is mine, my mother, because you have given birth to me, a cause of fighting and argument in all the earth! I have not made men my creditors and I am not in debt to any, but every one of them is cursing me.

Now at that time the king of Babylon's army was round Jerusalem, shutting it in: and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the place of the armed watchmen, in the house of the king of Judah.

O Lord, you have knowledge: keep me in mind and come to my help, and give their right reward to those who are attacking me; take me not away, for you are slow to be angry: see how I have undergone shame because of you from all those who make little of your word;

Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the second time, while he was still shut up in the place of the armed watchmen, saying,

And Herod, with the men of his army, put shame on him and made sport of him, and dressing him in shining robes, he sent him back to Pilate.

And for this reason the Jews were turned against Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.

And they got up and took him out of the town to the edge of the mountain on which their town was, so that they might send him down to his death.

After this, Jesus went from place to place in Galilee. He did not go about in Judaea, because the Jews were looking for a chance to put him to death.

I am conscious that you are Abraham's seed; but you have a desire to put me to death because my word has no place in you.

Who gave us salvation from so great a death: on whom we have put our hope that he will still go on to give us salvation;

He made answer and said, Look! I see four men loose, walking in the middle of the fire, and they are not damaged; and the form of the fourth is like a son of the gods.

Nebuchadnezzar made answer and said, Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who has sent his angel and kept his servants safe who had faith in him, and who put the king's word on one side and gave up their bodies to the fire, so that they might not be servants or worshippers of any other god but their God.

My punishments and pain; the things which came to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; the cruel attacks made on me: and the Lord made me free from them all.

And hearing it, they all, with one mind, made prayer to God and said, O Lord, maker of heaven and earth and the sea and all things in them: Who has said, by the Holy Spirit, through the mouth of our father David your servant, Why are the nations so violently moved, and why are the thoughts of the people so foolish? The kings of the earth were lifted up, the rulers came together, against the Lord, and against his Christ: read more.
For, truly, in this town, against your holy servant, Jesus, who was marked out by you as Christ, Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, came together,

But Saul, still burning with desire to put to death the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, And made a request for letters from him to the Synagogues of Damascus, so that if there were any of the Way there, men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. And while he was journeying, he came near Damascus; and suddenly he saw a light from heaven shining round him; read more.
And he went down on the earth, and a voice said to him, Saul, Saul, why are you attacking me so cruelly? And he said, Who are you, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus, whom you are attacking:

I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener. He takes away every branch in me which has no fruit, and every branch which has fruit he makes clean, so that it may have more fruit. You are clean, even now, through the teaching which I have given you. read more.
Be in me at all times as I am in you. As the branch is not able to give fruit of itself, if it is not still on the vine, so you are not able to do so if you are not in me. I am the vine, you are the branches: he who is in me at all times as I am in him, gives much fruit, because without me you are able to do nothing. If a man does not keep himself in me, he becomes dead and is cut off like a dry branch; such branches are taken up and put in the fire and burned. If you are in me at all times, and my words are in you, then anything for which you make a request will be done for you. Here is my Father's glory, in that you give much fruit and so are my true disciples. Even as the Father has given me his love, so I have given my love to you: be ever in my love. If you keep my laws, you will be ever in my love, even as I have kept my Father's laws, and am ever in his love. I have said these things to you so that I may have joy in you and so that your joy may be complete. This is the law I give you: Have love one for another, even as I have love for you. Greater love has no man than this, that a man gives up his life for his friends. You are my friends, if you do what I give you orders to do. No longer do I give you the name of servants; because a servant is without knowledge of what his master is doing: I give you the name of friends, because I have given you knowledge of all the things which my Father has said to me. You did not take me for yourselves, but I took you for myself; and I gave you the work of going about and producing fruit which will be for ever; so that whatever request you make to the Father in my name he may give it to you. So this is my law for you: Have love one for another. If you are hated by the world, keep in mind that I was hated by the world before you. If you were of the world, you would be loved by the world: but because you are not of the world, but I have taken you out of the world, you are hated by the world. Keep in mind the words I said to you, A servant is not greater than his lord. If they were cruel to me, they will be cruel to you; if they kept my words, they will keep yours. They will do all this to you because of my name--because they have no knowledge of him who sent me. If I had not come and been their teacher they would have had no sin: but now they have no reason to give for their sin. He who has hate for me has hate for my Father. If I had not done among them the works which no other man ever did, they would have had no sin: but now they have seen, and they have had hate in their hearts for me and my Father. This comes about so that the writing in their law may be made true, Their hate for me was without cause.

The man went away and said to the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. And for this reason the Jews were turned against Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath. But his answer was: My Father is still working even now, and so I am working. read more.
For this cause the Jews had an even greater desire to put Jesus to death, because not only did he not keep the Sabbath but he said God was his Father, so making himself equal with God.

And it came about that while I was on my journey, coming near to Damascus, about the middle of the day, suddenly I saw a great light from heaven shining round me. And when I went down on the earth, a voice came to my ears saying to me, Saul, Saul, why are you attacking me so cruelly? And I, answering, said, Who are you; Lord? And he said to me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are attacking.

And when they had gone, an angel of the Lord came to Joseph in a dream, saying, Get up and take the young child and his mother, and go into Egypt, and do not go from there till I give you word; for Herod will be searching for the young child to put him to death.

But when they are cruel to you in one town, go in flight to another: for truly, I say to you, You will not have gone through the towns of Israel before the Son of man comes.

But the Pharisees went out and made designs against him, how they might put him to death. And Jesus, having knowledge of this, went away from there, and a great number went after him; and he made them all well,

But now those who are younger than I make sport of me; those whose fathers I would not have put with the dogs of my flocks. Of what use is the strength of their hands to me? all force is gone from them. They are wasted for need of food, biting the dry earth; their only hope of life is in the waste land. read more.
They are pulling off the salt leaves from the brushwood, and making a meal of roots. They are sent out from among their townsmen, men are crying after them as thieves They have to get a resting-place in the hollows of the valleys, in holes of the earth and rocks. They make noises like asses among the brushwood; they get together under the thorns. They are sons of shame, and of men without a name, who have been forced out of the land. And now I have become their song, and I am a word of shame to them. I am disgusting to them; they keep away from me, and put marks of shame on me.

But you put a false face on things; all your attempts to put things right are of no value. If only you would keep quiet, it would be a sign of wisdom! Give ear to the argument of my mouth, and take note of the words of my lips. read more.
Will you say in God's name what is not right, and put false words into his mouth? Will you have respect for God's person in this cause, and put yourselves forward as his supporters? Will it be good for you to be searched out by him, or have you the thought that he may be guided into error like a man? He will certainly put you right, if you have respect for persons in secret. Will not his glory put you in fear, so that your hearts will be overcome before him? Your wise sayings are only dust, and your strong places are only earth. Keep quiet, and let me say what is in my mind, whatever may come to me.

And Job made answer and said, Such things have frequently come to my ears: you are comforters who only give trouble. May words which are like the wind be stopped? or what is troubling you to make answer to them? read more.
It would not be hard for me to say such things if your souls were in my soul's place; joining words together against you, and shaking my head at you:

Truly, those who make sport of me are round about me, and my eyes become dark because of their bitter laughing.

And Job made answer and said, How long will you make my life bitter, crushing me with words? Ten times now you have made sport of me; it gives you no sense of shame to do me wrong. read more.
And, truly, if I have been in error, the effect of my error is only on myself. If you make yourselves great against me, using my punishment as an argument against me,

If, after the way of men, I was fighting with beasts at Ephesus, what profit is it to me? If the dead do not come to life again, let us take our pleasure in feasting, for tomorrow we come to an end.

If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most unhappy.

I, John, your brother, who have a part with you in the trouble and the kingdom and the quiet strength of Jesus, was in the island which is named Patmos, for the word of God and the witness of Jesus.

And they took them and put them in prison till the morning, for it was now evening. But a number of those who gave hearing to the word had faith; and they were now about five thousand. And on the day after, the rulers and those in authority and the scribes came together in Jerusalem; read more.
And Annas, the high priest, was there, and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all the relations of the high priest. Then sending for Peter and John, they said, By what power and in whose name have you done this? Then Peter, being full of the Holy Spirit, said to them, O you rulers of the people and men of authority, If we are questioned today about a good work done to a man who was ill, as to how he has been made well, Take note, all of you, and all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you put to death on the cross, whom God gave back from the dead, even through him is this man now before you completely well. He is the stone which you builders had no use for, but which has been made the chief stone of the building. And in no other is there salvation: for there is no other name under heaven, given among men, through which we may have salvation. Now when they saw that Peter and John were without fear, though they were men of no education or learning, they were greatly surprised; and they took note of them that they had been with Jesus. And, seeing that the man who had been made well was there with them, they were not able to say anything against it. But when they had given them orders to go out of the Sanhedrin, they had a discussion among themselves, Saying, What are we to do with these men? for certainly it is clear to all who are living in Jerusalem that a most important sign has been done by them, and it is not possible to say that it is not so. But so that it may not go farther among the people, let us put them in fear of punishment if they say anything in future in this name. And they sent for them, and gave them orders not to make statements or give teaching in the name of Jesus.

And they took the Apostles and put them in the common prison. But in the night an angel of the Lord, opening the doors of the prison, took them out and said, Go, take your place in the Temple and give the people all the teaching about this Life. read more.
And hearing this, they went into the Temple at dawn, and were teaching. But the high priest and those who were with him got together the Sanhedrin and the representatives of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to get them. But the men who were sent saw that they were not in the prison, and came back with the news, Saying, The doors of the prison were safely shut, and the keepers were at the doors, but when they were open, there was nobody inside. Now, at these words, the captain of the Temple and the chief priests were greatly troubled about what might be the end of this business. And someone came and said to them, The men, whom you put in prison, are in the Temple teaching the people. Then the captain and some of the police went and took them, but not violently, for fear that they might be stoned by the people. And they took them into the Sanhedrin, and the high priest said to them, We gave you very clear orders not to give teaching in this name: and now Jerusalem is full of your teaching, and you are attempting to make us responsible for this man's death. But Peter and the Apostles, answering, said, We have to do the orders of God, not of man. The God of our fathers gave Jesus back to life, whom you had put to death, hanging him on a tree. Him God has put on high at his right hand, as a Ruler and a Saviour, to give to Israel a change of heart and forgiveness of sins. And we are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who keep his laws. But when these words came to their ears, they were cut to the heart, and had a mind to put them to death. But one of the Sanhedrin, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a man of learning in the law, of whom all the people had a high opinion, got up and made a suggestion for the men to be put outside for a little time. And he said to them, Men of Israel, take care what you do about these men. For before this there was Theudas, who said he was someone important, to whom about four hundred men gave their support: he was put to death, and his band was broken up and came to nothing. After this man, there was Judas of Galilee, at the time of the numbering, and some of the people went after him: he was put to death, and all his supporters were put to flight. And now I say to you, Do nothing to these men, but let them be: for if this teaching or this work is of men, it will come to nothing: But if it is of God, you will not be able to overcome them, and you are in danger of fighting against God. And he seemed to them to be right: and they sent for the Apostles, and, after having them whipped and giving them orders to give no teaching in the name of Jesus, they let them go. So they went away from the Sanhedrin, happy to undergo shame for the Name. And every day, in the Temple and privately, they went on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.

Now, about that time, Herod the king made cruel attacks on the Christians. And he put James, the brother of John, to death with the sword. And when he saw that this was pleasing to the Jews he went on to take Peter in addition. This was at the time of the feast of unleavened bread. read more.
And having taken him, he put him in prison, with four bands of armed men to keep watch over him; his purpose being to take him out to the people after the Passover. So Peter was kept in prison: but the church made strong prayer to God for him. And when Herod was about to take him out, the same night Peter was sleeping in chains between two armed men, and the watchmen were keeping watch before the door of the prison. And a great light was seen shining in the room, and an angel of the Lord came to Peter and, touching him on his side so that he came out of his sleep, said, Get up quickly. And his chains came off his hands. Then the angel said, Put on your shoes and get ready to go. And he did so. And he said, Put your coat round you and come with me. And he went out after him; and he was not certain if what was done by the angel was a fact, for it seemed to him that he was seeing a vision. And when they had gone past the first and second watchmen they came to the iron door into the town, which came open by itself: and they went out and down one street; and then the angel went away. And when Peter came to his senses he said, Now, truly, I am certain that the Lord has sent his angel and taken me out of the hands of Herod, against all the hopes of the Jews. And when he became clear about this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John named Mark, where a number of them had come together for prayer. And he gave a blow on the door, and a young girl came to it, named Rhoda. And hearing the voice of Peter, in her joy she went running, without opening the door, to say that Peter was outside. And they said to her, You are off your head. But still she said, with decision, that it was so. And they said, It is his angel. But Peter went on giving blows on the door: and when it was open and they saw him, they were full of wonder. But he made a sign to them with his hand to be quiet, and gave them an account of how the Lord had taken him out of prison. And he said, Give the news to James and the brothers. And then he went away. Now when it was day, the armed men were greatly troubled about what had become of Peter. And Herod, when he sent for him, and he was not there, after questioning the watchmen, gave orders that they were to be put to death. Then he went down from Judaea to Caesarea for a time.

But before all this, they will take you and be very cruel to you, giving you up to the Synagogues and to prisons, taking you before kings and rulers, because of my name.

Keep in mind the words I said to you, A servant is not greater than his lord. If they were cruel to me, they will be cruel to you; if they kept my words, they will keep yours.

Who will not get a hundred times as much now in this time, houses, and brothers, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and land--though with great troubles; and, in the world to come, eternal life.

Then those who had gone away at the time of the trouble about Stephen, went as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus, preaching to the Jews only. But some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, when they came to Antioch, gave the good news about the Lord Jesus to the Greeks. And the power of the Lord was with them, and a great number had faith and were turned to the Lord.

And Saul gave approval to his death. Now at that time a violent attack was started against the church in Jerusalem; and all but the Apostles went away into all parts of Judaea and Samaria.

But those who had gone in flight went everywhere preaching the word.

Now it is my purpose to make clear to you, brothers, that the cause of the good news has been helped by my experiences; So that it became clear through all the Praetorium, and to all the rest, that I was a prisoner on account of Christ; And most of the brothers in the Lord, taking heart because of my chains, are all the stronger to give the word of God without fear.

In bitter hate I was cruel to the church; I kept all the righteousness of the law to the last detail.

Though I had said violent words against God, and done cruel acts, causing great trouble: but I was given mercy, because I did it without knowledge, not having faith;

And for this reason the Jews were turned against Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.

Who put to death the Lord Jesus and the prophets, violently driving us out; who are unpleasing to God and against all men;

Now a new king came to power in Egypt, who had no knowledge of Joseph. And he said to his people, See, the people of Israel are greater in number and in power than we are: Let us take care for fear that their numbers may become even greater, and if there is a war, they may be joined with those who are against us, and make an attack on us, and go up out of the land. read more.
So they put overseers of forced work over them, in order to make their strength less by the weight of their work. And they made store-towns for Pharaoh, Pithom and Raamses. But the more cruel they were to them, the more their number increased, till all the land was full of them. And the children of Israel were hated by the Egyptians. And they gave the children of Israel even harder work to do: And made their lives bitter with hard work, making building-material and bricks, and doing all sorts of work in the fields under the hardest conditions.

For it is an act of righteousness on God's part to give trouble as their reward to those who are troubling you,

He has made ready for him the instruments of death; he makes his arrows flames of fire.

Those who went after us were quicker than the eagles of the heaven, driving us before them on the mountains, waiting secretly for us in the waste land.

Happy are those who are attacked on account of righteousness: for the kingdom of heaven will be theirs. Happy are you when men give you a bad name, and are cruel to you, and say all evil things against you falsely, because of me. Be glad and full of joy; for great is your reward in heaven: for so were the prophets attacked who were before you.

Happy are you, when men have hate for you, and put you away from among them and say angry words to you, turning away in disgust at your name, because of the Son of man. Be glad in that day, and be lifted up for joy, for your reward in heaven will be great: for their fathers did these same things to the prophets.

Then the king sent to him a captain of fifty with his fifty men; and he went up to him where he was seated on the top of a hill, and said to him, O man of God, the king has said, Come down.

Then from there he went up to Beth-el; and on his way, some little boys came out from the town and made sport of him, crying, Go up, old no-hair! go up, old no-hair!

By the life of the Lord your God, there is not a nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent in search of you; and when they said, He is not here; he made them take an oath that they had not seen you.

And he who is against me may not say, I have overcome him; and those who are troubling me may not be glad when I am moved.

And those who are on the earth will have pleasure and delight over them; and they will send offerings one to another because these two prophets gave great trouble to all on the earth.

Be glad and full of joy; for great is your reward in heaven: for so were the prophets attacked who were before you.

But be glad that you are given a part in the pains of Christ; so that at the revelation of his glory you may have great joy.

So that on you may come all the blood of the upright on the earth, from the blood of upright Abel to the blood of Zachariah, son of Barachiah, whom you put to death between the Temple and the altar.

Not being of the Evil One like Cain, who put his brother to death. And why did he put him to death? Because his works were evil and his brother's works were good.

And Cain said to his brother, Let us go into the field: and when they were in the field, Cain made an attack on his brother Abel and put him to death.

For this is what the Lord of armies has said: In the way of glory he has sent me to the nations which have taken your goods: for anyone touching you is touching what is most dear to him.

And he went down on the earth, and a voice said to him, Saul, Saul, why are you attacking me so cruelly? And he said, Who are you, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus, whom you are attacking:

But the Jews, working up the feelings of the God-fearing women of high position and of the chief men of the town, got an attack started against Paul and Barnabas, driving them out of those parts.

For I, truly, was of the opinion that it was right for me to do a number of things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And this I did in Jerusalem: and numbers of the saints I put in prison, having had authority given to me from the chief priests, and when they were put to death, I gave my decision against them. And I gave them punishment frequently, in all the Synagogues, forcing them to say things against God; and burning with passion against them, I went after them even into far-away towns.

O Lord my God, I put my faith in you; take me out of the hands of him who is cruel to me, and make me free;

All your teachings are certain; they go after me with evil design; give me your help.

And Saul gave approval to his death. Now at that time a violent attack was started against the church in Jerusalem; and all but the Apostles went away into all parts of Judaea and Samaria.

For news has come to you of my way of life in the past in the Jews' religion, how I was cruel without measure to the church of God, and did great damage to it:

But Saul, still burning with desire to put to death the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, And made a request for letters from him to the Synagogues of Damascus, so that if there were any of the Way there, men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. And while he was journeying, he came near Damascus; and suddenly he saw a light from heaven shining round him; read more.
And he went down on the earth, and a voice said to him, Saul, Saul, why are you attacking me so cruelly? And he said, Who are you, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus, whom you are attacking: But get up, and go into the town, and it will be made clear to you what you have to do. And the men who were with him were not able to say anything; hearing the voice, but seeing no one. And Saul got up from the earth, and when his eyes were open, he saw nothing; and he was guided by the hand into Damascus. And for three days he was not able to see, and he took no food or drink. Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias! and he said, Here I am, Lord. And the Lord said to him, Get up, and go to the street which is named Straight, and make search at the house of Judas for one named Saul of Tarsus: for he is at prayer; And he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hands on him, so that he may be able to see. But Ananias said, Lord, I have had accounts of this man from a number of people, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem: And here he has authority from the chief priests to make prisoners all who give worship to your name.

Because they are cruel to him against whom your hand is turned; they make bitter the grief of him who is wounded by you.

The evil-doer in his pride is cruel to the poor; let him be taken by the tricks of his invention.

Happy are you, when men have hate for you, and put you away from among them and say angry words to you, turning away in disgust at your name, because of the Son of man.

Happy are those who are attacked on account of righteousness: for the kingdom of heaven will be theirs.

If I had not done among them the works which no other man ever did, they would have had no sin: but now they have seen, and they have had hate in their hearts for me and my Father.

Keep in mind the words I said to you, A servant is not greater than his lord. If they were cruel to me, they will be cruel to you; if they kept my words, they will keep yours.

Because they are cruel to him against whom your hand is turned; they make bitter the grief of him who is wounded by you.

And for this reason the Jews were turned against Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.

And the king of Israel said, Take Micaiah and send him back to Amon, the ruler of the town, and to Joash, the king's son;

And say, By the king's order this man is to be put in prison, and given prison food till I come back in peace.

So that on you may come all the blood of the upright on the earth, from the blood of upright Abel to the blood of Zachariah, son of Barachiah, whom you put to death between the Temple and the altar.

But when they had made a secret design against him, he was stoned with stones, by the king's order, in the outer square of the Lord's house.

And that we may be made free from foolish and evil men; for not all have faith.

And with our hands we do the hardest work: when they give us curses we give blessings, when we undergo punishment we take it quietly;

At evening on that day, the first day of the week, when, for fear of the Jews, the doors were shut where the disciples were, Jesus came among them and said to them, May peace be with you!

Their answer was: You came to birth through sin; do you make yourself our teacher? And they put him out of the Synagogue.

They said this because of their fear of the Jews: for the Jews had come to an agreement that if any man said that Jesus was the Christ he would be put out of the Synagogue.

Now when all these things have come on you, the blessing and the curse which I have put before you, if the thought of them comes back to your minds, when you are living among the nations where the Lord your God has sent you, And your hearts are turned again to the Lord your God, and you give ear to his word which I give you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul: Then the Lord will have pity on you, changing your fate, and taking you back again from among all the nations where you have been forced to go. read more.
Even if those who have been forced out are living in the farthest part of heaven, the Lord your God will go in search of you, and take you back; Placing you again in the land of your fathers as your heritage; and he will do you good, increasing you till you are more in number than your fathers were. And the Lord your God will give to you and to your seed a circumcision of the heart, so that, loving him with all your heart and all your soul, you may have life. And the Lord your God will put all these curses on those who are against you, and on your haters who put a cruel yoke on you.

We are cruelly attacked, but not without hope; we are made low, but we are not without help;

False statements against me have come to my ears; fear was on every side: they were talking together against me, designing to take away my life.

Take me out of the hands of the cruel ones, O my God; keep me safe from those who come up against me. Take me out of the power of the workers of evil, and keep me safe from the men of blood.

Give ear to another story. A master of a house made a vine garden, and put a wall round it, and made a place for crushing out the wine, and made a tower, and let it out to field-workers, and went into another country. And when the time for the fruit came near, he sent his servants to the workmen, to get the fruit. And the workmen made an attack on his servants, giving blows to one, putting another to death, and stoning another. read more.
Again, he sent other servants more in number than the first: and they did the same to them. But after that he sent his son to them, saying, They will have respect for my son. But when the workmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is he who will one day be the owner of the property; come, let us put him to death and take his heritage. And they took him and, driving him out of the vine-garden, put him to death.

Then the rulers said to the king, Let this man be put to death, because he is putting fear into the hearts of the men of war who are still in the town, and into the hearts of the people, by saying such things to them: this man is not working for the well-being of the people, but for their damage. Then Zedekiah the king said, See, he is in your hands: for the king was not able to do anything against them. So they took Jeremiah and put him into the water-hole of Malchiah, the king's son, in the place of the armed watchmen: and they let Jeremiah down with cords. And in the hole there was no water, but wet earth: and Jeremiah went down into the wet earth.

Great have been my troubles from the time when I was young (let Israel now say);

And he said, Why does my lord go armed against his servant? what have I done? or what evil is there in me?

Yes, and all whose purpose is to be living in the knowledge of God in Christ Jesus, will be cruelly attacked.

But I, brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still attacked? then has the shame of the cross been taken away.

O Lord, you have knowledge: keep me in mind and come to my help, and give their right reward to those who are attacking me; take me not away, for you are slow to be angry: see how I have undergone shame because of you from all those who make little of your word;

Those who have the desire to seem important in the flesh, put force on you to undergo circumcision; only that they may not be attacked because of the cross of Christ.

But as in those days he who had birth after the flesh was cruel to him who had birth after the Spirit, even so it is now.

And others were tested by being laughed at or by blows, and even with chains and prisons:

Now at that time the king of Babylon's army was round Jerusalem, shutting it in: and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the place of the armed watchmen, in the house of the king of Judah.

Then these men said, We will only get a reason for attacking Daniel in connection with the law of his God. Then these chief rulers and the captains came to the king and said to him, O King Darius, have life for ever. All the chief rulers of the kingdom, the chiefs and the captains, the wise men and the rulers, have made a common decision to put in force a law having the king's authority, and to give a strong order, that whoever makes any request to any god or man but you, O King, for thirty days, is to be put into the lions' hole. read more.
Now, O King, put the order in force, signing the writing so that it may not be changed, like the law of the Medes and Persians which may not come to an end. For this reason King Darius put his name on the writing and the order. And Daniel, on hearing that the writing had been signed, went into his house; (now he had windows in his room on the roof opening in the direction of Jerusalem;) and three times a day he went down on his knees in prayer and praise before his God, as he had done before. Then these men were watching and saw Daniel making prayers and requesting grace before his God. Then they came near before the king and said, O King, have you not put your name to an order that any man who makes a request to any god or man but you, O King, for thirty days, is to be put into the lions' hole? The king made answer and said, The thing is fixed by the law of the Medes and Persians which may not come to an end. Then they made answer and said before the king, Daniel, one of the prisoners of Judah, has no respect for you, O King, or for the order signed by you, but three times a day he makes his prayer to God. When this thing came to the king's ears, it was very evil to him, and his heart was fixed on keeping Daniel safe, and till the going down of the sun he was doing everything in his power to get him free. Then these men said to the king, Be certain, O King, that by the law of the Medes and Persians no order or law which the king has put into force may be changed. Then the king gave the order, and they took Daniel and put him into the lions' hole. The king made answer and said to Daniel, Your God, whose servant you are at all times, will keep you safe. Then they got a stone and put it over the mouth of the hole, and it was stamped with the king's stamp and with the stamp of the lords, so that the decision about Daniel might not be changed.

Rulers have been cruel to me without cause; but I have the fear of your word in my heart.

But having no root in himself, he goes on for a time; and when trouble comes or pain, because of the word, he quickly becomes full of doubts.

Now when Pharaoh had news of this, he would have put Moses to death. But Moses went in flight from Pharaoh into the land of Midian: and he took his seat by a water-spring.

And Moses, crying out to the Lord, said, What am I to do to this people? they are almost ready to put me to death by stoning.

Then says Jesus to him, Put up your sword again into its place: for all those who take the sword will come to death by the sword.

And say, It is the king's order that this man is to be put in prison and given prison food till I come again in peace.

But I say to you, Have love for those who are against you, and make prayer for those who are cruel to you;

For this reason let those who by the purpose of God undergo punishment, keep on in well-doing and put their souls into the safe hands of their Maker.

But if he undergoes punishment as a Christian, that is no shame to him; let him give glory to God in this name.

But some of those who were of the Synagogue named that of the Libertines, and some of the men of Cyrene and of Alexandria and those from Cilicia and Asia, had arguments with Stephen. But they were not able to get the better of him, for his words were full of wisdom and of the Spirit. Then they got men to say, He has said evil against Moses and against God, in our hearing. read more.
And the people, with the rulers and the scribes, were moved against him, and they came and took him before the Sanhedrin, And they got false witnesses who said, This man is for ever saying things against this holy place and against the law: For he has said in our hearing that this Jesus of Nazareth will put this place to destruction and make changes in the rules which were handed down to us by Moses. And all those who were in the Sanhedrin, looking at him, saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

From that time Jesus went about preaching and saying, Let your hearts be turned from sin, for the kingdom of heaven is near.

Give blessing and not curses to those who are cruel to you.

And the workmen made an attack on his servants, giving blows to one, putting another to death, and stoning another. Again, he sent other servants more in number than the first: and they did the same to them.

Saying, God has given him up; go after him and take him, for he has no helper.

The evil-doer in his pride is cruel to the poor; let him be taken by the tricks of his invention.

I was offering my back to those who gave me blows, and my face to those who were pulling out my hair: I did not keep my face covered from marks of shame.

Who will come between us and the love of Christ? Will trouble, or pain, or cruel acts, or the need of food or of clothing, or danger, or the sword?

Men were cruel to him, but he was gentle and quiet; as a lamb taken to its death, and as a sheep before those who take her wool makes no sound, so he said not a word.

But the Jews, working up the feelings of the God-fearing women of high position and of the chief men of the town, got an attack started against Paul and Barnabas, driving them out of those parts.

And when they had given them a great number of blows, they put them in prison, giving orders to the keeper of the prison to keep them safely:

The evil-doer in his pride is cruel to the poor; let him be taken by the tricks of his invention.

For Herod had taken John and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife. Because John had said to him, It is not right for you to have her. And he would have put him to death, but for his fear of the people, because in their eyes John was a prophet. read more.
But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias was dancing before them, and Herod was pleased with her. So he gave her his word with an oath to let her have whatever she might make request for. And she, at her mother's suggestion, said, Give me here on a plate the head of John the Baptist. And the king was sad; but because of his oaths and because of his guests, he gave the order for it to be given to her; And he sent and had John's head cut off in the prison. And his head was put on a plate and given to the girl; and she took it to her mother. And his disciples came, and took up his body and put it in the earth; and they went and gave Jesus news of what had taken place.

And the men of the town got up early in the morning, and they saw the altar of Baal broken down, and the holy tree which was by it cut down, and the ox offered on the altar which had been put up there. And they said to one another, Who has done this thing? And after searching with care, they said, Gideon, the son of Joash, has done this thing. Then the men of the town said to Joash, Make your son come out to be put to death, for pulling down the altar of Baal and cutting down the holy tree which was by it. read more.
But Joash said to all those who were attacking him, Will you take up the cause of Baal? will you be his saviour? Let anyone who will take up his cause be put to death while it is still morning: if he is a god, let him take up his cause himself because of the pulling down of his altar. So that day he gave him the name of Jerubbaal, saying, Let Baal take up his cause against him because his altar has been broken down.

Which of the prophets was not cruelly attacked by your fathers? and they put to death those who gave them the news of the coming of the Upright One; whom you have now given up and put to death;

And they took the Apostles and put them in the common prison.

Now, about that time, Herod the king made cruel attacks on the Christians.

They will do these things to you because they have not had knowledge of the Father or of me.

At that time certain Chaldaeans came near and made a statement against the Jews. They made answer and said to Nebuchadnezzar the king, O King, have life for ever. You, O King, have given an order that every man, when the sound of the horn, pipe, harp, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe, and all sorts of instruments, comes to his ears, is to go down on his face in worship before the image of gold: read more.
And anyone not falling down and worshipping is to be put into a burning and flaming fire. There are certain Jews whom you have put over the business of the land of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men have not given attention to you, O King: they are not servants of your gods or worshippers of the gold image which you have put up. Then Nebuchadnezzar in his wrath and passion gave orders for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego to be sent for. Then they made these men come in before the king. Nebuchadnezzar made answer and said to them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, that you will not be servants of my god or give worship to the image of gold which I have put up? Now if you are ready, on hearing the sound of the horn, pipe, harp, trigon, psaltery, bagpipe, and all sorts of instruments, to go down on your faces in worship before the image which I have made, it is well: but if you will not give worship, that same hour you will be put into a burning and flaming fire; and what god is there who will be able to take you out of my hands? Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answering Nebuchadnezzar the king, said, There is no need for us to give you an answer to this question. If our God, whose servants we are, is able to keep us safe from the burning and flaming fire, and from your hands, O King, he will keep us safe. But if not, be certain, O King, that we will not be the servants of your gods, or give worship to the image of gold which you have put up. Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of wrath, and the form of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego: and he gave orders that the fire was to be heated up seven times more than it was generally heated. And he gave orders to certain strong men in his army to put cords on Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego and put them into the burning and flaming fire. Then these men had cords put round them as they were, in their coats, their trousers, their hats, and their clothing, and were dropped into the burning and flaming fire. And because the king's order was not to be put on one side, and the heat of the fire was so great, the men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego were burned to death by the flame of the fire. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, with the cords about them, went down into the burning and flaming fire.

And to the angel of the church in Smyrna say: These things says the first and the last, who was dead and is living: I have knowledge of your troubles and how poor you are (but you have true wealth), and the evil words of those who say they are Jews, and are not, but are a Synagogue of Satan. Have no fear of the things which you will have to undergo: see, the Evil One will send some of you into prison, so that you may be put to the test; and you will have great trouble for ten days. Be true till death, and I will give you the crown of life.

Now there was talk among the chief priests of putting Lazarus to death;

Then Asa was angry with the seer, and put him in prison, burning with wrath against him because of this thing. And at the same time Asa was cruel to some of the people.

And they took Uriah out of Egypt and came back with him to Jehoiakim the king; who put him to death with the sword, and had his dead body put into the resting-place of the bodies of the common people.

Our brother Timothy has been let out of prison; and if he comes here in a short time, he and I will come to you together.

And I made attacks on this Way, even to death, taking men and women and putting them in prison.

And Saul gave approval to his death. Now at that time a violent attack was started against the church in Jerusalem; and all but the Apostles went away into all parts of Judaea and Samaria.

For when Jezebel was cutting off the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred of them, and kept them secretly in a hole in the rock, fifty at a time, and gave them bread and water.)

And they made one, Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, who was going by, coming from the country, go with them, so that he might take his cross.

Then he said, May God's punishment come on me if Elisha, the son of Shaphat, keeps his head on his body after this day.

I have knowledge that your living-place is where Satan has his seat: and you are true to my name, and were not turned away from your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my true witness, who was put to death among you, where Satan has his place.

And he put James, the brother of John, to death with the sword.

And they said, Give way there. This one man, they said, came here from a strange country, and will he now be our judge? now we will do worse to you than to them; and pushing violently against Lot, they came near to get the door broken in.

Judah has been taken away as a prisoner because of trouble and hard work; her living-place is among the nations, there is no rest for her: all her attackers have overtaken her in a narrow place.

I, John, your brother, who have a part with you in the trouble and the kingdom and the quiet strength of Jesus, was in the island which is named Patmos, for the word of God and the witness of Jesus.

But not a hair of your head will come to destruction.

So they went away from the Sanhedrin, happy to undergo shame for the Name.

But when Paul saw that half of them were Sadducees and the rest Pharisees, he said in the Sanhedrin, Brothers, I am a Pharisee, and the son of Pharisees: I am here to be judged on the question of the hope of the coming back from the dead.

Seeing that you are able to make certain of the fact that it is not more than twelve days from the time when I came up to Jerusalem for worship; And they have not seen me in argument with any man in the Temple, or working up the feelings of the people, in the Synagogues or in the town: And they are not able to give facts in support of the things which they say against me now. read more.
But this I will say openly to you, that I do give worship to the God of our fathers after that Way, which to them is not the true religion: but I have belief in all the things which are in the law and in the books of the prophets: Hoping in God for that which they themselves are looking for, that there will be a coming back from the dead for upright men and wrongdoers.

Happy are you when men give you a bad name, and are cruel to you, and say all evil things against you falsely, because of me.

O Lord my God, I put my faith in you; take me out of the hands of him who is cruel to me, and make me free;

The chances of my life are in your hand; take me out of the hands of my haters, and of those who go after me.

All your teachings are certain; they go after me with evil design; give me your help.

Great is the number of those who are against me; but I have not been turned away from your unchanging word.

Rulers have been cruel to me without cause; but I have the fear of your word in my heart.

Have no fear of the things which you will have to undergo: see, the Evil One will send some of you into prison, so that you may be put to the test; and you will have great trouble for ten days. Be true till death, and I will give you the crown of life.

Then they will be cruel to you, and will put you to death: and you will be hated by all nations because of my name.

But be on the watch against men: for they will give you up to the Sanhedrins, and in their Synagogues they will give you blows;

But before all this, they will take you and be very cruel to you, giving you up to the Synagogues and to prisons, taking you before kings and rulers, because of my name.

Keep in mind the words I said to you, A servant is not greater than his lord. If they were cruel to me, they will be cruel to you; if they kept my words, they will keep yours.

And Herod, with the men of his army, put shame on him and made sport of him, and dressing him in shining robes, he sent him back to Pilate.

And for this reason the Jews were turned against Jesus, because he was doing these things on the Sabbath.

And they got up and took him out of the town to the edge of the mountain on which their town was, so that they might send him down to his death.

After this, Jesus went from place to place in Galilee. He did not go about in Judaea, because the Jews were looking for a chance to put him to death.

I am conscious that you are Abraham's seed; but you have a desire to put me to death because my word has no place in you.

Happy are you when men give you a bad name, and are cruel to you, and say all evil things against you falsely, because of me.