37 Bible Verses about Revenge, And Retaliation

Do not take revenge yourselves, dear friends, but give place to [God's] wrath, for it is written, "Vengeance [is] mine, I will repay," says the Lord.

Then Yahweh said to him, "Therefore, whoever kills Cain will be avenged sevenfold." Then Yahweh put a sign on Cain so that whoever found him would not kill him.

You shall not seek vengeance, and you shall not harbor a grudge [against] {your fellow citizens}; and you shall love your neighbor like yourself; I [am] Yahweh.

{Vengeance belongs to me} and [also] recompense, {for at the time their foot slips}, because the day of their disaster [is] near, {and fate comes quickly for them}.'

Do not say "I will repay evil"; wait for Yahweh and he will deliver you.

{For example}, when somebody goes with his neighbor into the forest to cut wood, and the iron [head] slips from the handle [of the tool] and strikes his neighbor and he dies, [then] he may flee to one of these cities, and [so] he may live. [He does this] lest the avenger of blood might pursue after the killer, because {he is hot with anger} and he overtakes him, because it is a long distance [to the city of refuge], and [so] {he kills him}, but {he did not deserve a death sentence}, because he [was] not hating him {before}. Therefore I [am] commanding you, {saying}, 'You shall set apart three cities.'

"You shall not abhor an Edomite, because he [is] your brother; you shall not abhor an Egyptian because you were an alien in his land.

Do not say, "Just as he has done to me, so shall I do to him; I will pay back the man according to his deed."

And seek the prosperity of the city where I have deported you, and pray on behalf of it to Yahweh, for in its prosperity you will have prosperity.'

And if there is serious injury, you will give life in place of life, eye in place of eye, tooth in place of tooth, hand in place of hand, foot in place of foot, burn in place of burn, wound in place of wound, bruise in place of bruise.

" 'And when a man kills any human being, he certainly shall be put to death. And {he who kills} a domestic animal must repay [for] it life in place of life. And when a man {causes} a physical defect in his fellow citizen {according to} what he has done, so it shall be done to him:read more.
fracture in place of fracture, eye in place of eye, tooth in place of tooth--{according to} [the] physical defect he {causes} to the person, likewise it shall be {caused} to him. And a killer of a domestic animal must repay [for] it, and a killer of a human shall be put to death.

Then judges shall make a thorough inquiry, and [if] it turns out that the witness is a false witness [and] he testified falsely against his brother, then you shall do to him as he meant to do to his brother, and so you shall purge the evil from your midst. {And the rest} shall hear and shall fear, and {they shall not continue to do such a thing again} as this evil thing in your midst.read more.
{You must show no pity}: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot."

"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, do not resist the evildoer, but whoever strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other to him also. And the one who wants to go to court with you and take your tunic, {let him have} your outer garment also.read more.
And whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor' and 'Hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, in order that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven, because he causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust.

"But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. To the one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from the one who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic also.read more.
Give to everyone who asks you, and from the one who takes away your things, do not ask for [them back]. And just as you want people {to do} to you, do {the same} to them. "And if you love those who love you, what kind of credit is [that] to you? For even sinners love those who love them! And if you do good to those who do good to you, what kind of credit is [that] to you? Even the sinners do the same! And if you lend [to those] from whom you expect to receive [back], what kind of credit is [that] to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, so that they may get back an equal [amount]! But love your enemies, and do good, and lend expecting back nothing, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful!

Pay back no one evil for evil. Take thought for [what is] good in the sight of all people.

See to it that no one pays back evil for evil to anyone, but always pursue good toward one another and toward all [people].

not repaying evil for evil or insult for insult, but on the other hand blessing [others], because for this [reason] you were called, so that you could inherit a blessing.

Love is patient, love is kind, love is not jealous, [it] does not boast, [it] does not become conceited, [it] does not behave dishonorably, [it] {is not selfish}, [it] does not become angry, [it] does not keep a record of wrongs,

After a while, at the time of the wheat harvest, Samson visited his wife with a {young goat}. He said, "I want to go to my wife's private room." But her father would not allow him to enter. Her father said, "I really thought that you hated her, so I gave her to your companion. [Is] not her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please, {take her instead}." And Samson said to them, "This time, as far as the Philistines are concerned, when I do something evil I am without blame."read more.
And Samson went and captured three hundred foxes, and he took torches. He turned [them] tail to tail, and he put one torch between two tails. He set fire to the torches and let [the foxes] go into the standing grain of [the] Philistines, and he burned both the stacks of sheaves and the standing grain, up to the vineyards of olive groves. And [the] Philistines said, "Who has done this?" And they said, "Samson the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he took his wife and gave her to his companion." And [the] Philistines went up and burned her and her father with fire. Samson said to them, "If you want to behave like this, [I swear] I will not rest unless I have taken revenge on you." And {he gave them a thorough beating}, and he went down and stayed in the cleft of the rock of Etam.

If [it is] possible on your [part], be at peace with all people.

Above all, keep your love for one another constant, because love covers a large number of sins.

And whenever they persecute you in this town, flee to another, for truly I say to you, you will never finish [going through] the towns of Israel until the Son of Man comes.

And they stood up [and] forced him out of the town and brought him up to the edge of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. But he passed through their midst [and] went on his way.

Therefore it is already completely a loss for you that you have lawsuits with one another. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded?

But remember the former days in which, [after you] were enlightened, you endured a great struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed both to insults and to afflictions, and sometimes becoming sharers with those who were treated in this way. For you both sympathized with the prisoners and put up with the seizure of your belongings with joy [because you] knew that you yourselves had a better and permanent possession.

But when they had stretched him out for the lash, Paul said to the centurion standing there, "Is it permitted for you to flog a man [who is] a Roman citizen and uncondemned?"

Does anyone among you, [if he] has a matter against someone else, dare to go to court before the unrighteous, and not before the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if by you the world is judged, are you unworthy of the most insignificant courts? Do you not know that we will judge angels, not to mention ordinary matters?read more.
Therefore, if you have courts with regard to ordinary matters, do you seat these despised [people] in the church? I say [this] to your shame. So is there not anyone wise among you who will be able to render a decision between his brothers? But brother goes to court with brother, and this before unbelievers!

[[But Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."]] And they cast lots to divide his clothes.

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.

If your enemy [is] hungry, feed him bread, and if thirsty, let him drink water. For coals of fire you will heap upon his head, and Yahweh will reward you.

And will not God surely {see to it that justice is done} to his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night, and will he delay toward them? I tell you that {he will see to it that justice is done} for them soon! Nevertheless, [when] the Son of Man comes, then will he find faith on earth?"

Call for songs of joy, O nations, [concerning] his people, for the blood of his servants he will avenge, {and he will take reprisals against his foes}, and he will make atonement [for] his land, his people."

May Yahweh judge between me and you, and may Yahweh avenge me on you, but my hand will not be against you!

You will destroy the house of Ahab your master, and you will avenge the blood of my servants the prophets and the blood of all of the servants of Yahweh, from the hand of Jezebel.

the God who executed vengeance for me, and subdued peoples under me,

and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, "{How long}, holy and true Lord, will you not judge and avenge our blood from those who live on the earth?"

because his judgments [are] true and righteous, because he has passed judgment on the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her sexual immorality, and has avenged the blood of his slaves {shed by} her hand!"