30 Bible Verses about Vengeance

" '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. {You must have} one norm; as [for] the alien, so it must be [for] the native, because I [am] Yahweh your God.'"

When I sharpen {my flashing sword}, and my hand takes hold [of it] in judgment, {I will take reprisals against my foes}, and my haters I will repay. I will make my arrows drunk with blood, and my sword shall devour flesh with the blood of the slain, and captives from the heads of the leaders of [the] enemy.' 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."

Now, my father, see, yes, see, the hem of your robe in my hand! For {when I cut} the hem of your robe I did not kill you. Know and {realize} that there is no evil or rebellion in my hand. I did not sin against you, but you [are] hunting down my life to take it. May Yahweh judge between me and you, and may Yahweh avenge me on you, but my hand will not be against you! Just as the ancient proverb says, 'From the wicked, wickedness goes out,' but my hand will not be against you!read more.
After whom did the king of Israel go out? After whom are you pursuing? After a dead dog? After one flea? May Yahweh be [the] judge, and let him judge between me and you, and may he see and plead my case. {May he vindicate me against you}!" When David finished speaking these words to Saul, Saul said, "[Is] this your voice, my son David?" And Saul lifted up his voice and wept.

Now David passed a little from beyond the summit, and suddenly Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth [was] there to meet him [with] a pair of saddled donkeys; on them [were] two hundred loaves of bread and a hundred raisin cakes, [with] a hundred summer fruits and a skin of wine. The king said to Ziba, "{What do you want to accomplish by bringing these}?" And Ziba said, "The donkeys [are] for the king's household to ride [on]; the bread and the summer fruit [are] for the young men to eat, and the wine [is] for the faint in the wilderness to drink. Then the king said, "Where [is] the son of your lord?" And Ziba said to the king, "He [is] living in Jerusalem for he said, 'Today the house of Israel shall return the kingdom of my father to me.'"read more.
The king said to Ziba, "Look, all that [was] Mephibosheth's is yours." Ziba said, "I hereby do obeisance; may I find favor in your eyes, my lord the king." King David came up to Bahurim and suddenly a man from there [was] coming out from the family of the house of Saul, and his name [was] Shimei the son of Gera. {He was cursing as he came out}. And he threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David and at all the people and at all the mighty warriors on his right and on his left. Shimei said while cursing him, "Go out, go out, [you] {man of bloodshed}, [you] {man of wickedness}. Yahweh has returned on you all the blood of the household of Saul {whom you have supplanted as king}, and Yahweh has given the kingship into the hand of Absalom your son. Look, you [are] in disaster for you [are] a man of blood." Then Abishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king, "Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Please let me go over and take off his head." The king said, "{What do we have in common}, sons of Zeruiah? If he curses because Yahweh has said to him 'Curse David,' who can say, "Why have you done this?" David said to Abishai and to all his servants, "Look, my son who came out of my loins [is] seeking my life. Now {as far as} [this] Benjaminite, leave him alone and let him curse, for Yahweh has spoken to him. Perhaps Yahweh will look {in my eye} and repay good for me in place of his curse this day. Then David and his men went on the road, with Shimei going on the side of the hill beside him, {cursing as he went}. He threw stones beside him and threw dust in the air. When the king and all of the people who were with him arrived, he was weary, so he recovered there.

There [was] a famine in the days of David [for] three years, year after year. And David {inquired of Yahweh}, and Yahweh said, "The bloodguilt [is] on Saul and on his household, because he killed the Gibeonites." So the king called the Gibeonites and spoke to them. Now the Gibeonites [were] not from the {Israelites}; they [were] from the remainder of the Amorites. Now the {Israelites} had sworn to them, but Saul tried to wipe them out in his zeal for the {Israelites} and Judah. So David asked the Gibeonites, "What can I do for you, and with what can I make amends that you may bless the inheritance of Yahweh?"read more.
Then the Gibeonites said to him, "{It is not a matter for us of} silver or gold with Saul or with his household. It is not for us to put to death anyone in Israel." He asked, "What [are] you saying [that] I should do for you all?" Then they said to the king, "The man who consumed us and who plotted against us [so that] we were destroyed from existing in all of the territory of Israel, let seven men from his sons be given over to us, and we will execute them before Yahweh in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen one of Yahweh." Then the king said, "I will give them over." But the king spared Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, because of the sworn oath of Yahweh which [was] between them, between David and Jonathan the son of Saul. So the king took two of the sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, namely Armoni and Mephibosheth, and five of the sons of Michal the daughter of Saul whom she had borne to Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite. He gave them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they executed them on the mountain in the presence of Yahweh, and the seven fell together. Now they were put to death in the days of the harvest, at the beginning of the harvest of barley.

David [was] told about what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done. So David left and took the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from the rulers of Jabesh Gilead, who had stolen them from the public square of Beth Shan, where [the] Philistines hung them {when} [the] Philistines killed Saul on Gilboa. He brought up the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from there, and they gathered the bones of the executed.

And some of the sons of Benjamin and [from] Judah came to the fortress, to David. And David went out {to meet them} and answered and said to them, "If you come in peace to me, to help me, {my heart will be joined with you}, but if [you come] to betray me to my adversaries, although [there is] no wrong on my hands, may the God of our fathers see and pass judgment."

"If I have rejoiced at [the] ruin of [the one who] hated me or have exulted when evil overtook him-- no, I have not allowed my mouth to sin, to ask his life with a curse.

Length of days [is] in her right hand; in her left hand [are] riches and honor. Her ways [are] ways of pleasantness, and all her paths [are] peace. She is a tree of life for those who seize her; those who take hold of her are considered happy.read more.
Yahweh in wisdom founded the earth; he established the heavens in understanding.

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

Strengthen [the] weak hands and make [the] staggering knees firm. Say to those who are hasty of heart, "Be strong; you must not fear! Look! your God will come [with] vengeance, [with] {divine retribution}. He {is the one who} will come and save you."

But Yahweh of hosts, who judges [in] righteousness, who tests [the] {inmost being}, and [the] {mind}, let me see your retribution upon them, for to you I have revealed my legal case.

For I have no pleasure in the death of the dying," {declares} the Lord Yahweh. "And [so] repent and live!"

"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. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not the tax collectors also do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing that is remarkable? Do not the Gentiles also do the same? Therefore you be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Then Jesus said to him, "Put your sword back into its place! For all who take up the sword will die by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot call upon my Father, and he would put at my disposal at once more than twelve legions of angels? How then would the scriptures be fulfilled that it must happen in this way?"

And he said to them, "Whenever you enter into a house, stay there until you depart from there. And whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, [as you] go out from there, shake off the dust that is on your feet for a testimony against them."

"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!

And why do you not also judge for yourselves [what is] right? For as you are going with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to come to a settlement with him on the way, so that he will not drag you to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the bailiff, and the bailiff will throw you into prison. I tell you, you will never get out of there until you have paid back even the last cent!"

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.)read more.
[After he] had arrested {him}, he also put [him] in prison, handing [him] over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending to bring him {out for public trial} after the Passover. Thus Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer was fervently being made to God by the church for him. Now when Herod was about to bring him [out], on that [very] night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and guards before the door were watching the prison. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood near [him], and a light shone in the prison cell. And striking Peter's side, he woke him up, saying, "Get up {quickly}!" And his chains fell off of [his] hands. And the angel said to him, "Gird yourself and put on your sandals!" And he did so. And he said to him, "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me!" And he went out [and] was following [him]. And he did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but was thinking [he] was seeing a vision. And [after they] had passed the first and second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads to the city, which opened for them by itself, and they went out [and] went forward [along] one narrow street, and at once the angel departed from him. And [when] Peter came to himself, he said, "Now I know truly that the Lord has sent out his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and all {that the Jewish people expected}!" And [when he] realized [this], he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John (who is also called Mark), where many [people] were gathered together and were praying.

Pay back no one evil for evil. Take thought for [what is] good in the sight of all people. If [it is] possible on your [part], be at peace with all people. 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.read more.
But "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him [something] to drink; for [by] doing this, you will heap up coals of fire upon his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

For, I think, God has exhibited us apostles last of all, as condemned to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world and to angels and to people. We [are] fools for the sake of Christ, but you [are] prudent in Christ! We [are] weak, but you [are] strong! You [are] honored, but we [are] dishonored! Until the present hour we are both hungry and thirsty and poorly clothed and roughly treated and homeless,read more.
and we toil, working with our own hands. [When we are] reviled, we bless; [when we are] persecuted, we endure; [when we are] slandered, we encourage. We have become like the refuse of the world, the offscouring of all [things], until now.

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! 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 you wrong and defraud, and [do] this [to] brothers!

Brothers, do not become children in [your] understanding, but with respect to wickedness be as a child, and in [your] understanding be mature.

Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun set on your anger,

in order that you may become blameless and innocent, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine as stars in the world,

since [it is] righteous in the sight of God to pay back those who are afflicting you with affliction, and to you who are being afflicted, rest with us at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with his powerful angels, with burning flame giving punishment to those who do not know God and who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus,read more.
who will pay the penalty [of] eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his strength,

Anyone who rejected the law of Moses dies without mercy on [the testimony of] two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment do you think the person will be considered worthy of who treats with disdain the Son of God and who considers ordinary the blood of the covenant by which he was made holy and who insults the Spirit of grace? For we know the one who said, "Vengeance [is] mine, I will repay," and again, "The Lord will judge his people."read more.
[It is] a terrifying [thing] to fall into the hands of the living God.

Understand [this], my dear brothers: every person must be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger, for human anger does not accomplish the righteousness of God.

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