17 Bible Verses about Vengeance

"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, tooth for tooth.' But I tell you not to resist a wicked man, but if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other to him as well. If any one wishes to go to law with you and to deprive you of your under garment, let him take your outer one also.read more.
And whoever shall compel you to convey his goods one mile, go with him two. To him who asks, give: from him who would borrow, turn not away. "You have heard that it was said, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbour and hate thine enemy.' But I command you all, love your enemies, and pray for your persecutors; that so you may become true sons of your Father in Heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the wicked as well as the good, and sends rain upon those who do right and those who do wrong. For if you love only those who love you, what reward have you earned? Do not even the tax-gatherers do that? And if you salute only your near relatives, what praise is due to you? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You however are to be complete in goodness, as your Heavenly Father is complete.

"Put back your sword again," said Jesus, "for all who draw the sword shall perish by the sword. Or do you suppose I cannot entreat my Father and He would instantly send to my help more than twelve legions of angels? In that case how are the Scriptures to be fulfilled which declare that thus it must be?"

Wherever you enter a house, make it your home till you leave that place. But wherever they will not receive you or listen to you, when you leave shake off the very dust from under your feet to bear witness concerning them."

"But to you who are listening to me I say, Love your enemies; seek the welfare of those who hate you; bless those who curse you; pray for those who revile you. To him who gives you a blow on one side of the face offer the other side also; and to him who is robbing you of your outer garment refuse not the under one also.read more.
To every one who asks, give; and from him who takes away your property, do not demand it back. And behave to your fellow men just as you would have them behave to you. "If you love those who love you, what credit is it to you? Why, even bad men love those who love them. And if you are kind to those who are kind to you, what credit is it to you? Even bad men act thus. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is it to you? Even bad men lend to their fellows so as to receive back an equal amount. Nevertheless love your enemies, be beneficent; and lend without hoping for any repayment. Then your recompense shall be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be compassionate just as your Father is compassionate.

"Why, too, do you not of yourselves arrive at just conclusions? For when, with your opponent, you are going before the magistrate, on the way take pains to get out of his power; for fear that, if he should drag you before the judge, the judge may hand you over to the officer of the court, and the officer lodge you in prison. Never, I tell you, will you get free till you have paid the last farthing."

Now, about that time, King Herod arrested certain members of the Church, in order to ill-treat them; and James, John's brother, he beheaded. Finding that this gratified the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also; these being the days of Unleavened Bread.read more.
He had him arrested and lodged in jail, handing him over to the care of sixteen soldiers; and intended after the Passover to bring him out again to the people. So Peter was kept in prison; but long and fervent prayer was offered to God by the Church on his behalf. Now when Herod was on the point of taking him out of prison, that very night Peter was asleep between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and guards were on duty outside the door. Suddenly an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the cell; and, striking Peter on the side, he woke him and said, "Rise quickly." Instantly the chains dropped off his wrists. "Fasten your girdle," said the angel, "and tie on your sandals." He did so. Then the angel said, "Throw your cloak round you, and follow me." So Peter went out, following him, yet could not believe that what the angel was doing was real, but supposed that he saw a vision. And passing through the first ward and the second, they came to the iron gate leading into the city. This opened to them of itself; and, going out, they passed on through one of the streets, and then suddenly the angel left him. Peter coming to himself said, "Now I know for certain that the Lord has sent His angel and has rescued me from the power of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were anticipating." So, after thinking things over, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John surnamed Mark, where a large number of people were assembled, praying.

Pay back to no man evil for evil. Take thought for what is right and seemly in every one's esteem. If you can, so far as it depends on you, live at peace with all the world. Do not be revengeful, my dear friends, but give way before anger; for it is written, "'Revenge belongs to Me: I will pay back,' says the Lord."read more.
On the contrary, therefore, if your enemy is hungry, give him food; if he is thirsty, quench his thirst. For by doing this you will be heaping burning coals upon his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome the evil with goodness.

God, it seems to me, has exhibited us Apostles last of all, as men condemned to death; for we have come to be a spectacle to all creation--alike to angels and to men. We, for Christ's sake, are labeled as "foolish"; you, as Christians, are men of shrewd intelligence. We are mere weaklings: you are strong. You are in high repute: we are outcasts. To this very moment we endure both hunger and thirst, with scanty clothing and many a blow.read more.
Homes we have none. Wearily we toil, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we bear it patiently; when slandered, we try to conciliate. We have come to be regarded as the mere dirt and filth of the world--the refuse of the universe, even to this hour.

If one of you has a grievance against an opponent, does he dare to go to law before irreligious men and not before God's people? Do you not know that God's people will sit in judgement upon the world? And if you are the court before which the world is to be judged, are you unfit to deal with these petty matters? Do you not know that we are to sit in judgement upon angels--to say nothing of things belonging to this life?read more.
If therefore you have things belonging to this life which need to be decided, is it men who are absolutely nothing in the Church--is it *they* whom you make your judges? I say this to put you to shame. Has it come to this, that there does not exist among you a single wise man competent to decide between a man and his brother, but brother goes to law with brother, and that before unbelievers? To say no more, then, it is altogether a defect in you that you have law-suits with one another. Why not rather endure injustice? Why not rather submit to being defrauded? On the contrary you yourselves inflict injustice and fraud, and upon brethren too.

Brethren, do not prove yourselves to be children in your minds. As regards evil, indeed, be utter babes, but as regards your minds prove yourselves to be men of ripe years.

If angry, beware of sinning. Let not your irritation last until the sun goes down;

so that you may always prove yourselves to be blameless and spotless--irreproachable children of God in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you are seen as heavenly lights in the world,

A plain token of God's righteous judgement, I say, since it is a righteous thing for Him to requite with affliction those who are now afflicting you; and to requite with rest you who are suffering affliction now--rest with us at the re-appearing of the Lord Jesus from Heaven, attended by His mighty angels. He will come in flames of fire to take vengeance on those who have no knowledge of God, and do not obey the Good News as to Jesus, our Lord.read more.
They will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, being banished from the presence of the Lord and from His glorious majesty,

Any one who bids defiance to the Law of Moses is put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment, think you, will he be held to deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, has not regarded as holy that Covenant-blood with which he was set free from sin, and has insulted the Spirit from whom comes grace? For we know who it is that has said, "Vengeance belongs to Me: I will pay back;" and again, "The Lord will be His people's judge."read more.
It is an awful thing to fall into the hands of the ever-living God.

You know this, my dearly-loved brethren. But let every one be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to be angry. For a man's anger does not lead to action which God regards as righteous.

When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw at the foot of the altar the souls of those whose lives had been sacrificed because of the word of God and of the testimony which they had given. And now in loud voices they cried out, saying, "How long, O Sovereign Lord, the holy One and the true, dost Thou delay judgment and the taking of vengeance upon the inhabitants of the earth for our blood?" And there was given to each of them a long white robe, and they were bidden to wait patiently for a short time longer, until the full number of their fellow bondservants should also complete--namely of their brethren who were soon to be killed just as they had been.