80 Bible Verses about enemies, of believers
Most Relevant Verses
"If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you do not belong to the world, but I chose you out of the world, for this reason the world hates you.
O God, arrogant men attack me; a gang of ruthless men, who do not respect you, seek my life.
I have given them your word, and the world has hated them, because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.
But let none of you suffer as a murderer or thief or criminal or as a troublemaker. But if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but glorify God that you bear such a name.
Then the king will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.'read more.
Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' And the king will answer them, 'I tell you the truth, just as you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine, you did it for me.'
"If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a huge millstone tied around his neck and to be thrown into the sea.
Jesus said to his disciples, "Stumbling blocks are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come!
He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" So he said, "Who are you, Lord?" He replied, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting!
You will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
And you will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
But they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know the one who sent me.
"Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and a man's enemies will be the members of his household.
Do you think I have come to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! For from now on there will be five in one household divided, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."
But Jacob lived in the land where his father had stayed, in the land of Canaan. This is the account of Jacob. Joseph, his seventeen-year-old son, was taking care of the flocks with his brothers. Now he was a youngster working with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives. Joseph brought back a bad report about them to their father. Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his sons because he was a son born to him late in life, and he made a special tunic for him.read more.
When Joseph's brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated Joseph and were not able to speak to him kindly. Joseph had a dream, and when he told his brothers about it, they hated him even more. He said to them, "Listen to this dream I had: There we were, binding sheaves of grain in the middle of the field. Suddenly my sheaf rose up and stood upright and your sheaves surrounded my sheaf and bowed down to it!" Then his brothers asked him, "Do you really think you will rule over us or have dominion over us?" They hated him even more because of his dream and because of what he said. Then he had another dream, and told it to his brothers. "Look," he said. "I had another dream. The sun, the moon, and eleven stars were bowing down to me." When he told his father and his brothers, his father rebuked him, saying, "What is this dream that you had? Will I, your mother, and your brothers really come and bow down to you?" His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept in mind what Joseph said.
For a son thinks his father is a fool, a daughter challenges her mother, and a daughter-in-law her mother-in-law; a man's enemies are his own servants.
"Brother will hand over brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rise against parents and have them put to death.
Brother will hand over brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rise against parents and have them put to death.
And they called them in and ordered them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.
saying, "We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name. Look, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man's blood on us!"
But Saul was trying to destroy the church; entering one house after another, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.
Meanwhile Saul, still breathing out threats to murder the Lord's disciples, went to the high priest and requested letters from him to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, either men or women, he could bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem.
But false prophets arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. These false teachers will infiltrate your midst with destructive heresies, even to the point of denying the Master who bought them. As a result, they will bring swift destruction on themselves.
They will put you out of the synagogue, yet a time is coming when the one who kills you will think he is offering service to God.
"Look!" he said. "I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!" But they covered their ears, shouting out with a loud voice, and rushed at him with one intent. When they had driven him out of the city, they began to stone him, and the witnesses laid their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul.read more.
They continued to stone Stephen while he prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!" Then he fell to his knees and cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them!" When he had said this, he died.
About that time King Herod laid hands on some from the church to harm them. He had James, the brother of John, executed with a sword.
Of course, I myself was convinced that it was necessary to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus the Nazarene. And that is what I did in Jerusalem: Not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons by the authority I received from the chief priests, but I also cast my vote against them when they were sentenced to death.
Now when the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been violently killed because of the word of God and because of the testimony they had given.
But I say to you, love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be like your Father in heaven, since he causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
If I have rejoiced over the misfortune of my enemy or exulted because calamity found him -- I have not even permitted my mouth to sin by asking for his life through a curse --
"But I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. To the person who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other as well, and from the person who takes away your coat, do not withhold your tunic either.
[But Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing."] Then they threw dice to divide his clothes.
They continued to stone Stephen while he prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!" Then he fell to his knees and cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them!" When he had said this, he died.
Do not return evil for evil or insult for insult, but instead bless others because you were called to inherit a blessing.
and forgive us our debts, as we ourselves have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. "For if you forgive others their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.read more.
But if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive you your sins.
and forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And do not lead us into temptation."
So when they came to the place that is called "The Skull," they crucified him there, along with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. [But Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they are doing."] Then they threw dice to divide his clothes.
Rather, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing this you will be heaping burning coals on his head.
If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, for you will heap coals of fire on his head, and the Lord will reward you.
Now an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus, saying, "Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" He said to him, "What is written in the law? How do you understand it?" The expert answered, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself."read more.
Jesus said to him, "You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live." But the expert, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him up, and went off, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, but when he saw the injured man he passed by on the other side. So too a Levite, when he came up to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan who was traveling came to where the injured man was, and when he saw him, he felt compassion for him. He went up to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take care of him, and whatever else you spend, I will repay you when I come back this way.' Which of these three do you think became a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?" The expert in religious law said, "The one who showed mercy to him." So Jesus said to him, "Go and do the same."
"If you encounter your enemy's ox or donkey wandering off, you must by all means return it to him. If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen under its load, you must not ignore him, but be sure to help him with it.
Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and when he stumbles do not let your heart rejoice, lest the Lord see it, and be displeased, and turn his wrath away from him.
Saul replied, "I have sinned. Come back, my son David. I won't harm you, for you treated my life with value this day. I have behaved foolishly and have made a very terrible mistake!"
Be sober and alert. Your enemy the devil, like a roaring lion, is on the prowl looking for someone to devour.
The Lord said to Satan, "Where have you come from?" And Satan answered the Lord, "From roving about on the earth, and from walking back and forth across it." So the Lord said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a pure and upright man, one who fears God and turns away from evil." Then Satan answered the Lord, "Is it for nothing that Job fears God?
"Simon, Simon, pay attention! Satan has demanded to have you all, to sift you like wheat,
But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message would be fully proclaimed for all the Gentiles to hear. And so I was delivered from the lion's mouth! The Lord will deliver me from every evil deed and will bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever! Amen.
Resist him, strong in your faith, because you know that your brothers and sisters throughout the world are enduring the same kinds of suffering.
for the weapons of our warfare are not human weapons, but are made powerful by God for tearing down strongholds. We tear down arguments
Finally, be strengthened in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Clothe yourselves with the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens.read more.
For this reason, take up the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand your ground on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand. Stand firm therefore, by fastening the belt of truth around your waist, by putting on the breastplate of righteousness, by fitting your feet with the preparation that comes from the good news of peace, and in all of this, by taking up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With every prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit, and to this end be alert, with all perseverance and requests for all the saints.
So I want younger women to marry, raise children, and manage a household, in order to give the adversary no opportunity to vilify us. For some have already wandered away to follow Satan.
I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith!
So submit to God. But resist the devil and he will flee from you.
You prepare a feast before me in plain sight of my enemies. You refresh my head with oil; my cup is completely full.
I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but that you keep them safe from the evil one.
The everlasting God is a refuge, and underneath you are his eternal arms; he has driven out enemies before you, and has said, "Destroy!"
So the Lord sent Jerub-Baal, Barak, Jephthah, and Samuel, and he delivered you from the hand of the enemies all around you, and you were able to live securely.
David sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord rescued him from the power of all his enemies, including Saul. He said: "The Lord is my high ridge, my stronghold, my deliverer. My God is my rocky summit where I take shelter, my shield, the horn that saves me, my stronghold, my refuge, my savior. You save me from violence!
The Lord is my high ridge, my stronghold, my deliverer. My God is my rocky summit where I take shelter, my shield, the horn that saves me, and my refuge.
Vindicate me, O God! Fight for me against an ungodly nation! Deliver me from deceitful and evil men!
For the music director; by the Korahites; according to the alamoth style; a song. God is our strong refuge; he is truly our helper in times of trouble.
For the music director; according to the al-tashcheth style; a prayer of David, written when Saul sent men to surround his house and murder him. Deliver me from my enemies, my God! Protect me from those who attack me! Deliver me from evildoers! Rescue me from violent men!
In you, O Lord, I have taken shelter! Never let me be humiliated! Vindicate me by rescuing me! Listen to me! Deliver me! Be my protector and refuge, a stronghold where I can be safe! For you are my high ridge and my stronghold.read more.
My God, rescue me from the power of the wicked, from the hand of the cruel oppressor!
As for you, the one who lives in the shelter of the sovereign One, and resides in the protective shadow of the mighty king -- I say this about the Lord, my shelter and my stronghold, my God in whom I trust -- he will certainly rescue you from the snare of the hunter and from the destructive plague.read more.
He will shelter you with his wings; you will find safety under his wings. His faithfulness is like a shield or a protective wall.
For the music director; a psalm of David. O Lord, rescue me from wicked men! Protect me from violent men, who plan ways to harm me. All day long they stir up conflict.
Rescue me from my enemies, O Lord! I run to you for protection.
Grab me and rescue me from the power of foreigners, who speak lies, and make false promises.
Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Aren't two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will. Even all the hairs on your head are numbered.read more.
So do not be afraid; you are more valuable than many sparrows.
but I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. When you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."
Finally the crown of righteousness is reserved for me. The Lord, the righteous Judge, will award it to me in that day -- and not to me only, but also to all who have set their affection on his appearing.
The last enemy to be eliminated is death.
but now made visible through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus. He has broken the power of death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel!
Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death -- the lake of fire.
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will not exist any more -- or mourning, or crying, or pain, for the former things have ceased to exist."
