20 Bible Verses about Grudges

For John had said to Herod, "It is unlawful for you to marry your brother's wife." Now [because of this] Herodias had a grudge against John and wanted to kill him, but had not been able to.

Now when Jesus was at Bethany [Note: This was a small village less than two miles east of Jerusalem], in the house of Simon, the man [who probably had been healed] of an infectious skin disease, a woman with an alabaster [i.e., stone] jar of very expensive perfume came to Him and poured it on His head as He reclined at the dinner table. [Note: See Matt. 23:6] But when His disciples saw this they were very upset and said, "What is the reason for such waste?read more.
For this perfume could have been sold for a large sum of money and given to poor people."

And while Jesus was in Bethany [Note: This was a small village fewer than two miles east of Jerusalem], sitting at the dinner table in the house of Simon, the man with an infectious skin disease [Note: This man had probably been healed by now], a woman with an alabaster [i.e., stone] jar of very expensive perfume came to Him, broke the jar and poured the perfume on His head. But some [of the disciples. See Matt. 26:8] were upset among themselves, saying, "What is the reason for wasting this perfume? It might have been sold for a large sum of money and the money given to poor people. [Note: The amount indicated here was equivalent to days of a farm laborer's pay, or over $20,000 in 1994]. And they complained about her [doing this].

Then Mary took about a pint of expensive, aromatic perfume; [it was] genuine nard [Note: This was a sweet-smelling herb] and poured [some of] it on Jesus' feet and wiped them with her hair. The [whole] house was filled with the fragrant scent of the perfume. But one of Jesus' disciples named Judas Iscariot, who later turned Him over [i.e., to the Jewish authorities], said, "Why was this perfume not sold for a large sum of money [Note: The amount here was equivalent to three hundred days of a farm laborer's pay, or over $20,000 in 1994] and [then] the money given to poor people?"read more.
Now he did not say this because he cared about poor people, but because he was in charge of the money bag, and being a thief, he used to steal from it.

But the head priest and the Jewish sect of the Sadducees became very jealous,

Now when the Council members heard these things they were enraged and ground their teeth at him.

And when Herodias' daughter [Note: According to Josephus her name was Salome] came in and danced [in front of them, sensually], she pleased Herod and his party guests so much that the king said to the young woman, "Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you." And he vowed to her, "I will give you whatever you ask me for, up to one half [the wealth] of my kingdom." So, she went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask for?" And her mother said, " [Ask for] the head of John the Immerser."

For from within, out of people's hearts, proceed evil thoughts, sexual immorality, stealing, murder, extramarital affairs, greedy desires, wickedness, deceit, unrestrained indecency, envy, slander, arrogance and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within [man's heart] and [spiritually] corrupt him."

For evil thoughts, murder, extramarital affairs, sexual immorality, stealing, perjury, slander --- [all these] come from a person's heart, and are what corrupt him [spiritually]. But eating [a meal] with [ceremonially] unwashed hands does not [spiritually] corrupt him."

Do not [try to] pay back a wrong done to you by doing something wrong to the other person. Think about how to live honorably in front of all people. If it is at all possible, as far as your part is concerned, live peacefully with all people. Do not take revenge on someone who has wronged you, but leave it up to God's wrath [to take care of it], for it is written [Deut. 22:35], "The Lord says, I will pay people back [for doing wrong] because taking revenge belongs to me."read more.
But [Prov. 25:21-25 says], "Feed your enemy if he is hungry; give him something to drink if he is thirsty. For when you do this, it will be [like] heaping burning coals on his head." [i.e., it can cause him burning shame that can lead to his repentance and ultimate forgiveness]. [So], do not be conquered by evil, but [instead] conquer evil by doing good.

Make sure that no one does anything wrong to someone who wrongs him, but always look for something good you can do for one another and for everyone.

But if you [unlovingly] bite and eat one another [i.e., figuratively], be careful that you do not totally consume one another.

for it is God who is at work in you, both to motivate the desire and to carry out what pleases Him. Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that you will be without just blame and innocent [of wrongdoing], children of God without fault in the middle of a crooked and perverted generation of people. You must shine among them like stars lighting up the sky,

But now you also should stop practicing them: anger, wrath, malice, slander, filthy language from your mouth.

For the Lord's slave must not quarrel, but be kind toward everyone, capable of teaching, [and] patient [with difficult people and situations].

But if you people have bitter jealousy and rivalry in your hearts, do not be arrogant [over it] and deny the truth. This "wisdom" is not the kind that comes from [God] above, but is earthly, unspiritual and demonic [i.e., it is motivated by an evil spirit and not the Holy Spirit]. For when jealousy and rivalry exist, there is [also] disorder and every [kind of] evil practice.

Therefore, you should put out of your lives all malice [i.e., bad attitudes], and all deceit and hypocrisy, and all envy and unwholesome talk.

"You have heard what was said [Lev. 19:18], 'You must love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, in order to be [true] children of your Father in heaven, for He makes His sun to rise on evil [as well] as on good people. He [also] sends rain on those who live right [as well] as on those who do not live right.read more.
For if you love [only] those who love you, what reward will you get for that? Do not even the publicans [Note: These were people with a bad reputation for their dishonest tax collecting activities] do that much? And if you greet [cordially] your brothers only, what are you doing more than other people? Do not even the [unconverted] Gentiles do that much?

Then Peter came and said to Jesus, "Lord, how often must I forgive my brother when he sins against me? As many as seven times?" Jesus replied, "I tell you, not [just] up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven [i.e., a large indefinite number of times]. "Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is similar to a certain king who decided to settle his account with his servants.read more.
When he began figuring, one of his servants, who owed him a huge sum of money [Note: The amount is variously estimated to be as much as $50,000,000 in 1994], was brought to him. But since he did not have enough [money] to pay [what he owed], his master ordered that he, his wife, his children and all his possessions be sold [in order] to pay [his debt]. The servant then fell to the ground [before his master] and humbly implored him, saying, 'Master, [please] be patient with me and I will repay you everything [I owe].' And the master of that servant felt deep pity [for him], so released him [from custody] and canceled his debt. But that [same] servant went out and found one of his fellow-servants who owed him a small sum of money [Note: The amount was about days of a farm laborer's pay or about $7,000 in 1994]. He grabbed him by the throat, saying, 'Pay [me] what you owe.' His fellow-servant fell [on the ground before him] and begged him, saying, '[Please] be patient with me and I will repay you [all I owe you].' But he would not do it. Instead, he took him and had him thrown into prison until he paid [him] all he owed. When his fellow-servants saw what he had done, they were very upset and went and told their master everything that had happened. Then his master called for him and said to him, 'You wicked servant! I canceled all of your debt because you begged me to. Should you not also have had pity on your fellow-servant just as I pitied you?' His master then became furious and turned him over [to the authorities] to be punished until he paid all that he owed. In the same way my heavenly Father will also deal with you [i.e., punish you] unless every one of you forgives his brother from the heart."

Tolerate one another's [weaknesses] and forgive each other if anyone [of you] has a complaint against someone else. You should forgive people just as the Lord forgave you.