22 Bible Verses about Martyrdom, Examples Of
Most Relevant Verses
Then Cain said to his brother Abel, ["Let us go out into the field."] And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.
so that upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on the earth from the blood of righteous Abel up to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
And he sent [orders] [and] had John beheaded in the prison, and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought [it] to her mother. And his disciples came [and] took away the corpse and buried it, and went [and] told Jesus.
And immediately the king sent an executioner [and] ordered [him] to bring his head. And he went [and] beheaded him in the prison. And he brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. And [when] his disciples heard [this], they came and took away his corpse and placed it in a tomb.
And [after they] had driven [him] out of the city, they began to stone [him], and the witnesses laid aside their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul.
And when the blood of your witness Stephen was being shed, I myself also was standing near and was approving, and was guarding the cloaks of those who were killing him.'
Truly, truly I say to you, when you were young, you tied [your clothes] around yourself and walked wherever you wanted. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will tie you up and carry [you] where you do not want [to go]. (Now he said this to indicate by what kind of death he would glorify God.) And [after he] had said this, he said to him, "Follow me!"
'I know where you live, where the throne of Satan [is]. And you hold fast to my name and did not deny your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan lives.
Then he said, "I have been very zealous for Yahweh the God of hosts, for the {Israelites} have forsaken your covenant. They have demolished your altars, and they have killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left over, and they seek to take my life.
"Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have torn down your altars, and I alone am left, and they are seeking my life!"
"But they rebelled and were rebellious against you and cast your law behind their back and killed your prophets, who had warned them to turn back to you, and they did great blasphemies.
and you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in the blood of the prophets!' Thus you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets! And you--fill up the measure of your fathers!read more.
Serpents! Offspring of vipers! How will you escape from the condemnation to hell? For this [reason], behold, I am sending to you prophets and wise men and scribes. [Some] of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues and will pursue from town to town,
Woe to you, because you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them! As a result you are witnesses, and you approve of the deeds of your fathers, because they killed them and you build [their tombs]! For this [reason] also the wisdom of God said, 'I will send to them prophets and apostles, and [some] of them they will kill and persecute,'
Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand about the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become,
Who will separate us from the love of Christ? [Will] affliction or distress or persecution or hunger or lack of sufficient clothing or danger or the sword? Just as it is written, "On account of you we are being put to death the whole day [long]; we are considered as sheep for slaughter."
You have condemned, you have murdered the righteous [person]; he does not resist you.
And when they have completed their testimony, the beast that comes up from the abyss will make war with them and will conquer them and will kill them.
so that the blood of all the prophets that has been shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation,
For John had been saying to Herod, "It is not permitted for you to have your brother's wife." So Herodias held a grudge against him and was wanting to kill him, and was not able [to do so]. For Herod was afraid of John, [because he] knew him [to be] a righteous and holy man and protected him. And [when he] listened to him, he was greatly perplexed, and [yet] he listened to him gladly.read more.
And a suitable day came when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet for his courtiers and military tribunes and the most prominent [men] of Galilee. And [when] the daughter of Herodias herself came in and danced and pleased Herod and {his dinner guests}, the king said to the girl, "Ask me [for] whatever you want, and I will give [it] to you." And he swore to her, "Anything whatever you ask me for I will give you, up to half my kingdom!" And she went out [and] said to her mother, "What should I ask for?" And she said, "The head of John the baptizer." And she came in immediately with haste to the king [and] asked, saying, "I want you to give me the head of John the Baptist on a platter immediately." And [although he] was deeply grieved, the king, because of his oaths and {dinner guests}, did not want to refuse her. And immediately the king sent an executioner [and] ordered [him] to bring his head. And he went [and] beheaded him in the prison. And he brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. And [when] his disciples heard [this], they came and took away his corpse and placed it in a tomb.
And [after they] had driven [him] out of the city, they began to stone [him], and the witnesses laid aside their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. 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.
But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest [and] asked for letters from him to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, both men and women, he could bring [them] tied up to Jerusalem.
