16 Bible Verses about Martyrdom, Reasons For

And {whoever} does not fall down and worship will be thrown {immediately} into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire."

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego answered and said to the king, Nebuchadnezzar, "We have no need on this matter {to present a defense to you}. {If it is so}, our God, whom we serve, is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire. And from your hand, O king, let him rescue us. And if not, let it be known to you, O king, that {we will not serve your gods}, and the statue of gold that you have set up we will not worship."

All of [the] administrators of the kingdom, and the prefects, the satraps, the counselors and the governors took counsel [and have] agreed to establish an edict of the king and to enforce a decree that {whoever} will seek a prayer from any god or human except from you [for] up to thirty days will be thrown into {the lion pit}.

And [the] ships of Kittim will come against him, and he will lose heart, and he will turn back, and he will be enraged {against the holy covenant}, and he will take action, and he will turn back, and he will pay attention to [those who] forsake {the holy covenant}. And military forces from him {will occupy} and will profane the {sanctuary stronghold}, and they will abolish the regular burnt offering, and they will set up the abomination that causes desolation. "And those who violate [the] covenant he will seduce with flattery, but the persons who know their God will stand firm and will take action.read more.
And those who have insight {will instruct} the many, but they will fall by sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder {for some time}.

And it was given to him to put breath into the image of the beast, in order that the image of the beast both spoke and caused that all those, unless they worshiped the image of the beast, should be killed.

"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 he said to his servants, "This is John the Baptist! He has been raised from the dead, and for this [reason] miraculous powers are at work in him." For Herod, [after] arresting John, bound him and put [him] in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because John had been saying to him, "It is not permitted for you to have her."read more.
And [although he] wanted to kill him, he feared the crowd, because they looked upon him as a prophet. But [when] Herod's birthday celebration took place, the daughter of Herodias danced in the midst [of them] and pleased Herod. Therefore he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. And coached by her mother, she said, "Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter!" And [although] the king was distressed, because of his oaths and his {dinner guests} he commanded [the request] to be granted. 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.

For Herod himself had sent [and] arrested John and bound him in prison because of Herodias, the wife of Philip his brother, because he had married her. 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].read more.
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. 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.

"[You] stiff-necked [people] and uncircumcised in hearts and in [your] ears! You constantly resist the Holy Spirit! As your fathers [did], [so] also [do] you! 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, [you] who received the law by directions of angels and have not observed [it]!"read more.
Now [when they] heard these [things], they were infuriated in their hearts and gnashed [their] teeth at him. But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked intently into heaven [and] saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!" But crying out with a loud voice, they stopped their ears and rushed at him with one purpose. 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 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. And their dead bodies [will lie] in the street of the great city which is called symbolically Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. And [those] from peoples and tribes and languages and nations will see their dead bodies three and a half days, and they will not allow their dead bodies to be placed in a tomb.read more.
And those who live on the earth will rejoice over them, and will celebrate and will send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who live on the earth.

"Then they will hand you over to persecution and will kill you, and you will be hated by all the nations because of my name.

And brother will hand over brother to death, and a father [his] child, and children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. And you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end--this one will be saved.

And you will be handed over even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put to death [some] of you. And you will be hated by all because of my name.

not as Cain, who was of the evil one and violently murdered his brother. And {for what reason} did he violently murder him? Because his deeds were evil and the [deeds] of his brother [were] righteous.

And on her forehead a name [was] written, a mystery: "Babylon the great, the mother of prostitutes and of the detestable things of the earth."

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,