53 Bible Verses about Persecution

So they went out from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer disgrace for Jesus' name;

"Blessed are you when people abuse you, and persecute you, and keep on falsely telling all sorts of evil against you for my sake.

"It is fire that I have come to bring upon the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how I am pressed with anguish till it is accomplished! Do you think that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not so at all, but rather discord. read more.
For from now on, five in a house will be divided, three against two, and two against three. Father will be against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."

"Blessed are you when people abuse you, and persecute you, and keep on falsely telling all sorts of evil against you for my sake.

"Blessed are you when people abuse you, and persecute you, and keep on falsely telling all sorts of evil against you for my sake.

So they went out from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer disgrace for Jesus' name;

Alexander, a worker in metal, did me ever so much harm. The Lord will repay him for what he did.

Now just about that time a great commotion arose about The Way. A silversmith named Demetrius, by manufacturing silver shrines of Artemis, was bringing in great profits to his workmen. He called together his workmen, and others engaged in similar trades, and said to them: "Men, you well know that our prosperity depends on this business of ours, read more.
and you see and hear that, not only in Ephesus but all over the province of Asia, this man Paul has led away a vast number of people by persuading them, telling them that gods made by human hands are not gods at all. Now the danger facing us is, not only that our business will lose its reputation but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be brought into contempt and that she whom all Asia and all the world now worship will soon be dethroned from her majestic glory!" When they heard this, they became furious and kept on shouting, "Great Artemis of Ephesus!" So the whole city was thrown into confusion and with one impulse the people rushed into the theatre and dragged with them two Macedonians, Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul's traveling companions. Paul wanted to go into the assembly and address the people, but the disciples would not let him. Some of the public officials in Asia, who were friendly to him, also sent word to him, begging him not to risk himself in the theatre. So they kept on shouting, some one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and the majority of them did not know why they had met. Some of the crowd concluded that it was Alexander, since the Jews had pushed him to the front, and since Alexander had made a gesture of the hand as though he would make a defense before the people. But as soon as they saw that he was a Jew, a shout went up from them all as the shout of one man, lasting for two hours: "Great Artemis of Ephesus!" At last the city recorder quieted the mob and said: "Men of Ephesus, who in the world does not know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of the image that fell down from heaven? So, as this cannot be denied, you must be quiet and do nothing rash. For you have brought these men here, although they are not guilty of sacrilege or of abusive speech against our goddess. So then, if Demetrius and his fellow-workmen have a charge against anybody, there are the courts and the judges; let them go to law. But if you require anything beyond this, it must be settled in the regular assembly. For we are in danger of being charged with rioting for today's assembly, as there is not a single reason we can give for it." With these words he dismissed the assembly.

For I do not want you to be uninformed about the sorrow that I suffered in Asia, because I was so crushed beyond any power to endure that I was in dire despair of life itself.

But when the Jews at Thessalonica learned that God's message had been proclaimed at Berea by Paul, they came there too to excite the masses and stir up a riot. Then the brothers at once sent Paul off to the coast, while Silas and Timothy stayed on there. The men who acted as Paul's bodyguard took him all the way to Athens, and then went back with orders for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible.

Yes, indeed, everyone who wants to live a godly life as a follower of Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on exhibition at the disgraced end of the procession, as they do with men who are doomed to die in the arena. For we have become a spectacle to the universe, to angels as well as men. For Christ's sake we are held as fools, while you through union with Christ are men of wisdom. We are weak; you are strong. You are held in honor; we in dishonor. To this very hour we have gone hungry, thirsty, poorly clad; we have been roughly knocked around; we have had no home. read more.
We have worked hard with our own hands for a living. When abused by people, we bless them. When persecuted, we patiently bear it. When we are slandered by them, we try to conciliate them. To this very hour we have been made the filth of the world, the scum of the universe!

As He was leaving the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, "Look, Teacher! What stupendous stones, what beautiful buildings!" Jesus said to him, "Are you looking in wonder at these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another that will not be torn down." As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew, in a private group, were asking Him, read more.
"When will all this take place? Tell us. And what will be the sign that it is about to be put into effect?" Jesus began to say to them: "Look out that no one misleads you about it. Many will come bearing the name of Messiah, and saying, 'I am He,' and they will mislead many. But when you hear of wars and rumors of war, stop getting alarmed. They have to come, but the end is not yet. For one nation will go to war with another, and one kingdom with another. There will be earthquakes in many places; there will be famines. But this is only the beginning of the agonies. So you must be on the lookout for yourselves; they will turn you over to courts, and to synagogues where you will be beaten, and you must appear before governors and kings for my sake, to testify to them. But before the end comes, the good news must be proclaimed to all the heathen. Now when they take you to court for trial, do not be worrying beforehand about what you should say, but say whatever is given you at that time, for it is not you that will be speaking, but the Holy Spirit. One brother will turn another over to death, and a father his child, and children will take a stand against their parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by everybody, because you bear my name. But whoever bears up to the end will be saved.

"Listen! I am sending you out as sheep surrounded by wolves. So you must be sensible like serpents and guileless like doves. Be on your guard against men, for they will turn you over to the courts and will flog you in their synagogues, and you will be brought before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness to them and the heathen. read more.
But when they turn you over to the courts, you must not worry at all about how or what you ought to speak, for it will be given you at that hour what you ought to speak. For it is not you who are speaking, but the Spirit of your Father that is speaking through you. One brother will turn another over to death, and a father his child, and children will take a stand against their parents, and will have them put to death. And you will be hated by all men, because you bear my name, but whoever bears up to the end will be saved. But whenever they persecute you in one town, flee to a different one. For I solemnly say to you, you will not cover all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man returns. No pupil is better than his teacher, and no slave is better than his master. The pupil should be satisfied to become like his teacher, and the slave should be satisfied to become like his master. If men have called the Head of the house Beelzebub, how much worse names will they heap upon the members of His family!

And Jesus left the temple, and was going away, when His disciples came up to Him, to show Him the temple buildings. But He answered them, "Do you see all these things? I solemnly say to you, there shall not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be torn down." While He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came up to Him by themselves, and said, "Tell us when this is to take place, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age." read more.
Jesus answered, "Look out that no one misleads you about it, for many will come bearing the name of the Messiah, and saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will mislead many people. You are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars; take care not to be scared out of your wits. They have to come, but that is not the end yet. For nation will go to war with nation, and kingdom with kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in many places. But all this is but the beginning of the agonies. At that time they will turn you over to torture, and will murder you, and you will be hated by all the heathen, because you bear my name. Then many will fall by the way, and will betray one another and hate one another.

Do not be so afraid of what you are to suffer. See! The devil is going to throw some of you into prison to be tested there and for ten days to suffer pressing troubles. Each one of you must prove to be faithful, even if you have to die, and I will give you the crown of life.

At that time they will turn you over to torture, and will murder you, and you will be hated by all the heathen, because you bear my name.

Be on your guard against men, for they will turn you over to the courts and will flog you in their synagogues,

But before all this takes place, people will arrest you and persecute you, and turn you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake.

Remember what I once told you: No slave is greater than his master. If they have persecuted me, they will persecute you too. If they have observed my teaching, they will observe yours too.

There he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had issued an edict for all Jews to leave Rome. So Paul paid them a visit,

Then Herod and his bodyguard treated Him with contempt and made sport of Him and put a gorgeous robe on Him and sent Him back to Pilate.

This is why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He persisted in doing such things on the Sabbath.

and they rose up and drove Him out of town and took Him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, to hurl Him down the cliff.

After this, Jesus went on moving about in Galilee; He would not do so in Judea, because the Jews were trying to kill Him.

I know that you are Abraham's descendants, and yet you are trying to kill me, because there is no room in you for my teaching.

He saved me from a death so horrible, and He will save me again! He it is on whom I have set my hope that He will still save me,

my persecutions, my sufferings, such as befell me at Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra, such as I endured but the Lord delivered me out of them all.

When they heard this, with one united prayer to God they said: "O Lord, you are the Maker of heaven, earth, and sea, and everything that is in them, and the One who spoke thus through the Holy Spirit by the lips of our forefather David, your servant: 'Why did the heathen rage, and the peoples make vain designs? The kings of the earth took their stand. The rulers met against the Lord, and too, against His Christ.' read more.
"For in this city they actually met against your holy Servant Jesus, whom you had consecrated -- Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the heathen and the peoples of Israel,

Now Saul, as he was still breathing threats of murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, that if he found any men or women belonging to The Way he might bring them in chains to Jerusalem. As he traveled on he finally approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. read more.
He dropped to the ground; then he heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" He asked, "Who are you, sir?" And He said, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.

"I am the real vine, and my Father is the cultivator. He cuts away any branch on me that stops bearing fruit, and He repeatedly prunes every branch that continues to bear fruit, to make it bear more. You are already pruned because of the teaching that I have given you. read more.
You must remain in union with me and I will remain in union with you. Just as no branch by itself can bear fruit unless it remains united to the vine, so you cannot unless you remain in union with me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in union with me and I in union with him will bear abundant fruit, because you cannot do anything cut off from union with me. If anyone does not remain in union with me, he is thrown away as a mere branch and is dried up; then it is picked up and thrown into the fire and burned up. If you remain in union with me and my words remain in you, you may ask whatever you please and you shall have it. By your continuously bearing abundant fruit and in this way proving yourselves to be real disciples of mine, my Father is glorified. I have loved you just as the Father has loved me. You must remain in my love. If you continue to keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commands and remain in His love. "I have told you these things, that the joy which I have had may remain in you and that your joy may be complete. This is my command to you, to keep on loving one another as I have loved you. No one can show greater love than this, the giving of his life for his friends. You are my friends, if you keep on doing what I command you to do. I no longer call you slaves, because the slave does not know what his master is doing; I now call you friends, because I have told you everything that I have learned from my Father. You have not chosen me; I have chosen you, and appointed you to go and bear fruit, that your fruit may remain too, so that the Father may grant you, as bearers of my name, whatever you ask Him for. "What I command you to do is, to keep on loving one another. If the world continues to hate you, remember that it has first hated me. If you belonged to the world, the world would love what is its own. But it is because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, that the world hates you. Remember what I once told you: No slave is greater than his master. If they have persecuted me, they will persecute you too. If they have observed my teaching, they will observe yours too. They will do all this to you on account of me, because they do not know Him who has sent me. "If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. But now the fact is, they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever continues to hate me continues to hate my Father too. If I had not done things among them that no one else has ever done, they would not be guilty of sin. But now the fact is, they have seen and even hated both my Father and me. But this is so that the saying written in their law may be fulfilled, 'They hated me without a cause.'

The man went back and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had cured him. This is why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He persisted in doing such things on the Sabbath. Then He answered them, "My Father is still working, and so am I." read more.
It was on account of this that the Jews tried all the harder to put Him to death, because He not only persisted in breaking the Sabbath, but also kept on saying that God was His Father, and so was making Himself equal to God.

But on my way, just before I reached Damascus, suddenly about noon a blaze of light from heaven flashed around me, and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?' I answered, 'Who are you, Sir?' He said to me, 'I am Jesus of Nazareth whom you are persecuting.'

After they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Wake up! Tenderly take the child and His mother, and escape to Egypt; stay there until I further direct you, for Herod is going to search for the child to destroy Him."

But whenever they persecute you in one town, flee to a different one. For I solemnly say to you, you will not cover all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man returns.

But the Pharisees went out and held a consultation against Him, to put Him to death. But because Jesus knew it, He left there. And many people followed Him, and He cured them all,

If from merely human motives I have fought wild beasts here in Ephesus, what profit will it be to me? If the dead are never raised at all, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we shall be dead."

If for this life only we Christians have set our hopes on Christ, we are the most pitiable people in the world.

I, John, your brother and companion with you in the trouble, the kingdom, and the patient endurance which Jesus gives, found myself on the island called Patmos, for preaching God's message and testifying to Jesus.

So they arrested them and put them into prison until next morning, for it was already evening. But many of those who heard their message believed, and the number of the men grew to about five thousand. On the next day the leading members of the council, the elders, and the scribes, read more.
met in Jerusalem, including Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and all that were members of the high priest's family. They had the men stand before them and repeatedly inquired of them, "By what sort of power and authority have you done this?" Then Peter, because he was filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, "Leaders and elders of the people, if it is for a good deed to a helpless man, or to learn how he was cured, that we are today being tried, you and all the people of Israel must know that it is by the authority of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead -- yes, I repeat it, it is by His authority that this man stands here before you well. He is the stone that was thrown away by you builders, which has become the cornerstone. There is no salvation by anyone else, for no one else in all the wide world has been appointed among men as our only medium by which to be saved." They were surprised to see the courage shown by Peter and John and to find that they were uneducated men, and especially untrained in the schools, but they recognized the fact that they had been companions of Jesus, and since they saw the man who had been cured standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply. But they ordered the prisoners to step outside the council, and they conferred together and repeated, "What shall we do with these men? For it is evident to everybody living in Jerusalem that an unmistakable wonder-work has been done by them; and we cannot deny it. But to keep it from spreading farther among the people, let us severely threaten them not to say anything at all to anyone else about this person." So they called them in and ordered them not to speak or teach at all about the name of Jesus.

they had the apostles arrested and put into the common jail. But in the night the angel of the Lord threw open the jail doors and let them out, and said to them, "Go and take your stand in the temple square and continue to tell the people the message of this new life." read more.
So they obeyed, and about the break of day they went into the temple square and began to teach. The high priest and his party arrived and called a meeting of the council and the whole senate of the sons of Israel, and sent to the prison to have the men brought in. But the attendants who went for them could not find them in the jail, and so came back and reported, "We found the prison safely locked and the keepers on duty at the doors, but on opening the doors we found no one on the inside." When the military commander of the temple square and the high priest heard this, they were utterly at a loss to know how this might turn out. But somebody came by and reported to them, "The men that you put in jail are standing right here in the temple square, teaching the people." Then the military commander went with his attendants and brought them back, but without any violence, for they were afraid of being pelted with stones by the people. So they brought them and had them stand before the council. And the high priest asked them, "Did we not positively forbid you to teach anymore on this authority, and yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and now want to bring on us the people's vengeance for this man's death!" Peter and the apostles answered, "We must obey God rather than men. The God of our forefathers raised Jesus to life after you had hanged Him on a cross and killed Him. God has exalted to His right hand this very One as our Leader and Saviour, in order to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We and the Holy Spirit that God has given to those who practice obedience to Him are witnesses to these things." When they heard this, they were furious, and wanted to kill them. But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, highly respected by all the people, got up in the council and gave orders to put the men out of the council a little while; then he said to them: "Fellow Israelites, take care as to what you are about to do to these men. For in the days gone by Theudas appeared, claiming that he was a man of importance, and a considerable number of men, about four hundred, espoused his cause, but he was slain and all his followers were dispersed and as a party annihilated. After him, at the time of the enrollment for the Roman tax, Judas the Galilean appeared and influenced people to desert and follow him, but he too perished and all his followers were scattered. So in the present case, I warn you, stay away from these men, let them alone. For, if this program or movement has its origin in men, it will go to pieces, but if it has its origin in God, you can never stop it. It is to be feared that you may find yourselves fighting God." They were convinced by him, and after calling the apostles in and having them flogged, they charged them to stop speaking on the authority of Jesus, and then turned them loose. So they went out from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer disgrace for Jesus' name; and not for a single day did they stop teaching in the temple square and in private houses the good news of Jesus the Christ.

About that time Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, in order to do them violence. He had James the brother of John murdered with a sword, and when he saw that this was agreeable to the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter too -- it was at the time of the feast of Unleavened Bread. read more.
He had him seized and put into prison, and turned him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, planning after the Passover to bring him out again to the people. So Peter was being kept in prison, but earnest prayer to God for him was persistently made by the church. Now just as Herod was going to bring him out, that is, the very night before, Peter was fastened with two chains and was sleeping between two soldiers, and the guards were at the door guarding the prison. And suddenly an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in his cell, and by striking Peter on the side the angel woke him, and said, "Get up quickly!" At once the chains fell off his hands. Then the angel said to him, "Tighten your belt and put on your shoes? He did so. Then the angel said to him, "Put on your coat and follow me!" So he kept following him out, but he was not conscious that what was being done by the angel was real; he thought he was dreaming it. They passed the first guard, then the second, and at last came to the iron gate which led into the city. The gate of itself opened to them, and they passed out and proceeded one block when all at once the angel left him. Then Peter came to himself and said, "Now I really know that the Lord has sent His angel and rescued me from the power of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting to do to me." When he became conscious of his situation, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was also called Mark, were a large number of people had met and were praying. When he knocked at the outer door, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer it, and on recognizing Peter's voice, in her joy she failed to open the door but ran and told them that Peter was standing at the door. They said to her, "You are crazy!" But she persistently insisted that it was so. Then they said, "It is his guardian angel!" But Peter, meanwhile, kept on knocking. So they opened the door, and when they saw him, they were astounded. With his hand he motioned to them to be quiet, and then he told them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. He added, "Tell all these things to James and the brothers." Then he left them and went somewhere else. When morning came, there was no little commotion among the soldiers as to what had become of Peter. Herod had search made for him, and when he could not find him, he examined the guards and ordered them to be put to death. Then he left Judea for Caesarea, and stayed there.

But before all this takes place, people will arrest you and persecute you, and turn you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake.

Remember what I once told you: No slave is greater than his master. If they have persecuted me, they will persecute you too. If they have observed my teaching, they will observe yours too.

who will not receive now in this life a hundred times as much in houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, but along with them persecution, and in the world to come eternal life.

Now the fugitives from the persecution that started over Stephen went all the way to Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, telling the message to none but Jews. But there were some of them, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, who on reaching Antioch began to speak to the Greeks too, and proceeded to tell them the good news about the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number of people believed and turned to the Lord.

Saul heartily approved of his being put to death. So on that day a severe persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all of them, except the apostles, were scattered over Judea and Samaria.

Now those who were scattered went from place to place preaching the good news of the message.

Now I want you to rest assured, brothers, that those things which have befallen me have actually resulted in the progress of the good news; in this way it has become well known throughout the Imperial Guard and to all the rest here that I am a prisoner in the service of Christ, and that most of the Christian brothers have grown confident enough, because of my imprisonment, to dare to tell God's message without being afraid.

by the standard set by zeal, I was a persecutor of the church, and measured by the uprightness reached by keeping the law, I was faultless.

though I once used to abuse, persecute, and insult Him. But mercy was shown me by Him, because I did it in ignorance and unbelief,

This is why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He persisted in doing such things on the Sabbath.

who killed the Lord Jesus and persecuted the prophets and us; and who continue to displease God and show themselves in opposition to all mankind,

indeed, it is right for God to repay with crushing sorrows those who cause you these crushing sorrows,

"Blessed are those who suffer persecution for being and doing right, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them. "Blessed are you when people abuse you, and persecute you, and keep on falsely telling all sorts of evil against you for my sake. Keep on rejoicing and leaping for ecstasy, for your reward will be rich in heaven; for this is the way they persecuted the prophets who lived before you.

Blessed are you when people hate you and exclude you and denounce you, and spurn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. Burst into joy on that day and leap for ecstasy, for your reward will be rich in heaven; for this is the way your forefathers used to treat the prophets.

The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and celebrate with feasts and the sending of gifts to one another, because these two prophets had tormented the inhabitants of the earth.

Keep on rejoicing and leaping for ecstasy, for your reward will be rich in heaven; for this is the way they persecuted the prophets who lived before you.

but so far as you are sharing Christ's sufferings, keep on rejoicing, so that at the uncovering of His glory you may rejoice triumphantly.

so that on you will come all the righteous blood shed on the earth from the blood of upright Abel to the blood of Zechariah, Barachiah's son, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.

We must not be like Cain who belonged to the evil one and butchered his brother. And why did he butcher him? Because his own actions were wicked and his brother's upright.

He dropped to the ground; then he heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" He asked, "Who are you, sir?" And He said, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.

But the Jews stirred up the devout women of high rank and the men of first rank in town, and so started a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district.

I myself, indeed, once thought it my duty to take extreme measures in hostility to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. That was what I did at Jerusalem; yes, I received authority from the high priests and shut behind the prison bars many of God's people. Yes, when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them, and often in all the synagogues I had them punished and tried to force them to use abusive language; in my extreme fury against them I continued to pursue them even into distant towns.

Saul heartily approved of his being put to death. So on that day a severe persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all of them, except the apostles, were scattered over Judea and Samaria.

You have heard, indeed, of my former conduct as an adherent of the Jewish religion, how I kept on furiously persecuting the church of God, and tried to destroy it,

Now Saul, as he was still breathing threats of murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, that if he found any men or women belonging to The Way he might bring them in chains to Jerusalem. As he traveled on he finally approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. read more.
He dropped to the ground; then he heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" He asked, "Who are you, sir?" And He said, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But get up and go into the city, and there it will be told you what you ought to do." His fellow-travelers stood speechless, for they heard the voice but could not see anyone. Then Saul got up off the ground, but he could not see anything, although his eyes were wide open. So they took him by the hand and led him into Damascus, and for three days he could not see, and he did not eat or drink anything. Now there was in Damascus a disciple named Ananias, and the Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias!" And he answered, "Yes, Lord, I am here." And the Lord said to him, "Get up and go to the street called 'The Straight Street,' and ask at the house of Judas for one named Saul, from Tarsus, for he is now praying there. He has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him, to restore his sight." But Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard many people tell of this man, especially the great sufferings he has brought on your people in Jerusalem. Now he is here and has authority from the high priests to put in chains all who call upon your name."

Blessed are you when people hate you and exclude you and denounce you, and spurn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man.

"Blessed are those who suffer persecution for being and doing right, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.

If I had not done things among them that no one else has ever done, they would not be guilty of sin. But now the fact is, they have seen and even hated both my Father and me.

Remember what I once told you: No slave is greater than his master. If they have persecuted me, they will persecute you too. If they have observed my teaching, they will observe yours too.

This is why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He persisted in doing such things on the Sabbath.

so that on you will come all the righteous blood shed on the earth from the blood of upright Abel to the blood of Zechariah, Barachiah's son, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar.

and that we may be delivered from unprincipled and wicked men; for not all men have faith.

We have worked hard with our own hands for a living. When abused by people, we bless them. When persecuted, we patiently bear it.

In the evening of that same first day of the week, even with the doors of the room bolted where the disciples had met for fear of the Jews, Jesus went in and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you!"

Then they retorted, "You were born in total depravity, and yet you are trying to teach us!" And so they turned him out of the synagogue.

His parents said this, because they were afraid of the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone owned Jesus as the Christ, he should be shut out of the synagogues.

always being persecuted, but not deserted; always getting a knockdown, but never a knockout;

"Listen to another story. There was once an owner of an estate who planted a vineyard and built a fence around it, and hewed out a wine-vat in it, and built a tower, and rented it to tenant farmers, and then went abroad. But when the time for gathering grapes was near, he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his rent. But the tenants took his slaves and beat the first one, killed the second, and stoned the third. read more.
Again he sent other slaves, and more than at first, and they treated them exactly the same way. At last he sent his son to them, for he said to himself, 'They will surely respect my son.' But when the tenants saw the son, they said among themselves, 'This is his heir, come on, let us kill him, and get all that is coming to him!' So they took him and drove him out of the vineyard and murdered him.

Yes, indeed, everyone who wants to live a godly life as a follower of Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

As for me, myself, brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In such a case the hindrance done by the cross has presumably ceased!

These men who are trying to force you to let yourselves be circumcised simply want to make a fine outward show, only to keep you from being persecuted for the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

But just as then the child born in the ordinary course of nature persecuted the one born by the power of the Spirit, so it is today.

Still others stood the test of taunts and tortures, and even chains and prisons.

but it takes no real root in him, and he lasts only a little while, and just as soon as suffering and persecution come for the truth's sake, he at once yields and falls.

Then Jesus said to him, "Put your sword back where it belongs, for all who wield the sword will die by the sword.

But I tell you, practice loving your enemies and praying for your persecutors,

Therefore, those who suffer in accordance with God's will must also, in doing right, entrust their souls to the Creator who is faithful.

but if anyone suffers for being a Christian, he must not be ashamed of it, but should keep on praising God for bearing this name.

But members of the synagogue known as that of the Libyans, Cyreneans, and Alexandrians, and men from Cilicia and Asia, got to debating with Stephen, but they could not cope with his good practical sense and the spiritual power with which he usually spoke. So they instigated men to say, "We have heard him speaking abusive words against Moses and God." read more.
By this means they excited the people, the elders, and the scribes, and so they rushed upon him, seized him, and brought him before the council. Then they put up false witnesses who said, "This man never stops saying things against this holy place and against the law, for we have heard him say that Jesus of Nazareth will tear this place down, and change the customs which Moses handed down to us." Then all who were seated in the council fixed their eyes upon him and saw that his face was like that of an angel.

From that time Jesus continued to preach and say, "Repent! For the kingdom of heaven is near."

Keep on blessing your persecutors; keep on blessing and stop cursing them.

But the tenants took his slaves and beat the first one, killed the second, and stoned the third. Again he sent other slaves, and more than at first, and they treated them exactly the same way.

Who can separate us from Christ's love? Can suffering or misfortune or persecution or hunger or destitution or danger or the sword?

But the Jews stirred up the devout women of high rank and the men of first rank in town, and so started a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district.

After flogging them severely, they put them into jail, and gave the jailer orders to keep close watch on them.

For Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him out of the way by putting him in prison, just to please Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, for John had said to him, "It is not right for you to have her as wife." Although he wanted to have him killed, he was afraid of the people, for they regarded him as a prophet. read more.
But when Herod's birthday came, Herodias' daughter danced before the guests. Herod was fascinated by her, and so passionately promised to give her anything she might ask for. And she, prompted by her mother, said, "Give me John the Baptist's head right here on a platter." And the king was sorry, but on account of his oath and his guests, he ordered it to be given her. And he sent and had John beheaded in prison. And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she took it to her mother. Then John's disciples came and carried off his corpse, and buried him, and went and reported it to Jesus.

Which of the prophets did your forefathers fail to persecute? They killed the prophets who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, and now you have betrayed and murdered Him,

they had the apostles arrested and put into the common jail.

About that time Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, in order to do them violence.

They will do this, because they have never come to know God nor me.

"To the messenger of the church in Smyrna write: "'The First and the Last, who once was dead but came to life again, speaks as follows: "I know your pressing trouble and poverty, but still you are rich; I know how you are abused by those who claim to be Jews although they are not, but are only a synagogue of Satan. Do not be so afraid of what you are to suffer. See! The devil is going to throw some of you into prison to be tested there and for ten days to suffer pressing troubles. Each one of you must prove to be faithful, even if you have to die, and I will give you the crown of life.

But the high priests planned to kill Lazarus,

You must know that our brother Timothy has been released from prison. If he comes soon, he and I will see you together.

I persecuted this Way even to the death, and kept on binding both men and women and putting them in jail,

Saul heartily approved of his being put to death. So on that day a severe persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all of them, except the apostles, were scattered over Judea and Samaria.

They forced a certain passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry His cross -- Simon, a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus.

"I know where you live, where Satan has his throne. Yet you are clinging to my name and have never renounced your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful martyred witness, who was put to death among you, right where Satan lives,

He had James the brother of John murdered with a sword,

I, John, your brother and companion with you in the trouble, the kingdom, and the patient endurance which Jesus gives, found myself on the island called Patmos, for preaching God's message and testifying to Jesus.

And yet not a single hair on your head will perish.

So they went out from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they had been considered worthy to suffer disgrace for Jesus' name;

Because Paul knew that part of them were Sadducees and part of them Pharisees, he began to cry out in the council chamber, "Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a Pharisee's son, and now I am on trial for the hope of the resurrection of the dead."

for you can verify the fact that not more than twelve days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship, and they have never found me debating with anybody in the temple nor making a disturbance in the synagogues or about the city, and they cannot prove the charges they have just made against me. read more.
But I certainly admit this as a fact that in accordance with The Way -- that they call heresy -- I continue to worship the God of my forefathers, and I still believe in everything taught in the law and written in the prophets, and I have the same hope in God that they cherish for themselves, that there is to be a resurrection of the upright and the wicked.

"Blessed are you when people abuse you, and persecute you, and keep on falsely telling all sorts of evil against you for my sake.

Do not be so afraid of what you are to suffer. See! The devil is going to throw some of you into prison to be tested there and for ten days to suffer pressing troubles. Each one of you must prove to be faithful, even if you have to die, and I will give you the crown of life.

At that time they will turn you over to torture, and will murder you, and you will be hated by all the heathen, because you bear my name.

Be on your guard against men, for they will turn you over to the courts and will flog you in their synagogues,

But before all this takes place, people will arrest you and persecute you, and turn you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake.

Remember what I once told you: No slave is greater than his master. If they have persecuted me, they will persecute you too. If they have observed my teaching, they will observe yours too.

Then Herod and his bodyguard treated Him with contempt and made sport of Him and put a gorgeous robe on Him and sent Him back to Pilate.

This is why the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He persisted in doing such things on the Sabbath.

and they rose up and drove Him out of town and took Him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, to hurl Him down the cliff.

After this, Jesus went on moving about in Galilee; He would not do so in Judea, because the Jews were trying to kill Him.

I know that you are Abraham's descendants, and yet you are trying to kill me, because there is no room in you for my teaching.

"Blessed are you when people abuse you, and persecute you, and keep on falsely telling all sorts of evil against you for my sake.