'Vengeance' in the Bible

And the Lord said to him, “Therefore, whoever kills Cain, a sevenfold vengeance [that is, punishment seven times worse] shall be taken on him [by Me].” And the Lord set a [protective] mark (sign) on Cain, so that no one who found (met) him would kill him.

But Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? [Vengeance is His, not mine.]

I will bring a sword on you that will execute vengeance for [breaking] the covenant; and when you gather together in your cities, I will send pestilence (virulent disease) among you, and you shall be handed over to the enemy.

Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm men from among you for war, so that they may go against Midian to execute the Lord’s vengeance on Midian [for seducing Israel to participate in idolatry].

‘Vengeance is Mine, and retribution,In due time their foot will slip;For the day of their disaster is at hand,And their doom hurries to meet them.’

If I sharpen the lightning of My sword,And My hand takes hold of judgment,I will render vengeance on My adversaries,And I will repay those who hate Me.

“Rejoice, O nations, with His people;For He will avenge the blood of His servants,And will render vengeance on His adversaries,And will atone for His land and His people.”

So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped,Until the nation [of Israel] took vengeance upon their enemies.Is it not written in the Book of Jashar? So the sun stood still in the middle of the sky and was in no hurry to go down for about a whole day.

If we have built an altar for ourselves to turn away from following the Lord, or if [we did so] to offer a burnt offering or grain offering on it, or if to offer sacrifices of peace offerings on it, may the Lord Himself require it [of us and hold us responsible].

And she said to him, “My father, you have made a vow to the Lord; do to me as you have vowed, since the Lord has taken vengeance for you on your enemies, the Ammonites.”

Then Samson called to the Lord and said, “O Lord God, please remember me and please strengthen me just this one time, O God, and let me take vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes.”

But the men of Israel were hard-pressed that day, because Saul had put the people under a curse, saying, “Cursed be the man who eats food before evening, and before I have taken vengeance on my enemies.” So none of the people ate any food.

“It is God who executes vengeance for me,And brings down [and disciplines] the peoples under me,

“He does not believe that he will return out of the darkness [for fear of being murdered],And he is destined for the sword [of God’s vengeance].

“Then beware and be afraid of the sword [of divine vengeance] for yourselves,For wrathful are the punishments of that sword,So that you may know there is judgment.”

The [unyieldingly] righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance [of God];He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.

Why should the [Gentile] nations say, “Where is their God?”Let there be known [without delay] among the nations in our sight [and to this generation],Your vengeance for the blood of Your servants which has been poured out.

O Lord God, You to whom vengeance belongs,O God, You to whom vengeance belongs, shine forth [in judgment]!

To execute vengeance on the nationsAnd punishment on the peoples,

For jealousy enrages the [wronged] husband;He will not spare [the guilty one] on the day of vengeance.

Who say, “Let Him move speedily, let Him expedite His work [His promised vengeance], so that we may see it;And let the purpose of the Holy One of Israel approachAnd come to pass, so that we may know it!”

For the Lord has a day of vengeance,A year of retribution for the cause of Zion.

Say to those with an anxious and panic-stricken heart,“Be strong, fear not!Indeed, your God will come with vengeance [for the ungodly];The retribution of God will come,But He will save you.”

The Lord will go forth like a warrior,He will stir up His zeal like a man of war;He will shout out, yes, He will raise a war cry.He will prevail [mightily] against His enemies.

“Your nakedness will be uncovered,Your shame will also be exposed;I will take vengeance and will spare no man.”

For He [the Lord] put on righteousness like a coat of armor,And salvation like a helmet on His head;He put on garments of vengeance for clothingAnd covered Himself with zeal [and great love for His people] as a cloak.

To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord,And the day of vengeance and retribution of our God,To comfort all who mourn,

“For the day of vengeance [against ungodliness] was in My heart,And My year of redemption [of those who put their trust in Me—the year of My redeemed] has come.

But, O Lord of hosts, who judges righteously,Who tests the feelings and the heart (mind),Let me see Your vengeance on them,For to You I have committed my cause.

But, O Lord of hosts, You who examine the righteous,Who see the heart and the mind,Let me see Your vengeance on them;For to You I have committed my cause.

For that day belongs to the Lord God of hosts,A day of vengeance, that He may avenge Himself on His adversaries.And the sword will devour and be satiatedAnd drink its fill of their blood;For the Lord God of hosts has a sacrifice [like that of a great sin offering]In the north country by the river Euphrates.

“Raise the battle cry against her on every side!She has given her hand [in agreement] and has surrendered; her pillars have fallen,Her walls have been torn down.For this is the vengeance of the Lord:Take vengeance on her;As she has done [to others], do to her.

Listen to the voice of the refugees who flee and escape from the land of Babylon,Proclaiming in Zion the vengeance of the Lord our God,The vengeance [of the Lord against the Chaldeans] for [plundering and destroying] His temple.

Flee out of Babylon,Let every one of you save his life!Do not be destroyed in her punishment,For this is the time of the Lord’s vengeance;He is going to pay her what she has earned.

Sharpen the arrows, take up the shields [and cover yourselves]!The Lord has stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes,Because His purpose concerning Babylon is to destroy it;For that is the vengeance of the Lord, vengeance [on Babylon] for [plundering and destroying] His temple.

Therefore thus says the Lord,“Behold, I will plead your caseAnd take full vengeance for you;I will dry up her sea and great reservoirAnd make her fountain dry.

You have seen all their vengeance,All their schemes against me.

“That it may cause wrath to come up to take vengeance,I have put her blood [guilt for her children sacrificed to Molech] on the bare rock,That it may not be covered.”

‘Thus says the Lord God, “Because Edom has acted against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and has greatly offended and has incurred grievous guilt by taking revenge on them,”

I will take My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Israel. Therefore, they will act in Edom in accordance with My anger and My wrath, and they will know and experience My vengeance,” says the Lord God.

‘Thus says the Lord God, “Because the Philistines have acted revengefully and have taken vengeance [contemptuously] with malice in their hearts to destroy with everlasting hostility and hatred,”

I will execute great vengeance on them with wrathful rebukes and chastisements and they will know [without any doubt] that I am the Lord when I lay My vengeance on them.”’”

“And in anger and wrath I shall execute vengeanceOn the nations which have not obeyed [such vengeance as they have not known before].”

The Lord is a jealous and avenging God [protecting and demanding what is rightfully and uniquely His];The Lord avenges and He is full of wrath.The Lord takes vengeance on His adversaries,And He reserves wrath for His enemies.

[Hush!] Be silent before the Lord God [there is no acceptable excuse to offer]!For the day [of the vengeance] of the Lord is near,For the Lord has prepared a sacrifice (Judah),He has set apart [for His use] those who have accepted His invitation [the Chaldeans who rule Babylon].

for these are days of vengeance [of rendering full justice or satisfaction], so that all things which are written will be fulfilled.

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave the way open for God’s wrath [and His judicial righteousness]; for it is written [in Scripture], “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.

For he is God’s servant to you for good. But if you do wrong, [you should] be afraid; for he does not carry the [executioner’s] sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an avenger who brings punishment on the wrongdoer.

dealing out [full and complete] vengeance to those who do not [seek to] know God and to those who ignore and refuse to obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus [by choosing not to respond to Him].

For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine [retribution and the deliverance of justice rest with Me], I will repay [the wrongdoer].” And again, “The Lord will judge His people.”

and to Jesus, the Mediator of a new covenant [uniting God and man], and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks [of mercy], a better and nobler and more gracious message than the blood of Abel [which cried out for vengeance].

Look! The wages that you have [fraudulently] withheld from the laborers who have mowed your fields are crying out [against you for vengeance]; and the cries of the harvesters have come to the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.

or to governors as sent by him to bring punishment to those who do wrong, and to praise and encourage those who do right.

While being reviled and insulted, He did not revile or insult in return; while suffering, He made no threats [of vengeance], but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges fairly.

for the great day of their wrath and vengeance and retribution has come, and who is able to [face God and] stand [before the wrath of the Lamb]?”

Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints (God’s people) and apostles and prophets [who were martyred], because God has executed vengeance for you [through righteous judgment] upon her.”