Biblical quotes about vengeance offer profound insights into the complexities of human nature and the divine perspective on justice and retribution. While vengeance can be seen as a tool to restore order, the Bible often underscores the importance of leaving such actions in God's hands. This article delves into various passages from Scripture that address vengeance, offering wisdom and guidance for those contemplating justice and revenge. By exploring these quotes, we can better understand the delicate balance between human desire for retribution and divine judgment. The following sections provide a comprehensive collection of biblical quotes related to vengeance, assisting in a deeper understanding of how vengeance is viewed within the sacred texts.
Old Testament Quotes on Vengeance
"Do not say, 'I will repay evil'; wait for the LORD, and he will deliver you." - Proverbs 20:22
"You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your people." - Leviticus 19:18
"Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord." - Romans 12:19
"The LORD is a God who avenges. O God who avenges, shine forth." - Psalm 94:1
"If I sharpen my flashing sword and my hand takes hold on judgment, I will take vengeance on my adversaries." - Deuteronomy 32:41
"O LORD, God of vengeance, God of vengeance, shine forth." - Psalm 94:1
"The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD’s throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man." - Psalm 11:4
"Blessed be the LORD, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle." - Psalm 144:1
"Bloodthirsty men hate one who is blameless and seek the life of the upright." - Proverbs 29:10
"May my accusers be clothed with disgrace and wrapped in shame as in a cloak." - Psalm 109:29
"The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked." - Psalm 58:10
"Whoever digs a pit will fall into it, and a stone will come back on him who starts it rolling." - Proverbs 26:27
New Testament Insights on Vengeance
"Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone." - Romans 12:17
"Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse." - Romans 12:14
"For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing." - Romans 13:6
"Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly." - Romans 12:16
"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." - Romans 12:21
"Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all." - Romans 12:17
"If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink." - Romans 12:20
"Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good." - Romans 12:9
"Therefore, let us stop passing judgment on one another." - Romans 14:13
"For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son." - Romans 5:10
"Not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead." - 1 Peter 3:9
"For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh." - Galatians 5:13
Psalms Quotes on Divine Vengeance
"The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked." - Psalm 58:10
"Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; protect me from those who rise up against me." - Psalm 59:1
"In return for my love they accuse me, but I give myself to prayer." - Psalm 109:4
"With the measure you use, it will be measured to you." - Psalm 109:15
"This is the portion of a wicked man with God, and the heritage which oppressors receive from the Almighty." - Psalm 119:119
"But the wicked will be cut off from the land, and the treacherous will be rooted out of it." - Psalm 37:9
"Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be envious of the workers of iniquity." - Psalm 37:1
"The LORD laughs at the wicked, for he knows their day is coming." - Psalm 37:13
"The steps of a man are established by the LORD when he delights in his way." - Psalm 37:23
"For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous." - Psalm 37:17
"The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose way is upright." - Psalm 37:14
"Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there." - Psalm 37:10
Proverbs Quotes Reflecting Vengeance
"Do not say, 'I will repay evil'; wait for the LORD, and he will deliver you." - Proverbs 20:22
"A man's own folly ruins his life, yet his heart rages against the LORD." - Proverbs 19:3
"The integrity of the upright will guide them, but the crookedness of the treacherous will destroy them." - Proverbs 11:3
"Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." - Proverbs 16:18
"When a man's ways please the LORD, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him." - Proverbs 16:7
"A wise man fears and departs from evil, but a fool rages and is self-confident." - Proverbs 14:16
"Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil." - Proverbs 3:7
"There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." - Proverbs 14:12
"The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps." - Proverbs 16:9
"The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good." - Proverbs 15:3
"A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." - Proverbs 15:1
"The wise store up knowledge, but the mouth of the fool invites ruin." - Proverbs 10:14
Isaiah's Vision of Vengeance
"For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year of my redemption has come." - Isaiah 63:4
"The LORD has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion." - Isaiah 34:8
"He saw that there was no man and wondered that there was no one to intercede" - Isaiah 59:16
"Accordingly I will repay you; put it into their bosom, I will repay to the house of Judah." - Isaiah 48:6
"Your sins have hidden God’s face from you, and he has given you over to darkness." - Isaiah 29:10
"Strengthen the weak hands and make the feeble knees firm." - Isaiah 35:3
"You will go out in joy and depart in peace; the mountains and the hills will burst into song before you." - Isaiah 55:12
"And they shall go forth and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebellious against me." - Isaiah 66:24
"Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way." - Isaiah 55:6
"If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all." - Isaiah 7:9
"For it is written, 'Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.'" - Isaiah 49:6
"But you have burdened me with your sins; you have wearied me with your iniquities." - Isaiah 43:24
Justice and Vengeance in Revelation
"The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne." - Revelation 3:21
"He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more." - Revelation 21:4
"To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment." - Revelation 21:6
"They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony." - Revelation 12:11
"And he will strike the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron." - Revelation 19:15
"They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." - Revelation 7:14
"Come, let us reason together, says the LORD." - Revelation 1:18
"The faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth." - Revelation 1:5
"These are they who have come out of the great tribulation." - Revelation 1:7
"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End." - Revelation 1:8
"And behold, I am coming quickly, and my reward is with me." - Revelation 22:12
"Because you have kept my command to persevere, I will also keep you from the hour of trial." - Revelation 1:10
Vengeance Reflected in Jesus’ Teachings
"But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." - Matthew 5:44
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God." - Matthew 5:9
"Whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also." - Matthew 5:39
"For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you." - Matthew 6:14
"Do not judge so that you will not be judged." - Matthew 7:1
"Treat others the same way you want them to treat you." - Luke 6:31
"For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him." - John 3:17
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you." - John 14:27
"These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace." - John 16:33
"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." - John 15:12
"Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." - John 15:13
"Do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." - Matthew 10:31
Paul’s Views on Vengeance and Forgiveness
"If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink." - Romans 12:20
"Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." - Romans 13:10
"Brethren, do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature." - 1 Corinthians 14:20
"If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it." - 1 Corinthians 12:26
"So then, we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another." - Romans 14:19
"For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son." - Romans 5:10
"Therefore, encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing." - 1 Thessalonians 5:11
"If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men." - Romans 12:18
"The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication." - Philippians 4:5-6
"Let your gentle spirit be known to all men, the Lord is near." - Philippians 4:5
"The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you." - Romans 16:20
"May the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way." - 2 Thessalonians 3:16
Vengeance Narratives in Historical Context
"For the LORD will avenge his enemies, and will punish those who hate him." - Nahum 1:2
"Babylon will be stripped bare, a taunt and a game for the nations." - Jeremiah 50:2
"Lamentations are come upon us from all sides, and all men are mourners." - Lamentations 5:1
"By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion." - Psalm 137:1
"Our enemies mocked us: We have made ourselves the laughing-stock of the nations." - Ezekiel 25:8
"Destruction is poured out upon us like water; our towns are laid waste and all that was established is destroyed." - Jeremiah 4:6
"The cities have become lonely; the land is desolate." - Lamentations 1:1
"For the LORD has not shaken off his compassion; he will gather us again." - Lamentations 3:22
"For though I fall, I will rise again; and though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light." - Micah 7:8
"Of old thou didst speak in judgment to pile up the ruins." - Psalm 9:10
"In the day of judgment the LORD will remember those he loves." - Jeremiah 31:3
"Behold, the days of innocence are gone; the LORD's wrath has descended upon us." - Ezekiel 30:3
Wisdom Literature’s Take on Vengeance
"Surely vexation kills the fool, and jealousy slays the simple." - Job 5:2
"For the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God." - James 1:20
"He who is slow to anger has great understanding, But he who is quick-tempered exalts folly." - Proverbs 14:29
"He who conceals a transgression seeks love, But he who repeats a matter separates intimate friends." - Proverbs 17:9
"The discretion of a man makes him slow to anger, And his glory is to overlook a transgression." - Proverbs 19:11
"A hot-tempered man stirs up strife, But the slow to anger calms a dispute." - Proverbs 15:18
"Wisdom makes one wise man more powerful than ten rulers in a city." - Ecclesiastes 7:19
"Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools." - Ecclesiastes 7:9
"For lack of wood the fire goes out, and where there is no whisperer, quarreling ceases." - Proverbs 26:20
"For a dream comes with much business, and a fool's voice with many words." - Ecclesiastes 5:3
"For who knows what is good for a man while he lives the few days of his vain life, which he passes like a shadow?" - Ecclesiastes 6:12
"Do not say, ‘Why were the former days better than these?’ For it is not wise to ask such questions." - Ecclesiastes 7:10
Final words
Vengeance, while often pursued for personal retribution, is addressed within the Bible with a cautionary tone that emphasizes divine justice rather than human retaliation. Through both the Old and New Testaments, believers are encouraged to embody forgiveness, patience, and humility, trusting that God will deliver justice in His perfect timing. The texts remind us that human vengeance can lead to further sorrow and destruction, whereas divine vengeance promises redemption and restoration. By reflecting on these biblical teachings, one can find peace in letting go of personal vendettas and embracing the transformative power of grace and forgiveness. Vengeance, according to biblical wisdom, finds its true resolution not through human endeavor but in the divine orchestration of justice that assures both balance and sacred accountability. Thus, relinquishing vengeance to God allows for healing and renewal, illuminating the path to spiritual peace and moral clarity.