These Bible verses about forgiveness trace a deep thread in Scripture, from the mercy God declared to Moses on Mount Sinai to the words Jesus prayed from the cross. Forgiveness sits near the center of how God relates to people and how people are meant to relate to one another.
Below you will find twenty Bible verses about forgiveness in the King James Version, each with a short note on what it teaches and where it fits. After the verses come key Hebrew and Greek words, famous stories, the theme’s growth across both Testaments, and hard questions.
The aim is understanding. If you are looking for help applying forgiveness to a specific hurt right now, our companion page of Bible verses for forgiveness in everyday situations is written for that purpose.
Every verse below is quoted word for word from the King James Version, with the reference under each passage.
And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.
Exodus 34:6-7 (KJV)
God’s self-description to Moses lists “forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin” among His defining traits. Many of the later Bible verses about forgiveness echo this passage.
He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
Psalms 103:10-12 (KJV)
David uses the image of east and west to show that forgiven sin is not stored away for later use. God removes it completely.
Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.
Psalms 32:1-2 (KJV)
Among the Bible verses about forgiveness in the Psalms, this one pronounces a blessing on the forgiven person. The word “covered” pictures sin hidden from God’s judgment, not hidden from honest confession.
Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
Psalms 51:1-2 (KJV)
Written after David’s sin with Bathsheba, this prayer appeals to God’s lovingkindness rather than to David’s own record. It is a model of repentance.
If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.
Psalms 130:3-4 (KJV)
The psalmist admits no one could stand if God kept a list of wrongs. Forgiveness leads to reverent fear, not careless living.
Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
Isaiah 1:18 (KJV)
God invites His people to “reason together,” promising that scarlet sins can become white as snow. Bible verses about forgiveness like this one present pardon as an offer, not a reward.
I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.
Isaiah 43:25 (KJV)
God says He blots out transgressions “for mine own sake.” Forgiveness flows from His character, not from human merit.
And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
Jeremiah 31:34 (KJV)
The new covenant promise ends with God remembering sin no more. Hebrews 8 later applies this verse to the work of Christ.
Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
Micah 7:18-19 (KJV)
Micah marvels that God delights in mercy and casts sins “into the depths of the sea,” one of the most vivid pictures among all Bible verses about forgiveness.
For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Matthew 6:14-15 (KJV)
Right after the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus ties receiving forgiveness to extending it. The link is serious and meant to be felt.
Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
Matthew 18:21-22 (KJV)
Peter offers seven times as generous. Jesus answers “seventy times seven,” so these Bible verses about forgiveness rule out keeping count.
And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
Mark 11:25 (KJV)
Jesus connects prayer with forgiving others. An unforgiving heart and honest prayer do not sit easily together.
Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.
Luke 17:3-4 (KJV)
Jesus pairs rebuke with forgiveness, which keeps Bible verses about forgiveness from sounding naive. Forgiving does not mean pretending no wrong was done; it means releasing the offender who turns.
Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.
Luke 23:34 (KJV)
On the cross Jesus prays for those crucifying Him. Of all the Bible verses about forgiveness, none shows it offered at greater personal cost.
Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:
Acts 13:38 (KJV)
Paul preaches that forgiveness of sins is proclaimed “through this man,” Jesus. The gospel message is, at its core, a message of forgiveness.
In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
Ephesians 1:7 (KJV)
Redemption and forgiveness come “through his blood,” measured by “the riches of his grace.” Forgiveness is costly for God and free for us.
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
Ephesians 4:32 (KJV)
Like many New Testament Bible verses about forgiveness, this one grounds our kindness toward others in what God has done for us in Christ. We forgive as people who have been forgiven.
Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
Colossians 3:13 (KJV)
In this passage among the Bible verses about forgiveness, “forbearing one another” suggests patience with ongoing friction, while forgiving addresses real complaints. Both are part of Christian community.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9 (KJV)
This is one of the clearest Bible verses about forgiveness for believers. Because Christ has paid for sin, forgiveness is not a bending of justice but its fulfillment.
And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.
Genesis 50:19-21 (KJV)
Joseph refuses to take God’s place as judge and instead comforts the brothers who sold him. It is the Old Testament’s fullest human picture of forgiveness.
In ordinary speech, forgiveness can mean anything from “never mind” to “I will stop being angry.” The verses on this theme use the idea with more precision. At its core, biblical forgiveness means releasing a debt. A wrong has created something owed, and the one who was wronged chooses not to collect it.
That is why Jesus taught His disciples to pray “forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (Matthew 6:12). Sin is pictured as an unpaid bill. Forgiveness does not claim the bill never existed. It cancels the bill, often at a cost to the one who cancels it.
This helps explain why Bible verses about forgiveness so often sit beside words like mercy, grace, blood, and redemption. Someone always absorbs the cost. In human relationships, the injured person absorbs it by giving up revenge. In God’s dealings with sinners, Scripture teaches that God Himself absorbed it through the sacrifice of Christ.
Several different words in the original languages are translated “forgive” or “pardon” in the King James Version. Each adds a shade of meaning. Knowing them helps many Bible verses about forgiveness come alive.
| Word | Language | Basic idea | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| nasa | Hebrew | To lift up or carry away | Psalms 32:1, “whose transgression is forgiven” |
| salach | Hebrew | To pardon; used almost only of God | Jeremiah 31:34 |
| kaphar | Hebrew | To cover or make atonement | Leviticus 16, the Day of Atonement |
| aphiemi | Greek | To send away, release, let go | Matthew 6:14, Luke 23:34 |
| charizomai | Greek | To give freely, graciously | Ephesians 4:32, Colossians 3:13 |
| aphesis | Greek | Release, remission | Ephesians 1:7, Acts 13:38 |
The Greek word aphiemi is especially common. You can see how widely it is used, sometimes for leaving nets or letting someone go, in the Blue Letter Bible lexicon entry for aphiemi.
The word charizomai shares a root with charis, the word for grace. When Paul tells believers to forgive, he is telling them to act graciously, giving something the other person did not earn. Our study of grace and forgiveness in the Bible follows that connection further.
Some readers assume the Old Testament is about law and judgment while the New Testament is about forgiveness. The texts do not support that split. Bible verses about forgiveness appear from early in the story, and God’s willingness to pardon is part of how He introduces Himself.
After Israel worshipped the golden calf, Moses asked to see God’s glory. God passed by and proclaimed His own name: merciful, gracious, longsuffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity. The same passage says He “will by no means clear the guilty.” That tension, mercy alongside justice, runs through the whole Bible and is not fully resolved until the cross.
The law of Moses provided sacrifices so that sin could be dealt with rather than ignored. Once a year the high priest entered the most holy place for the Day of Atonement, described in Leviticus 16. The Britannica article on Yom Kippur gives helpful background on how that day is observed in Jewish tradition.
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Micah all foresee a day when God would forgive thoroughly and renew His people from within. Jeremiah 31:34 ends with “I will remember their sin no more,” a promise the New Testament claims is fulfilled in Jesus.
Many of the best-known Bible verses about forgiveness come from the lips of Jesus. He spoke in two directions at once: He announced that God forgives sinners, and He insisted that forgiven people must forgive others. The Gospels treat these as inseparable.
The prayer side of this teaching deserves its own study, and our page on what the Bible says about prayer and forgiveness explores it in more depth.
No discussion of verses on this theme would be complete without Matthew 18:21-35. Peter asks how many times he should forgive a brother, suggesting seven. Jesus answers “until seventy times seven” and then tells a story. You can read the full chapter of Matthew 18 on Bible Gateway to see it in context.
A king forgives a servant ten thousand talents, a debt no worker could repay. That servant then jails a fellow servant who owes him a hundred pence. The angry king hands the first servant over to the tormentors.
Jesus closes with a sobering line: the Father will do likewise to those who do not forgive from the heart. The phrase “from the heart” signals inward release, not outward politeness, and this parable shapes how the other Bible verses about forgiveness in the Gospels are best read.
Scripture teaches forgiveness through people as well as commands. These stories put verses on this theme into real lives, where forgiving costs something.
Joseph’s story is often read alongside the Bible verses about forgiveness in the Gospels. He was sold into slavery by his own brothers. Years later he had every opportunity for revenge. Instead he wept, revealed himself, and later told them, “ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good.” The text of Genesis 50 on Bible Hub shows how Joseph refused to “be in the place of God” as their judge.
David committed adultery and arranged a man’s death. Confronted by Nathan, David confessed, and Nathan replied that the Lord had put away his sin (2 Samuel 12:13). Yet consequences followed. As in other Bible verses about forgiveness, real forgiveness here comes with real consequences. This pairing is an honest feature of the biblical record.
The New Testament presents the death of Jesus as the place where God’s mercy and justice meet. Hebrews 9:22 states that “without shedding of blood is no remission.” Ephesians 1:7 says believers have “redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins.”
This is why 1 John 1:9 can say God is “faithful and just” to forgive. If forgiveness were simply God overlooking sin, it would be merciful but not just. Christian teaching holds that Christ bore the penalty, so God can forgive without denying that sin matters. Different traditions explain atonement in somewhat different ways, but they agree the cross is central.
The cross also changes how believers forgive each other. Ephesians 4:32 and Colossians 3:13 both use the phrase “even as” or “even as Christ.” Human forgiveness is modeled on and empowered by divine forgiveness. It connects closely with the Bible’s larger teaching on the grace of God, which gives what could never be earned.
Because forgiveness is so central, it is also easy to misread. Several misunderstandings show up again and again when people study verses on this theme.
In the Bible verses about forgiveness, God says He will remember sin no more, but that describes God not holding sin against us, not a lapse of memory. For people, forgiving does not require erasing the past. It means choosing not to use the past as a weapon.
Forgiveness can be given in a moment; trust is usually rebuilt over time. The Bible verses about forgiveness command pardon, but Scripture also values wisdom and caution. A person who has been harmed can forgive and still keep healthy boundaries, especially where safety is involved.
Feelings often lag behind decisions. Many Christians find that forgiveness begins as a choice and becomes a settled peace over time. The Bible’s teaching on forgiveness and healing speaks to that slow process of the heart catching up.
Matthew 6:14-15 seems to say so. When this passage is read with the other verses on this theme, most interpreters understand Jesus to mean that an unforgiving spirit shows a heart that has not truly received God’s mercy, rather than that we earn forgiveness by forgiving. Still, the warning is real and should not be softened away.
Among the Bible verses about forgiveness, Luke 17:3-4 mentions forgiving the one who repents, while Mark 11:25 speaks of forgiving whenever we pray, with no mention of repentance. Many Christians distinguish between releasing resentment, which can happen in any case, and full reconciliation, which usually requires both parties. Traditions vary in how they frame this.
In the New Testament, verses on this theme are never isolated rules. Forgiveness grows out of love and produces peace. Paul’s description of love in 1 Corinthians 13 includes that love “thinketh no evil,” which carries the sense of not keeping a record of wrongs. Our collection of Bible verses about love shows how deeply these ideas overlap.
Forgiveness also brings peace with God and with others. Romans 5:1 says that being justified by faith, “we have peace with God.” The Bible’s wider teaching on peace in Scripture is closely tied to the removal of guilt.
Finally, forgiveness gives hope. A forgiven person is not defined by the worst thing they have done. See how the Bible treats forgiveness and love together, and explore the wider theme of hope in the Bible.
Many verses on this theme assume a prior step: admitting there is something to forgive. Psalm 32 describes the misery of hiding sin and the relief of confession. First John 1:8-9 says the same thing in New Testament terms.
For a closer look at how Scripture defines sin and describes its removal, see our page on sin and forgiveness in the Bible. And because faith is the means by which forgiveness is received, the Bible’s teaching on faith is a natural next step.
The Bible teaches that God is forgiving by nature (Exodus 34:6-7), that He offers forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:7), and that people who receive His forgiveness are called to forgive others (Ephesians 4:32). Verses on this theme appear in nearly every section of Scripture, from the Law and Psalms to the Gospels and letters.
Luke 23:34, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do,” is perhaps the most famous because Jesus spoke it from the cross. Matthew 6:14-15, 1 John 1:9, and Ephesians 4:32 are also among the best-known Bible verses about forgiveness.
Among verses on this theme, Matthew 18:22 answers this directly: Jesus tells Peter to forgive “until seventy times seven.” Most readers understand this not as a literal number but as a way of saying forgiveness should not be counted or rationed.
Not always. The verses on this theme show that forgiveness releases the debt and the desire for revenge. Reconciliation restores the relationship and usually requires repentance and rebuilt trust. Scripture values reconciliation highly (Romans 12:18 says “as much as lieth in you”), but it recognizes that it takes two people. Where abuse or danger is involved, seeking help from a pastor or qualified counselor is wise.
Among verses on this theme, 1 John 1:9 promises pardon for all confessed sin. Jesus’ warning about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:31-32) is generally understood as persistent, final rejection of God rather than a sin someone stumbles into and later regrets.
From God’s words to Moses to Jesus’ prayer from the cross, verses on this theme reveal a God who delights in mercy and a people shaped by that mercy. Forgiveness in Scripture is costly, deliberate, and deeply freeing.
To keep studying these Bible verses about forgiveness, spend time in the Psalms and the Gospels, or look at related themes like healing in the Bible, God’s comfort, and prayer.
The first Christian killed for his faith died under a pile of stones outside Jerusalem. Stephen had just finished a long speech to the council, they had covered their ears and rushed him, and as the rocks landed he did two things. He prayed that Jesus would receive his spirit, and then he knelt and cried out, “Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.” (Acts 7:60) Luke adds a quiet detail a few lines earlier: the men doing the killing laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.
That young man became Paul. Stephen’s prayer sounds a lot like what Jesus said from the cross, and Luke, who wrote both accounts, clearly wants us to hear the echo. A disciple had absorbed the pattern of his Master well enough to repeat it while in agony. Forgiveness here is not a conclusion reached after therapy and a long season of healing. It is a reflex that was trained earlier, in ordinary days, by long listening.
A Pharisee named Simon invited Jesus to dinner, and an uninvited guest slipped in behind him. She was known in town as a sinner, and she carried a jar of perfumed oil. Standing at His feet she began to weep, wet them with her tears, dried them with her hair, and anointed them (Luke 7:36-38). Simon, watching, decided privately that a real prophet would know what kind of woman this was and would pull his feet away.
Jesus answered the thought Simon had not spoken. He told a short story about two debtors, one who owed ten times more than the other, both let off by the lender, and then asked which would love him more. Simon grudgingly picked the bigger debtor. Then Jesus turned the story onto the table: “Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.” (Luke 7:47) To her He said directly, “Thy sins are forgiven.” (Luke 7:48)
Two details stand out. First, her love was the response to pardon she believed she had received, not the price paid for it. Second, Simon had his own debt, but felt too respectable to notice it, and that blindness kept him cold. People who think they have little to be forgiven often find it hard to forgive others, because they never saw how large the gift was. The woman, with her mess of tears and hair and oil, understood the economy of mercy better than the host did.
Paul gives a plain instruction to a congregation that had real friction in it. “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:31-32) Forgiveness has to deal with both the shouting match and the silent grudge that gets rehearsed in the car.
In practice, the Bible verses about forgiveness tend to be carried out in small, unglamorous steps. You might begin by describing to God exactly what happened, in your own words, without softening it. You might decide, on a given morning, not to retell the story to a third person. You might send a short note, or you might not, depending on whether contact is wise. Each of these is a real act of forgiving, even if the feelings take months to catch up.
A gentle caution belongs here. Letting go of a debt is not the same as returning to a dangerous situation. If someone hurt you physically or has a pattern of harming people, forgiving them before God does not require you to sit across from them again. Talk to a pastor, a counselor, or a trusted friend who can help you plan for safety. Mercy and wisdom were meant to travel together in Scripture, and neither cancels the other.
Father, there is a name I would rather not say to You. You already know it. I have been carrying the memory of what that person did like a stone in my coat pocket, taking it out when no one is looking and turning it over. Today I want to set it on the table between us and ask You to deal with it, because I have not managed to.
David wrote, “For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.” (Psalms 86:5) Ready, he says. Not reluctant, not waiting for us to prove sincerity first. If You are ready to forgive me, then I can afford to loosen my grip on the one who wronged me. Help me do it honestly, without pretending that the hurt was small. Where I am too angry to mean the words, let me say them anyway and ask You to make them true over time. And if the weight does not ease after a good while, lead me to someone wise who can help me carry it. Amen.
Keep exploring with these related pages: Bible Verses For Sin and Forgiveness, Bible Verses For Forgiveness and Healing, Bible Verses About Prayer and Forgiveness, Bible Verses For Prayer and Forgiveness and Bible Verses For Forgiveness and Love.
For deeper study, Bible Gateway, Bible Hub and Bible Study Tools are all free to use.
In ordinary speech, forgiveness can mean anything from "never mind" to "I will stop being angry." The Bible verses about forgiveness use the idea with more precision.
This page brings together 20 King James Version references about forgiveness, drawn from 13 different books of the Bible.
Matthew 6:12 is one of the verses about forgiveness referenced in this collection, alongside Luke 23:34.
Yes, the verses referenced on this page, including Matthew 6:12, are quoted according to the King James Version (KJV), and are suitable for daily reading, memorization, or devotional use.
Beyond the references highlighted on this page, forgiveness appears throughout Scripture in books such as Matthew, Luke, Colossians, Acts, Jeremiah; this collection focuses on some of the clearest examples.
