Bible Verses About Forgiveness: 20 Scriptures on Grace

Forgiveness is one of the hardest things the Bible asks of us — and one of the most freeing things it offers.

It runs in two directions. There’s the forgiveness God extends to you, complete and undeserved. And there’s the forgiveness you’re asked to extend to others, which almost never feels fair and rarely comes easily.

Both can keep you up at night. The guilt you can’t put down. The wound you keep reopening. The person you can’t quite release.

Scripture speaks to all of it. The Bible returns to forgiveness again and again — whole chapters turn on it — because God knew we’d need reminding, from both sides of the ledger.

Here are twenty Bible verses about forgiveness, grouped by what you might be carrying: needing God’s forgiveness, learning to forgive someone else, or trying to forgive yourself.

When you need God’s forgiveness

Start here, because everything else flows from it. You can’t give away what you haven’t received.

1. 1 John 1:9

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

Confession isn’t groveling. It’s telling the truth to someone who has already promised to respond with mercy. Faithful. Just. Will.

2. Psalm 103:12

“As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”

Not east from west’s midpoint — an infinite distance, because east and west never meet. That’s how far the forgiven sin has been moved from you.

3. Isaiah 1:18

“Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”

A picture of a stain that doesn’t just fade but reverses. Nothing you’re carrying is too deep-dyed for this.

4. Ephesians 1:7

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.”

Forgiveness isn’t God going against his nature. It’s God spending the riches of his grace — doing exactly what he most wants to do.

5. Micah 7:19

“You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.”

An old promise with a vivid image: your sins thrown into deep water, gone past recovering. There’s no diving back for them.

6. Psalm 32:5

“Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity… And you forgave the guilt of my sin.”

The moment David stops hiding is the moment he’s forgiven. Cover-up prolongs the weight; confession lifts it.

7. Acts 3:19

“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.”

Notice what follows forgiveness: refreshing. Being forgiven isn’t just a clean record — it’s a lighter walk.

When you have to forgive someone else

This is the harder direction, and Jesus talks about it more than almost anything.

8. Colossians 3:13

“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

The standard is set by what you’ve already received. You forgive from a full account, not an empty one.

9. Matthew 6:14-15

“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”

A sobering link. Withholding forgiveness doesn’t only bind the other person — it closes a door in your own heart that grace is trying to come through.

10. Matthew 18:21-22

“‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.’”

Peter thought seven was generous. Jesus removes the ceiling entirely. Forgiveness isn’t a quota you fill; it’s a posture you keep.

11. Ephesians 4:31-32

“Get rid of all bitterness… Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

Bitterness is named as something to set down, not manage. And the alternative isn’t pretending it didn’t happen — it’s kindness chosen on purpose.

12. Mark 11:25

“And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”

Forgiveness and prayer are tied together here. Unfinished forgiveness can sit between you and God like static on a line.

13. Luke 6:37

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”

A rhythm of release. The mercy you extend has a way of circling back to the one extending it.

14. Romans 12:19

“Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.”

Forgiveness doesn’t mean the wrong didn’t matter. It means you’re handing the accounting to someone more just than you — and freeing your own hands.

15. Luke 23:34

“Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’”

Spoken from the cross, about the people crucifying him. If forgiveness is possible there, the door is not closed on your situation either.

When you can’t forgive yourself

Sometimes the person you’re withholding forgiveness from is you. Scripture has an answer for that too.

16. Romans 8:1

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

If God has closed the case, the guilt still speaking is not his verdict. You’re allowed to stop sentencing yourself.

17. Psalm 51:10

“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.”

David’s prayer after his worst failure. He doesn’t just ask to be forgiven — he asks to be remade. So can you.

18. Isaiah 43:25

“I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.”

God says he chooses not to remember. When your memory won’t let a sin go, this is the verse to hold against it.

19. Hebrews 10:17

“Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.”

Repeated for emphasis across scripture: the forgiven sin is not on file. Re-confessing it nightly is paying a debt already marked settled.

20. 2 Corinthians 5:17

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”

Forgiveness isn’t just erasing the past. It’s the start of a new self, no longer defined by the worst thing you did.

Quick-scan list of forgiveness verses

For when you just need the references:

• 1 John 1:9 — he is faithful to forgive
• Psalm 103:12 — as far as east from west
• Isaiah 1:18 — scarlet to snow
• Ephesians 1:7 — redemption through his grace
• Micah 7:19 — sins hurled into the sea
• Psalm 32:5 — confession lifts the weight
• Acts 3:19 — times of refreshing
• Colossians 3:13 — forgive as the Lord forgave you
• Matthew 6:14-15 — forgive and be forgiven
• Matthew 18:21-22 — seventy-seven times
• Ephesians 4:31-32 — get rid of bitterness
• Mark 11:25 — forgive when you pray
• Luke 6:37 — forgive and you’ll be forgiven
• Romans 12:19 — leave room for God
• Luke 23:34 — Father, forgive them
• Romans 8:1 — no condemnation
• Psalm 51:10 — create in me a pure heart
• Isaiah 43:25 — remembers your sins no more
• Hebrews 10:17 — no more remembrance
• 2 Corinthians 5:17 — the new has come

A nighttime examen: releasing the day

Forgiveness works best as a daily practice, not a once-a-year reckoning. An old habit called the examen fits the end of the day well:

• Look back over the day. Where did you fall short? Name it plainly to God, and receive 1 John 1:9 over it.
• Look for what you’re still holding. Is there someone you’re replaying an argument with? Hand them over before you sleep — Mark 11:25 makes bedtime a natural place for it.
• Look at yourself gently. If guilt is louder than grace tonight, let Romans 8:1 be the last word instead of the replay.

Doing this at night matters because unforgiveness — given or received — does its loudest work in the dark. If the replay tends to wait until your head hits the pillow, the Still app pairs calming evening scripture and prayer with soft narration, so you can fall asleep under words of mercy instead of the argument. Download Still on the App Store.

There’s a body reason to release it, too. Research from the Mayo Clinic on forgiveness links letting go of grudges to lower blood pressure, less anxiety, and better sleep — the peace scripture describes turns out to be measurable.

Conclusion: grace, in both directions

Forgiveness is never one-way. You receive it from God, and you pass it on — and the two are wound together so tightly that Jesus could barely mention one without the other.

If you’re carrying guilt, the verses above have already delivered the verdict: removed, washed, remembered no more. If you’re carrying a wound, they hand you a way to set it down without pretending it didn’t happen.

Either way, the invitation is the same. Stop carrying what grace has offered to take. Receive it, release it, and sleep lighter for it.

To pray through your own guilt, see A Prayer for Forgiveness. When the thing keeping you up is worry rather than guilt, start with Bible verses for anxiety or Bible verses for peace of mind. To rest in how fully you’re loved through all of it, see Bible verses about God’s love. And if forgiveness is what’s keeping you awake tonight, Bible verses for insomnia meets you there.