Forgiveness in Scripture runs in two directions: what God extends to us and what we're asked to extend to others. The Bible ties the two together more tightly than most people would like. These verses are honest about that.
Forgiveness doesn't mean staying in a situation that's harming you. If someone is hurting you, getting safe comes first; forgiveness can be worked out later and from a distance.
For forgiveness
Ephesians 4:32
And be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you.
World English Bible (WEB)
The standard for forgiving others is stated in one clause: 'just as God also in Christ forgave you.' That's both the measure and the motive. Paul frames it with kindness and tenderheartedness, which suggests forgiveness is less a legal decision than a softening.
Ephesians 4:32
And be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you.
World English Bible (WEB) · Letter (epistle)
The standard for forgiving others is stated in one clause: 'just as God also in Christ forgave you.' That's both the measure and the motive. Paul frames it with kindness and tenderheartedness, which suggests forgiveness is less a legal decision than a softening.
Colossians 3:13
bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, if any man has a complaint against any; even as Christ forgave you, so you also do.
World English Bible (WEB) · Letter (epistle)
'Bearing with' and 'forgiving' are two different things here. One is tolerating ongoing friction; the other is releasing a specific complaint. The verse assumes both will be necessary in any real community. 'If any man has a complaint against any' is refreshingly realistic.
Matthew 18:21-22
Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Until seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I don’t tell you until seven times, but, until seventy times seven.
World English Bible (WEB) · Gospel (Jesus’ words and life)
Peter thinks seven times is generous. Jesus says seventy times seven, which isn't a number to count to; it's a way of saying stop counting. The parable that follows, about a servant forgiven a huge debt who then refuses to forgive a small one, is the real point of the passage. Read it.
Matthew 6:14-15
For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you don’t forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
World English Bible (WEB) · Gospel (Jesus’ words and life)
This comes right after the Lord's Prayer and is the one line Jesus stops to expand. The link between being forgiven and forgiving is stated bluntly. It's uncomfortable, and it's meant to be. Jesus doesn't treat refusing to forgive as a minor matter.
Psalm 103:12
As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
World English Bible (WEB) · Psalm (poetry)
East and west never meet, so the distance is infinite. That's how far God removes our sins. If your need is to know you've been forgiven rather than to forgive someone else, this is the verse. The whole psalm is worth reading for its description of God's character.
1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
World English Bible (WEB) · Letter (epistle)
The condition is confession, and the promise is two things: forgiveness and cleansing. God is called 'faithful and righteous' to do this, meaning it's consistent with who he is, not a reluctant exception. This is the verse for guilt that keeps circling back.
Mark 11:25
Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father, who is in heaven, may also forgive you your transgressions.
World English Bible (WEB) · Gospel (Jesus’ words and life)
Jesus connects forgiveness to prayer: 'whenever you stand praying, forgive.' It implies forgiveness is a recurring act, something you do each time the grudge resurfaces, not a single event. That's more realistic than the idea that you forgive once and it's done.
Forgiveness is rarely a single moment. If you're working on forgiving someone, choose one verse, such as Mark 11:25, and return to it each time the resentment comes back. Reading the parable in Matthew 18:23-35 once, slowly, is worth more than any list.
The passages above don't make forgiveness conditional on the other person's apology. Mark 11:25 and Ephesians 4:32 are about your own posture. Reconciliation, restoring the relationship, is a separate step and may require more from both sides.
Matthew 18:21-22. Jesus follows it with a parable (verses 23-35) that explains why.