Grudges are a heavy weight that can quietly poison relationships and rob our hearts of peace. It’s easy to feel justified in holding onto anger or resentment when we’ve been wronged, but these feelings, if left unmanaged, can take root and grow into bitterness. For people of faith, the Bible calls us to a different way—a path of forgiveness, freedom, and release from the burdens of the past.
God knows how deep the pain of betrayal or hurt can go, yet He repeatedly urges His people not to return evil for evil or dwell on offenses. Christ’s example on the cross, praying for those who harmed Him, sets the highest standard for letting go, even when justification for resentment feels strong.
Letting go does not mean forgetting or excusing hurt, but it does mean entrusting our pain to God, finding strength through His Spirit, and choosing to love as we’ve been loved. The following verses give clarity on what Scripture teaches about grudges, forgiveness, anger, and the freeing power of releasing others—reminding us that God’s mercy toward us is an invitation to offer mercy to others, even when it isn’t easy.
Bible Verses About Holding Grudges
1. Leviticus 19:18
“You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.”
2. Ephesians 4:31-32
“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
3. Colossians 3:13
“Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”
4. Matthew 6:14-15
“For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
5. Mark 11:25
“And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”
6. Luke 6:37
“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven.”
7. Romans 12:19
“Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’”
8. Proverbs 20:22
“Do not say, ‘I will repay evil’; wait for the Lord, and he will deliver you.”
9. Matthew 18:21-22
“Then Peter came up and said to him, ‘Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.’”
10. Proverbs 24:29
“Do not say, ‘I will do to him as he has done to me; I will pay the man back for what he has done.’”
11. James 1:19-20
“Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”
12. 1 Corinthians 13:5
“It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful.”
13. Matthew 5:44
“But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
14. Luke 17:3-4
“Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”
15. Romans 12:17
“Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.”
16. Proverbs 19:11
“Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.”
17. Psalm 103:10-12
“He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.”
18. Micah 7:18-19
“Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression… he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.”
19. Hebrews 12:14-15
“Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no ‘root of bitterness’ springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled.”
20. Ephesians 4:26-27
“Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.”
21. Proverbs 15:1
“A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”
22. Matthew 5:23-24
“So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”
23. Ecclesiastes 7:9
“Be not quick in your spirit to become angry, for anger lodges in the bosom of fools.”
24. Galatians 5:19-21
“Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these…”
25. James 3:14
“But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth.”
26. 1 Peter 3:9
“Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.”
27. Romans 14:19
“So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.”
28. 1 John 4:20
“If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.”
29. Matthew 18:35
“So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”
30. Proverbs 14:29
“Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.”
31. Romans 12:21
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
32. Psalm 37:8
“Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.”
33. Colossians 3:8
“But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.”
34. 1 Peter 4:8
“Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.”
35. Zechariah 7:9-10
“Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.”
Our Thought on What the Bible Says About Holding Grudges
The Bible’s message about holding grudges is clear and consistent: believers are called to lives of forgiveness, not resentment. Throughout Scripture, God warns of the dangers that come from nursing bitterness or seeking revenge.
Grudges can imprison the heart, leading to anger, division, and further sin. Instead, God invites us to lay down every offense and resentment, trusting His justice and mercy. Forgiveness is not about denying pain or pretending that wrong never happened; it is about freeing our hearts from the poison of bitterness and choosing to walk in love.
The example of Jesus—who forgave even those who crucified Him—calls us higher. By forgiving, we imitate God’s heart, who removes our sins “as far as the east is from the west.” He teaches that if we desire forgiveness from Him, we must extend it to others. Reconciliation and restoration are core to the Gospel message.