BibleHearthPsalms 103:12
12as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
The distance chosen is east from west, which unlike north and south has no meeting point.
Bible Verses About Forgiveness
Scripture treats forgiveness in two directions that it refuses to separate: what God extends, and what people owe each other. The forgiveness described is thorough — sins removed as far as east is from west — and the Lord's Prayer ties receiving it to extending it. Notably, none of these texts equate forgiveness with pretending the wrong did not happen.
The forgiveness described is thorough
The images used are spatial and absolute — distance, depth, erasure — rather than partial or probationary.
1 John 1:9
9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Confession is met with forgiveness described as faithful and just, grounding it in God's character rather than the confessor's performance.
Micah 7:19
19You will again have compassion on us;
you will tread our sins underfoot
and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.
Sins are pictured as hurled into the depths of the sea — a deliberate act of disposal, not a quiet overlooking.
Receiving and extending are tied together
The New Testament repeatedly links the two directions, and the Lord's Prayer makes the connection explicit enough to be uncomfortable.
Matthew 6:14-15
14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Jesus attaches a condition immediately after teaching the prayer, which is the only line of it he stops to explain.
Ephesians 4:32
32Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
The standard given is the forgiveness already received — the measure is not the offence but the precedent.
Colossians 3:13
13Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Paul assumes grievances will exist within the church and instructs bearing with each other alongside forgiving.
The hard cases are addressed directly
Scripture does not treat forgiveness as easy or one-off, and the passages most often cited on repetition come from people asking exactly that.
Matthew 18:21-22
21Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
22Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
Peter proposes seven times, presumably expecting praise, and is given a number designed to make counting pointless.
Luke 23:34
34Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
Spoken during the crucifixion itself, and phrased as a request rather than a declaration.
Romans 12:19
19Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.
Paul tells believers to leave vengeance to God, which frames forgiveness as handing over a claim rather than declaring the wrong acceptable.
What these verses do not mean
Forgiveness in Scripture is not the same as reconciliation, trust, or the removal of consequences, and conflating them has done real harm — particularly when victims of abuse are told that forgiving means returning to the person who hurt them. Romans 12:19 frames forgiveness as relinquishing your claim to vengeance, not as declaring the act acceptable or safe. Scripture also continues to prescribe consequences for wrongdoing after forgiveness, and Jesus' instruction about repeated forgiveness in Matthew 18 sits inside a chapter that also lays out a process for confronting sin. Nor is forgiveness usually instant. Treating it as a single decision rather than something returned to repeatedly leaves people feeling they have failed when the anger comes back.
Two directions run through every passage on this page. Scripture describes forgiveness received in extravagant terms — distance, depth, disposal — and then, almost immediately, asks that it be passed on.
The order matters. In nearly every case the extending is grounded in the receiving, which is why Paul’s instruction is to forgive as you were forgiven rather than as the offence deserves.
Common questions about forgiveness
How many times does the Bible say to forgive?
In Matthew 18:21-22 Peter asks whether seven times is enough and Jesus answers seventy-seven times — or seventy times seven, depending on the translation and manuscript. Either way the number is large enough to make the point that counting defeats the purpose.
Does forgiving someone mean trusting them again?
No. Scripture distinguishes forgiveness from reconciliation and from trust. Romans 12:19 frames forgiveness as giving up your claim to revenge, while the Bible continues to prescribe consequences for wrongdoing and warns repeatedly about unsafe people. Forgiving someone does not oblige you to restore access, particularly where there has been abuse.