What the Bible Says About Forgiveness

In the King James Bible, the Lord's Prayer in Matthew asks "forgive us our debts" (Matthew 6:12). In Luke it asks "forgive us our sins" (Luke 11:4). The Greek verb behind forgive in both is aphiēmi, and the KJV translates it leave more often than forgive.

"Forgive" appears 56 times in the King James Bible and "forgiven" 42 times. With forgave, forgavest, forgiveth, forgiving, forgiveness and forgivenesses, the words come 123 times, 54 in the Old Testament and 69 in the New, in 105 verses. "Pardon," "pardoned" and "pardoneth" add 20 more, all in the Old Testament. Below are passages on forgiveness, each quoted word for word with its reference. Short notes give the Hebrew and Greek words behind the English. One table lists every verse where the King James text says forgiveness, and another near the end counts the Hebrew and Greek words behind forgive.

Forgive us our debts (Matthew 6:9 to 15 and Luke 11:4)

9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. 14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. (Matthew 6:9-15)

And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. (Luke 11:4)

"Forgive" is aphiēmi each time in these verses. Strong's Concordance defines it as "to send forth, in various applications."

"Debts" in Matthew 6:12 is opheilēma, "something owed" in Strong's. Its only other appearance in the New Testament is Romans 4:4, as "debt." "Debtors" is opheiletēs, "an ower, i.e. person indebted."

In Matthew 6:14 and 15 "trespasses" is paraptōma, which Strong's defines as "a side-slip (lapse or deviation)." Luke's prayer says sins, and the Greek there is hamartia. "Is indebted" in Luke 11:4 is opheilō, the verb Strong's derives opheilēma from.

Until seventy times seven (Matthew 18:21 and 22)

21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? 22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. (Matthew 18:21-22)

"Seventy times seven" is hebdomēkontakis hepta. Hebdomēkontakis, "seventy times" in Strong's, appears nowhere else in the New Testament. Hepta is seven. STEPBible's Greek lexicon, which draws on Abbott-Smith, gives the two words as "seventy times seven" or "seventy-seven times."

In the parable that follows, in verses 23 to 35, every "forgave" and "forgive" is aphiēmi, the verb behind forgive in verse 21.

Seven times in a day (Luke 17:3 and 4)

3 Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. 4 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)

"Forgive" in both verses is aphiēmi. "Trespass" in both is hamartanō, the verb the KJV renders "sin" in Matthew 18:21.

Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven (Luke 6:36 and 37)

36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. 37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: (Luke 6:36-37)

Here "forgive" and "forgiven" are apoluō, not aphiēmi. Strong's defines it as "to free fully, i.e. (literally) relieve, release, dismiss (reflexively, depart), or (figuratively) let die, pardon or (specially) divorce." This is the only verse where the KJV renders apoluō forgive. Elsewhere it's often release, let go, send away or put away.

Father, forgive them (Luke 23:34)

Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. (Luke 23:34)

Verse 33 names where this happened, "the place, which is called Calvary."

Forgiving one another (Ephesians 4:32 and Colossians 3:13)

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. (Ephesians 4:32)

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)

In both verses "forgiving" is charizomai, and so are "hath forgiven" in Ephesians and "forgave" in Colossians. Strong's defines charizomai as "to grant as a favor, i.e. gratuitously, in kindness, pardon or rescue," and derives it from charis.

The KJV renders charizomai a form of forgive 12 times, "frankly forgave" in Luke 7:42 among them. The other 11 times it's give, grant or deliver, as in "freely give" in Romans 8:32.

If we confess our sins (1 John 1:9)

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)

"Forgive" is aphiēmi. "Confess" is homologeō, which Strong's defines as "to assent, i.e. covenant, acknowledge."

Every place the KJV says forgiveness

"Forgiveness" appears seven times in the King James Bible, once in the Old Testament and six times in the New. "Forgivenesses" appears once, in Daniel 9:9.

In all six New Testament verses the Greek word is aphesis. Strong's derives it from aphiēmi and defines it as "freedom; (figuratively) pardon." The KJV renders aphesis remission nine times and forgiveness six times. The other two are deliverance and liberty, both in Luke 4:18, which is on the grief page.

Forgive, I pray thee (Genesis 50:15 to 17)

15 And when Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him. 16 And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying, 17 So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him. (Genesis 50:15-17)

The two forgives in verse 17 are the first in the King James Bible. Both are nasa, which Strong's defines as "to lift, in a great variety of applications." Of its 654 appearances in the Hebrew text, the KJV renders nasa a form of forgive 16 times and pardon or pardoneth 4 times.

Verse 19, where Joseph answers them, is listed on the fear page.

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven (Psalm 32:1, 2 and 5)

1 Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. (Psalm 32:1-2)

I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah. (Psalm 32:5)

"Forgiven" in verse 1 and "forgavest" in verse 5 are nasa, the verb behind forgive in Genesis 50:17.

As far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:2, 3 and 8 to 12)

2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: 3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; (Psalm 103:2-3)

8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. 9 He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. 10 He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. 11 For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. 12 As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103:8-12)

"Forgiveth" in verse 3 is salach, which Strong's defines simply as "to forgive." The KJV renders salach a form of forgive 32 times and pardon or pardoned 13 times. The one other time it's "spare," in Deuteronomy 29:20.

"As far as the east is from the west" appears only here in the KJV. Verse 4 is on the love page.

There is forgiveness with thee (Psalm 130:3 and 4, and 86:5)

3 If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? 4 But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. (Psalm 130:3-4)

For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee. (Psalm 86:5)

"Forgiveness" in Psalm 130:4 is selichah, which Strong's derives from salach and defines as "pardon." It appears three times, as "ready to pardon" in Nehemiah 9:17, here, and as "forgivenesses" in Daniel 9:9.

"Ready to forgive" in Psalm 86:5 is one Hebrew word, sallach, which Strong's also derives from salach and defines as "placable." It appears nowhere else. "Mercy" in that verse is chesed, the word behind lovingkindness on the love page.

If my people (2 Chronicles 7:14)

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

"Forgive" is salach, the verb behind "forgiveth" in Psalm 103:3.

I will forgive their iniquity (Jeremiah 31:34 and Isaiah 55:6 and 7)

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)

6 Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: 7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. (Isaiah 55:6-7)

"Forgive" in Jeremiah 31:34 and "pardon" in Isaiah 55:7 are both salach. Jeremiah 31:3 is on the love page.

Who is a God like unto thee (Micah 7:18 and 19)

18 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. 19 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)

"Pardoneth" is nasa, the verb behind "forgiven" in Psalm 32:1. "Mercy" is chesed.

The words behind forgive

The KJV says forgive, forgiven, forgave, forgavest, forgiveth, forgiving, forgiveness or forgivenesses 123 times. Counted by their Strong's numbers, these nine Hebrew and Greek words stand behind 121 of them. In 2 Corinthians 2:10 the KJV supplies the other two in italics.

Aphiēmi appears 146 times in the Textus Receptus as STEPBible gives it. The KJV renders it a form of leave 52 times and a form of forgive 47 times. It's also let, suffer and forsake, among others.

Worry, fear, grief, strength and love

Worry, fear, grief, strength and love have pages of their own. They're What the Bible Says About Worry, What the Bible Says About Fear, What the Bible Says About Grief, What the Bible Says About Strength and What the Bible Says About Love. Genesis 50:19 is listed on the fear page, Luke 4:18 is on the grief page, and Psalm 103:4 and Jeremiah 31:3 are on the love page.

How this page was made

Every verse is quoted from the 1769 standard text of the King James Version and checked word for word against two more digital copies. The printed KJV sets supplied words in italics, which this page doesn't show. Verse numbers follow the KJV. The Hebrew text numbers every Old Testament verse quoted here the same way, and Deuteronomy 29:20, which a note cites, is 29:19 there.

Hebrew words were identified with the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible. Greek words were identified with STEPBible's tagged Greek New Testament. The counts of the words behind forgive come from the Strong's numbers in the CrossWire Bible Society's KJV, each checked against the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible or STEPBible's Greek. Greek counts follow the Textus Receptus as STEPBible gives it. Apart from the first "trespasses" in Matthew 6:15, which isn't in the two Nestle-Aland editions or the SBL edition, every Greek word the notes cite in a quoted verse stands in all eight Greek editions STEPBible compares. Some quoted words stand in only two of those eight, the Textus Receptus and the Byzantine text, among them the close of Matthew 6:13 and of Luke 11:4, and the notes cite no Greek for them. STEPBible is a Tyndale House Cambridge project, and its Greek lexicon draws on Abbott-Smith's. STEPBible's data and the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible are both shared under CC BY 4.0. The definitions come from Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (1890). If you find a mistake, tell us through the support page.

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