Persecution of the Righteous
118 passages listed in Nave’s Topical Bible and Torrey’s New Topical Textbook. Verse text: Berean Standard Bible; links open in your translation.
A Mode of Divine Chastisement
- Lamentations 1:3 Judah has gone into exile under affliction and harsh slavery; she dwells among the nations but finds no place to rest. All her pursuers have overtaken her in the midst of her distress.
Deliverance From
- Psalm 124:1 If the LORD had not been on our side— let Israel now declare—
- Psalm 129:1–2 Many a time they have persecuted me from my youth— let Israel now declare— …
Diffuses the Gospel
- Acts 8:1 And Saul was there, giving approval to Stephen’s death. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
- Acts 8:4 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.
- Acts 11:19–21 Meanwhile those scattered by the persecution that began with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking the message only to Jews. …
- Philippians 1:12–14 Now I want you to know, brothers, that my circumstances have actually served to advance the gospel. …
More passages
- Genesis 49:23 The archers attacked him with bitterness; they aimed at him in hostility.
- Job 1:9 Satan answered the LORD, “Does Job fear God for nothing?
- Job 2:4–5 “Skin for skin!” Satan replied. “A man will give up all he owns in exchange for his life. …
- Job 12:4–5 I am a laughingstock to my friends, though I called on God, and He answered. The righteous and upright man is a laughingstock. …
- Psalm 11:2 For behold, the wicked bend their bows. They set their arrow on the string to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart.
- Psalm 37:32 Though the wicked lie in wait for the righteous, and seek to slay them,
- Psalm 38:20 Those who repay my good with evil attack me for pursuing the good.
- Psalm 42:3 My tears have been my food both day and night, while men ask me all day long, “Where is your God?”
- Psalm 42:10 Like the crushing of my bones, my enemies taunt me, while they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”
- Psalm 44:15–18 All day long my disgrace is before me, and shame has covered my face, …
- Psalm 44:22 Yet for Your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.
- Psalm 56:5 All day long they twist my words; all their thoughts are on my demise.
- Psalm 69:10 I wept and fasted, but it brought me reproach.
- Psalm 69:12 Those who sit at the gate mock me, and I am the song of drunkards.
- Psalm 74:7–8 They have burned Your sanctuary to the ground; they have defiled the dwelling place of Your Name. …
- Psalm 94:5 They crush Your people, O LORD; they oppress Your heritage.
- Psalm 119:51 The arrogant utterly deride me, but I do not turn from Your law.
- Psalm 119:61 Though the ropes of the wicked bind me, I do not forget Your law.
- Psalm 119:69 Though the arrogant have smeared me with lies, I keep Your precepts with all my heart.
- Psalm 119:78 May the arrogant be put to shame for subverting me with a lie; I will meditate on Your precepts.
- Psalm 119:85–87 The arrogant have dug pits for me in violation of Your law. …
- Psalm 119:95 The wicked wait to destroy me, but I will ponder Your testimonies.
- Psalm 119:110 The wicked have set a snare for me, but I have not strayed from Your precepts.
- Psalm 119:157 Though my persecutors and foes are many, I have not turned from Your testimonies.
- Psalm 119:161 Rulers persecute me without cause, but my heart fears only Your word.
- Proverbs 29:10 Men of bloodshed hate a blameless man, but the upright care for his life.
- Proverbs 29:27 An unjust man is detestable to the righteous, and one whose way is upright is detestable to the wicked.
- Isaiah 26:20 Go, my people, enter your rooms and shut your doors behind you. Hide yourselves a little while until the wrath has passed.
- Isaiah 29:20–21 For the ruthless will vanish, the mockers will disappear, and all who look for evil will be cut down— …
- Isaiah 51:12–13 “I, even I, am He who comforts you. Why should you be afraid of mortal man, of a son of man who withers like grass? …
- Isaiah 59:15 Truth is missing, and whoever turns from evil becomes prey. The LORD looked and was displeased that there was no justice.
- Jeremiah 2:30 “I have struck your sons in vain; they accepted no discipline. Your own sword has devoured your prophets like a voracious lion.”
- Jeremiah 11:19 For I was like a gentle lamb led to slaughter; I did not know that they had plotted against me: “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit; let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be remembered no more.”
- Jeremiah 15:10 Woe to me, my mother, that you have borne me, a man of strife and conflict in all the land. I have neither lent nor borrowed, yet everyone curses me.
- Jeremiah 18:18 Then some said, “Come, let us make plans against Jeremiah, for the law will never be lost to the priest, nor counsel to the wise, nor an oracle to the prophet. Come, let us denounce him and pay no heed to any of his words.”
- Jeremiah 20:7–8 You have deceived me, O LORD, and I was deceived. You have overcome me and prevailed. I am a laughingstock all day long; everyone mocks me. …
- Jeremiah 26:11–14 Then the priests and prophets said to the officials and all the people, “This man is worthy of death, for he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your own ears!” …
- Jeremiah 50:7 All who found them devoured them, and their enemies said, ‘We are not guilty, for they have sinned against the LORD, their true pasture, the LORD, the hope of their fathers.’
- Amos 5:10 There are those who hate the one who reproves in the gate and despise him who speaks with integrity.
- Habakkuk 1:13 Your eyes are too pure to look upon evil, and You cannot tolerate wrongdoing. So why do You tolerate the faithless? Why are You silent while the wicked swallow up those more righteous than themselves?
- Matthew 5:10–12 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. …
- Matthew 5:44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
- Matthew 10:16–18 Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. …
- Matthew 10:21–23 Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rise against their parents and have them put to death. …
- Matthew 10:28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
- Matthew 20:22–23 “You do not know what you are asking,” Jesus replied. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” “We can,” the brothers answered. …
- Matthew 23:34–35 Because of this, I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and others you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town. …
- Matthew 24:8–10 All these are the beginning of birth pains. …
- Mark 9:42 But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be thrown into the sea.
- Mark 13:9 So be on your guard. You will be delivered over to the councils and beaten in the synagogues. On My account you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them.
- Luke 6:22–23 Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil because of the Son of Man. …
- Luke 6:26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers treated the false prophets in the same way.
- Luke 17:33 Whoever tries to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it.
- Luke 21:12–19 But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. On account of My name they will deliver you to the synagogues and prisons, and they will bring you before kings and governors. …
- John 12:42 Nevertheless, many of the leaders believed in Him. But because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue.
- John 15:18–19 If the world hates you, understand that it hated Me first. …
- John 16:1–2 “I have told you these things so that you will not fall away. …
- John 17:14 I have given them Your word and the world has hated them. For they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
- Acts 4:16–20 “What shall we do with these men?” they asked. “It is clear to everyone living in Jerusalem that a remarkable miracle has occurred through them, and we cannot deny it. …
- Acts 5:29 But Peter and the other apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than men.
- Acts 5:40–42 At this, they yielded to Gamaliel. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and released them. …
- Acts 7:52 Which of the prophets did your fathers fail to persecute? They even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One. And now you are His betrayers and murderers —
- Acts 8:4 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.
- Acts 28:22 But we consider your views worth hearing, because we know that people everywhere are speaking against this sect.”
- Romans 8:17 And if we are children, then we are heirs: heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ — if indeed we suffer with Him, so that we may also be glorified with Him.
- Romans 8:35–37 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? …
- 1 Corinthians 4:9–13 For it seems to me that God has displayed us apostles at the end of the procession, like prisoners appointed for death. We have become a spectacle to the whole world, to angels as well as to men. …
- 1 Corinthians 13:3 If I give all I possess to the poor and exult in the surrender of my body, but have not love, I gain nothing.
- 2 Corinthians 4:8–12 We are hard pressed on all sides, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; …
- 2 Corinthians 6:4–5 Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships, and calamities; …
- 2 Corinthians 6:8–10 through glory and dishonor, slander and praise; viewed as imposters, yet genuine; …
- 2 Corinthians 11:23–27 Are they servants of Christ? (I am speaking as if I were out of my mind.) I am so much more: in harder labor, in more imprisonments, in worse beatings, in frequent danger of death. …
- 2 Corinthians 12:10 That is why, for the sake of Christ, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
- Galatians 4:29 At that time, however, the son born by the flesh persecuted the son born by the Spirit. It is the same now.
- Galatians 6:12 Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. They only do this to avoid persecution for the cross of Christ.
- Galatians 6:17 From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.
- Philippians 1:12–14 Now I want you to know, brothers, that my circumstances have actually served to advance the gospel. …
- Philippians 1:28–29 without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a clear sign of their destruction but of your salvation, and it is from God. …
- Colossians 1:24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His body, which is the church.
- 1 Thessalonians 1:6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord when you welcomed the message with the joy of the Holy Spirit, in spite of your great suffering.
- 1 Thessalonians 2:2 As you are aware, we had already endured suffering and shameful treatment in Philippi. But in the face of strong opposition, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God.
- 1 Thessalonians 2:14–15 For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Judea that are in Christ Jesus. You suffered from your own countrymen the very things they suffered from the Jews, …
- 2 Thessalonians 1:4 That is why we boast among God’s churches about your perseverance and faith in the face of all the persecution and affliction you are enduring.
- 2 Timothy 1:8 So do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, or of me, His prisoner. Instead, join me in suffering for the gospel by the power of God.
- 2 Timothy 1:12 For this reason, even though I suffer as I do, I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him for that day.
- 2 Timothy 2:9–12 for which I suffer to the extent of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God cannot be chained! …
- 2 Timothy 3:2–3 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, …
- 2 Timothy 3:12 Indeed, all who desire to live godly lives in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
- 2 Timothy 4:16–17 At my first defense, no one stood with me, but everyone deserted me. May it not be charged against them. …
- Hebrews 10:32–34 Remember the early days that you were in the light. In those days, you endured a great conflict in the face of suffering. …
- Hebrews 11:25–27 He chose to suffer oppression with God’s people rather than to experience the fleeting enjoyment of sin. …
- Hebrews 11:33–38 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, …
- Hebrews 12:3–4 Consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. …
- Hebrews 13:13 Therefore let us go to Him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace He bore.
- James 2:6 But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you and drag you into court?
- James 5:6 You have condemned and murdered the righteous, who did not resist you.
- James 5:10 Brothers, as an example of patience in affliction, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
- 1 Peter 3:14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear what they fear; do not be shaken.”
- 1 Peter 3:16–17 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who slander you may be put to shame by your good behavior in Christ. …
- 1 Peter 4:3–4 For you have spent enough time in the past carrying out the same desires as the Gentiles: living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and detestable idolatry. …
- 1 Peter 4:12–14 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial that has come upon you, as though something strange were happening to you. …
- 1 Peter 4:16 But if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but glorify God that you bear that name.
- 1 Peter 4:19 So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should entrust their souls to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.
- 1 John 3:1 Behold what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.
- 1 John 3:13 So do not be surprised, brothers, if the world hates you.
- Revelation 2:3 Without growing weary, you have persevered and endured many things for the sake of My name.
- Revelation 2:10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will suffer tribulation for ten days. Be faithful even unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.
- Revelation 2:13 I know where you live, where the throne of Satan sits, yet you hold fast to My name. You did not deny your faith in Me, even in the days of My faithful witness Antipas, who was killed among you where Satan dwells.
- Revelation 6:9–11 And when the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony they had upheld. …
- Revelation 7:13–17 Then one of the elders addressed me: “These in white robes,” he asked, “who are they, and where have they come from?” …
- Revelation 12:11 They have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. And they did not love their lives so as to shy away from death.
- Revelation 17:6 I could see that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and witnesses for Jesus. And I was utterly amazed at the sight of her.
- Revelation 20:4 Then I saw the thrones, and those seated on them had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the …
Related topics
Topics: Nave’s Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey’s New Topical Textbook (1897), public domain, via the Berean Bible topical index.