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The LORD, your God, will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, that you may love the LORD, your God, with all your heart and all your soul, and so may live. But all those curses the LORD, your God, will assign to your enemies and the foes who persecuted you. [DEUT
30:6-7] When the Gentiles round about heard that the altar had been rebuilt and the sanctuary consecrated as before, they were very angry. So they decided to destroy the descendants of Jacob who were among them, and they began to massacre and persecute the people. [1MACC
5:1-2]
After the sabbath, they gave a share of the
booty to the persecuted and to widows and orphans; the rest they
divided among themselves and their children. [2MACC 8:28]
But you who say, "How shall we persecute him, seeing that the root of the matter is found in him?"
Be afraid of the sword for yourselves, for these crimes deserve the sword; that you may know that there is a judgment.
[JOB 19:28-29]
Malicious persecutors draw near me; they are far
from your teaching. [PS 119:150]
Though my persecutors and foes are many I do not
turn from your decrees. [PS 119:157]
Princes persecute me without reason, but my
heart reveres only your word. [PS 119:161]
Tell me, LORD, have I not served you for their
good? Have I not interceded with you in the time of
misfortune and anguish? You know I have. Remember me, LORD,
visit me, and avenge me on my persecutors. Because of
your long-suffering banish me not; know that for you I have
borne insult. [JER 15:11,15]
Let my persecutors, not me, be confounded; let
them, not me, be broken. Bring upon them the day of misfortune,
crush them with repeated destruction. [JER 17:18]
But the LORD is with me, like a mighty champion:
my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph. In their
failure they will be put to utter shame, to lasting, unforgettable
confusion. [JER 20:11]
Judah has fled into exile from oppression and
cruel slavery; Yet where she lives among the nations she finds no
place to rest: All her persecutors come upon her where she is
narrowly confined. [LAM 1:3]
"My children, bear patiently the anger that
has come from God upon you; Your enemies have persecuted you, and
you will soon see their destruction and trample upon their necks."
[BARUCH 4:25]
"Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake
of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." [MT 5:10]
"Blessed are you when they insult you and
persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you (falsely)
because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be
great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before
you." [MT 5:11-12]
"You have heard that it was said, 'You
shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you,
love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you
may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise
on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and
the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense
will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you
greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the
pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is
perfect." [MT 5:43-48]
"You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end
will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to another. Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the towns of Israel before the Son of Man
comes." [MT
10:22-23]
"Hear then the parable of the sower. The
seed sown on the path is the one who hears the word of the kingdom
without understanding it, and the evil one comes and steals away
what was sown in his heart. The seed sown on rocky ground is the
one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy. But he
has no root and lasts only for a time. When some tribulation or
persecution comes because of the word, he immediately falls away.
The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word, but then
worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears
no fruit. But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the
word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a
hundred or sixty or thirtyfold." [MT 13:18-23]
As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the
disciples approached him privately and said, "Tell us, when
will this happen, and what sign will there be of your coming, and
of the end of the age?" Jesus said to them in reply,
"See that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name,
saying, 'I am the Messiah,' and they will deceive many. You will
hear of wars and reports of wars; see that you are not alarmed,
for these things must happen, but it will not yet be the end.
Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom;
there will be famines and earthquakes from place to place. All
these are the beginning of the labor pains. Then they will hand
you over to persecution, and they will kill you. You will be hated
by all nations because of my name. And then many will be led into
sin; they will betray and hate one another. Many false prophets
will arise and deceive many; and because of the increase of
evildoing, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who
perseveres to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the
kingdom will be preached throughout the world as a witness to all
nations, and then the end will come." [MT 24:3-14]
Jesus said to them, "Do you not understand
this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables?
The sower sows the word. These are the ones on the path where the
word is sown. As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once and takes
away the word sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky
ground who, when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy.
But they have no root; they last only for a time. Then when
tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly
fall away. Those sown among thorns are another sort. They are the
people who hear the word, but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches,
and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word, and
it bears no fruit. But those sown on rich soil are the ones who
hear the word and accept it and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a
hundredfold." [MK 4:13-20]
[Jesus said,] "Woe to you! You build the
memorials of the prophets whom your ancestors killed.
Consequently, you bear witness and give consent to the deeds of
your ancestors, for they killed them and you do the building.
Therefore, the wisdom of God said, 'I will send to them prophets
and apostles; some of them they will kill and persecute' in order
that this generation might be charged with the blood of all the
prophets shed since the foundation of the world, from the blood of
Abel to the blood of Zechariah who died between the altar and the
temple building. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be charged
with their blood!" [Taken from LK 11:47-51]
Then they asked him, "Teacher, when will
this happen? And what sign will there be when all these things are
about to happen?" He answered, "See that you not be
deceived, for many will come in my name, saying, 'I am he,' and
'The time has come.' Do not follow them! When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for such things must happen
first, but it will not immediately be the end." Then he said
to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom
against kingdom. There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and
plagues from place to place; and awesome sights and mighty signs
will come from the sky. Before all this happens, however,
they will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the
synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings
and governors because of my name. It will lead to your giving
testimony. Remember, you are not to prepare your defense
beforehand, for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that
all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute. You
will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and
friends, and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated
by all because of my name, but not a hair on your head will be
destroyed. By your perseverance you will secure your lives." [LK
21:7-19]
The man went and told the Jews that Jesus was
the one who had made him well. Therefore, the Jews began to
persecute Jesus because he did this on a sabbath. But Jesus
answered them, "My Father is at work until now, so I am at
work." For this reason the Jews tried all the more to kill
him, because he not only broke the sabbath but he also called God
his own father, making himself equal to God. [JN
5:15-18]
"If the world hates you, realize that it
hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love
its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have
chosen you out of the world, the world hates you. Remember the
word I spoke to you, 'No slave is greater than his master.' If
they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my
word, they will also keep yours. And they will do all these things
to you on account of my name, because they do not know the one who
sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no
sin; but as it is they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates
me also hates my Father. If I had not done works among them that
no one else ever did, they would not have sin; but as it is, they
have seen and hated both me and my Father. But in order that the
word written in their law might be fulfilled, 'They hated me
without cause.'" [JN 15:18-25]
"You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in
heart and ears, you always oppose the Holy Spirit; you are just
like your ancestors. Which of the prophets did your ancestors not
persecute? They put to death those who foretold the coming of the
righteous one, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become.
You received the law as transmitted by angels, but you did not
observe it." [ACTS 7:51-53]
Now Saul was consenting to his execution. On
that day, there broke out a severe persecution of the church in
Jerusalem, and all were scattered throughout the countryside of
Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. [ACTS 8:1]
Now Saul, still breathing murderous threats
against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and
asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, that, if he
should find any men or women who belonged to the Way, he might
bring them back to Jerusalem in chains. On his journey, as he was
nearing Damascus, a light from the sky suddenly flashed around
him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him,
"Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" He said,
"Who are you, sir?" The reply came, "I am Jesus,
whom you are persecuting. Now get up and go into the city and you
will be told what you must do." The men who were traveling
with him stood speechless, for they heard the voice but could see
no one. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes
he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him
to Damascus. For three days he was unable to see, and he neither
ate nor drank. [ACTS 9:1-9]
Now those who had been scattered by the
persecution that arose because of Stephen went as far as
Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to no one but
Jews. [ACTS 11:19]
On the following sabbath almost the whole city
gathered to hear the word of the Lord. When the Jews saw the
crowds, they were filled with jealousy and with violent abuse
contradicted what Paul said. Both Paul and Barnabas spoke out
boldly and said, "It was necessary that the word of God be
spoken to you first, but since you reject it and condemn
yourselves as unworthy of eternal life, we now turn to the
Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us, 'I have made you a
light to the Gentiles, that you may be an instrument of salvation
to the ends of the earth.'" The Gentiles were delighted when
they heard this and glorified the word of the Lord. All who were
destined for eternal life came to believe, and the word of the
Lord continued to spread through the whole region. The Jews,
however, incited the women of prominence who were worshipers and
the leading men of the city, stirred up a persecution against Paul
and Barnabas, and expelled them from their territory. So they
shook the dust from their feet in protest against them and went to
Iconium. [ACTS 13:44-51]
"My brothers and fathers, listen to what I
am about to say to you in my defense." When they heard him
addressing them in Hebrew they became all the more quiet. And he
continued, "I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but
brought up in this city. At the feet of Gamaliel I was educated
strictly in our ancestral law and was zealous for God, just as all
of you are today. I persecuted this Way to death, binding both men
and women and delivering them to prison. Even the high priest and
the whole council of elders can testify on my behalf. For from
them I even received letters to the brothers and set out for
Damascus to bring back to Jerusalem in chains for punishment those
there as well. On that journey as I drew near to Damascus,
about noon a great light from the sky suddenly shone around me. I
fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul,
why are you persecuting me?' I replied, 'Who are you, sir?' And he
said to me, 'I am Jesus the Nazorean whom you are persecuting.' My
companions saw the light but did not hear the voice of the one who
spoke to me. I asked, 'What shall I do, sir?' The Lord answered
me, 'Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told about
everything appointed for you to do.' Since I could see nothing
because of the brightness of that light, I was led by hand by my
companions and entered Damascus. A certain Ananias, a devout
observer of the law, and highly spoken of by all the Jews who
lived there, came to me and stood there and said, 'Saul, my
brother, regain your sight.' And at that very moment I regained my
sight and saw him. Then he said, 'The God of our ancestors
designated you to know his will, to see the Righteous One, and to
hear the sound of his voice; for you will be his witness before
all to what you have seen and heard. Now, why delay? Get up and
have yourself baptized and your sins washed away, calling upon his
name.'" [ACTS 22:1-16]
"On one such occasion I was traveling to
Damascus with the authorization and commission of the chief
priests. At midday, along the way, O king, I saw a light from the
sky, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my traveling
companions. We all fell to the ground and I heard a voice saying
to me in Hebrew, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is
hard for you to kick against the goad.' And I said, 'Who are you,
sir?' And the Lord replied, 'I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.
Get up now, and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you for
this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness of what you
have seen (of me) and what you will be shown. I shall deliver you
from this people and from the Gentiles to whom I send you, to open
their eyes that they may turn from darkness to light and from the
power of Satan to God, so that they may obtain forgiveness of sins
and an inheritance among those who have been consecrated by faith
in me.' And so, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the
heavenly vision. On the contrary, first to those in Damascus and
in Jerusalem and throughout the whole country of Judea, and then
to the Gentiles, I preached the need to repent and turn to God,
and to do works giving evidence of repentance. That is why the
Jews seized me (when I was) in the temple and tried to kill me.
But I have enjoyed God's help to this very day, and so I stand
here testifying to small and great alike, saying nothing different
from what the prophets and Moses foretold, that the Messiah must
suffer and that, as the first to rise from the dead, he would
proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles." [ACTS
26:12-23]
What will separate us from the love of Christ?
Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or
nakedness, or peril, or the sword?... No, in all these things we
conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us. For I am
convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers,
nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to
separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. [Taken from ROM 8:35,37-39]
Bless those who persecute (you), bless and do
not curse them. [ROM 12:14]
We are fools on Christ's account, but you are
wise in Christ; we are weak, but you are strong; you are held in
honor, but we in disrepute. To this very hour we go hungry and
thirsty, we are poorly clad and roughly treated, we wander about
homeless and we toil, working with our own hands. When ridiculed,
we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we respond
gently. We have become like the world's rubbish, the scum of all,
to this very moment. [1COR 4:10-13]
For I am the least of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective. Indeed, I have toiled harder than all of them; not I, however, but the grace of God (that is) with me.
[1COR 15:9-10]
We are afflicted in every way, but not
constrained; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but
not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying
about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus
may also be manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly
being given up to death for the sake of Jesus, so that the life of
Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh. [2COR 4:8-11]
Therefore, that I might not become too elated, a
thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan, to beat me,
to keep me from being too elated. Three times I begged the Lord
about this, that it might leave me, but he said to me, "My
grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in
weakness." I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses,
in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me. Therefore, I
am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and
constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am
strong. [Taken from 2COR 12:7-10]
Now I want you to know, brothers, that the
gospel preached by me is not of human origin. For I did not
receive it from a human being, nor was I taught it, but it came
through a revelation of Jesus Christ. For you heard of my former
way of life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond
measure and tried to destroy it, and progressed in Judaism beyond
many of my contemporaries among my race, since I was even more a
zealot for my ancestral traditions. But when (God), who from my
mother's womb had set me apart and called me through his grace,
was pleased to reveal his Son to me, so that I might proclaim him
to the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult flesh and blood,
nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me;
rather, I went into Arabia and then returned to Damascus. Then
after three years I went up to Jerusalem to confer with Kephas and
remained with him for fifteen days. But I did not see any other of
the apostles, only James the brother of the Lord. (As to what I am
writing to you, behold, before God, I am not lying.) Then I went
into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. And I was unknown
personally to the churches of Judea that are in Christ; they only
kept hearing that "the one who once was persecuting us is now
preaching the faith he once tried to destroy." So they
glorified God because of me. [GAL 1:11-24] [Note: Some ancient
languages have no word for cousin (and other relatives) so the
term "brother" may be used to refer to relatives other
than blood brothers. The use of this terminology does not mean
that Jesus had blood brothers, which of course he didn't since
Mary is an ever virgin. For more information on this topic, visit
the Non-Catholics section.]
Tell me, you who want to be under the law, do
you not listen to the law? For it is written that Abraham had two
sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the freeborn woman.
The son of the slave woman was born naturally, the son of the
freeborn through a promise. Now this is an allegory. These women
represent two covenants. One was from Mount Sinai, bearing
children for slavery; this is Hagar. Hagar represents Sinai, a
mountain in Arabia; it corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for
she is in slavery along with her children. But the Jerusalem above
is freeborn, and she is our mother. For it is
written: "Rejoice, you barren one who bore no
children; break forth and shout, you who were not in
labor; for more numerous are the children of the deserted
one than of her who has a husband." Now you, brothers,
like Isaac, are children of the promise. But just as then the
child of the flesh persecuted the child of the spirit, it is the
same now. But what does the scripture say? "Drive out
the slave woman and her son! For the son of the slave woman
shall not share the inheritance with the son" of
the freeborn. Therefore, brothers, we are children not of the
slave woman but of the freeborn woman. [GAL 4:21-31]
As for me, brothers, if I am still preaching
circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case, the
stumbling block of the cross has been abolished. [GAL 5:11]
It is those who want to make a good appearance in the flesh who are trying to compel you to have yourselves circumcised, only that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ.
Not even those having themselves circumcised observe the law themselves; they only want you to be circumcised so that they may boast of your flesh.
[GAL 6:12]
Circumcised on the eighth day, of the race of
Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrew parentage, in
observance of the law a Pharisee, in zeal I persecuted the church,
in righteousness based on the law I was blameless. (But) whatever
gains I had, these I have come to consider a loss because of
Christ. More than that, I even consider everything as a loss
because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For
his sake I have accepted the loss of all things and I consider
them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him,
not having any righteousness of my own based on the law but that
which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God,
depending on faith to know him and the power of his resurrection
and (the) sharing of his sufferings by being conformed to his
death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
[PHIL
3:5-11]
For you, brothers, have become imitators of the
churches of God that are in Judea in Christ Jesus. For you suffer
the same things from your compatriots as they did from the Jews,
who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets and persecuted us;
they do not please God, and are opposed to everyone, trying to
prevent us from speaking to the Gentiles that they may be saved,
thus constantly filling up the measure of their sins. But the
wrath of God has finally begun to come upon them. [1THES 2:14-16]
Accordingly, we ourselves boast of you in the
churches of God regarding your endurance and faith in all your
persecutions and the afflictions you endure. This is evidence of
the just judgment of God, so that you may be considered worthy of
the kingdom of God for which you are suffering. For it is surely
just on God's part to repay with afflictions those who are
afflicting you, and to grant rest along with us to you who are
undergoing afflictions, at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from
heaven with his mighty angels, in blazing fire, inflicting
punishment on those who do not acknowledge God and on those who do
not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty
of eternal ruin, separated from the presence of the Lord and from
the glory of his power, when he comes to be glorified among his
holy ones and to be marveled at on that day among all who have
believed, for our testimony to you was believed. [2THES 1:4-10]
I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and an
arrogant man, but I have been mercifully treated because I acted
out of ignorance in my unbelief. [1TM 1:13]
You have followed my teaching, way of life,
purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, and
sufferings, such as happened to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra,
persecutions that I endured. Yet from all these things the Lord
delivered me. In fact, all who want to live religiously in Christ
Jesus will be persecuted. [2TM 3:10-12]
Also try:
oppress
/ oppressor / oppression [O2]
hurt
[H21]
chastise
[D9]
wrath
[W13a]
sorrow
/ sorrowful [S23]
suffer
/ suffered / suffering [S30]
pain
/ pained / painful [P1]
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