Verses about conflict and reconciliation

Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

If possible, as far as it depends on you, be at peace with all people.

Happy are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

Pursue peace with everyone, and sanctification, without which no one will see the Lord,

Better is a dry morsel and quiet with it than a house full of sacrifices of strife.

It is an honor for a man to keep away from a dispute, but every fool breaks out.

Lot also, who went with Abram, had sheep, cattle, and tents. But the land could not support them living together, for their possessions were great, and they could not live together. So there was a quarrel between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. The Canaanites and the Perizzites were living then in the land. Abram said to Lot, “Please let there be no strife between me and you, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are men, brothers. Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you go to the left, I will go to the right; and if you go to the right, I will go to the left.” Lot lifted his eyes and saw the whole plain of the Jordan, that all of it was well-watered (before YHWH destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of YHWH, like the land of Egypt, as you go toward Zoar. So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan, and Lot journeyed eastward; and they separated, each from his brother. Abram lived in the land of Canaan, and Lot lived in the cities of the plain and moved his tent as far as Sodom.

Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of living water. The herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with the herdsmen of Isaac, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well Esek, because they had contended with him. They dug another well, and they quarreled over it too, so he called its name Sitnah. He moved on from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it; so he called its name Rehoboth, and said, “For now YHWH has made room for us, and we will be fruitful in the land.”

But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, considerate, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, without making distinctions, without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for those who make peace.

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.

And if your brother sins against you, go, reprove him between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take with you one or two more, so that by the mouth of two witnesses or three every word may be established. And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the assembly; and if he refuses to listen even to the assembly, let him be to you as the Gentile and the tax collector.

Watch yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he changes his mind, forgive him. And if seven times a day he sins against you and seven times turns back to you, saying, ‘I change my mind,’ you will forgive him.”

Jacob lifted his eyes and looked, and look, Esau was coming, and with him four hundred men. So he divided the children among Leah, Rachel, and the two slave women. He put the slave women and their children first, Leah and her children after them, and Rachel and Joseph last. He himself passed on ahead of them and bowed down to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. But Esau ran to meet him, embraced him, fell on his neck, and kissed him; and they wept.

When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph bears a grudge against us and pays us back in full for all the evil that we did to him?” So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave orders before his death, saying, ‘Thus you shall say to Joseph: “I beg you, please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, for they did evil to you.”’ And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the Elohim of your father.” And Joseph wept when they spoke to him. His brothers also went and fell down before him and said, “Here we are as your slaves.” Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of Elohim? As for you, you planned evil against me; Elohim planned it for good, in order to bring about what is happening today: keeping alive many people. So now, do not be afraid; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he comforted them and spoke to their heart.

When Abigail saw David, she hurried and got down from the donkey, and fell before David on her face and bowed down to the ground. She fell at his feet and said, “On me, my lord, be the iniquity! Please let your servant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your servant. Please do not let my lord set his heart on this wicked man, on Nabal; for as his name is, so is he: Nabal is his name, and outrage is with him. But I, your servant, did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent.

A soft answer turns back wrath, but a hurtful word stirs up anger.

A man of wrath stirs up strife, but one who is slow to anger calms a dispute.

One who is slow to anger is great in insight, but one who is short of spirit exalts folly.

Better is one who is slow to anger than a warrior, and one who rules his spirit than one who captures a city.

Know this, my beloved brothers. And let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for a man’s anger does not bring about the righteousness of God.

Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, nor give a place to the devil.

Do not be hasty in your spirit to be vexed, for vexation rests in the bosom of the senseless.

Let go of anger and abandon fury; do not get heated; it leads only to doing evil.

And it happened at the end of some days that Cain brought from the fruit of the ground an offering to YHWH. And Abel also brought, he too, from the firstborn of his flock and from their fat. And YHWH regarded Abel and his offering, but Cain and his offering he did not regard. And Cain was very angry, and his face fell. And YHWH said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will there not be a lifting up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and toward you is its desire, but you will rule over it.”

Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but give place to the wrath; for it is written: Vengeance is mine; I will repay, says the Lord. But if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for by doing this you will heap coals of fire on his head. Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.

Do not say, “I will repay evil”; wait for YHWH, and he will save you.

If the one who hates you is hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; for you will heap coals on his head, and YHWH will repay you.

You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and you shall not bear sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance, and you shall not bear a grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am YHWH.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I tell you not to resist the evil person; but whoever slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And to the one who wants to go to court with you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak too. And whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

When Saul returned from following the Philistines, they told him, saying, “Look, David is in the wilderness of En-gedi.” Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the Rocks of the Wild Goats. He came to the sheepfolds by the road, and there was a cave; and Saul went in to cover his feet. Now David and his men were sitting in the innermost parts of the cave. David’s men said to him, “Look, the day of which YHWH said to you, ‘Look, I am giving your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as seems good in your eyes.’” David arose and cut off the edge of the robe that belonged to Saul secretly. Afterward David’s heart struck him, because he had cut off the edge that belonged to Saul. He said to his men, “Far be it from me, by YHWH, that I should do this thing to my lord, to the anointed of YHWH, to stretch out my hand against him, for he is the anointed of YHWH.” David restrained his men with these words and did not allow them to rise against Saul. And Saul rose from the cave and went on his way.

David said to Abigail, “Blessed be YHWH, the Elohim of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me! Blessed be your discernment, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from entering into guilt of blood and from saving myself with my own hand.

And all things are from God, who reconciled us to himself through the Messiah and gave us the service of reconciliation, namely, that God was in the Messiah reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the word of reconciliation. So on behalf of the Messiah we are ambassadors, as though God were appealing through us; we beg you on behalf of the Messiah, be reconciled to God.

For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, having been reconciled, we will be saved by his life. And not only that, but we are also boasting in God through our Lord Jesus the Messiah, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

because God was pleased for all the fullness to dwell in him, and through him to reconcile all things to himself, making peace through the blood of his cross, through him, whether the things on the earth or the things in the heavens. And you, who were once alienated and enemies in mind in evil works, but now you have been reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and without blemish and above reproach before him,

For he himself is our peace, who made both one and broke down the dividing wall of the partition, the hostility, in his flesh, having abolished the law of commandments in decrees, so that he might create the two in himself into one new man, making peace, and might reconcile both in one body to God through the cross, having killed the hostility by it. And he came and proclaimed the good news of peace to you who were far off and peace to those near; for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him, that whoever loves God must love his brother also.