60 Bible Verses About Repentance: Embracing God’s Call to Turn Back

Repentance is a central theme in the Bible, representing a transformative process where individuals turn away from sin and return to God. The act of repentance is more than just acknowledging one’s wrongdoings; it involves a sincere change of heart and mind, leading to a life aligned with God’s will.

Throughout Scripture, repentance is portrayed as the gateway to forgiveness, renewal, and spiritual growth. From the prophetic calls for Israel to return to God, to the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles, the Bible emphasizes the importance of repentance in maintaining a right relationship with God.

The following 60 Bible verses about repentance highlight its significance and offer guidance for those seeking to realign their lives with God’s purpose.

Bible Verses About Repentance

Acts 3:19

“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.” (KJV)

• Acts 3:19 – “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.” (KJV)
• 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.” (KJV)
• Luke 5:32 – “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (KJV)
• Matthew 4:17 – “From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (KJV)
• Isaiah 55:7 – “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.” (KJV)
• Joel 2:13 – “And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.” (KJV)
• Ezekiel 18:30 – “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord God. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.” (KJV)
• Revelation 2:5 – “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.” (KJV)
• Mark 1:15 – “And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” (KJV)
• Luke 13:3 – “I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” (KJV)
• Acts 17:30 – “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent.” (KJV)
• Proverbs 28:13 – “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” (KJV)
• James 4:8 – “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.” (KJV)
• Psalm 51:17 – “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” (KJV)

Isaiah 1:18

Isaiah 1:18 – “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” (KJV)

• Isaiah 1:18 – “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” (KJV)
• Acts 26:20 – “But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.” (KJV)
• Hosea 14:1 – “O Israel, return unto the Lord thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.” (KJV)
• Jeremiah 31:19 – “Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth.” (KJV)

• Romans 2:4 – “Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?” (KJV)
• 2 Peter 3:9 – “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (KJV)
• Matthew 3:2 – “And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (KJV)
• 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.” (KJV)
• Ezekiel 18:21 – “But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.” (KJV)
• Jeremiah 3:13 – “Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the Lord thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the Lord.” (KJV)
• Luke 24:47 – “And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” (KJV)
• Acts 2:38 – “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” (KJV)
• Proverbs 1:23 – “Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.” (KJV)

Jeremiah 18:11

“Now therefore go to, speak to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you: return ye now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good.” (KJV)

• Jeremiah 18:11 – “Now therefore go to, speak to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord; Behold, I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you: return ye now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good.” (KJV)
• Luke 3:8 – “Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.” (KJV)
• Ezekiel 14:6 – “Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations.” (KJV)
• Isaiah 30:15 – “For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not.” (KJV)
• Matthew 21:32 – “For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.” (KJV)
• Amos 5:14-15 – “Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the Lord, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken. Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.” (KJV)
• Jonah 3:10 – “And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.” (KJV)
• Jeremiah 15:19 – “Therefore thus saith the Lord, If thou return, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before me: and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth: let them return unto thee; but return not thou unto them.” (KJV)
• Zechariah 1:3 – “Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the Lord of hosts.” (KJV)
• Hosea 12:6 – “Therefore turn thou to thy God: keep mercy and judgment, and wait on thy God continually.” (KJV)

Isaiah 44:22

“I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.” (KJV)

• Isaiah 44:22 – “I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.” (KJV)
• Ezekiel 33:11 – “Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?” (KJV)
• Joel 2:12 – “Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning.” (KJV)
• Jeremiah 4:1 – “If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the Lord, return unto me: and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not remove.” (KJV)
• Daniel 9:13 – “As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth.” (KJV)
• Isaiah 19:22 – “And the Lord shall smite Egypt: he shall smite and heal it: and they shall return even to the Lord, and he shall be intreated of them, and shall heal them.” (KJV)
• Ezekiel 18:32 – “For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.” (KJV)
• Psalm 32:5 – “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.” (KJV)
• Psalm 34:18 – “The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.” (KJV)
• Hosea 14:2 – “Take with you words, and turn to the Lord: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips.” (KJV)
• Jeremiah 3:12 – “Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not keep anger for ever.” (KJV)
• Isaiah 6:10 – “Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.” (KJV)
• Lamentations 3:40 – “Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord.” (KJV)
• James 5:19-20 – “Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.” (KJV)
• Isaiah 55:6 – “Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near.” (KJV)
• Romans 6:13 – “Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.” (KJV)
• 2 Corinthians 7:9-10 – “Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.” (KJV)
• John 8:11 – “She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.” (KJV)

Isaiah 55:3

“Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.” (KJV)

• Isaiah 55:3 – “Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.” (KJV)
• Ezekiel 33:14-16 – “Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right; if the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die. None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live.” (KJV)
• Hebrews 12:1 – “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.” (KJV)
• Isaiah 45:22 – “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.” (KJV)
• 1 Kings 8:47-48 – “Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness; and so return unto thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive, and pray unto thee toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name.” (KJV)

Repentance is not merely a one-time act, but a continuous journey of turning back to God and renewing our commitment to follow Him. The Bible verses about repentance provided here remind us that God’s arms are always open to those who seek Him with a contrite heart.

Repentance leads to forgiveness, spiritual healing, and restoration, drawing us closer to the divine love and grace that God offers. As we reflect on these Scriptures, may we embrace the call to repentance in our daily lives, continually striving to live in accordance with God’s will.