Your relationship is falling apart and you don’t know how to fix it. The communication has broken down into arguments or silence. Trust is damaged, maybe shattered. You’re hurt, they’re hurt, and nobody seems willing to be the first one to change.
Resentment is building, intimacy is dying, and you’re wondering if this relationship can even be saved. Maybe it’s your marriage, your friendship, your family relationship, or your dating relationship. Whatever it is, the connection that used to be so strong now feels strained, painful, or completely broken.
Relationship problems don’t fix themselves. They require humility, forgiveness, intentional effort, and often, outside wisdom.
These verses offer God’s perspective on what destroys relationships and what heals them. They show that reconciliation is possible when both people are willing to humble themselves, that forgiveness is non-negotiable, and that God can restore what seems irreparably broken.
Your relationship doesn’t have to end in bitterness. With God’s help and biblical principles, healing and restoration are within reach.
Bible Verses For Relationship Problems
1. Ephesians 4:32 – Be Kind and Compassionate to One Another
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
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2. Colossians 3:13 – Bear With Each Other and Forgive
Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
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3. Proverbs 15:1 – A Gentle Answer Turns Away Wrath
A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
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4. James 1:19 – Everyone Should Be Quick to Listen
My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.
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5. Matthew 18:15 – If Your Brother or Sister Sins, Go and Point Out Their Fault
If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.
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6. Ephesians 4:26-27 – Do Not Let the Sun Go Down While You Are Still Angry
In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.
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7. 1 Peter 4:8 – Love Covers Over a Multitude of Sins
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
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8. Proverbs 17:9 – Whoever Would Foster Love Covers Over an Offense
Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.
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9. Matthew 5:23-24 – First Go and Be Reconciled
Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.
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10. Proverbs 19:11 – It Is to One’s Glory to Overlook an Offense
A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.
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11. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 – Love Is Patient, Love Is Kind
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
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12. Proverbs 27:17 – As Iron Sharpens Iron
As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.
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13. Ephesians 4:29 – Do Not Let Any Unwholesome Talk Come Out
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
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14. Romans 12:18 – Live at Peace With Everyone
If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
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15. Proverbs 12:18 – The Tongue of the Wise Brings Healing
The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
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16. Matthew 6:14-15 – If You Forgive Others
For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
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17. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 – Two Are Better Than One
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.
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18. Philippians 2:3-4 – Value Others Above Yourselves
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
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19. Proverbs 18:13 – To Answer Before Listening
To answer before listening—that is folly and shame.
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20. 1 Peter 3:8-9 – Be Sympathetic, Love One Another
Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.
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21. Proverbs 15:18 – The One Who Is Patient Calms a Quarrel
A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient calms a quarrel.
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22. Romans 14:19 – Make Every Effort to Do What Leads to Peace
Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.
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23. Proverbs 10:12 – Love Covers Over All Wrongs
Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs.
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24. James 5:16 – Confess Your Sins to Each Other
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
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25. Matthew 7:3-5 – Why Do You Look at the Speck?
Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye,” when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
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26. Proverbs 17:14 – Drop the Matter Before a Dispute Breaks Out
Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.
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27. Ephesians 4:2-3 – Make Every Effort to Keep the Unity
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
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28. Proverbs 25:11 – A Word Fitly Spoken
A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.
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29. Romans 12:10 – Be Devoted to One Another in Love
Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.
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30. Proverbs 21:9 – Better to Live on a Corner of the Roof
Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.
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31. 1 Thessalonians 5:15 – Nobody Pays Back Wrong for Wrong
Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.
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32. Proverbs 16:28 – A Perverse Person Stirs Up Conflict
A perverse person stirs up conflict, and a gossip separates close friends.
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33. Matthew 18:21-22 – How Many Times Shall I Forgive?
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”
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34. Proverbs 20:3 – It Is to One’s Honor to Avoid Strife
It is to one’s honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel.
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35. Galatians 6:2 – Carry Each Other’s Burdens
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
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Our Thoughts On What the Bible Says About Relationship Problems
Most relationship problems boil down to pride, poor communication, and unforgiveness. Someone has to be right, someone won’t listen, and someone won’t let go of past hurts. Scripture is brutally honest about what destroys relationships: harsh words, quick anger, keeping records of wrongs, refusing to forgive, being quick to speak and slow to listen.
It also shows what heals them: humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, and actually addressing problems instead of letting them fester.
What stands out is how much responsibility Scripture places on you to do your part regardless of what the other person does. You can’t control whether they’ll change, but you can control whether you’re kind, whether you forgive, whether you speak gently, whether you’re quick to listen.
Most people wait for the other person to make the first move. God says you make the first move. Humble yourself. Seek reconciliation. Forgive even if they don’t deserve it. Address the issue directly instead of gossiping about it. When both people in a relationship follow biblical principles, healing happens. When only one does, at least that person maintains their character and keeps their heart right before God.
Say This Prayer
Heavenly Father, my relationship is in trouble and I need Your help. The hurt runs deep, communication has broken down, and I don’t know how to fix this. Show me my part in what’s gone wrong. Convict me where I’ve been prideful, harsh, unforgiving, or selfish.
Give me the humility to admit when I’m wrong and the courage to address problems directly instead of avoiding them. Help me to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. Teach me to respond with gentleness instead of harshness, to forgive instead of keeping a record of wrongs.
Soften my heart and soften their heart. If this relationship can be saved, give us both the willingness to change, to communicate honestly, and to rebuild trust. Help me to do my part regardless of what they do, to live at peace as far as it depends on me.
Give me wisdom to know when to overlook an offense and when to address it. Help me to love the way You’ve loved me: patiently, kindly, sacrificially. Bring healing and restoration where there’s been hurt and division.
In Jesus’ Healing Name, Amen.
Evang. Anabelle Thompson is the founder of Believers Refuge, a Scripture-based resource that helps Christians to find biblical guidance for life’s challenges.
With over 15 years of ministry experience and a decade of dedicated Bible study, she creates content that connects believers with relevant Scripture for their daily struggles.
Her work has reached over 76,000 monthly readers (which is projected to reach 100,000 readers by the end of 2025) seeking practical faith applications, biblical encouragement, and spiritual guidance rooted in God’s Word.
She writes from personal experience, having walked through seasons of waiting, breakthrough, and spiritual growth that inform her teaching.
Evang. Thompson brings 12 years of active ministry and evangelism experience, along with over 10 years of systematic Bible study and theological research.
As a former small group leader and Sunday school teacher, she has published over 200 biblical resources and devotional studies.
She specializes in applying Scripture to everyday life challenges and regularly studies the original Hebrew and Greek texts for a deeper biblical understanding.