What the Bible Says About Mollifying and Kinsman Relationships

Scripture

¹ And Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, Esau was coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two female servants.
² And he put the servants with their children in front, then Leah with her children, and Rachel and Joseph last of all.
³ He himself went on before them, bowing himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother.
⁴ But Esau ran to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept.
⁵ And when Esau lifted up his eyes and saw the women and children, he said, “Who are these with you?” Jacob said, “The children whom God has graciously given your servant.”
⁶ Then the servants drew near, they and their children, and bowed down.
⁷ Then Leah also came forward with her children, and they bowed down.
⁸ Esau said, “What do you mean by all this company that I met?” Jacob answered, “To find favor in the sight of my lord.”
⁹ But Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself.”
¹⁰ But Jacob said, “No, please, if I have found favor in your sight, then accept my present from my hand. For I have seen your face, which is like seeing the face of God, and you have accepted me.
¹¹ Please accept my blessing that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough.” Thus he urged him, and he took it.

Genesis 33:1-11

Exodus 32:7-14: ⁷ And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves.
⁸ They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them.
⁹ And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people.
¹⁰ Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you.
¹¹ But Moses implored the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand?
¹² Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people.
¹³ Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’”
¹⁴ And the Lord relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.

1 Samuel 25:23-35: ²³ When Abigail saw David, she hurried and got down from the donkey and fell before David on her face and bowed to the ground.
²⁴ She fell at his feet and said, “On me alone, my lord, be the guilt. Please let your servant speak in your ears, and hear the words of your servant.
²⁵ Please let not my lord regard this worthless fellow, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. Nabal is his name, and folly is with him. But I your servant did not see the young men of my lord, whom you sent.
²⁶ Now then, my lord, as the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, because the Lord has restrained you from bloodguilt and from saving with your own hand, now then let your enemies and those who seek to do evil to my lord be as Nabal.
²⁷ And now this present that your servant has brought to my lord, let it be given to the young men who follow my lord.
²⁸ Please forgive the trespass of your servant.
²⁹ If men rise up to pursue you and to seek your life, the life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living in the care of the Lord your God. And the lives of your enemies he shall sling out as from the hollow of a sling.
³⁰ And when the Lord has done to my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you and has appointed you prince over Israel,
³¹ that this shall be no grief to you or pangs of heart to my lord, either that you have shed blood without cause or that my lord has avenged himself. And when the Lord has dealt well with my lord, then remember your servant.”
³² And David said to Abigail, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me!
³³ Blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you, who have kept me this day from bloodguilt and from working salvation with my own hand.
³⁴ Nevertheless, as your soul lives, the Lord, the God of Israel, who has restrained me from hurting you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, truly by morning there had not been left to Nabal so much as one male.”
³⁵ So David received from her hand what she had brought him and said to her, “Go up in peace to your house. See, I have obeyed your voice and granted your petition.”

Proverbs 15:1-4: ¹⁵ A soft answer turns away wrath,
but a harsh word stirs up anger.
² The tongue of the wise commends knowledge,
but the mouths of fools pour out folly.
³ The eyes of the Lord are in every place,
keeping watch on the evil and the good.
⁴ A gentle tongue is a tree of life,
but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.

Proverbs 25:15: ¹⁵ With patience a ruler may be persuaded, and a soft tongue will break a bone.

Matthew 5:23-24: ²³ So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,
²⁴ leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Matthew 18:21-35: ²¹ Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”
²² Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.”
²³ “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants.
²⁴ When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.
²⁵ And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.
²⁶ So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’
²⁷ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.
²⁸ But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’
²⁹ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’
³⁰ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt.
³¹ When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place.
³² Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.
³³ And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’
³⁴ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt.
³⁵ So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

Luke 15:11-32: ¹¹ And he said, “There was a man who had two sons.
¹² And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them.
¹³ Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living.
¹⁴ And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need.
And he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs.
¹⁶ And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.
¹⁷ “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger!
¹⁸ I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.
¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son.
²⁰ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.
²¹ And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
²² But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet.
²³ And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate.
²⁴ For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.
²⁵ “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing.”
²⁶ And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant.
²⁷ And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’
²⁸ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him.
²⁹ but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends.
³⁰ But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’
³¹ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.
³² It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’”

Romans 12:17-21: ¹⁷ Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.
¹⁸ If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
¹⁹ Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
²⁰ To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”
²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Ephesians 4:31-32: ³¹ Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
³² Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Colossians 3:12-14: ¹² Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,
¹³ bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
¹⁴ And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

Genesis 14:12-16: ¹² They also took Lot, the son of Abram’s brother, who was dwelling in Sodom, and his possessions, and went their way.
¹³ Then one who had escaped came and told Abram the Hebrew, who was living by the oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol and of Aner. These were allies of Abram.
¹⁴ When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men, born in his house, 318 of them, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.
¹⁵ And he divided his forces against them by night, he and his servants, and defeated them and pursued them to Hobah, north of Damascus.
¹⁶ Then he brought back all the possessions, and also brought back his kinsman Lot with his possessions, and the women and the people.

Leviticus 25:25-28: ²⁵ If your brother becomes poor and sells part of his property, then his nearest redeemer shall come and redeem what his brother has sold.
²⁶ If a man has no one to redeem it and then himself becomes prosperous and finds sufficient means to redeem it,
²⁷ then let him calculate the years since he sold it and pay back the balance to the man to whom he sold it, and then return to his property.
²⁸ But if he has not sufficient means to recover it, then what he sold shall remain in the hand of the buyer until the year of jubilee.

Ruth 2:1-3:18: ¹ Now Naomi had a relative of her husband’s, a worthy man of the clan of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz.
² And Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after him in whose sight I shall find favor.” And she said to her, “Go, my daughter.”
³ So she set out and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the clan of Elimelech.
⁴ And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. And he said to the reapers, “The Lord be with you!” And they answered, “The Lord bless you.”
⁵ Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?”
⁶ And the servant who was in charge of the reapers answered, “She is the young Moabite woman, who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab.
⁷ And she said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves after the reapers.’ So she came, and she has continued from early morning until now, except for a short rest.”
⁸ Then Boaz said to Ruth, “Now, listen, my daughter, do not go to glean in another field or leave this one, but keep close to my young women.
⁹ Let your eyes be on the field that they are reaping, and go after them. Have I not charged the young men not to touch you? And when you are thirsty, go to the vessels and drink what the young men have drawn.”
¹⁰ Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground, and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?”
¹¹ But Boaz answered her, “All that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband has been fully told to me, and how you left your father and mother and your native land and came to a people that you did not know before.
¹² The Lord repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!
¹³ Then she said, “Let me find favor in your eyes, my lord, for you have comforted me and spoken kindly to your servant, though I am not one of your servants.”
¹⁴ And at mealtime Boaz said to her, “Come here and eat some bread and dip your morsel in the wine.” So she sat beside the reapers, and he passed to her roasted grain. And she ate until she was satisfied, and she had some left over.
¹⁵ When she rose to glean, Boaz instructed his young men, saying, “Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not reproach her.
¹⁶ And let fall some of the bundles for her, and leave them for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.”
¹⁷ So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley.
¹⁸ And she took it up and went into the city.
¹⁹ And her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.” So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, “The man’s name with whom I worked today is Boaz.”
²⁰ And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the Lord, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers.”
²¹ And Ruth the Moabite said, “Besides, he said to me, ‘You shall keep close by my young men until they have finished all my harvest.’”
²² And Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, “It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, lest in another field you be assaulted.”
²³ So she kept close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests. And she lived with her mother-in-law.
¹ Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, “My daughter, should I not seek rest for you, that it may be well with you?
² And now is not Boaz our relative, with whose young women you were? See, he is winnowing barley tonight at the threshing floor.
³ Wash therefore and anoint yourself, and put on your cloak and go down to the threshing floor, but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking.
⁴ And when he lies down, observe the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do.”
⁵ And she said to her, “All that you say I will do.”
⁶ So she went down to the threshing floor and did just as her mother-in-law had commanded her.
⁷ And when Boaz had eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain. Then she came softly and uncovered his feet and lay down.
⁸ At midnight the man was startled and turned over, and behold, a woman lay at his feet!
⁹ He said, “Who are you?” And she answered, “I am Ruth, your servant. Spread your wings over your servant, for you are a redeemer.”
¹⁰ And he said, “May you be blessed by the Lord, my daughter. You have made this last kindness greater than the first in that you have not gone after young men, whether poor or rich.
¹¹ And now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you all that you ask, for all my fellow townsmen know that you are a worthy woman.
¹² And now it is true that I am a redeemer.
¹³ Remain tonight, and in the morning, if he will redeem you, good; let him do it. But if he is not willing to redeem you, then, as the Lord lives, I will redeem you. Lie down until the morning.”
¹⁴ So she lay at his feet until the morning, but arose before one could recognize another. And he said, “Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor.”
¹⁵ And he said, “Bring the garment you are wearing and hold it out.” So she held it, and he measured out six measures of barley and put it on her. Then she went into the city.
¹⁶ And when she came to her mother-in-law, she said, “How did you fare, my daughter?” Then she told her all that the man had done for her,
¹⁷ She replied, “These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said to me, ‘You must not go back empty-handed to your mother-in-law.’”
¹⁸ She replied, “Wait, my daughter, until you learn how the matter turns out, for the man will not rest but will settle the matter today.”

Ruth 4:1-12: ¹ Now Boaz had gone up to the gate and sat down there. And behold, the redeemer, of whom Boaz had spoken, came by. So Boaz said, “Turn aside, friend; sit down here.” And he turned aside and sat down.
² And he took ten men of the elders of the city and said, “Sit down here.” So they sat down.
³ Then he said to the redeemer, “Naomi, who has come back from the country of Moab, is selling the parcel of land that belonged to our relative Elimelech.
⁴ So I thought I would tell you of it and say, ‘Buy it in the presence of those sitting here and in the presence of the elders of my people.’ If you will redeem it, redeem it. But if you will not, tell me, that I may know, for there is no one besides you to redeem it, and I come after you.” And he said, “I will redeem it.”
⁵ Then Boaz said, “The day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the widow of the dead, in order to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance.”
⁶ Then the redeemer said, “I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I impair my own inheritance. Take my right of redemption yourself, for I cannot redeem it.”
⁷ Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging: to confirm a transaction, the one drew off his sandal and gave it to the other, and this was the manner of attesting in Israel.
⁸ So when the redeemer said to Boaz, “Buy it for yourself,” he drew off his sandal.
⁹ Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, “You are witnesses this day that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and to Mahlon.
¹⁰ Also Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Mahlon, I have bought to be my wife, to perpetuate the name of the dead in his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from among his brothers and from the gate of his native place. You are witnesses this day.”
¹¹ Then all the people who were at the gate and the elders said, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman, who is coming into your house, like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel. May you act worthily in Ephrathah and be renowned in Bethlehem,
¹² and may your house be like the house of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, because of the offspring that the Lord will give you by this young woman.”

2 Samuel 19:11-15: ¹¹ And King David sent this message to Zadok and Abiathar the priests: “Say to the elders of Judah, ‘Why should you be the last to bring the king back to his house, when the word of all Israel has come to the king?
¹² And you are my brothers; you are my bone and my flesh. Why then should you be the last to bring back the king?’
¹³ And say to Amasa, ‘Are you not my bone and my flesh? God do so to me and more also, if you are not commander of my army from now on in place of Joab.’”
¹⁴ And he swayed the heart of all the men of Judah as one man, so that they sent word to the king, “Return, both you and all your servants.”
¹⁵ And the king came back to the Jordan, and Judah came to Gilgal to meet the king and to bring the king over the Jordan.

Nehemiah 5:1-13: ¹ Now there arose a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish brothers.
² For there were those who said, “With our sons and our daughters, we are many. So let us get grain, that we may eat and keep alive.”
³ There were also those who said, “We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards, and our houses to get grain because of the famine.”
⁴ And there were those who said, “We have borrowed money for the king’s tax on our fields and our vineyards.
⁵ Now our flesh is as the flesh of our brothers, our children are as their children. Yet we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters have already been enslaved, but it is not in our power to help it, for other men have our fields and our vineyards.
⁶ I was very angry when I heard their outcry and these words.
⁷ I took counsel with myself, and I brought charges against the nobles and the officials. I said to them, “You are exacting interest, each from his brother.” And I held a great assembly against them.
⁸ and said to them, “We, as far as we are able, have bought back our Jewish brothers who have been sold to the nations, but you even sell your brothers that they may be sold to us!” They were silent and could not find a word to say.
⁹ So I said, “The thing that you are doing is not good. Ought you not to walk in the fear of our God to prevent the taunts of the nations our enemies?
¹⁰ I also said, “The thing that you are doing is not good. Ought you not to walk in the fear of our God to prevent the taunts of the nations our enemies?
¹¹ Return to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive orchards, and their houses, and the percentage of money, grain, wine, and oil that you have been exacting from them.”
¹² Then they said, “We will restore these and require nothing from them. We will do as you say.” And I called the priests and made them swear to do as they had promised.
¹³ I also shook out the fold of my garment and said, “So may God shake out every man from his house and from his labor who does not keep this promise. So may he be shaken out and emptied.” And all the assembly said “Amen” and praised the Lord. And the people did as they had promised.

Job 19:25-27: ²⁵ For I know that my Redeemer lives,
and at the last he will stand upon the earth.
²⁶ And after my skin has been thus destroyed,
yet in my flesh I shall see God,
²⁷ Whom I shall see for myself,
and my eyes shall behold, and not another.
My heart faints within me!

Jeremiah 32:6-15: ⁶ Jeremiah said, “The word of the Lord came to me:
⁷ Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle will come to you and say, ‘Buy my field that is at Anathoth, for the right of redemption by purchase is yours.’
⁸ Then Hanamel my cousin came to me in the court of the guard, in accordance with the word of the Lord, and said to me, ‘Buy my field that is at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for the right of possession and redemption is yours; buy it for yourself.’ Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord.
⁹ So I bought the field at Anathoth from Hanamel my cousin, and weighed out the money to him, seventeen shekels of silver.
¹⁰ I signed the deed, sealed it, got witnesses, and weighed the money on the scales.
¹¹ Then I took the sealed deed of purchase, containing the terms and conditions and the open copy.
¹² And I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, in the presence of Hanamel my cousin, in the presence of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and in the presence of all the Judeans who were sitting in the court of the guard.
¹³ And I charged Baruch in their presence, saying,
¹⁴ ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware vessel, that they may last for a long time.’
¹⁵ For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.’

Luke 10:25-37: ²⁵ And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
²⁶ He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?”
²⁷ And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”
²⁸ And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”
²⁹ But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
³⁰ Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.
³¹ Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.
³² So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
³³ But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion.
³⁴ He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him.
³⁵ And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’
³⁶ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?”
³⁷ He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

Hebrews 2:10-18: ¹⁰ For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.
¹¹ For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers,
¹² saying, “I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.”
¹³ And again, “I will put my trust in him.” And again, “Behold, I and the children God has given me.”
¹⁴ Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,
¹⁵ and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.
¹⁶ For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham.
¹⁷ Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
¹⁸ For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.