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Bible verses about regret

2 Corinthians 7:10 — godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, which brings no regret — is the verse this page turns on, and it is below in full. So are Peter after the denial, the son who said no and then went, and Psalm 51. Regret is not quite shame: shame is about being seen, regret is about wishing you had done otherwise. Our page about shame is the other half.

12 passages · World English Bible & King James · public domain

  1. For though I grieved you with my letter, I do not regret it, though I did regret it. For I see that my letter made you grieve, though just for a while. I now rejoice, not that you were grieved, but that you were grieved to repentance. For you were grieved in a godly way, that you might suffer loss by us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, which brings no regret. But the sorrow of the world produces death.2 Corinthians 7:8-10 · World English Bible

    Repentance not to be repented of — two different Greek words, and the modern rendering shows them.

    King James

    For though I made you sorry with a letter, I do not repent, though I did repent: for I perceive that the same epistle hath made you sorry, though it were but for a season. 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.

  2. But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first, and said, ‘Son, go work today in my vineyard.’ He answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind, and went. He came to the second, and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I’m going, sir,’ but he didn’t go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said to him, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Most certainly I tell you that the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering into God’s Kingdom before you.Matthew 21:28-31 · World English Bible

    The son who said no, then regretted it and went. The regret verb, doing something.

    King James

    But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not. Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.

  3. Then Judas, who betrayed him, when he saw that Jesus was condemned, felt remorse, and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, “I have sinned in that I betrayed innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? You see to it.”Matthew 27:3-4 · World English Bible

    Judas felt remorse — the same verb as the son who went. The text says no more than it says.

    King James

    Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? see thou to that.

  4. So when they had eaten their breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I have affection for you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I have affection for you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you have affection for me?” Peter was grieved because he asked him the third time, “Do you have affection for me?” He said to him, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I have affection for you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.John 21:15-17 · World English Bible

    Three denials, three questions, and a job after every answer.

    King James

    So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

  5. Have mercy on me, God, according to your loving kindness. According to the multitude of your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity. Cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions. My sin is constantly before me.Psalms 51:1-3 · World English Bible

    My sin is constantly before me. Regret, described accurately.

    King James

    Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.

  6. If you, LORD, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with you, therefore you are feared.Psalms 130:3-4 · World English Bible

    If you kept a record, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with you.

    King James

    If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.

  7. I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the great locust, the grasshopper, and the caterpillar, my great army, which I sent amongst you.Joel 2:25 · World English Bible

    The years the locust has eaten — first a promise after a real plague.

    King James

    And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.

  8. Brothers, I don’t regard myself as yet having taken hold, but one thing I do: forgetting the things which are behind and stretching forward to the things which are before, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.Philippians 3:13-14 · World English Bible

    Forgetting what is behind, from a man who had just listed it.

    King James

    Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

  9. “Don’t remember the former things, and don’t consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing. It springs out now. Don’t you know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.Isaiah 43:18-19 · World English Bible

    Don't remember the former things. Behold, a new thing.

    King James

    Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

  10. Don’t say, “Why were the former days better than these?” For you do not ask wisely about this.Ecclesiastes 7:10 · World English Bible

    Why were the former days better? Not a wise question — about idealizing the past.

    King James

    Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this.

  11. So teach us to count our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.Psalms 90:12 · World English Bible

    Teach us to count our days. Regret's useful cousin.

    King James

    So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

  12. It is because of The LORD’s loving kindnesses that we are not consumed, because his mercies don’t fail. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness.Lamentations 3:22-23 · World English Bible

    New every morning — written in a ruined city.

    King James

    It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

Two words the King James calls “repent”

For though I grieved you with my letter, I do not regret it, though I did regret it. For I see that my letter made you grieve, though just for a while. I now rejoice, not that you were grieved, but that you were grieved to repentance. For you were grieved in a godly way, that you might suffer loss by us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, which brings no regret. But the sorrow of the world produces death.2 Corinthians 7:8-10 · World English Bible

Open the King James on this passage in the list above and it says I do not repent, though I did repent, and then repentance to salvation not to be repented of. The modern rendering says regret in both places where the King James has a verb, and repentance for the noun. That is because there are two Greek words here. The verb in verse 8 is metamelomai (3338), glossed “to care afterwards, i.e. regret”. The noun in verse 10 is metanoia (3341), a change of mind, and beside it stands ametameletos (278), “without regret”. So repentance not to be repented of is a change of mind you will never regret — two different words, and only one translation lets you see it.

Verse 8 is worth a second look too. Paul regrets his own letter and stops regretting it in one sentence, once he sees what it did.

One verb, six times

Metamelomai occurs six times in the New Testament: Matthew 21:29 and 21:32, Matthew 27:3, twice in 2 Corinthians 7:8, and Hebrews 7:21. Two of them are here.

But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first, and said, ‘Son, go work today in my vineyard.’ He answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind, and went. He came to the second, and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I’m going, sir,’ but he didn’t go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said to him, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Most certainly I tell you that the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering into God’s Kingdom before you.Matthew 21:28-31 · World English Bible

The first son says no, and then afterward he changed his mind, and went. The King James has repented. It is the regret verb, and it is the regret that turned round and went to the vineyard.

Then Judas, who betrayed him, when he saw that Jesus was condemned, felt remorse, and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, “I have sinned in that I betrayed innocent blood.” But they said, “What is that to us? You see to it.”Matthew 27:3-4 · World English Bible

The same verb, where the modern rendering says felt remorse. Ellicott, the Cambridge Bible, Gill and the Pulpit Commentary all note that Matthew uses the regret word here rather than the word for a change of heart (commentaries on Matthew 27:3). It is fair to add that Matthew used the same verb six chapters earlier for the son who went. The word describes the regret; it does not decide what the regret becomes. We are not going to say anything about Judas beyond what the text says.

Matthew’s next verse records his death. If regret has turned into thoughts of ending your life, please talk to someone now: in the US you can call or text 988 at any hour (the 988 Lifeline).

Three questions for three denials

So when they had eaten their breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I have affection for you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him again a second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I have affection for you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you have affection for me?” Peter was grieved because he asked him the third time, “Do you have affection for me?” He said to him, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I have affection for you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.John 21:15-17 · World English Bible

Peter had denied him three times, which our page on betrayal quotes. Here he is asked three times, and both translations say the third time. He is grieved by it, and every answer is followed by a job to do. The modern rendering also keeps two Greek verbs apart — love and have affection for, agapao and phileo — where the King James says love throughout. Whether the switch matters is a long argument, and we are not going to settle it here.

The sin that stays in front of you

Have mercy on me, God, according to your loving kindness. According to the multitude of your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity. Cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions. My sin is constantly before me.Psalms 51:1-3 · World English Bible

My sin is constantly before me. That is what regret is like, and the psalm does not pretend otherwise before it asks for mercy.

If you, LORD, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with you, therefore you are feared.Psalms 130:3-4 · World English Bible

If a record were kept, nobody could stand. The psalm does not say there is nothing to record. It says there is forgiveness.

Lost years

I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the great locust, the grasshopper, and the caterpillar, my great army, which I sent amongst you.Joel 2:25 · World English Bible

People reach for this verse about years they wish they had spent differently. In Joel it is first a promise to a country after a locust plague, which the first chapter describes. Worth knowing before you lean on it; it is still in the book.

So teach us to count our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.Psalms 90:12 · World English Bible

Not looking back, and not pretending

Brothers, I don’t regard myself as yet having taken hold, but one thing I do: forgetting the things which are behind and stretching forward to the things which are before, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.Philippians 3:13-14 · World English Bible

Forgetting what is behind is said by a man who, a few verses earlier, lists exactly what is behind him. Our page for new beginnings has the verse before this one.

“Don’t remember the former things, and don’t consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing. It springs out now. Don’t you know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.Isaiah 43:18-19 · World English Bible
Don’t say, “Why were the former days better than these?” For you do not ask wisely about this.Ecclesiastes 7:10 · World English Bible

Ecclesiastes calls the question why were the former days better unwise. It is not calling your regret foolish. It is warning against a past remembered as better than it was.

It is because of The LORD’s loving kindnesses that we are not consumed, because his mercies don’t fail. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness.Lamentations 3:22-23 · World English Bible

What this page is not

It is a set of passages with their context, not counsel, and it makes no pronouncement about anyone’s standing before God. If regret has become constant, or has turned into depression, the National Institute of Mental Health explains the signs, and our pages for forgiveness and shame may be the ones you want.

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For the thing you keep going back to

For though I grieved you with my letter, I do not regret it, though I did regret it. For I see that my letter made you grieve, though just for a while. I now rejoice, not that you were grieved, but that you were grieved to repentance. For you were grieved in a godly way, that you might suffer loss by us in nothing. For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, which brings no regret. But the sorrow of the world produces death.

2 Corinthians 7:8-10

Paul regretted a letter and then stopped regretting it, in one sentence. The page explains why.

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Questions

What does the Bible say about regret?

2 Corinthians 7:10 distinguishes godly sorrow, which produces repentance 'which brings no regret', from worldly sorrow. Psalm 51 describes sin that is 'constantly before me', and Psalm 130 answers that there is forgiveness. John 21 has Peter, who denied Jesus three times, asked three times and given work to do.

Is regret the same as repentance in the Bible?

Not in the Greek. Metamelomai means to regret; metanoia means a change of mind. The King James renders both with forms of 'repent', which is why 2 Corinthians 7:10 reads 'repentance not to be repented of'. The World English Bible renders the first as 'regret' and keeps them apart.

Did Judas repent?

Matthew 27:3 says he 'repented himself' (King James) or 'felt remorse' (World English Bible), using the regret verb rather than the word for a change of heart; several commentators note this. The same verb describes the son who changed his mind in Matthew 21:29. This site does not go beyond what the text says.

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