Bible Verses

Topical Study

Bible Verses About Grief

Verses for grief and loss — when sorrow has made itself at home.

13 verses · curated by hand

Psalms 23:4

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me."

Read context →

In chapter

Matthew 11:28

"“Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest."

Read context →

In chapter

Psalms 34:18

"Yahweh is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit."

Read context →

In chapter

John 11:25

"Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will still live, even if he dies."

Read context →

In chapter

Revelation 21:4

"He will wipe away from them every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more. The first things have passed away.”"

Read context →

In chapter

Psalms 30:5

"For his anger is but for a moment. His favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may stay for the night, but joy comes in the morning."

Read context →

In chapter

Matthew 5:4

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."

Read context →

In chapter

Romans 8:18

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which will be revealed toward us."

Read context →

In chapter

Job 1:21

"He said, “Naked I came out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. Yahweh gave, and Yahweh has taken away. Blessed be Yahweh’s name.”"

Read context →

In chapter

2 Corinthians 1:3

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort;"

Read context →

In chapter

2 Corinthians 1:4

"who comforts us in all our affliction, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, through the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."

Read context →

In chapter

Psalms 126:5

"Those who sow in tears will reap in joy."

Read context →

In chapter

Revelation 7:17

"for the Lamb who is in the middle of the throne shepherds them, and leads them to springs of waters of life. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”"

Read context →

In chapter

From the wider Bible

More verses about grief in Scripture

142 passages mentioning “mourn” across WEB & KJV — beyond the curated set above.

Page 3 of 8

  1. Esther 15:1

    “”

  2. Job 2:11

    “Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that had come on him, they each came from his own place: Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite; and they made an appointment together to come to sympathize with him and to comfort him.”

  3. Job 3:8

    “Let them curse it who curse the day, who are ready to rouse up leviathan.”

  4. Job 5:11

    “so that he sets up on high those who are low, those who mourn are exalted to safety.”

  5. Job 14:22

    “But his flesh on him has pain, and his soul within him mourns.””

  6. Job 29:25

    “I chose out their way, and sat as chief. I lived as a king in the army, as one who comforts the mourners.”

  7. Job 30:28

    “I go mourning without the sun. I stand up in the assembly, and cry for help.”

  8. Job 30:31

    “Therefore my harp has turned to mourning, and my pipe into the voice of those who weep.”

  9. Psalms 30:11

    “You have turned my mourning into dancing for me. You have removed my sackcloth, and clothed me with gladness,”

  10. Psalms 35:14

    “I behaved myself as though it had been my friend or my brother. I bowed down mourning, as one who mourns his mother.”

  11. Psalms 38:6

    “I am pained and bowed down greatly. I go mourning all day long.”

  12. Psalms 42:9

    “I will ask God, my rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?””

  13. Psalms 43:2

    “For you are the God of my strength. Why have you rejected me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?”

  14. Psalms 55:2

    “Attend to me, and answer me. I am restless in my complaint, and moan,”

  15. Psalms 88:9

    “My eyes are dim from grief. I have called on you daily, Yahweh. I have spread out my hands to you.”

  16. Proverbs 5:11

    “You will groan at your latter end, when your flesh and your body are consumed,”

  17. Proverbs 29:2

    “When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; but when the wicked rule, the people groan.”

  18. Ecclesiastes 3:4

    “a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;”

  19. Ecclesiastes 7:2

    “It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men, and the living should take this to heart.”

  20. Ecclesiastes 7:4

    “The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.”

Frequently asked

Questions about grief in the Bible

What does the Bible say about grief?
The Bible is unusually honest about grief. Jesus himself wept at Lazarus's tomb (John 11:35) even though he knew the resurrection was minutes away — grief is not a failure of faith. Psalm 34:18 promises that "Yahweh is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit." 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 names God as "the Father of mercies and God of all comfort" — a God who comforts so that the comforted can later comfort others. Mourning is not the opposite of faith; sometimes it is the form faith takes.
Which Bible verses help with loss of a loved one?
Three passages return again and again at funerals and quiet moments of memory. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 — believers grieve, but "not as the rest, who have no hope" — naming both the sorrow and the resurrection promise. Psalm 23, particularly verse 4, "though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me." Revelation 21:4 — God will "wipe away every tear from their eyes," and there will be "no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, nor pain." None of these remove grief; they accompany it.
How should I pray when I am grieving?
Pray honestly. The Bible records grief prayers that complain, protest, and even argue with God — Job, Jeremiah, the Psalms of lament. Psalm 13 is a template: it begins "How long, O Yahweh?" and ends, after several verses of struggle, "I will sing to Yahweh, because he has been good to me." You don't need to manufacture trust before you can pray. Bring the grief honestly, name what is lost, and let God carry it.