This list gives you Bible verses about building others up, meaning encouraging, strengthening, and lifting up the people around you with your words and your actions. It is written for anyone who wants Scripture to guide how they speak to a spouse, a child, a coworker, or a friend who is struggling. These verses share a common thread: God’s people are called to edify one another, to speak what is good, and to carry each other’s burdens in ways that reflect the care Christ shows us.
Verses for Words That Lift Someone Up
Many of the most practical teachings on encouragement focus on speech. Our words can either tear down or build up, and the verses in this section remind us that what comes out of our mouths matters to God and to the people who hear it.
Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but only what is good for building others up as the need may be, that it may give grace to those who hear.
Ephesians 4:29 (WEB)
Ephesians 4:29
Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but only what is good for building others up as the need may be, that it may give grace to those who hear.
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Paul asks believers to let no corrupting talk leave their mouths, and to speak only what helps others grow. Before your next text or conversation, pause and ask whether your words will give grace to the person hearing them.
Proverbs 16:24
Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.
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Proverbs compares gracious words to honey, sweet to the soul and healing to the body. Think of one person who needs to hear something kind this week, and write that sentence down so you actually say it.
Colossians 4:6
Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.
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Paul asks that our speech be full of grace and seasoned with salt, so that we know how to answer each person. Try slowing down in your next hard conversation, listening first, and choosing words that preserve dignity.
Verses for Standing Beside Someone Who Is Struggling
Encouragement often looks less like speaking and more like staying close. These verses speak to the moments when someone you love is discouraged, weary, or facing something they cannot carry alone.
Galatians 6:2
Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
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Paul says to carry one another’s burdens, which fulfills the law of Christ. Look for one concrete burden a friend is carrying, such as a bill, a diagnosis, or a long shift at work, and offer a specific kind of help.
Romans 12:15
Rejoice with those who rejoice. Weep with those who weep.
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Believers are called to rejoice with those who rejoice and to weep with those who weep. When a friend shares good news, celebrate it fully, and when they grieve, sit with them without rushing to fix anything.
1 Thessalonians 5:14
We exhort you, brothers, admonish the disorderly, encourage the faint-hearted, support the weak, be patient toward all.
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This verse urges the church to encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, and be patient with everyone. Notice who in your circle seems quiet or worn down, and reach out with a simple message this week.
Hebrews 3:13
But exhort one another day by day, so long as it is called “today”; lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
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The writer urges believers to exhort one another every day, so that no one is hardened by sin’s deceit. Set a regular reminder to check in on a fellow believer, even when things seem to be going fine for them.
Verses for Encouraging Growth in Others
Building someone up also means helping them grow into who God made them to be. The verses here focus on patience, correction offered with love, and seeing potential in people before they see it themselves.
Ephesians 4:15
But speaking truth in love, we may grow up in all things into him, who is the head, Christ…
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Paul describes speaking the truth in love so that the body grows up in every way. When you need to correct someone, lead with genuine affection, and make clear that your goal is their good and not your own point.
Romans 15:2
Let each one of us please his neighbor for that which is good, to be building him up.
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Each of us should please our neighbor for the good, to build him up. Ask yourself what would strengthen a particular person, not what would please you, and act on that answer.
1 Corinthians 13:7
Bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
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Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. When someone disappoints you, choose to believe the best about them while still speaking honestly, and keep hoping for their growth.
Philippians 2:3-4
3 Doing nothing through rivalry or through conceit, but in humility, each counting others better than himself; 4 each of you not just looking to his own things, but each of you also to the things of others.
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Paul asks us to count others as more significant than ourselves and to look to their interests. Try one small act this week that puts someone else’s needs ahead of your own convenience.
Titus 2:4-5
4 That they may train the young wives to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 to be sober minded, chaste, workers at home, kind, being in subjection to their own husbands, that God’s word may not be blasphemed.
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Older women are instructed to teach younger women to love their husbands and children and to be kind. Whatever your season of life, think about one younger person you could mentor by sharing a skill, a story, or a steady example.
Verses for Everyday Encouragement
Encouragement does not always wait for a crisis. These verses fit ordinary days, when a simple word of thanks, a shared meal, or a sincere compliment can strengthen someone’s heart.
Romans 14:19
So then, let us follow after things which make for peace, and things by which we may build one another up.
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Paul urges believers to pursue what promotes peace and what builds one another up. At the next gathering you attend, look for a way to affirm someone rather than debating a small point.
1 Thessalonians 5:11
Therefore exhort one another, and build each other up, even as you also do.
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This verse calls believers to encourage one another and build each other up, just as they are already doing. Write a short note to someone who has shaped your faith, thanking them specifically for what they gave you.
Jude 1:20
But you, beloved, keep building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.
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Jude urges believers to build themselves up in their most holy faith and to pray in the Spirit. Encouragement flows from a heart that is being nourished, so set aside time to pray for the people you hope to strengthen.
Acts 4:36
Joses, who by the apostles was also called Barnabas (which is, being interpreted, Son of Encouragement), a Levite, a man of Cyprus by race…
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Barnabas, whose name means son of encouragement, was known for lifting up others in the early church. Ask God to show you where you can become someone known for encouraging the people around you.
Hebrews 10:24
Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good works…
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Believers are called to consider how to stir one another up to love and good works. Choose one person this week and name a specific good quality you see in them, and tell them plainly.
How to Use These Verses
Start by choosing two or three verses that speak to the person or situation on your mind right now. Write them on a card, in a notes app, or on a sticky note placed where you will see it, such as a bathroom mirror or a car dashboard. Reading them aloud can help the words settle into your speech and your habits.
Pray these verses for the people you hope to build up. Ask God to shape your words, your timing, and your attention, and to help you notice where encouragement is needed. Over time, you may find that building others up becomes less of a task and more of a natural overflow of a heart that has been strengthened by God’s own kindness.
A Short Prayer for Building Others Up
Lord, you have spoken life and love into me, and I ask you to help me speak the same into the people around me. Guard my mouth from careless or cutting words, and fill it with what is gracious and true. Open my eyes to the friend who is weary, the child who needs affirmation, and the coworker who is quietly struggling.
Give me patience when I am tempted to hurry past someone’s pain, and courage when I need to speak an honest word in love. Let my life point others toward you, so that they are strengthened by your presence through me. Amen.
