This page gives you Bible verses about comforting others, along with a short reflection on how each one applies when someone you love is grieving, anxious, sick or discouraged. It is written for Christians who want to be a steady presence for a friend, family member, coworker or neighbor who is hurting. These verses share a common thread: God himself is the source of comfort, and he shares that comfort with us so that we can pass it on to people in need.
Verses for Sitting With Someone in Grief
When someone has lost a person, a job, a marriage or a dream, the most useful thing you can offer is often your presence rather than your advice. The verses below remind you that God draws close to the brokenhearted and that you can imitate that closeness in ordinary, unhurried ways.
Psalm 34:18
The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit.
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This verse tells you where God is when someone’s heart is shattered: close by. When you visit a grieving friend, you do not need the right words to represent God well. Sit with them, make them a meal, and let them know you are not going anywhere.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort; 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.
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Paul describes God as the source of every comfort and says that the comfort we receive equips us to comfort others. Think of one hard season God brought you through, and let that memory shape how you speak to someone now. Your own experience of being helped becomes a practical tool for helping.
Romans 12:15
Rejoice with those who rejoice. Weep with those who weep.
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This short command asks you to enter into two very different moods, and it is harder than it looks. Before you try to cheer someone up, ask them what kind of day they are having. Then match their emotion for a few minutes before offering any hope.
Verses for When Someone Feels Anxious or Afraid
Fear can make a person feel alone even in a crowded room. The passages in this group speak to the fear of the future and the fear of being forgotten, and they point to the steady presence of God as an answer that you can reinforce with your own calm company.
Isaiah 41:10
Don’t you be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. Yes, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness.
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God speaks directly to the afraid, reminding them that he is with them and will strengthen them. When a friend tells you about a frightening diagnosis or a looming deadline, repeat this promise to them out loud and then offer to pray with them before you leave.
Philippians 4:6-7
6 In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.
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Paul moves from anxiety to prayer and then to peace. You can help someone make that same move by asking them to name their worries one at a time and then praying over each one together. Doing this with them turns a vague dread into a list you can actually bring before God.
Matthew 11:28
“Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest.
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Jesus invites the weary and burdened to come to him for rest. When you see someone exhausted by caregiving or work, you can gently point them toward this invitation and offer to take one specific task off their plate this week so that they have room to breathe.
Verses for Encouraging Someone Who Feels Discouraged
Discouragement is quieter than grief and easier to miss. A person may keep going on the outside while sinking inside. The verses here help you notice that quiet weariness and speak hope into it with specific, believable encouragement.
Galatians 6:2
Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
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Paul calls believers to carry one another’s burdens, which is a direct way of living out comfort. Look for a concrete burden a discouraged person is carrying, such as childcare, a bill or a difficult conversation, and offer to share it with them in a specific way.
1 Thessalonians 5:11
Therefore exhort one another, and build each other up, even as you also do.
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This verse asks you to encourage one another and build each other up, and it assumes that this work is ongoing. Send a short message to a discouraged friend this week that names one true thing you admire about them. Small, honest words often do more than long speeches.
Hebrews 10:24-25
24 Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good works, 25 not forsaking our own assembling together, as the custom of some is, but exhorting one another; and so much the more, as you see the Day approaching.
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The writer urges believers to stir one another up to love and good works and not to neglect meeting together. If someone has drifted away from church or small group because of discouragement, invite them to come along with you and offer them a ride or a seat beside you.
Verses for Speaking Truth in Hard Moments
Sometimes comfort requires gently reminding someone of who God is when their feelings have clouded that picture. The verses in this section ground your words in God’s character so that your encouragement points beyond yourself.
Psalm 147:3
He heals the broken in heart, and binds up their wounds.
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This verse presents God as the one who heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. Do not promise a specific outcome, but do remind your friend that God is attentive to their pain. Then ask how they would like you to pray for their healing, whatever shape it takes.
Lamentations 3:22-23
22 It is because of the LORD’s loving kindnesses that we are not consumed, because his compassion doesn’t fail. 23 They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness.
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In the middle of a book of sorrow, the writer remembers that God’s mercies are new every morning. When someone is stuck in a dark night, you can help them look for one small mercy in their day, such as a kind word or a warm cup of coffee, and name it together.
Revelation 21:4
He will wipe away 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.”
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This verse looks ahead to a day when God will wipe away every tear and end death, mourning and pain. When someone is grieving a loss that feels permanent, you can gently point them toward this future hope without rushing past their present sorrow.
How to Use These Verses
Write one or two of these verses on a card or in a note on your phone, and keep it where you will see it before a visit, a difficult phone call or a hard conversation. Reading a verse aloud to yourself before you speak can slow your reactions and help you offer words rooted in Scripture rather than in nerves. You can also copy a verse into a card to send with a meal or a flower arrangement.
Pray these verses over the person you are trying to comfort, not just for them in general. Turn a verse into a short petition, such as asking God to draw near to your friend tonight as Psalm 34:18 describes. Then, if they are open to it, pray the same words together so that they can hear God’s promises spoken in your voice as well as in their own heart.
A Short Prayer for Others
Father, thank you that you are the God of all comfort, and that you meet us in our darkest and most tired moments. I confess that I often feel unsure of what to say when someone I love is hurting, so I ask you to give me patience, gentle words and the willingness to simply stay. Show me who needs a visit, a phone call or a meal this week, and help me to notice the quiet burdens people carry. Let the comfort I have received from you flow through me to others, so that they may know they are not alone. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
