Scripture by topic
Grief is not a problem Scripture tries to fix quickly. The shortest verse in the Bible is Jesus crying at a graveside He was about to empty — He wept anyway.
These passages are grouped for different stages: being met in it, being allowed to take time, and the hope that grief has an end even when it does not feel like it.
Not watching from a distance. Near.
The LORD is near to the brokenhearted; He saves the contrite in spirit.
Psalm 34:18
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Matthew 5:4
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
Psalm 147:3
Jesus wept.
John 11:35
You have taken account of my wanderings. Put my tears in Your bottle—are they not in Your book?
Psalm 56:8
As a mother comforts her son, so will I comfort you, and you will be consoled over Jerusalem.”
Isaiah 66:13
There is no schedule for this in Scripture, and no shame in being nowhere near finished.
To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven:
Ecclesiastes 3:1
a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
Ecclesiastes 3:4
31 For the Lord will not cast us off forever.
32 Even if He causes grief, He will show compassion according to His abundant loving devotion.
33 For He does not willingly afflict or grieve the sons of men.
Lamentations 3:31-33
1 For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments. Of David. Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer.
2 From the ends of the earth I call out to You whenever my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
Psalm 61:1-2
Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.
Romans 12:15
For His anger is fleeting, but His favor lasts a lifetime. Weeping may stay the night, but joy comes in the morning.
Psalm 30:5
Christian hope is not that the loss was small. It is that death does not get the last word.
13 Brothers, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who are without hope.
14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, we also believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-14
1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe in Me as well.
2 In My Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and welcome you into My presence, so that you also may be where I am.
John 14:1-3
‘He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,’ and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.”
Revelation 21:4
54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come to pass: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
55 “Where, O Death, is your victory? Where, O Death, is your sting?”
1 Corinthians 15:54-55
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.
Psalm 23:4
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,
4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4
If someone you love is grieving, do not send them a list. Send one verse and then say something specific you remember about the person who died. Romans 12:15 asks us to weep with those who weep — which mostly means staying present without trying to move them along.
A prayer you can borrow
God, I do not want to be told this will be alright. I want them back. Would You sit with me in that. Be near the way You promised to be near the brokenhearted, and hold the part of my faith I cannot hold right now. Amen.
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That it is right, and that it is not the end. 1 Thessalonians 4:13 does not tell Christians not to grieve — it says not to grieve "like the rest, who are without hope." The grief stays; what changes is what it is pointed at.
Psalm 34:18 — "The LORD is near to the brokenhearted" — is the one that usually helps most, because it makes a claim about God's location rather than about how the person should feel. Revelation 21:4 is the one to reach for when they are ready for hope.
John 11:35 answers this in two words. Jesus stood at Lazarus's tomb knowing He was minutes from raising him, and wept first. Whatever else God is doing with your loss, He is not indifferent to it.
The Psalms make a place for it. Psalm 88 ends in darkness with no resolution and God still put it in the book. Anger brought to God is still a form of talking to Him, which is more than silence.
Scripture quotations are from the Berean Standard Bible, which is free of copyright restrictions for use on websites. Read the full Bible on Great Faith.