If you are searching for bible verses about suffering, something has likely broken that cannot be quickly fixed — a body, a family, a future you had planned on. So the first thing to say is what this page will not do: it will not explain your pain away, and neither does scripture. The Bible's sufferers — Job, Naomi, Jeremiah, Paul — are allowed to speak honestly, at length, without being corrected. This page collects 20 verses grouped by theme: God's nearness in the dark, a God who suffered himself, hope that survives the night, and prayers for when you have no words left.
Begin with where God is: "The LORD is near to the brokenhearted; He saves the contrite in spirit" (Psalm 34:18). Near is the Bible's first answer to suffering — not an argument but a presence. Paul, whose sufferings were catalogued in shipwrecks and prisons, calls God "the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles" (2 Corinthians 1:3-4) — and notices that comfort received eventually becomes comfort you can give. Nothing endured in faith is wasted, even when it is never explained. And Psalm 56:8, under God near in the dark, says God keeps count of your sleepless tossings and stores up your tears — none of this is invisible to him.
What does the Bible say about suffering that nothing else quite says? That God entered it. Jesus was a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief — the verses under A God who suffered too, including Isaiah 53:3-5 and John 11:33-35, show him weeping at a friend's grave he was about to empty. His last-night promise to his friends is bracingly honest: "In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!" (John 16:33). Tribulation is assumed. Overcoming is announced.
Scripture also dares to name what suffering cannot touch. "I consider that our present sufferings are not comparable to the glory that will be revealed in us" (Romans 8:18) — written by a man with scars, not a man with theories. And 1 Peter 5:10 promises that "after you have suffered for a little while," God "will Himself restore you, secure you, strengthen you, and establish you." Four verbs, all his. This is not a claim that your pain is small. It is a claim that it is not final. The verses under Hope that survives the night, like 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 and Revelation 21:4, hold the same line.
And on the days you cannot pray at all, Romans 8:26-27 — under When you have no words left — says the Spirit intercedes for you with groanings deeper than language. Wordless counts. Practically: do not do this season alone. Tell your doctor, your pastor, and one steady friend the truth about how bad it is. Suffering isolates, and scripture keeps pressing sufferers gently back into company. See also grief, hope, and perseverance.
20 verses
Key verses
Romans 8:18
I consider that our present sufferings are not comparable to the glory that will be revealed in us.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 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.
1 Peter 5:10
And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore you, secure you, strengthen you, and establish you.
James 1:2-4
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Allow perseverance to finish its work, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Psalms 34:18
The LORD is near to the brokenhearted; He saves the contrite in spirit.
John 16:33
I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take courage; I have overcome the world!”
God near in the dark
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.
Isaiah 43:2
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you go through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched; the flames will not set you ablaze.
Psalms 56:8
You have taken account of my wanderings. Put my tears in Your bottle— are they not in Your book?
A God who suffered too
Isaiah 53:3-5
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief. Like one from whom men hide their faces, He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. Surely He took on our infirmities and carried our sorrows; yet we considered Him stricken by God, struck down and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.
Hebrews 2:18
Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.
John 11:33-35
When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you put him?” He asked. “Come and see, Lord,” they answered. Jesus wept.
Hope that survives the night
Romans 8:28
And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal glory that is far beyond comparison. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
1 Peter 1:6-7
In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in various trials so that the proven character of your faith—more precious than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Psalms 30:5
For His anger is fleeting, but His favor lasts a lifetime. Weeping may stay the night, but joy comes in the morning.
Revelation 21:4
‘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.”
When you have no words left
Romans 8:26-27
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how we ought to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
Lamentations 3:31-33
For the Lord will not cast us off forever. Even if He causes grief, He will show compassion according to His abundant loving devotion. For He does not willingly afflict or grieve the sons of men.
Psalms 121:1-2
I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.
Reflection
What has been the hardest part of this season, and have you told God about it plainly?
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