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Random Bible Verse About Hope

Draw a random Bible verse about hope, with a short note on where it comes from and what it means.

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Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.

Psalm 42:5 KJV

What the Bible means by hope

In Scripture, hope is rarely a vague wish. The Hebrew word often translated hope carries the sense of waiting with expectation, like a rope pulled tight toward something that is coming. Many of the strongest hope passages were written by people in bad circumstances: exiles in Babylon, a man mourning a ruined city, a king hiding from enemies. Their hope is stated in the middle of trouble, not after it.

Where hope shows up in the text

The Psalms speak to hope in prayer, often with the writer arguing with his own discouragement. The prophets tie it to a future God promises, such as return from exile or a renewed creation. In the New Testament, Paul and Peter ground hope in the resurrection of Jesus and describe it as something that steadies a person rather than only comforts them.

Ways to use these verses

Read the verse and its note, then look up the surrounding chapter to see who was speaking and why.
Write the verse on a card for a hard week and read it each morning.
Share a verse with a friend who is waiting on a diagnosis, a job or a prayer answered.

If you want a general mix rather than one theme, try the Bible verse randomizer, browse a random encouraging Bible verse, or check the Bible verse of the day.

Verses in This Collection

Psalm 42:5 – Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.
The psalmist argues with his own despair and tells his soul to wait for God, expecting to praise him again.
Psalm 42:11 – Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.
The same refrain returns at the end of the psalm, showing hope as something repeatedly chosen rather than felt once.
Psalm 31:24 – Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen your heart, all ye that hope in the LORD .
David closes a prayer of distress by urging all who wait on the Lord to be strong in heart.
Psalm 33:18 – Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;
God's attention rests on those who revere him and wait for his steadfast love, which is the ground of their hope.
Psalm 33:20 – Our soul waiteth for the LORD : he is our help and our shield.
The community speaks together, describing the Lord as help and shield for those who wait.
Psalm 39:7 – And now, Lord, what wait I for? my hope is in thee.
In a psalm about life's brevity, the writer concludes that his only real hope is in the Lord.
Psalm 62:5 – My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.
David tells his own soul to wait quietly for God alone, because his hope comes from him.
Psalm 71:5 – For thou art my hope, O Lord GOD : thou art my trust from my youth.
An older worshipper looks back and says God has been his hope since his earliest years.
Psalm 71:14 – But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more.
The psalmist promises to keep hoping and to praise God more and more, even in old age.
Psalm 119:49 – Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope.
The writer asks God to remember a promise, noting that the same word has given him hope.
Psalm 119:81 – My soul fainteth for thy salvation: but I hope in thy word.
Worn out waiting for rescue, the psalmist still says his hope rests in God's word.
Psalm 119:114 – Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.
God is described as hiding place and shield, and the psalmist places hope in his word.
Psalm 130:5 – I wait for the LORD , my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.
A song from the depths of trouble describes waiting for the Lord with the soul, and hoping in his word.
Psalm 130:7 – Let Israel hope in the LORD : for with the LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.
The psalm ends by turning to the whole nation, urging Israel to hope in the Lord because of his plentiful redemption.
Psalm 146:5 – Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God:
A happy person is one whose help comes from the God of Jacob and whose hope is in him.
Psalm 147:11 – The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.
God takes pleasure in those who fear him and hope in his steadfast love.
Psalm 25:3 – Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause.
David says nobody who waits on God will be put to shame, a confident statement made in a prayer for guidance.
Psalm 25:5 – Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.
David asks to be led in truth and says he waits on God all day long.
Psalm 27:13 – I had fainted , unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
David says he would have despaired had he not believed he would see God's goodness in this life.
Psalm 27:14 – Wait on the LORD : be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD .
After describing threats, David urges the listener to wait for the Lord and be courageous.
Psalm 37:7 – Rest in the LORD , and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
Resting and waiting patiently is advised when evil people seem to prosper.
Psalm 37:9 – For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD , they shall inherit the earth.
Those who wait for the Lord are promised the land, while evildoers are cut off.
Psalm 37:34 – Wait on the LORD , and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it .
The psalmist counsels waiting on the Lord and keeping his way, with a promise of eventual honor.
Psalm 40:1 – I waited patiently for the LORD ; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
David recalls that he waited patiently and God turned toward him and heard his cry.
Psalm 38:15 – For in thee, O LORD , do I hope: thou wilt hear, O Lord my God.
In a prayer written in illness and guilt, David says he hopes in God and expects an answer.
Psalm 43:5 – Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.
This psalm repeats the earlier question to a downcast soul and answers with a call to hope in God.
Psalm 16:9 – Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.
David says his heart is glad and his body rests secure because he trusts God.
Psalm 16:11 – Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
God shows the path of life, and in his presence the psalmist finds fullness of joy.
Psalm 9:18 – For the needy shall not alway be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever.
The needy will not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor will not perish forever.
Psalm 22:4 – Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.
In a psalm of suffering, the writer recalls that earlier generations trusted God and were delivered.
Job 14:7 – For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease.
Job, in deep grief, observes that a cut tree may sprout again, a picture that contrasts with his sense of hopelessness.
Job 14:14 – If a man die, shall he live again ? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.
Job asks whether a dead person can live again and says he would wait through his hard service until his release.
Job 19:25 – For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
Despite his suffering and the accusations of his friends, Job declares that his redeemer lives.
Job 11:18 – And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope; yea, thou shalt dig about thee, and thou shalt take thy rest in safety.
Zophar tells Job that if he turns to God, he will feel secure because there is hope.
Proverbs 13:12 – Hope deferred maketh the heart sick: but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life.
Deferred hope is described as making the heart sick, while a fulfilled desire is like a tree of life.
Proverbs 23:18 – For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off.
The writer assures the reader that there is a future, and his hope will not be cut off.
Proverbs 24:14 – So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul: when thou hast found it , then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off.
Wisdom is compared to honey, and finding it comes with the promise of a future and enduring hope.
Proverbs 10:28 – The hope of the righteous shall be gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish.
The hope of the righteous ends in gladness, while the expectation of the wicked comes to nothing.
Ecclesiastes 9:4 – For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
The Preacher notes that anyone still among the living has hope, since even a living dog is better off than a dead lion.
Isaiah 40:31 – But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
To a discouraged exiled people, Isaiah promises that those who wait on the Lord will gain renewed strength.
Isaiah 40:1 – Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
The book's second half opens with a command to comfort God's people after a long period of judgment.
Isaiah 43:2 – When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
God promises to be present with his people through water and fire, which are images of great danger.
Isaiah 25:9 – And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD ; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.
On the day of salvation, the people say they have waited for God and will rejoice in his deliverance.
Isaiah 49:23 – And kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD : for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.
God tells exiled Israel that those who wait for him will not be put to shame, even while foreign rulers are brought low.
Isaiah 30:18 – And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.
God waits to be gracious to his people, and the verse says those who wait for him are blessed.
Isaiah 41:10 – Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
God tells his people not to fear because he is with them, strengthens them and upholds them.
Isaiah 61:1 – The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
A prophet speaks of being anointed to bring good news to the meek, bind up the brokenhearted and free captives.
Isaiah 65:17 – For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
God announces that he will create new heavens and a new earth, and former troubles will not be remembered.
Jeremiah 29:11 – For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD , thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Written in a letter to exiles in Babylon, this verse speaks of God's plans for their welfare and future.
Jeremiah 29:12 – Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
After promising a future, God tells the exiles they will call on him and he will listen.
Jeremiah 31:17 – And there is hope in thine end, saith the LORD , that thy children shall come again to their own border.
God tells Rachel, weeping for her children in exile, that there is hope and the children will return.
Jeremiah 17:7 – Blessed is the man that trusteth in the LORD , and whose hope the LORD is.
The person who trusts in the Lord is called blessed, with the Lord as the confidence.
Jeremiah 17:13 – O LORD , the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD , the fountain of living waters.
The prophet calls the Lord the hope of Israel and warns that those who forsake him will be put to shame.
Jeremiah 14:22 – Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? art not thou he, O LORD our God? therefore we will wait upon thee: for thou hast made all these things .
In a prayer during drought, the people confess that their hope is in the Lord who makes rain.
Lamentations 3:21 – This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.
Amid a book of grief over Jerusalem's destruction, the writer deliberately calls something to mind that gives him hope.
Lamentations 3:22 – It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
Because of God's steadfast love, the writer says the people have not been consumed.
Lamentations 3:23 – They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
God's mercies are described as new every morning, with great faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:24 – The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.
The writer says the Lord is his portion and therefore he will hope in him.
Lamentations 3:25 – The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.
The Lord is good to those who wait and seek him.
Lamentations 3:26 – It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD .
It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord, the writer says.
Ezekiel 37:5 – Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:
In the vision of dry bones, God promises breath to enter them so that they will live.
Ezekiel 37:12 – Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD ; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.
God says he will open the graves of Israel and bring the people home, answering their claim that hope is lost.
Hosea 2:15 – And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.
God speaks of turning the Valley of Achor, a place of trouble, into a door of hope.
Joel 2:25 – And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.
God promises to restore the years that the locusts have eaten, a message of recovery after devastation.
Micah 7:7 – Therefore I will look unto the LORD ; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.
The prophet, surrounded by corruption, resolves to watch for the Lord and wait for the God of his salvation.
Micah 7:8 – Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me.
The prophet tells his enemy not to gloat, since although he has fallen he will rise.
Habakkuk 3:17 – Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:
Even if crops fail and flocks are gone, the prophet resolves to rejoice in the Lord.
Habakkuk 3:18 – Yet I will rejoice in the LORD , I will joy in the God of my salvation.
Following the failing harvest, Habakkuk says he will still find joy in the God of his salvation.
Zephaniah 3:17 – The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.
God is described as present with his people, rejoicing over them, and quieting them with love.
Zechariah 9:12 – Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee;
The prophet calls the exiles prisoners of hope and says God will restore double to them.
Romans 5:3 – And not only so , but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
Paul explains that believers can rejoice in suffering because it produces endurance.
Romans 5:4 – And patience, experience; and experience, hope:
Endurance produces character, and character produces hope, in Paul's progression.
Romans 5:5 – And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
Hope does not disappoint because God's love has been poured into believers' hearts through the Holy Spirit.
Romans 8:24 – For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
Paul notes that hope concerns what is not yet seen, because no one hopes for what is already visible.
Romans 8:25 – But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it .
Believers wait for what they do not see with patience, according to Paul.
Romans 8:38-39 – For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Paul lists forces, such as death, life and powers, that cannot separate believers from God's love.
Romans 12:12 – Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
Paul gives short instructions: rejoice in hope, be patient in affliction and persist in prayer.
Romans 15:4 – For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
Paul says the Scriptures were written to teach so that endurance and encouragement might produce hope.
Romans 15:13 – Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
Paul prays that the God of hope will fill the Roman believers with joy and peace as they trust.
1 Corinthians 15:19 – If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
Paul argues that if hope in Christ applied only to this life, Christians would be most to be pitied.
1 Corinthians 15:58 – Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
After describing resurrection, Paul urges steadfastness, because labor in the Lord is not in vain.
2 Corinthians 4:16 – For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
Paul says that though the outer person is wasting away, the inner person is renewed day by day.
2 Corinthians 4:17 – For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
Paul calls present troubles light and momentary compared with an eternal weight of glory.
Galatians 6:9 – And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
Paul tells believers not to grow weary in doing good, since they will reap in due time.
Ephesians 1:18 – The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
Paul prays that the readers' hearts will be enlightened to know the hope of God's calling.
Colossians 1:27 – To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
Paul describes the mystery now revealed among the Gentiles as Christ in you, the hope of glory.
1 Thessalonians 4:13 – But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
Paul writes so that believers will not grieve about those who have died as people who have no hope.
Titus 2:13 – Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Paul describes Christians as waiting for the blessed hope, the appearing of Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 6:19 – Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;
Hope is described as an anchor for the soul, sure and steadfast.
Hebrews 10:23 – Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
The writer urges readers to hold fast to the confession of hope because the one who promised is faithful.
Hebrews 11:1 – Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Faith is defined as assurance of things hoped for and conviction of things not seen.
1 Peter 1:3 – Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
Peter praises God for giving believers a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus.
1 Peter 3:15 – But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
Peter tells readers to be ready to explain the hope that is in them, with gentleness and respect.
Revelation 21:4 – And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
In John's vision, God wipes away every tear, and death, mourning and pain are gone.

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