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Bible Verses About Sadness

Draw a random verse about sadness and see how the Bible gives sorrow, tears and mourning a voice. This is reflection, not medical advice.

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I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears.

Psalm 6:6 KJV

What the Bible Says About Sadness

The Bible treats sorrow as a normal part of life, not as a failure of faith. Hannah weeps in the tabernacle, David soaks his bed with tears, Jeremiah wishes for a fountain of tears, and Jesus himself weeps at the tomb of Lazarus and is troubled to the point of death in Gethsemane. Ecclesiastes states plainly that there is a time to weep and a time to laugh.

These passages also describe a God who stays near. The psalmist writes that the Lord is close to the brokenhearted, and another psalm pictures God keeping a record of every tear. Paul calls him the God of all comfort. Hope in the Bible is rarely a command to stop feeling sad. It is more often a promise that sorrow will not have the last word.

Where Sadness Appears

Look first to the Psalms, where lament is the largest category. Psalm 42 and 43 speak to a downcast soul, while Psalm 88 stays in the dark to its final line. Job and Lamentations give long voice to grief, and Genesis and the books of Samuel are full of mourners burying family. In the prophets, Isaiah promises comfort and beauty in place of ashes. The New Testament continues the thread with the Beatitudes, Jesus' words about grief turning to joy, and the closing vision of Revelation, where every tear is wiped away. Many of these writers were not sad for a moment but for years, in exile or after the death of a child, so the passages speak to long seasons as well as sharp ones. It also helps to notice who is speaking: priests, kings, mothers, prophets and fishermen all appear, which suggests that sorrow was never reserved for people of weak faith.

Ways to Use These Verses

Read a lament psalm aloud when you cannot find words of your own.
Copy one verse that fits today's mood and place it where you will see it.
Read the context of a verse before sending it to a grieving friend, since some are better as company than as advice.
Pair a sorrowful passage with a passage of hope and notice how the writers hold both.
If sadness feels heavy or lasts a long time, please reach out to a trusted person, pastor or counselor; these pages are for reflection and not a substitute for personal support.

If you want a wider mix of passages, try the Bible verse randomizer or the random encouraging Bible verse page, and browse the Bible books to read the full chapter around any verse that catches your attention.

Verses in This Collection

Psalm 6:6 – I am weary with my groaning; all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears.
David says he is worn out with groaning and soaks his bed with tears, a vivid portrait of grief poured out in prayer.
Psalm 30:5 – For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
A psalm of thanksgiving says God's anger is brief while his favor lasts a lifetime, and a night of weeping gives way to joy.
Psalm 30:11 – Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;
David looks back on rescue, saying God turned his mourning into dancing, replacing sackcloth with gladness.
Psalm 31:9-10 – Have mercy upon me, O LORD , for I am in trouble: mine eye is consumed with grief, yea , my soul and my belly. For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing: my strength faileth because of mine iniquity, and my bones are consumed.
David describes eyes weakened by grief and a life spent in sorrow, praying for mercy while physically and emotionally drained.
Psalm 34:18 – The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
David writes that the Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those crushed in spirit, placing God close to people in pain.
Psalm 38:6 – I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long.
David feels bowed down and mourns all day long, in a psalm that links guilt, illness and sorrow together.
Psalm 42:3 – My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?
The writer says tears have been his food day and night while others ask where his God is, a picture of grief and isolation.
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 asks his downcast soul why it is disturbed and tells it to hope in God, talking to himself in the middle of despair.
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 refrain returns: the writer again addresses his troubled soul and tells it to hope in God, treating sadness as something that recurs.
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 closes with the same question and the same answer, repeating the words for a heart that needs to hear them twice.
Psalm 56:8 – Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?
David says God keeps track of his wanderings and collects his tears in a bottle, suggesting that no sorrow goes unnoticed.
Psalm 69:1-3 – Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul. I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God.
David pictures himself sinking in deep waters, weary from calling out, with eyes failing as he waits for God to help.
Psalm 77:2-3 – In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted. I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah.
Asaph reaches out to God at night without being comforted, and remembering God makes him groan, which shows prayer can feel heavy.
Psalm 88:3 – For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave.
A psalm of unrelieved darkness says the writer's soul is full of troubles, with no happy ending, so lament has a place.
Psalm 102:1-4 – Hear my prayer, O LORD , and let my cry come unto thee. Hide not thy face from me in the day when I am in trouble; incline thine ear unto me: in the day when I call answer me speedily. For my days are consumed like smoke, and my bones are burned as an hearth. My heart is smitten, and withered like grass; so that I forget to eat my bread.
A suffering person asks God to hear the cry, describing days vanishing like smoke and a heart withered so that eating is forgotten.
Psalm 116:3-4 – The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow. Then called I upon the name of the LORD ; O LORD , I beseech thee, deliver my soul.
The writer felt death's cords and distress closing in, then called on the Lord's name and asked to be saved.
Psalm 116:8 – For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling.
The writer thanks God for delivering his soul from death, his eyes from tears and his feet from stumbling.
Psalm 119:28 – My soul melteth for heaviness: strengthen thou me according unto thy word.
The psalmist says his soul melts with sorrow and asks to be strengthened by God's word, treating Scripture as a source of support.
Psalm 126:5-6 – They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him .
Those who sow in tears will reap with songs of joy, a promise for returning exiles that suffering will not be the final word.
Psalm 137:1 – By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
Exiles in Babylon sit by the rivers and weep as they remember Zion, a collective sorrow over loss of home and temple.
Psalm 143:3-4 – For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten my life down to the ground; he hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead. Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is desolate.
David says the enemy has crushed him and his spirit grows faint within him, praying from a place of near exhaustion.
Psalm 147:3 – He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.
The psalm says God heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds, using the language of a caring physician for emotional pain.
Psalm 25:16-17 – Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me; for I am desolate and afflicted. The troubles of my heart are enlarged: O bring thou me out of my distresses.
David asks God to turn to him, since he is lonely and afflicted and the troubles of his heart have multiplied.
Psalm 40:1-2 – I waited patiently for the LORD ; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.
David waited patiently, and God lifted him from a pit of mud and set his feet on a rock, a picture of rescue.
Psalm 10:17 – LORD , thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:
The psalmist says God hears the desire of the afflicted and will strengthen their heart, offering assurance to people in need.
Isaiah 25:8 – He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it .
Isaiah foresees a day when God will swallow up death forever and wipe tears from every face, a promise echoed in Revelation.
Isaiah 35:10 – And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Isaiah describes the redeemed returning with singing, where sorrow and sighing will flee away and joy will crown them.
Isaiah 53:3 – He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Isaiah's servant is despised and rejected, a man of sorrows familiar with suffering, which Christians read as pointing to Jesus.
Isaiah 61:1-3 – 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; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD , and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD , that he might be glorified.
Isaiah announces good news to the poor and comfort for all who mourn, promising beauty instead of ashes and gladness instead of grief.
Isaiah 49:13 – Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the LORD hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted.
Isaiah says the Lord has comforted his people and shows compassion on his afflicted, a call for even creation to rejoice.
Isaiah 60:20 – Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the LORD shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended.
Isaiah says the days of mourning for God's people will end, in a vision where the Lord is their everlasting light.
Isaiah 66:13 – As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem.
God speaks of comforting his people the way a mother comforts her child, using a tender family image for consolation.
Isaiah 40:1 – Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
Isaiah 40 opens a new section of the book with God telling unnamed messengers to comfort his people, probably addressing the exile.
Isaiah 38:3 – And said, Remember now, O LORD , I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.
King Hezekiah, told he is going to die, weeps bitterly and reminds God of his faithful walk, and he is granted more years.
Jeremiah 8:18 – When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me.
Jeremiah says that when he tries to comfort himself against sorrow his heart is faint within him, grieving over the state of his people.
Jeremiah 9:1 – Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!
Jeremiah wishes his head were water and his eyes a fountain of tears so he could weep day and night for his people.
Jeremiah 31:13 – Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.
God promises through Jeremiah to turn mourning into gladness and give comfort for sorrow, speaking to a people in exile.
Jeremiah 31:25 – For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.
God says he will satisfy the weary and refresh everyone who languishes, a promise to those who are tired in spirit.
Lamentations 3:31-33 – For the Lord will not cast off for ever: But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.
The poet says the Lord does not cast off forever, and even when he brings grief he does not enjoy afflicting people.
Lamentations 1:16 – For these things I weep; mine eye, mine eye runneth down with water, because the comforter that should relieve my soul is far from me: my children are desolate, because the enemy prevailed.
The city personified weeps with eyes overflowing because no comforter is near, a picture of Jerusalem after its fall.
Lamentations 2:11 – Mine eyes do fail with tears, my bowels are troubled, my liver is poured upon the earth, for the destruction of the daughter of my people; because the children and the sucklings swoon in the streets of the city.
The poet is worn out with weeping over the ruin of his people, and the book gives grief a voice in Scripture.
Genesis 21:16 – And she went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot: for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And she sat over against him , and lift up her voice, and wept.
Hagar sits down apart from her dying son and weeps, and God hears the boy's voice and shows her a well.
Genesis 23:2 – And Sarah died in Kirjath-arba; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan: and Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.
Abraham mourns and weeps for Sarah at her death, which shows that even people of great faith grieve their losses.
Genesis 37:34-35 – And Jacob rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days. And all his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted; and he said, For I will go down into the grave unto my son mourning. Thus his father wept for him.
Jacob tears his clothes and mourns many days for Joseph, refusing every attempt to comfort him.
Genesis 50:1 – And Joseph fell upon his father’s face, and wept upon him, and kissed him.
Joseph throws himself on his father's body, weeping and kissing him, in a scene of tender grief at Jacob's death.
Genesis 45:2 – And he wept aloud: and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard.
Joseph weeps so loudly when he reveals himself to his brothers that the Egyptians hear, tears that mark the end of long separation.
Ruth 1:20-21 – And she said unto them, Call me not Naomi, call me Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. I went out full, and the LORD hath brought me home again empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the LORD hath testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?
Naomi, returning home after losing her husband and sons, asks to be called Mara, meaning bitter, since the Almighty has dealt harshly with her.
1 Samuel 1:7-10 – And as he did so year by year, when she went up to the house of the LORD , so she provoked her; therefore she wept, and did not eat. Then said Elkanah her husband to her, Hannah, why weepest thou? and why eatest thou not? and why is thy heart grieved? am not I better to thee than ten sons? So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the LORD . And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD , and wept sore.
Hannah, grieving over childlessness, weeps and cannot eat, then pours out her bitter soul to the Lord at the tabernacle.
1 Samuel 1:18 – And she said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy sight. So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad .
After praying and hearing Eli's blessing, Hannah goes away and eats, and her face is no longer downcast.
1 Samuel 30:4 – Then David and the people that were with him lifted up their voice and wept, until they had no more power to weep.
David and his men weep until they have no strength left after finding Ziklag burned and their families taken.
2 Samuel 1:11-12 – Then David took hold on his clothes, and rent them; and likewise all the men that were with him: And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the LORD , and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword.
David and his men tear their clothes and fast until evening, mourning the deaths of Saul and Jonathan in battle.
2 Samuel 12:21-23 – Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread. And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be gracious to me, that the child may live? But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.
David fasts while his child is ill, but after the child dies he rises, worships and eats, saying he will go to him.
2 Samuel 18:33 – And the king was much moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!
David is overwhelmed with grief at Absalom's death, crying out that he wishes he had died instead of his son.
Nehemiah 1:4 – And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,
Nehemiah sits down and weeps for days when he hears Jerusalem's walls are broken, and then he fasts and prays.
Nehemiah 8:9 – And Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe, and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the LORD your God; mourn not, nor weep. For all the people wept, when they heard the words of the law.
The people weep as they hear the Law read, and Nehemiah and Ezra tell them this day is holy and not for mourning.
Esther 4:3 – And in every province, whithersoever the king’s commandment and his decree came, there was great mourning among the Jews, and fasting, and weeping, and wailing; and many lay in sackcloth and ashes.
When Haman's decree is announced, Jews in every province mourn with fasting, weeping and sackcloth, a corporate sorrow before deliverance.
Job 2:11-13 – Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him. And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven. So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.
Job's three friends sit with him in silence for seven days because they see how great his suffering is, offering their presence first.
Job 3:24 – For my sighing cometh before I eat, and my roarings are poured out like the waters.
Job says his sighing comes before his food and his groans pour out like water, voicing deep anguish after losing his children.
Job 16:16 – My face is foul with weeping, and on my eyelids is the shadow of death;
Job says his face is red from weeping and deep darkness covers his eyes, though he claims his prayer is pure.
Job 30:31 – My harp also is turned to mourning, and my organ into the voice of them that weep.
Job says his harp is tuned to mourning and his flute to the sound of weeping, a poetic picture of life without joy.
Job 1:20-21 – Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, And said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD .
After losing his children and wealth, Job tears his robe and shaves his head, then worships God rather than cursing him.
Ecclesiastes 3:4 – A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
The Teacher says there is a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance.
Ecclesiastes 7:2-3 – It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart. Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.
The Teacher says it is better to go to a house of mourning, since sorrow can shape the heart in ways laughter does not.
Proverbs 12:25 – Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad.
Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up, a short proverb about what encouragement can do.
Proverbs 14:10 – The heart knoweth his own bitterness; and a stranger doth not intermeddle with his joy.
Each heart knows its own bitterness and no stranger shares its joy, acknowledging that sorrow is often private and personal.
Proverbs 15:13 – A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.
A glad heart makes a cheerful face, but heartache crushes the spirit, linking inner feelings with outward expression.
Proverbs 17:22 – A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.
A cheerful heart is good medicine, while a crushed spirit dries the bones, an observation about mood and well-being not offered as treatment.
Proverbs 25:20 – As he that taketh away a garment in cold weather, and as vinegar upon nitre, so is he that singeth songs to an heavy heart.
Singing songs to a heavy heart is compared to taking off a coat in cold weather, a warning against careless cheerfulness.
Joel 2:12-13 – Therefore also now, saith the LORD , turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.
God invites people to return to him with fasting, weeping and mourning, and to tear their hearts rather than their clothes.
Matthew 5:4 – Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
In the Beatitudes Jesus says those who mourn are blessed because they will be comforted, giving sorrow a place among his promises.
Matthew 2:18 – In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.
Matthew quotes Jeremiah about Rachel weeping for her children and refusing comfort, connecting Herod's slaughter in Bethlehem to older grief.
Matthew 14:12-13 – And his disciples came, and took up the body, and buried it, and went and told Jesus. When Jesus heard of it , he departed thence by ship into a desert place apart: and when the people had heard thereof , they followed him on foot out of the cities.
After John the Baptist is killed, his disciples bury him and tell Jesus, who withdraws by boat to a quiet place.
Matthew 26:37-38 – And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.
In Gethsemane Jesus becomes deeply sorrowful and tells his friends his soul is overwhelmed to the point of death.
Mark 14:34 – And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch.
Jesus asks Peter, James and John to stay and keep watch with him, because his soul is overwhelmed with sorrow.
Luke 6:21 – Blessed are ye that hunger now: for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now: for ye shall laugh.
Jesus says those who weep now are blessed because they will laugh, promising reversal for people in hard circumstances.
Luke 7:13 – And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.
Seeing a widow bury her only son, Jesus feels compassion, tells her not to weep and raises the young man.
Luke 19:41 – And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,
Jesus weeps over Jerusalem as he approaches the city, grieved that its people do not recognize the things that make for peace.
Luke 22:62 – And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.
Peter goes out and weeps bitterly after denying Jesus three times, a sorrow that later turns into restoration.
Luke 24:17 – And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that ye have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?
Two disciples walking to Emmaus stand still with downcast faces when the risen Jesus asks what they are discussing.
John 11:33-35 – When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept.
At Lazarus's tomb Jesus is deeply moved and weeps, even though he knows he is about to raise his friend.
John 16:20-22 – Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.
Jesus tells the disciples their grief will turn to joy, comparing it to a woman in labor who forgets her pain after birth.
John 20:11 – But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre,
Mary Magdalene stands outside the empty tomb weeping, and soon meets the risen Jesus, who calls her by name.
John 20:13-15 – And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.
Mary tells angels and then Jesus, whom she mistakes for the gardener, that she is weeping because someone took her Lord away.
Acts 20:37-38 – And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul’s neck, and kissed him, Sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake, that they should see his face no more. And they accompanied him unto the ship.
The Ephesian elders weep, embrace Paul and kiss him as he leaves, grieving that they will not see him again.
Romans 12:15 – Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
Paul tells believers to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep, making shared sorrow part of Christian life.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 – Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
Paul calls God the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us so we may comfort others.
2 Corinthians 2:4 – For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears; not that ye should be grieved, but that ye might know the love which I have more abundantly unto you.
Paul says he wrote a hard letter out of great distress and anguish of heart, with many tears, to show his love.
2 Corinthians 7:6 – Nevertheless God, that comforteth those that are cast down, comforted us by the coming of Titus;
Paul says God, who comforts the downcast, encouraged him through the arrival of Titus when he was worn out.
2 Corinthians 7:10 – For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
Paul distinguishes godly grief that leads to repentance from worldly grief that brings death, writing about sorrow over wrongdoing.
2 Corinthians 6:10 – As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.
Paul describes his life as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, holding both emotions together in a list of apostolic hardships.
Philippians 2:27 – For indeed he was sick nigh unto death: but God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.
Paul says God had mercy on Epaphroditus when he was near death, sparing Paul sorrow upon sorrow.
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 the believers will not grieve like those without hope, which does not forbid grief but shapes it.
Hebrews 5:7 – Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;
The writer says Jesus offered prayers with loud cries and tears in the days of his flesh and was heard.
Hebrews 12:11 – Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
The writer says discipline seems painful at the time but later produces peace for those trained by it.
James 4:9 – Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
James calls people to grieve, mourn and wail, and to turn laughter into mourning, a call to take sin seriously.
1 Peter 1:6 – Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
Peter says believers rejoice in their salvation though they may be grieved by various trials for a little while.
1 Peter 5:7 – Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
Peter invites readers to cast all their anxiety on God because he cares for them, echoing the language of Psalm 55:22.
Revelation 7:17 – For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.
John sees the Lamb shepherding the multitude and God wiping away every tear from their eyes in the heavenly vision.

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