Bible Verses for the Sick

Illness is not pretended away in Scripture. These verses are for the long days of being ill, or caring for someone who is — comfort for the sickbed, and the God who stays beside it.

“The LORD will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness.” — Psalm 41:3 (KJV)

Part of a psalm's promise to those who care for the poor, this line pictures the Lord present at a sickbed, sustaining a person through illness rather than assuring the illness will lift.

“Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:” — James 5:14 (KJV)

James instructs an early community that illness should not be faced alone, directing the sick to call the church's elders for prayer and anointing. It affirms communal support that many traditions still practice today, without claiming it replaces medical attention.

“For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave.” — Psalm 88:3 (KJV)

One of the bleakest prayers in the Psalter, spoken by someone who feels near death, this line gives words to those enduring illness with no tidy resolution in sight.

“Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.” — Matthew 25:36 (KJV)

Visiting the sick is listed alongside feeding the hungry as something done to Christ himself. It reframes the visitor's awkward, useless-feeling presence as significant.

“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” — 2 Corinthians 12:9 (KJV)

Paul had asked three times for a physical affliction to be removed and was refused. The answer he received redefined strength rather than restoring his.

“My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.” — Psalm 73:26 (KJV)

The psalmist concedes that flesh and heart do fail, without softening it. What follows is a claim about portion, not about recovery.

“Have mercy upon me, O LORD; for I am weak: O LORD, heal me; for my bones are vexed.” — Psalm 6:2 (KJV)

The plea names weakness and bones that are vexed, the vocabulary of physical exhaustion. It gives permission to pray badly and briefly when ill.

“But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.” — Job 2:10 (KJV)

Said by a man covered in sores, to a wife urging him to be done with God. Receiving evil as well as good is offered as a question, not a slogan.

“Have mercy upon me, O LORD, for I am in trouble: mine eye is consumed with grief, yea, my soul and my belly.” — Psalm 31:9 (KJV)

Grief is described as consuming the eye, the belly and the soul — illness understood as total rather than local. Ancient medicine and modern experience agree on that.

“For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.” — 2 Corinthians 4:16 (KJV)

The outward man perishing is stated plainly, with renewal located elsewhere and daily. It is honest about decline in a way get-well cards usually are not.

“When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.” — John 11:4 (KJV)

Said about Lazarus, who then died before Jesus arrived. The sentence is worth sitting with precisely because the outcome was not what the disciples heard in it.

“For he longed after you all, and was full of heaviness, because that ye had heard that he had been sick. 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.” — Philippians 2:26-27 (KJV)

Epaphroditus nearly died and Paul calls his recovery a mercy that spared him sorrow upon sorrow. Even in the New Testament, illness among believers is serious and not always brief.

“LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it I may know how frail I am.” — Psalm 39:4 (KJV)

The request is to know how frail one is — an unusual thing to ask. Illness is treated as a teacher about limits rather than only as an interruption.

“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” — Romans 8:18 (KJV)

Paul weighs present suffering against future glory and finds it not worthy to be compared. The comparison is offered as arithmetic, which some days is all that helps.

“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.” — Revelation 21:4 (KJV)

The promise removes not only death but pain and the memory of former things. It is read at funerals because it is the end of the story illness belongs to.

“Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not when my strength faileth.” — Psalm 71:9 (KJV)

A prayer for old age, asking not to be cast off when strength fails. It names a fear that long illness and ageing share.

“O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit: so wilt thou recover me, and make me to live.” — Isaiah 38:16 (KJV)

Hezekiah's words after recovering from a terminal illness, saying he will go softly all his years. Recovery is described as changing a person, not restoring them unaltered.

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Frequently asked questions

What does the Bible say about sickness?

The 17 passages gathered on this page are the ones readers turn to most on sickness: Psalm 41:3, James 5:14, Psalm 88:3, Matthew 25:36, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Psalm 73:26, Psalm 6:2, Job 2:10, Psalm 31:9, 2 Corinthians 4:16, John 11:4, Philippians 2:26-27, Psalm 39:4, Romans 8:18, Revelation…

What is a good Bible verse about sickness?

Psalm 41:3 is the passage most often quoted on sickness, with James 5:14 and Psalm 88:3 close behind. Which one helps depends on whether you need reassurance, instruction or simply company.

Where can I read these sickness verses?

You can read all of these verses about sickness — and the whole Bible, offline, in your preferred translation — free in the Quiethaven app for iPhone.