21 Bible Verses about Sadness

Sorrow [is] better than laughter, for by sadness of countenance the heart is made good.

It happened in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I carried the wine and gave it to the king. And I had never been sad before the king. So the king said to me, "Why is your face sad since you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of the heart." And I was very much afraid. I said to the king, "May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad when the city of my ancestors' burial site is ruined and her gates are consumed by fire?"

When Joseph came to them in the morning he looked at them, and behold, they were troubled. And he asked the court officials of Pharaoh that [were] with him in the custody of his master's house, "Why [are] your faces sad today?"

Then Ahab went to his house, sullen and angry because of the word that Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him [when] he had said, "I will not give to you the inheritance of my ancestors." So he lay on his bed, turned away his face, and would not eat [any] food.

Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give [the proceeds] to the poor--and you will have treasure in heaven--and come, follow me." But [when] the young man heard the statement, he went away sorrowful, because he was one who had many possessions.

And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "You lack one [thing]: Go, sell all that you have, and give [the proceeds] to the poor--and you will have treasure in heaven--and come, follow me." But he looked gloomy at the statement [and] went away sorrowful, {because he had} many possessions.

And [when he] heard [this], Jesus said to him, "{You still lack one thing}: Sell all that you have, and distribute [the proceeds] to the poor--and you will have treasure in heaven--and come, follow me." But [when he] heard these [things] he became very sad, because he was extremely wealthy.

And [while] they were eating he said, "Truly I say to you, that one of you will betray me." And greatly distressed, each one began to say to him, "{Surely I am not he, am I}, Lord?"

And he said to them, "What [are] these matters that you are discussing with one another [as you] are walking along?" And they stood still, looking sad.

I am not able to carry all these people along alone; they are too heavy for me. If this is how you [are] going to treat me, please kill me immediately if I find favor in your eyes, and do not let me see my misery."

And Joshua said, "Ah, my Lord! Why did you bring this people across the Jordan to give us into the hand of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content and stayed beyond the Jordan.

Then he became afraid, got up, and {fled for his life}. He came [to] Beersheba which belongs to Judah, and he left his servant there. Then he went into the wilderness one day's journey, and he went and sat under a certain broom tree. Then {he asked Yahweh that he might die}, and he said, "It is enough now, Yahweh; take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors."

My tears have been my food day and night, while [they] say to me all day [long], "Where [is] your God?" These I remember and I pour out my soul within me: that I would go with the multitude; I led them [in procession] to the house of God, with a voice of rejoicing and thanksgiving, a crowd celebrating a festival.

Woe to me, my mother, that you gave birth to me, a man of contention and quarreling {to the whole land}. I have not lent out and {I have not borrowed}. All of them [are] cursing me.

Why are you {in despair}, O my soul, and disturbed within me? Hope in God, because I will again praise him, [for] the salvation of his presence. O my God, within me my soul is {in despair}; therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan and the heights of Hermon, from the mountain of Mizar.

Anxiety in the heart of a man will weigh him down, but a good word will cheer him.

From the light of the eyes, the heart will rejoice, and good news will enliven the bones.

A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a downcast spirit will dry out bones.

Give strong drink to him who is perishing, and wine to those {in bitter distress}. He will drink and forget his poverty, and his misery he will not remember [any] more.

But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I also may be encouraged [when I] know {your circumstances}.