48 Bible Verses about Self Pity

and the Israelites said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and ate bread until we were full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this entire assembly with hunger.”

As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw the Egyptians marching after them, and they were very frightened; so the Israelites cried out to the Lord. Then they said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What is this that you have done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Did we not say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians?’ For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians [as slaves] than to die in the wilderness.”

But the people were thirsty for water; and the people murmured against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up from Egypt to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”

The rabble among them [who followed Israel from Egypt] had greedy desires [for familiar and delicious food], and the Israelites wept again and said, “Who will give us meat to eat? We remember the fish we ate freely and without cost in Egypt, the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic. But now our appetite is gone; there is nothing at all [in the way of food] to be seen but this manna.”

Then all the congregation [of Israel] raised their voices and cried out, and the people wept that night. All the Israelites murmured [in discontent] against Moses and Aaron; and the whole congregation said to them, “Oh that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or that we had died in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us to this land [of Canaan], to fall by the sword? Our wives and children will become plunder. Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” read more.
So they said one to another, “Let us appoint a [new] leader and return to Egypt.”

“Yet you were not willing to go up [to take possession of it], but rebelled against the command of the Lord your God. You murmured and were ill-tempered (discontented) in your tents, and said, ‘Because the Lord hates us He has brought us from the land of Egypt to hand us over to the Amorites to destroy us. Where can we go up? Our brothers (spies) have made our hearts melt [in fear] and demoralized us by saying, “The people are bigger and taller than we; the cities are large, and fortified [all the way up] to heaven. And besides, we saw the [giant-like] sons of the Anakim there.”’

And do not murmur [in unwarranted discontent], as some of them did—and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now these things happened to them as an example and warning [to us]; they were written for our instruction [to admonish and equip us], upon whom the ends of the ages have come.

Then Job answered and said,
“Oh, that my grief could actually be weighed
And placed in the balances together with my tragedy [to see if my grief is the grief of a coward]!

“For now it would be heavier than the sand of the sea;
Therefore my words have been incoherent,
read more.

Because the arrows of the Almighty are within me,
My spirit drinks their poison;
The terrors of God are arrayed against me.

“Does the wild donkey bray when he has grass?
Or does the ox low over his fodder?

“Can something that has no taste to it be eaten without salt?
Or is there any flavor in the white of an egg?

“My soul refuses to touch them;
Such things are like loathsome food to me [sickening and repugnant].
“Oh that my request would come to pass,
And that God would grant me the thing that I long for!

“I wish that it would please God to crush me,
That He would let loose His hand and cut me off.

“Then I would still have consolation,
And I would jump for joy amid unsparing pain,
That I have not denied or hidden the words of the Holy One.

“What strength do I have left, that I should wait [and hope]?
And what is ahead of me, that I should be patient and endure?

“Is my strength and endurance that of stones,
Or is my flesh made of bronze?

“Is it that I have no help within myself,
And that success and wisdom have been driven from me?

“I am disgusted with my life and loathe it!
I will give free expression to my complaint;
I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.

After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. And Job said,
“Let the day on which I was born perish,
And the night which announced: ‘There is a man-child conceived.’
read more.

“May that day be darkness;
Let God above not care about it,
Nor light shine on it.

“Let darkness and gloom claim it for their own;
Let a cloud settle upon it;
Let all that blackens the day terrify it (the day that I was born).

“As for that night, let darkness seize it;
Let it not rejoice among the days of the year;
Let it not be counted in the number of the months.

“Behold, let that night be barren [and empty];
Let no joyful voice enter it.

“Let those curse it who curse the day,
Who are skilled in rousing up Leviathan.

“Let the stars of its early dawn be dark;
Let the morning wait in vain for the light,
Let it not see the eyelids of morning (the day’s dawning),

Because it did not shut the doors of my mother’s womb,
Nor hide trouble from my eyes.
“Why did I not die at birth,
Come forth from the womb and expire?

“Why did the knees receive me?
And why the breasts, that I would nurse?

“For now I would have lain down and been quiet;
I would have slept then, I would have been at rest [in death],

With kings and counselors of the earth,
Who built up [now desolate] ruins for themselves;

Or with princes who had gold,
Who filled their houses with silver.

“Or like a miscarriage which is hidden and put away, I would not exist,
Like infants who never saw light.

“There [in death] the wicked cease from raging,
And there the weary are at rest.

“There the prisoners rest together;
They do not hear the taskmaster’s voice.

“The small and the great are there,
And the servant is free from his master.
“Why is the light given to him who is in misery,
And life to the bitter in soul,

Who wait for death, but it does not come,
And dig (search) for death more [diligently] than for hidden treasures,

Who rejoice exceedingly,
And rejoice when they find the grave?

“Why is the light of day given to a man whose way is hidden,
And whom God has hedged in?

“For my groaning comes at the sight of my food,
And my cries [of despair] are poured out like water.

“For the thing which I greatly fear comes upon me,
And that of which I am afraid has come upon me.

“I am not at ease, nor am I quiet,
And I am not at rest, and yet trouble still comes [upon me].”

Then Job responded,
“No doubt you are the [only wise] people [in the world],
And wisdom will die with you!

“But I have intelligence and understanding as well as you;
I am not inferior to you.
Who does not know such things as these [of God’s wisdom and might]?
read more.

“I am a joke to my friends;
I, one whom God answered when he called upon Him—
A just and blameless man is a joke [and laughed to scorn].

“He who is at ease has contempt for misfortune,
But misfortune is ready [and anxiously waiting] for those whose feet slip.

“The tents of the destroyers prosper;
And those who provoke God are [apparently] secure,
Whom God brings into their power.

“If I speak [to you miserable comforters], my pain is not relieved;
And if I refrain [from speaking], what [pain or anguish] leaves me?

“But now God has exhausted me.
You [O Lord] have destroyed all my family and my household.

“You have taken a firm hold on me and have shriveled me up,
It has become a witness [against me];
And my leanness [and infirmity] rises up [as evidence] against me,
It testifies to my face [about my guilt].
read more.

“His wrath has torn me and hunted me down,
He has gnashed at me with his teeth;
My adversary sharpens His gaze and glares [with piercing eyes] at me.

“They have gaped at me with their mouths,
With contempt they have struck me on the cheek;
They massed themselves together [and conspired] against me.

“God hands me over to criminals
And tosses me [headlong] into the hands of the wicked.

“I was [living] at ease, but He crushed me and broke me apart,
And He has seized me by the neck and has shaken me to pieces;
He has also set me up as His target.

“His arrows surround me.
He pierces my kidneys (vital organs) without mercy;
He pours out my gall on the ground.

“He attacks me, making wound after wound;
He runs at me like a warrior.

“I have sewed sackcloth over my skin [as a sign of mourning]
And have defiled my horn (symbol of strength) in the dust.

“My face is red and swollen with weeping,
And on my eyelids is the shadow of death [my eyes are dimmed],

Although there is no violence or wrongdoing in my hands,
And my prayer is pure.

“And now I have become [the subject of] their taunting;
Yes, I am a byword and a laughingstock to them.

“They hate me, they stand aloof from me,
And do not refrain from spitting in my face.

“For God has loosed His bowstring [attacking me] and [He has] afflicted and humbled me;
They have cast off the bridle [of restraint] before me.
read more.

“On my right the [rabble] brood rises;
They push my feet away, and they build up their ways of destruction against me [like an advancing army].

“They break up and clutter my path [upsetting my plans],
They profit from my destruction;
No one restrains them.

“As through a wide breach they come,
Amid the crash [of falling walls] they roll on [over me].

“Terrors are turned upon me;
They chase away my honor and reputation like the wind,
And my prosperity has passed away like a cloud.
“And now my soul is poured out within me;
The days of affliction have seized me.

“My bones are pierced [with aching] in the night season,
And the pains that gnaw me take no rest.

“By the great force [of my disease] my garment (skin) is disfigured and blemished;
It binds about me [choking me] like the collar of my coat.

“God has cast me into the mire [a swampland of crisis],
And I have become [worthless] like dust and ashes.

“I cry to You for help, [Lord,] but You do not answer me;
I stand up, but You [only] gaze [indifferently] at me.

“You have become harsh and cruel to me;
With the might of Your hand You [keep me alive only to] persecute me.

“You lift me up on the wind and cause me to ride [upon it];
And You toss me about in the tempest and dissolve me in the storm.

“For I know that You will bring me to death
And to the house of meeting [appointed] for all the living.
“However, does not one falling in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand?
Or in his disaster [will he not] therefore cry out for help?

“Did I not weep for one whose life was hard and filled with trouble?
Was not my heart grieved for the needy?

“When I expected good, then came evil [to me];
And when I waited for light, then came darkness.

“I am seething within and my heart is troubled and cannot rest;
Days of affliction come to meet me.

“I go about mourning without comfort [my skin blackened by disease, not by the heat of the sun];
I stand up in the assembly and cry out for help.

“I am a brother to [howling] jackals,
And a companion to ostriches [which scream dismally].

“My skin falls from me in blackened flakes,
And my bones are burned with fever.

“Therefore my lyre (harp) is used for [the sound of] mourning,
And my flute for the [sound of the] voices of those who weep.

When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with a great and extremely bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me, even me also, O my father!”

And David went up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went, with his head covered and walking barefoot [in despair]. And all the people who were with him covered their heads and went up, weeping as they went.

Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, saying, “Please, O Lord, remember now [with compassion] how I have walked before You in faithfulness and truth and with a whole heart [entirely devoted to You], and have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord, and said, “Please, O Lord, just remember how I have walked before You in faithfulness and truth, and with a whole heart [absolutely devoted to You], and have done what is good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept greatly.

Why do You stand far away, O Lord?
Why do You hide [Yourself, veiling Your eyes] in times of trouble?

But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling,
My steps had almost slipped.

For I was envious of the arrogant
As I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

O God, why have You rejected us forever?
Why does Your anger smoke against the sheep of Your pasture?

So Moses said to the Lord, “Why have You been so hard on Your servant? And why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have placed the burden of all these people on me? Was it I who conceived all these people? Was it I who brought them forth, that You should say to me, ‘Carry them in your arms as a nurse carries the nursing infant, to the land which You swore to their fathers’? Where am I to get meat to give to all these people? For they weep before me and say, ‘Give us meat, so that we may eat.’ read more.
I am not able to carry all these people alone, because the burden is too heavy for me. So if this is the way You are going to deal with me, please kill me at once, if I have found favor in your sight, and do not let me see my wretchedness.”

Then Moses turned again to the Lord and said, “O Lord, why have You brought harm and oppression to this people? Why did You ever send me? [I cannot understand Your purpose!] Ever since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has harmed and oppressed this people, and You have done nothing at all to rescue Your people.”

So Moses cried out to the Lord for help, saying, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.”

But he himself traveled a day’s journey into the wilderness, and he came and sat down under a juniper tree and asked [God] that he might die. He said, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.”

He said, “I have been very zealous (impassioned) for the Lord God of hosts (armies) [proclaiming what is rightfully and uniquely His]; for the sons of Israel have abandoned (broken) Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I, only I, am left; and they seek to take away my life.”

Woe to me, my mother, that you have given birth to me
To be a man of strife and a man of contention to all the earth!
I have not loaned, nor have men lent money to me,
Yet everyone curses me.

Why has my pain been perpetual
And my wound incurable, refusing to be healed?
Will you indeed be to me like a deceptive brook
With water that is unreliable?

[Jeremiah said,] O Lord, You have persuaded me and I was deceived;
You are stronger than I and You have prevailed.
I am a laughingstock all day long;
Everyone mocks me.

For whenever I speak, I must shout out;
I shout violence and destruction,
Because the word of the Lord has become to me
A reprimand and a mockery and has brought me insult all day long.

If I say, “I will not remember Him
Or speak His name anymore,”
Then my heart becomes a burning fire
Shut up in my bones.
And I am weary of enduring and holding it in;
I cannot endure it [nor contain it any longer].
read more.

For I have heard the whispering and defaming words of many,
“Terror on every side!
Denounce him! Let us denounce him!”
All my familiar and trusted friends,
[Those who are] watching for my fall, say,
“Perhaps he will be persuaded and deceived; then we will overcome him,
And take our revenge on him.”

‘You said, “Woe is me! For the Lord has added sorrow to my pain; I am weary with my groaning and sighing and I find no rest.”’

But it greatly displeased Jonah and he became angry. He prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is this not what I said when I was still in my country? That is why I ran to Tarshish, because I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and great in lovingkindness, and [when sinners turn to You] You revoke the [sentence of] disaster [against them]. Therefore now, O Lord, just take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” read more.
Then the Lord said, “Do you have a good reason to be angry?” Then Jonah went out of the city and sat east of it. There he made himself a shelter and sat under its shade so that he could see what would happen in the city.

By the rivers of Babylon,
There we [captives] sat down and wept,
When we remembered Zion [the city God imprinted on our hearts].

On the willow trees in the midst of Babylon
We hung our harps.

For there they who took us captive demanded of us a song with words,
And our tormentors [who made a mockery of us demanded] amusement, saying,
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”read more.

How can we sing the Lord’s song
In a strange and foreign land?

If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
Let my right hand forget [her skill with the harp].

Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
If I do not remember you,
If I do not prefer Jerusalem
Above my chief joy.
Remember, O Lord, against the sons of Edom,
The day of [the fall of] Jerusalem,
Who said “Down, down [with her]
To her very foundation.”

O daughter of Babylon, you devastator,
How blessed will be the one
Who repays you [with destruction] as you have repaid us.

How blessed will be the one who seizes and dashes your little ones
Against the rock.

I am [Jeremiah] the man who has seen affliction
Because of the rod of His wrath.

He has led me and made me walk
In darkness and not in light.

Surely He has turned His hand against me
Repeatedly all the day.
read more.

He has caused my flesh and my skin to waste away;
He has shattered my bones.

He has besieged and surrounded me with bitterness and hardship.

He has made me live in dark places
Like those who have long been dead.

He walled me in so that I cannot get out;
He has weighted down my chain.

Even when I cry out and shout for help,
He shuts out my prayer.

He has blocked my ways with cut stone;
He has made my paths crooked.

He is to me like a bear lying in wait,
And like a lion [hiding] in secret places.

He has turned aside my ways and torn me in pieces;
He has made me desolate.

He has bent His bow
And set me as a target for the arrow.

He has caused the arrows of His quiver
To enter my inner parts.

I have become the [object of] ridicule to all my people,
And [the subject of] their mocking song all the day.

He has filled me with bitterness;
He has made me drunk with wormwood (bitterness).

He has broken my teeth with gravel;
He has [covered me with ashes and] made me cower in the dust.

My soul has been cast far away from peace;
I have forgotten happiness.

So I say, “My strength has perished
And so has my hope and expectation from the Lord.”

“And the kings and political leaders of the earth, who committed immorality and lived luxuriously with her, will weep and beat their chests [in mourning] over her when they see the smoke of her burning, standing a long way off, in fear of her torment, saying, ‘Woe, woe, the great city, the strong city, Babylon! In a single hour your judgment has come.’ “And merchants of the earth will weep and grieve over her, because no one buys their cargo (goods, merchandise) anymore— read more.
cargoes of gold and silver and precious stones and pearls and fine linen and purple and silk and scarlet; all kinds of citron (scented) wood and every article of ivory and every article of very costly and lavish wood and bronze and iron and marble; and cinnamon and spices and incense and perfume and frankincense and wine and olive oil and fine flour and wheat; of cattle and sheep, and cargoes of horses and chariots and carriages; and of slaves and human lives. The ripe fruits and delicacies of your soul’s desire have gone from you, and all things that were luxurious and extravagant are lost to you, never again to be found. The merchants who handled these articles, who grew wealthy from [their business with] her, will stand a long way off in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud, saying, ‘Woe, woe, for the great city that was robed in fine linen, in purple and scarlet, gilded and adorned with gold, with precious stones, and with pearls; because in one hour all the vast wealth has been laid waste.’ And every ship captain or navigator, and every passenger and sailor, and all who make their living by the sea, stood a long way off, and exclaimed as they watched the smoke of her burning, saying, ‘What could be compared to the great city?’ And they threw dust on their heads and were crying out, weeping and mourning, saying, ‘Woe, woe, for the great city, where all who had ships at sea grew rich from her great wealth, because in one hour she has been laid waste!’

“Have pity on me! Have pity on me, O you my friends,
For the hand of God has touched me.

The demon has often thrown him both into fire and into water, intending to kill him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!”

and they raised their voices and called out, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!”

Why are you in despair, O my soul?
And why are you restless and disturbed within me?
Hope in God and wait expectantly for Him, for I shall again praise Him,
The help of my [sad] countenance and my God.

When I considered how to understand this,
It was too great an effort for me and too painful

Until I came into the sanctuary of God;
Then I understood [for I considered] their end.

O Lord, how my enemies have increased!
Many are rising up against me.

Many are saying of me,
“There is no help [no salvation] for him in God.” Selah.
But You, O Lord, are a shield for me,
My glory [and my honor], and the One who lifts my head.
read more.

With my voice I was crying to the Lord,
And He answered me from His holy mountain. Selah.

How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?

How long must I take counsel in my soul,
Having sorrow in my heart day after day?
How long will my enemy exalt himself and triumph over me?
Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
Give light (life) to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,
read more.

And my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
And my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken.
But I have trusted and relied on and been confident in Your lovingkindness and faithfulness;
My heart shall rejoice and delight in Your salvation.

I will sing to the Lord,
Because He has dealt bountifully with me.

Do not worry because of evildoers,
Nor be envious toward wrongdoers;

For they will wither quickly like the grass,
And fade like the green herb.

Trust [rely on and have confidence] in the Lord and do good;
Dwell in the land and feed [securely] on His faithfulness.
read more.

Delight yourself in the Lord,
And He will give you the desires and petitions of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord;
Trust in Him also and He will do it.

He will make your righteousness [your pursuit of right standing with God] like the light,
And your judgment like [the shining of] the noonday [sun].
Be still before the Lord; wait patiently for Him and entrust yourself to Him;
Do not fret (whine, agonize) because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.

Nevertheless I am continually with You;
You have taken hold of my right hand.

You will guide me with Your counsel,
And afterward receive me to honor and glory.
Whom have I in heaven [but You]?
And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.
read more.

My flesh and my heart may fail,
But God is the rock and strength of my heart and my portion forever.

For behold, those who are far from You will perish;
You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful and have abandoned You.

But as for me, it is good for me to draw near to God;
I have made the Lord God my refuge and placed my trust in Him,
That I may tell of all Your works.

Our fathers in Egypt did not understand nor appreciate Your miracles;
They did not remember the abundance of Your mercies nor imprint Your lovingkindnesses on their hearts,
But they were rebellious at the sea, at the Red Sea.

Remember [O Lord] my affliction and my wandering, the wormwood and the gall (bitterness).

My soul continually remembers them
And is bowed down within me.

But this I call to mind,
Therefore I have hope.
read more.

It is because of the Lord’s lovingkindnesses that we are not consumed,
Because His [tender] compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;
Great and beyond measure is Your faithfulness.

“The Lord is my portion and my inheritance,” says my soul;
“Therefore I have hope in Him and wait expectantly for Him.”

The Lord is good to those who wait [confidently] for Him,
To those who seek Him [on the authority of God’s word].

It is good that one waits quietly
For the salvation of the Lord.

For just as Christ’s sufferings are ours in abundance [as they overflow to His followers], so also our comfort [our reassurance, our encouragement, our consolation] is abundant through Christ [it is truly more than enough to endure what we must].

we put no obstruction in anyone’s path, so that the ministry will not be discredited, but we commend ourselves in every way as servants of God: in great endurance, in sufferings, in hardships, in distresses, in beatings, in imprisonments, in riots, in labors, in sleepless nights, in hunger, read more.
in purity and sincerity, in knowledge and spiritual insight, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in genuine love, in [speaking] the word of truth, in the power of God; by the weapons of righteousness for the right hand [like holding the sword to attack] and for the left [like holding the shield to defend], amid glory and dishonor; by evil report and good report; branded as deceivers and yet [vindicated as] truthful; as unknown [to the world], yet well-known [by God and His people]; as dying, yet we live; as punished, yet not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet bestowing riches on many; as having nothing, yet possessing all things.

Consider it nothing but joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you fall into various trials. Be assured that the testing of your faith [through experience] produces endurance [leading to spiritual maturity, and inner peace].

But insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, keep on rejoicing, so that when His glory [filled with His radiance and splendor] is revealed, you may rejoice with great joy.