57 Bible Verses about Suffering, Hardship

Most Relevant Verses

For the land shall never be without poor. Wherefore I command thee, saying, 'Open thine hand unto thy brother that is needy and poor in thy land.'

Behold, even as the wild asses in the desert go they forth to their work, and rise betimes to spoil: Yea, the very wilderness ministereth food for them and their children. by times, as their manner is, to spoil: Yea the very wilderness ministereth food for their children. They reap the corn field that is not their own; and let the vineyard of the ungodly alone. They are the cause that so many men are naked and bare, having no clothes to cover them and keep them from cold;read more.
So that when the showers in the mountains have rained upon them, and they be all wet, they have none other succour, but to embrace the rock for want of a covering. They spoil the sucking fatherless children, and put the poor in prison, insomuch that they let him go naked without clothing, and take way the sheaf of the hungry. The poor are fain to labour in their oil mills, yea and to tread in their wine presses, and yet to suffer thirst.

The poor always shall ye have with you, but me shall ye not always have."

They went astray in the wilderness in an untrodden way, and found no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted in them.

And when the seven years of plenteousness that was in the land of Egypt were ended, then came the seven years of dearth, according as Joseph had said. And the dearth was in all lands: but in the land of Egypt was there yet food. When now all the land of Egypt began to hunger, then cried the people to Pharaoh for bread. And Pharaoh said unto all Egypt, "Go unto Joseph, and what he saith to you, that do."read more.
And when the dearth was throughout all the land, Joseph opened all that was in the cities, and sold unto the Egyptians. And hunger waxed sore in the land of Egypt. And all countries came to Egypt, to Joseph, for to buy corn: because that the hunger was so sore in all lands.

Moses brought Israel from the reed sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur. And they went three days long in the wilderness, and could find no water. At the last they came to Marah: but they could not drink of the waters for bitterness, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of the place was called Marah. Then the people murmured against Moses, saying, "What shall we drink?"

And the whole multitude of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and said unto them, "Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and ate bread our bellies' full; for ye have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole multitude for hunger."

And all the company of the children of Israel went on their journeys from the wilderness of Sin at the commandment of the LORD, and pitched in Rephidim: where was no water for the people to drink. And the people chode with Moses, and said, "Give us water to drink." And Moses said unto them, "Why chide ye with me, and wherefore do ye tempt the LORD?" There the people thirsted for water, and murmured against Moses and said, "Wherefore hast thou brought us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?"

And the rascal people that was among them fell a lusting. And the children of Israel also went to, and wept, and said, "Who shall give us flesh to eat? We remember the fish which we should eat in Egypt for nought, and of the cucumbers and melons, leeks, onions and garlic. But now our souls are dried away, for our eyes look on nothing else, save upon Manna."

And it chanced after a while that the brook dried up, because there fell no rain upon the earth. Then came the word of the LORD unto him, saying, "Up, and get thee to Zarephath a city of Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to sustain thee."read more.
And he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, there was a widow there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, "Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a dish that I may drink." And as she went to fetch it, he cried to her and said, "Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand." And she answered, "As surely as the LORD thy God liveth, I have no bread, but even a handful of meal in a pitcher, and a little oil in a cruse. And see, I have gathered a few sticks for to go and bake it for me and my son, that we may eat it and then die."

And there arose a great complaint of the people, and of their wives, against their brethren the Jews. For there were some that said, "Our sons and daughters and we are too many, let us take corn for them to eat, that we may live." Some said, "Let us set our lands, vineyards, and houses, to pledge, and take up corn in the dearth."read more.
But some said, "Let us borrow money of the king's tribute for our lands and vineyards. Now are our brethrens' bodies as our own bodies and their children as our children: else should we subdue our sons and daughters into bondage, and some of our daughters are subdued already, and no strength is there in our hands, and other men shall have our lands and vineyards."

And unto Adam he said, "Forasmuch as thou hast obeyed the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee, saying 'See thou eat not thereof' cursed be the earth for thy sake. In sorrow shalt thou eat thereof all days of thy life: and it shall bear thorns and thistles unto thee. And thou shalt eat the herbs of the field: In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, until thou return unto the earth whence thou wast taken: for earth thou art, and unto earth shalt thou return."

This twenty years that I have been with thee, thy sheep and thy goats have not been barren, and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten. Whatsoever was torn of beasts I brought it not unto thee, but made it good myself: of my hand didst thou require it, whether it was stolen by day or night. Moreover, by day the heat consumed me, and the cold by night, and my sleep departed from mine eyes.read more.
Thus have I been twenty years in thy house, and served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy sheep, and thou hast changed my reward ten times. And except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the God whom Isaac feareth, had been with me: surely thou hadst sent me away now all empty. But God beheld my tribulation, and the labour of my hands, and rebuked thee yesterday."

And they sent and called him. And so Jeroboam and all Israel came and communed with Rehoboam, and said, "Thy father made us a grievous yoke: but remit thou somewhat of the grievous service of thy father and of his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and we will serve thee."

"There is a great cry and complaint made by them that are oppressed with violence; yea, every man complaineth upon the cruel arm of tyrants.

And he set taskmasters over them, to keep them under with burdens. And they built unto Pharaoh treasure cities: Pithom and Rameses.

And the number of bricks which they were wont to make in time past, lay unto their charge also, and minish nothing thereof. For they be idle and therefore cry, saying, 'Let us go and do sacrifice unto our God.' They must have more work laid upon them, that they may labour therein, and then will they not turn themselves to false words."

And there cried a certain woman of the wives of the children of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, "Thy servant my husband is dead, and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD. And the creditor is come to fetch my two sons, to be his bondmen."

Have mercy upon me, O LORD, for I am in trouble, and mine eye is consumed for very heaviness, yea my soul and my body. For my life is waxen old with heaviness, and my years with mourning. My strength faileth me, because of mine iniquity, and my bones are consumed. I am become a very reproof among all mine enemies, but especially among my neighbours. And they of mine own acquaintance are afraid of me; they that see me in the street, convey themselves from me.read more.
I am clean forgotten, as a dead man, out of mind; I am become like a broken vessel. For I have heard the blasphemy of the multitude, and fear is on every side, while they conspire together against me, and take their counsel to take away my life.

For thus hath the LORD of Hosts commanded: "Hew down her trees, and set up bulwarks against Jerusalem. This is the city that must be punished, for in her is all maliciousness.

"'Preach in the palaces at Ashdod, and in the palaces of the land of Egypt, and say, 'Gather you together upon the mountains of Samaria, so shall ye see great murder and violent oppression among them.' For why? They regard not the thing that is right,

and we will be laboring in the work." And the half part of them held the spears from the morning spring, till the stars came forth. And at the same time said I unto the people, "Every one abide with his servant at Jerusalem, that in the night season we may give attendance to the watch, and to labour on the daytime." As for me and my brethren, and my servants, and the men of the watch behind me, we put never off our clothes, so much as to wash ourselves.

And Moses told his father-in-law all that the LORD had done unto Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, and all the travail that had happened them by the way, and how the LORD had delivered them.

And unto Abiathar the priest said the king, "Get thee to Anathoth unto thine own fields, for thou art worthy of death: but I will not at this time kill thee, because thou hast borne the Ark of the Lord Jehovah before David my father, and because thou sufferest with my father in all his afflictions."

And the three of the thirty chiefs went to a rock to David at the cave Adullam. And the Host of the Philistines had pitched in the valley of Rephaim. And David was in a hold. And there was a garrison of the Philistines at Bethlehem that same time. And David longed and said, "Oh that one would give me of the water of the well of Bethlehem that is in the gate, for to drink."read more.
And the three brake through the host of the Philistines and drew of the water of the well of Bethlehem that was in the gate, and took it and brought it to David. Nevertheless David would not drink of it, but offered it to the LORD, and said, "God forbid it me, that I should do this thing, that I should drink the blood of these men that have put their lives in Jeopardy." For with the Jeopardy of their lives they brought it, and therefore he would not drink it. This did the three mightiest.

But when the fourteenth night was come, as we were carried in Adria, about midnight the shipmen deemed that there appeared some country unto them, and they sounded, and found it twenty fathoms; And when they had gone a little further, they sounded again, and found fifteen fathoms. Then fearing, lest they should have fallen on some rock, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day.read more.
As the shipmen were about to flee out of the ship, and had let down the boat into the sea, under a colour as though they would have cast anchors out of the foreship: Paul said unto the under-captain and the soldiers, "Except these abide in the ship ye cannot be safe." Then the soldiers cut off the rope of the boat, and let it fall away. And in the meantime, betwixt that and day, Paul besought them all to take meat, saying, "This is the fourteenth day that ye have tarried and continued fasting receiving nothing at all, wherefore I pray you to take meat: for this no doubt is for your health, for there shall not a hair fall from the head of any of you." And when he had thus spoken he took bread and gave thanks to God in presence of them all, and brake it, and began to eat. Then were they all of good cheer, and they also took meat. We were all together in the ship, two hundred and three score and sixteen souls. And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship and cast out the wheat into the sea. When it was day they knew not the land, but they spied a certain haven with a bank, into the which they were minded, if it were possible, to thrust in the ship. And when they had taken up the anchors, they committed themselves unto the sea, and loosed the rudder bonds and hoisted up the main sail to the wind and drew to land. But they chanced on a place, which had the sea on both the sides, and thrust in the ship. And the fore part stuck fast, and moved not, but the hinder part brake with the violence of the waves. The soldiers' counsel was to kill the prisoners: lest any of them, when he had swum out, should flee away. But the under-captain, willing to save Paul, kept them from their purpose, and commanded that they that could swim should cast themselves first into the sea, and escape to land. And the others he commanded to go, some on boards, and some on broken pieces of the ship. And so it came to pass, that they came all safe to land.

And because thou servedest not the LORD thy God with joyfulness and with a good heart for the abundance of all things, therefore thou shalt serve thine enemy which the LORD shall send upon thee: in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and in need of all things. And he shall put a yoke of iron upon thine neck, until he have brought thee to nought.

and which led thee in the wilderness both great and terrible with fiery serpents and scorpions and thirst where was no water, which brought the water out of the rock of flint:

And the Egyptians vexed us and troubled us, and laded us with cruel bondage. And we cried unto the LORD God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and looked on our adversity, labour and oppression.

{A song of the stairs} LORD, remember David and all his trouble,

but in all things let us behave ourselves as the ministers of God. In much patience, in afflictions, in necessity, in anguish, in stripes, in prisonment, in strife, in labour, in watching, in fasting,

After they had preached to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium and Antioch, and strengthened the disciples souls: exhorting them to continue in the faith, affirming that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.

Even unto this day we hunger and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted with fists, and have no certain dwelling place, and labour working with our own hands. We are reviled, and yet we bless. We are persecuted, and suffer it. We are evil spoken of, and we pray. We are made as it were the filthiness of the world, the offscouring of all things, even unto this time.

Brethren, I would not have you ignorant of our trouble, which happened unto us in Asia. For we were grieved out of measure passing strength, so greatly that we despaired even of life. Also we received an answer of death in ourselves, and that was done because we should not put our trust in ourselves, but in God, which raiseth the dead to life again -

They are the ministers of Christ - I speak as a fool - I am more: In labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prison more plenteously, in death often. Of the Jews, five times received I, every time, forty stripes, save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods. I was once stoned. I suffered thrice shipwreck. Night and day have I been in the deep of the sea.read more.
In journeying often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers; in jeopardies of mine own nation, in jeopardies among the heathen. I have been in perils in cities, in perils in wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in labour and travail, in watching often, in hunger, in thirst, in fastings often, in cold and in nakedness. And beside the things which outwardly happen unto me, I am cumbered daily and do care for all congregations. Who is sick: and I am not sick? Who is hurt in the faith: and my heart burneth not?

I speak not because of necessity. For I have learned in whatsoever estate I am, therewith to be content. I can both cast down myself, I can also exceed. Everywhere, and in all things I am instructed, both to be full, and to be hungry: to have plenty, and to suffer need. I can do all things through the help of Christ, which strengtheneth me.read more.
Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye bare part with me in my tribulation.

For ye suffered also with my bonds, and took in worth the spoiling of your goods, and that with gladness, knowing in yourselves how that ye had in heaven a better, and an enduring substance.

were stoned, were hewn asunder, were tempted, were slain with swords, walked up and down in sheep skins, in goat skins, in need, tribulation, and vexation, which the world was not worthy of: They wandered in wilderness, in mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.

Also we received an answer of death in ourselves, and that was done because we should not put our trust in ourselves, but in God, which raiseth the dead to life again -

And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake. But whosoever shall endure unto the end, the same shall be safe.

For it is thankworthy if a man, for conscience toward God, endure grief, suffering wrongfully.

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