'Comfort' in the Bible

He named him Noah, saying, “This one shall bring us rest and comfort from our work and from the [dreadful] toil of our hands because of the ground which the Lord cursed.”

“You shall also have a place outside the camp to which you may go,

Their father Ephraim mourned for many days, and his relatives came to comfort him.

David said, “I will be kind (gracious) to Hanun son of Nahash, because his father was kind to me.” So David sent messengers to comfort him concerning [the death of] his father. And the servants of David came to the land of the Ammonites to comfort Hanun.

Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this adversity that had come upon him, each one came from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite; for they had made an appointment together to come to sympathize with him and to comfort him.

“When I say, ‘My bed will comfort me,My couch will ease my complaint,’

“Would He not let my few days alone,Withdraw from me that I may have a little cheer

“How then can you vainly comfort me with empty words,Since your answers remain untrue?”

Even though I walk through the [sunless] valley of the shadow of death,I fear no evil, for You are with me;Your rod [to protect] and Your staff [to guide], they comfort and console me.

I was mute and silent [before my enemies],I refrained even from good,And my distress grew worse.

May You increase my greatness (honor)And turn to comfort me.

Show me a sign of [Your] goodwill,That those who hate me may see it and be ashamed,Because You, O Lord, helped and comforted me.

This is my comfort in my affliction,That Your word has revived me and given me life.

I have remembered [carefully] Your ancient ordinances, O Lord,And I have taken comfort.

O may Your lovingkindness and graciousness comfort me,According to Your word (promise) to Your servant.

My eyes fail [with longing, watching] for [the fulfillment of] Your promise,Saying, “When will You comfort me?”

And on that day you will say,“I will give thanks to You, O Lord;For though You were angry with me,Your anger has turned away,And You comfort me.

Therefore I say, “Look away from me;Let me weep bitterly.Do not try to comfort me over the destruction of the daughter of my people.”

He who said to them, “This is the place of quiet, give rest to the weary,”And, “This is the resting place,” yet they would not listen.

“Comfort, O comfort My people,” says your God.

For the Lord will comfort Zion [in her captivity];He will comfort all her ruins.And He will make her wilderness like Eden,And her desert like the garden of the Lord;Joy and gladness will be found in her,Thanksgiving and the voice of a melody.

These two tragedies have befallen you;Who will show sympathy for you and mourn with you?The desolation and destruction [on the land and city], famine and sword [on the inhabitants];How shall I comfort you?

“I have seen his [willful] ways, but I will heal him;I will lead him [also] and will restore comfort to him and to those who mourn for him,

To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord,And the day of vengeance and retribution of our God,To comfort all who mourn,

“As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you;And you will be comforted in Jerusalem.”

Oh, that I (Jeremiah) could find comfort from my sorrow [for my grief is beyond healing],My heart is sick and faint within me!

People will not offer food to the mourners, to comfort anyone [as they grieve] for the dead, nor give them a cup of consolation to drink for anyone’s father or mother.

“Then the virgin will rejoice in the dance,And the young men and old, together,For I will turn their mourning into joyAnd will comfort them and make them rejoice after their sorrow.

‘If you will indeed remain in this land, then I will build you up and not tear you down, and I will plant you and not uproot you; for I will relent and be satisfied concerning the disaster that I have inflicted on you [as discipline, and I will replace judgment with compassion].

She weeps bitterly in the nightAnd her tears are [constantly] on her cheeks;Among all her lovers (political allies)She has no one to comfort her.All her friends have dealt treacherously with her;They have become her enemies.

How shall I console you?To what shall I compare you,O Daughter of Jerusalem?With what shall I compare you, so that I may comfort you,O Virgin Daughter of Zion?For your ruin is as vast as the sea;Who can heal you?

so that you [Judah] will bear your humiliation and disgrace, and be [thoroughly] ashamed for all [the wickedness] that you have done to console and comfort them.

“Pharaoh will see them, and he will be comforted for all his hordes slain by the sword—Pharaoh and all his army,” says the Lord God.

Proclaim again, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “My cities shall again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord shall again comfort Zion and again choose Jerusalem.”’”

For the teraphim (household idols) speak wickedness (emptiness, worthlessness),And the diviners see lying visionsAnd tell false dreams;They comfort in vain.Therefore the people wander like sheep,They are afflicted and suffer because there is no shepherd.

For whoever wishes to save his life [in this world] will [eventually] lose it [through death], but whoever loses his life [in this world] for My sake will find it [that is, life with Me for all eternity].

But woe (judgment is coming) to you who are rich [and place your faith in possessions while remaining spiritually impoverished], for you are [already] receiving your comfort in full [and there is nothing left to be awarded to you].

When we are slandered, we try to be conciliatory and answer softly. We have become like the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now.

Blessed [gratefully praised and adored] be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort,

who comforts and encourages us in every trouble so that we will be able to comfort and encourage those who are in any kind of trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

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].

But if we are troubled and distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted and encouraged, it is for your comfort, which works [in you] when you patiently endure the same sufferings which we experience.

And our hope for you [our confident expectation of good for you] is firmly grounded [assured and unshaken], since we know that just as you share as partners in our sufferings, so also you share as partners in our comfort.

so instead [of further rebuke, now] you should rather [graciously] forgive and comfort and encourage him, to keep him from being overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.

Great is my confidence in you; great is my pride and boasting on your behalf. I am filled [to the brim] with comfort; I am overflowing with joy in spite of all our trouble.

And not only by his arrival, but also by [his account of] the encouragement which he received in regard to you. He told us about your longing [for us], your mourning [over sin], and how eagerly you took my part and supported me, so that I rejoiced even more.

I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are doing and that he may encourage your hearts;

and from Jesus, who is called Justus. These are the only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are from the circumcision (Jewish Christians), and they have proved to be an encouragement and a comfort to me.

and so we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s servant in [spreading] the good news of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you [exhorting, comforting, and establishing you] in regard to your faith,

for this reason, brothers and sisters, during all our distress and suffering we have been comforted and greatly encouraged about you because of your faith [your unwavering trust in God—placing yourselves completely in His loving hands];

Therefore comfort and encourage one another with these words [concerning our reunion with believers who have died].

comfort and encourage and strengthen your hearts [keeping them steadfast and on course] in every good work and word.

For I have had great joy and comfort and encouragement from your love, because the hearts of the saints (God’s people) have been refreshed through you, my brother.

So we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently say,“The Lord is my Helper [in time of need], I will not be afraid.What will man do to me?”