Bible verses about hope: 16 passages for when the future looks dark
In the Bible, hope is not wishful thinking. It is confident waiting, anchored in who God is and what he has already done (Hebrews 6:19). Scripture offers hope for the long wait (Isaiah 40:31), for mornings after a hard night (Lamentations 3:22-23), and for a future God is still writing (Jeremiah 29:11). Here are 16 passages in the Berean Standard Bible, with the King James wording under each.
When you cannot see a way forward
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.Jeremiah 29:11 (BSB)
Written to exiles told to settle in for seventy years. The promise of a future came with a long wait, which is why it still speaks to people in slow seasons.
King James Version
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.Romans 15:13 (BSB)
Paul calls God the God of hope. Joy and peace come first, through trusting, and hope overflows from them.
King James Version
Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.For surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.Proverbs 23:18 (BSB)
A short line against despair: what you are hoping for is not cut off just because it has not arrived.
King James Version
For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off.Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why the unease within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.Psalm 42:11 (BSB)
The psalmist argues with his own downcast soul. Hope sometimes sounds like talking back to your feelings.
King James Version
Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.When you are tired of waiting
But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.Isaiah 40:31 (BSB)
Soaring, running, walking: the promise ends with the slowest pace. On some days, not fainting is the victory.
King James Version
But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.Because of the loving devotion of the LORD we are not consumed, for His mercies never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness!Lamentations 3:22-23 (BSB)
Written among the ruins of Jerusalem. Hope here is small and daily: mercy that is new this morning.
King James Version
It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.I wait for the LORD; my soul does wait, and in His word I put my hope.Psalm 130:5 (BSB)
Waiting and hoping sit side by side. The hope rests on God’s word, not on the timeline.
King James Version
I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.For in this hope we were saved; but hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he can already see? But if we hope for what we do not yet see, we wait for it patiently.Romans 8:24-25 (BSB)
Hope, by definition, is for what you do not yet see. Patience is what hope looks like from the outside.
King James Version
For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.When you need something solid to hold
We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,Hebrews 6:19 (BSB)
An anchor does not stop the storm. It keeps the boat from drifting while the storm passes.
King James Version
Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;Rest in God alone, O my soul, for my hope comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress; I will not be shaken.Psalm 62:5-6 (BSB)
David repeats the word alone. Hope becomes steady when it stops resting on several things at once.
King James Version
My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved.Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,1 Peter 1:3 (BSB)
Peter calls it a living hope, because it rests on a resurrection that already happened.
King James Version
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.Romans 5:3-5 (BSB)
A chain that starts with suffering and ends with a hope that does not disappoint. Nothing in the chain is wasted.
King James Version
And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.When you are thinking about the end of the story
‘He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,’ and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.”Revelation 21:4 (BSB)
The last pages of the Bible promise an end to tears, death, mourning and pain. Christian hope reaches past this life.
King James Version
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.Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal glory that is far beyond comparison. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (BSB)
Paul does not deny the wearing away. He sets it beside something unseen and heavier that lasts.
King James Version
For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.Micah 7:7 (BSB)
Written in a bleak season for Israel. The prophet decides to watch and wait, sure that God hears.
King James Version
Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.But I will always hope and will praise You more and more.Psalm 71:14 (BSB)
An old man’s prayer. Hope is not only for the young; it can keep growing to the end.
King James Version
But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more.How to hold on to hope this week
- Choose one verse for the week. Write it where you will see it each morning. Lamentations 3:22-23 is a good one to start with, because it is about mornings.
- Tell God what you are hoping for. Be specific. Psalm 130 shows that waiting and asking belong together.
- Look back before you look ahead. Write down one time God carried you before. Hope in Scripture is often built on remembering.
- Let someone else hold it with you. Share the verse with a friend or small group and ask them to pray. See our guide to praying with others online.
If hope feels completely out of reach, or you have thoughts of ending your life, please reach out today. In the US, call or text 988. Elsewhere, call your local emergency number or a crisis line. You deserve support from people as well as from Scripture.
Questions people ask
What does the Bible say about hope?
The Bible describes hope as confident expectation rooted in God’s character and promises, not a vague wish. Hebrews 6:19 calls it an anchor for the soul, Romans 15:13 calls God the God of hope, and 1 Peter 1:3 ties it to the resurrection of Jesus.
What is the most powerful Bible verse about hope?
Jeremiah 29:11 and Romans 15:13 are the most quoted. Many people in hard seasons find Lamentations 3:22-23 even more powerful, because it was written among ruins and still finds mercy new every morning.
Is Jeremiah 29:11 a promise for me?
It was first spoken to Israelites in exile in Babylon, promising restoration after seventy years. Christians have long read it as showing God’s heart toward his people in every age: he has good plans even when the wait is long. Reading the whole of Jeremiah 29 gives the fuller picture.
What is the difference between hope and faith?
They are close companions. Hebrews 11:1 says faith is the assurance of what we hope for. Faith trusts God now; hope looks forward to what God will do. Romans 8:24-25 adds that hope is for what we do not yet see.
Which Bible translation is used on this page?
Each verse is shown in the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), a modern public-domain translation, with the King James Version (KJV) under each passage.
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