Bible
Bible Verses About Hope
Biblical hope is not wishful thinking; it is confident expectation grounded in God's character and promises. Below are curated KJV passages on hope in suffering, hope in God's promises, hope and salvation, and hope for the future.
Hope in suffering
Paul argues in Romans 5 that suffering, far from killing hope, actually produces it in the believer. Hope is the outcome of trial, not its alternative.
...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.
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.
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.
Hope in God's promises
The grounds of biblical hope are God's character and his promises. He has spoken, and he keeps what he says.
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.
This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. 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.
Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;
Hope and salvation
The New Testament treats salvation itself as a living hope: something God has begun in the believer and will bring to completion at the appearing of Christ.
Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
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,
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Hope for the future
The Bible ends with the picture of new creation, where God wipes away every tear and undoes every sorrow.
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.
For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
Examples
Hope in suffering
Romans 5:3-5, Romans 8:24-25, 2 Corinthians 4:17-18
Hope in God's promises
Jeremiah 29:11, Psalm 33:18, Lamentations 3:21-23
Hope and salvation
Romans 5:1-2, 1 Peter 1:3, Titus 2:13
Hope for the future
Revelation 21:4, Romans 8:18, Philippians 3:20-21
How it works
The page groups verses into four themes that follow how hope appears across the New and Old Testaments:
- Hope in suffering: tribulation produces hope, not despair.
- Hope in God's promises: God's faithfulness is the anchor.
- Hope and salvation: the gospel as a living hope.
- Hope for the future: resurrection and new creation.
All verse text below is from the King James Version (1611), public domain in the United States.
Frequently asked questions
In the Bible, hope is not wishful thinking. It is the confident expectation that what God has promised, he will do. The Greek word elpis carries the sense of trust based on something solid. Romans 5:5 says: '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.' Biblical hope is grounded in God's character, not in circumstances.
Jeremiah 29:11 is probably the most quoted: '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.' Romans 15:13 ('Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing'), Hebrews 11:1 ('Now faith is the substance of things hoped for'), and 1 Peter 1:3 (born again 'unto a lively hope') are also widely quoted.
Hebrews 11:1 ties them together: 'Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.' Faith is trusting God for what he has said; hope is the forward-looking expectation that trust produces. The two are inseparable in the New Testament. First Corinthians 13:13 names faith, hope, and love together as the three abiding virtues.
Yes, in the United States. The King James Version was first published in 1611 and is in the public domain in the U.S. All verse text on this page is KJV.
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