Each of these Bible verses about empathy is quoted word for word from the King James Version, followed by a short original reflection.
Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
Romans 12:15 (KJV)
This is the closest any of the Bible verses about empathy comes to defining it in a single line. It asks us to match our hearts to another person’s moment, glad with the glad and sorrowful with the sorrowful, instead of fixing, judging or hurrying them toward a different feeling.
Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:
1 Peter 3:8 (KJV)
Peter lists compassion, brotherly love, pity and courtesy together, as if they belong in one breath. Real empathy, as these Bible verses about empathy show, is not only a feeling; it shows up as courtesy and gentleness in how we speak and act toward people who are struggling.
For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
Hebrews 4:15 (KJV)
Here is the deepest root of the Bible verses about empathy. Christ does not watch our weakness from a distance; he is touched by it. Knowing that someone understands from the inside gives us courage to be honest in prayer and to offer the same understanding to others.
Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.
Hebrews 13:3 (KJV)
The writer asks us to imagine ourselves in another person’s chains. That act of imagination is the engine behind many Bible verses about empathy. Because we share a human body and its vulnerability, another’s suffering is never entirely foreign to us.
Jesus wept.
John 11:35 (KJV)
Among Bible verses about empathy, the shortest verse in the English Bible says a great deal. Jesus knew he was about to raise Lazarus, yet he still wept with the grieving sisters. Entering someone’s sorrow is worthwhile even when you know the story will turn out well.
Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (KJV)
Paul teaches in one of the Bible verses about empathy that our own hard seasons are not wasted. The comfort God gives us becomes a tool for comforting others, so past pain can become the very thing that lets us sit with someone in theirs and say, I understand.
Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
Galatians 6:2 (KJV)
Burden bearing is what Bible verses about empathy look like with sleeves rolled up. Paul calls it the law of Christ, which means that sharing the load of a tired friend, a sick neighbor or a worried parent is not an optional extra but part of following Jesus.
Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
Colossians 3:12 (KJV)
Among Bible verses about empathy, Paul pictures empathy as clothing we deliberately put on each morning. Old English bowels of mercies means tender, deep-down compassion. Pairing it with humility and patience reminds us that understanding others usually takes time and a quiet ego.
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
Ephesians 4:32 (KJV)
Tenderhearted people feel what others feel, and the verse ties that tenderness to kindness and forgiveness. When we remember how much mercy we have received, it becomes easier to imagine why someone else has stumbled and to respond gently.
But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.
Matthew 9:36 (KJV)
Jesus looked past the crowd’s noise and saw weariness and confusion underneath. Bible verses about empathy begin with that kind of seeing. Before we speak, we ask what a person is carrying, and the answer changes the tone of everything that follows.
But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
Luke 10:33 (KJV)
The Samaritan came to where the wounded man was, both physically and emotionally. Empathy in this parable crosses a cultural wall and leads straight to action. The feeling matters, but it is completed by bandages, transport and payment.
So they sat down with him upon the ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.
Job 2:13 (KJV)
At their best, Job’s friends simply sat with him in silence. Their first week is a model of empathic presence: no arguments, no explanations, just company on the ground beside a suffering man. Their mistakes began only when they started talking.
I have heard many such things: miserable comforters are ye all.
Job 16:2 (KJV)
Job’s complaint is a warning. Comfort without empathy, full of theories and correction, feels like an added wound. Honest listeners will notice when their words are making someone feel less understood, and will learn to say less and listen more.
A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
Proverbs 17:17 (KJV)
True friends are measured by what they do when life turns hard. Adversity is when the Bible verses about empathy are tested, and this proverb honors the person who stays close, keeps calling and keeps showing up long after the first wave of sympathy has passed.
Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.
Philippians 2:4 (KJV)
Empathy requires a shift of attention. Paul asks us to look up from our own concerns and notice what others are facing. A short question, a patient pause or a remembered detail can show that someone else’s life matters to us.
Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 (KJV)
Comfort is described as a shared habit, something believers do together and mutually. Bible verses about empathy are not reserved for pastors or counselors; ordinary members can lift one another with kind words, steady encouragement and a willingness to listen.
The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
Psalms 34:18 (KJV)
God draws near to the broken hearted. If the Lord moves toward pain, then we can too. Among Bible verses about empathy, this one comforts those who are hurting and also shows those who want to help where to stand: close, and without hurry.
And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.
Luke 6:31 (KJV)
The Golden Rule puts Bible verses about empathy into a rule of conduct. To ask how I would want to be treated, I must first picture myself in the other person’s place, and that imaginative step is exactly what understanding another person requires.
And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.
1 Corinthians 12:26 (KJV)
Paul describes the church as a body in which pain and honor are shared. When a hand is hurt the whole body responds. A community with this kind of felt connection is the place where Bible verses about empathy grow most naturally.
The word empathy is modern, but the Bible is full of the reality. Bible verses about empathy do not appear under one label; they show up as compassion, pity, mercy, tenderheartedness and fellow feeling. When Scripture says to weep with those who weep, it is describing the same inner movement that psychologists now name: entering another person’s emotional world and letting it touch you.
It helps to separate empathy from nearby ideas. Sympathy can stay at a distance and say, I am sorry for you. Empathy steps closer and says, I am trying to feel what this is like for you. Compassion goes one step further and acts. The Bible holds all three together, and its picture of love is incomplete without any of them.
That is why a study of Bible verses about empathy rewards patient reading. You will find it in the Psalms, in the stories of Jesus, in the letters of Paul and Peter, and even in the awkward conversations of Job. Each shows a different side of what it means to feel with someone and then to respond well.
The clearest of all Bible verses about empathy is the shortest verse in the Bible. In John 11:35, standing near the tomb of Lazarus, Jesus wept. He was not helpless; he was about to call his friend out of the grave. Yet he did not hurry past the grief of Mary and Martha with a speech about what was coming.
This matters for anyone trying to live out Bible verses about empathy. Jesus shows that real understanding does not wait until a problem is solved. He entered the sorrow first. The tears were a form of respect, telling the sisters that their pain was real and that he took it seriously even though he knew the ending.
When you meet someone in grief, you can follow the same order. Be present, let your face and voice show that you are moved, and resist the urge to correct or explain. Solutions have their moment, but the Bible verses about empathy teach us that tears often come first.
Hebrews 4:15 is one of the most tender Bible verses about empathy in the New Testament. It says that Jesus is touched with the feeling of our infirmities, having been tempted in every way as we are. In other words, God has experienced human limitation from the inside, which is the strongest possible form of empathy.
This truth changes how we pray. We do not need to approach God with polished words, as though he could not understand our fear, tiredness or temptation. The next verse invites us to come boldly to the throne of grace. The invitation makes sense only because the one on the throne already knows what weakness feels like.
It also shapes how we treat others. If the holiest person who ever lived refused to look down on human frailty, we have no right to do so. Following Bible verses about empathy toward the struggling is not a lowering of standards; it is imitation of the high priest who understands.
Romans 12:15 gives the best known of all Bible verses about empathy: rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Notice that it has two halves. Empathy is not only for the sad. Sharing another person’s joy, without envy or comparison, is just as demanding and just as rare.
Many of us find one half easier than the other. Some people are quick to comfort in sorrow but struggle to celebrate a friend’s promotion or engagement. Others cheer well but grow uncomfortable around tears. A healthy habit is to notice which half comes harder to you and to practice it on purpose this week.
Paul places this command among Bible verses about empathy in a chapter about genuine love, right beside hospitality and blessing enemies. Empathy is therefore not a personality type but a spiritual discipline. It can be learned, strengthened and expressed by anyone willing to put another person’s feelings ahead of their own comfort.
Galatians 6:2 says, bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. The picture is of someone helping to lift a heavy load. Empathy that stays inside the heart is incomplete; Bible verses about empathy expect it to turn into shared weight, whether the burden is a hospital bill, a long night or a lonely season.
A few verses later Paul adds that each person must also carry their own load. There is no contradiction. Some loads are crushing and need shared hands, while others are everyday responsibilities. Wise empathy learns to tell the difference, helping without taking over and supporting without removing someone’s dignity.
If you are unsure how to bear a burden, begin by asking what would actually help. A meal, a ride, a phone call or an hour of listening may do more than advice. Pair this verse from the Bible verses about empathy with our page on Bible verses about helping others for more practical ways to carry what weighs on people.
In Luke 10, a traveler lies beaten beside the road. A priest and a Levite see him and pass by. A Samaritan, someone the injured man’s community would have despised, stops, comes close and has compassion on him. Among Bible verses about empathy, this parable turns empathy into a verb with bandages, oil, an inn and money.
What stands out is the way the Samaritan allowed himself to be interrupted. Living out Bible verses about empathy always costs time. It means being willing to stop, to get dirty and to rearrange a schedule. The priest and the Levite may have had good reasons, but the story gently suggests that good reasons are not the same as love.
If this parable speaks to you, explore our collection of Bible verses about compassion, where the same theme is traced through the Gospels and the Psalms. Empathy and compassion are close cousins, and each strengthens the other when we practice them together.
The book of Job offers a sobering study among Bible verses about empathy in how empathy can succeed and fail. When Job’s three friends first arrive, they weep, tear their robes, and sit with him on the ground for seven days without speaking. Scripture says they saw that his grief was very great. That silent week is some of the finest comfort in the Bible.
Then they begin to talk, and the trouble starts. They insist that Job must have sinned, they defend God with tidy theories, and they repeat arguments that do not fit his situation. Job finally calls them miserable comforters. Their error was replacing listening with explaining, and judging a suffering man instead of understanding him.
The lesson for modern readers is clear. When someone is hurting, resist the urge to supply reasons. Ask questions, reflect back what you hear and let silence do some of the work. The best Bible verses about empathy often describe presence rather than persuasion, and Job’s friends show what happens when we forget that.
Matthew 9:36, one of the key Bible verses about empathy, says that when Jesus saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion. The verb matters: he saw them. Before a hand is lifted, there must be attention. Jesus noticed that the people were weary and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd, and let that observation move his heart.
Most of us walk past dozens of people each day without truly seeing them. A coworker whose answers have grown short, a neighbor who no longer waves, a teenager who has gone quiet at the dinner table. Each is a small signal that something may be wrong. Empathy grows when we slow down enough to notice.
Try making attentiveness to Bible verses about empathy a prayer. Ask God to open your eyes to one person each day who needs understanding. You may be surprised by how quickly the opportunities appear. Empathy, in the Gospels, is rarely dramatic; it is usually the quiet decision to look carefully at someone when it would be easier to look away.
Second Corinthians 1:3-4 is a cornerstone among Bible verses about empathy. Paul says God comforts us in all our tribulation so that we may be able to comfort others with the same comfort. Our hardest seasons become training grounds for understanding. Those who have grieved can sit with the grieving more truthfully than those who have not.
This turns the way Bible verses about empathy teach us to view past pain. Instead of something to hide or forget, a painful chapter can become a bridge. A person who has walked through divorce, illness, unemployment or loss knows what words ring hollow and what presence actually helps. That knowledge is a gift God can use.
If you are in a hard season now, this passage offers hope. Your suffering is real, and it is also not the end of its own story. Visit our page on Bible verses about comfort for more promises that God’s care reaches you first, and then flows through you to others.
One of the most common mistakes in caring for others is rushing to fix. Someone shares a problem, and we immediately offer advice, a verse or a plan. Sometimes that is welcome, but often it signals discomfort with the other person’s pain. The Bible verses about empathy remind us that being with comes before doing for.
Notice that Jesus, in many Bible verses about empathy, asked questions before acting. He asked a blind man what he wanted, and he asked a paralyzed man whether he wished to be well. Those questions honored the person’s own voice. Empathy listens for what someone actually needs rather than assuming we already know.
A simple practice can help. Before offering advice, say something like, that sounds really hard, tell me more. Wait for the answer. If advice is wanted, it will be invited. This approach makes room for the Holy Spirit, who is called the Comforter, to work through patient listening rather than quick answers.
Among Bible verses about empathy, Ephesians 4:32 pairs three things: kindness, tenderheartedness and forgiveness. Empathy lives in the middle of that list. A tender heart feels what others feel, and kindness is the outward expression. Forgiveness follows naturally when we understand the pressures that lead people to behave badly.
Kindness without empathy can be shallow, the sort of politeness that never really notices anyone. Empathy without kindness can turn cold, understanding people only to analyze them. The Bible joins the two so that understanding becomes warmth, and warmth is informed by understanding.
Our collection of Bible verses about kindness is a helpful companion to this page. Reading both together shows that the Christian life invites us to feel deeply and to act gently. Small, consistent acts of kindness are often the most visible form that empathy takes in daily life.
Hebrews 13:3, another of the Bible verses about empathy, asks believers to remember those in prison as if bound with them, and those who suffer adversity as being in the same body. This is a deliberate exercise of imagination. It asks us to picture ourselves in the cell, in the hospital bed, or in the refugee line, and to let that picture soften our hearts.
Bible verses about empathy take suffering seriously and never ask us to hide from it. Psalm 34:18 tells us the Lord is near to the brokenhearted. Because God draws close to pain, those who follow him are invited to do the same, even when the situation is awkward, ugly or beyond our control.
For deeper reading, see our page on Bible verses about suffering, which explores how Scripture speaks into long illness, loss and injustice. Pairing that page with this one gives a fuller picture of how to stand beside people in their darkest hours without minimizing what they face.
Proverbs 17:17 says a friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. Friendship is where most of us first practice Bible verses about empathy. A good friend is not simply someone who enjoys our company on good days but someone who remains near when circumstances darken.
Practical empathy in friendship often looks small. It remembers the date of a hard anniversary, sends a short message before a medical appointment, or listens without checking a phone. Over years, these small gestures build the kind of trust that lets a person be honest about their struggles without fear of being judged.
If you want to grow in this area, read our page on Bible verses about friendship. It gathers more of Scripture’s wisdom on loyalty, honesty and presence. A friendship shaped by Bible verses about empathy becomes a place where both people feel safe and understood.
Families are where Bible verses about empathy are both most needed and most difficult. We see each other at our worst, and old habits can make us defensive. Colossians 3:12 tells us to put on mercy, kindness, humility, meekness and patience, language that suits a household where people are tired, busy and sometimes short with each other.
Parents can model empathy by naming feelings for their children, saying things like, I can see you are disappointed, before moving to correction. Spouses can practice it by asking about each other’s day and truly listening to the answer. Even a short, attentive conversation can lower the temperature of a hard evening.
Empathy at home also means admitting when we have been unkind. Apologizing sincerely is an act of understanding, because it acknowledges the other person’s hurt. Families that practice this build a rhythm of repair, and children raised in it learn what Bible verses about empathy look like long before they can quote them.
First Corinthians 12:26 is one of the Bible verses about empathy that describes the church as one body: if one member suffers, all suffer with it, and if one is honored, all rejoice. This is empathy as a community trait, not just a personal virtue. A congregation that feels together will notice absences, meet needs quickly and celebrate quietly achieved victories.
Practically, this can mean small groups where people can share honestly, meal teams for families in crisis, and visits for those who can no longer attend. It also means welcoming people whose stories differ from our own and resisting the temptation to gossip about those who are struggling.
Explore our pages on Bible verses about community and church unity to see how Scripture calls believers to share life together. Where Bible verses about empathy are practiced in a congregation, outsiders often sense something different, a warmth that cannot be manufactured.
The Samaritan in Luke 10 reminds us that Bible verses about empathy are tested most by difference. It is easy to feel for people who share our background, politics or habits. Bible verses about empathy push us to extend understanding across lines of nationality, class, age and belief, because every person bears God’s image and carries real pain.
This does not mean we agree with everything or abandon conviction. Jesus spoke truth clearly, yet he also ate with people others avoided and listened to their stories. Understanding why someone holds a view, or why they act as they do, is different from endorsing it, and it is usually the doorway to being heard.
A good habit is to ask honest questions of someone with a very different life and to listen without preparing a rebuttal. Philippians 2:4 asks us to look at the things of others. When we do, we often find that people are less strange and more human than the assumptions we first carried.
Anyone who has cared deeply for a sick relative or a friend in crisis knows that living out Bible verses about empathy can wear us out. Feeling with others costs energy, and the Bible does not pretend otherwise. Even Jesus withdrew to quiet places to pray, and he slept in a boat during a storm. Rest is part of a faithful life.
The way through is to remember that we are not the source of comfort. Second Corinthians 1:3 calls God the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. We are channels, not reservoirs. When we draw fresh comfort from him through prayer and Scripture, we have something to give that does not run dry.
If you are caring for someone long term, our page on Bible verses about caring for a sick parent offers specific encouragement. Setting boundaries, asking for help and taking breaks are not failures of empathy; they are ways of keeping it sustainable for the long road.
Bible verses about empathy are meant to be lived. Start with presence: put away distractions and give someone your full attention for ten minutes. Then try reflective listening, repeating back what you heard so the other person knows they were understood. These small habits mirror what Jesus did when he stopped and asked what people wanted.
Next, pay attention to timing. Sending a note a few weeks after a funeral, when the casseroles have stopped, can be more meaningful than words on the first day. Remember hard dates, check in after tests or interviews, and keep offers specific. Instead of saying, let me know if you need anything, offer to bring dinner on Thursday.
Finally, pray for the people God puts in front of you as you practice Bible verses about empathy. Prayer is empathy lifted to the One who understands perfectly. Our pages on Bible verses about encouragement and forgiveness can support you in this, offering words to share when hearts need lifting.
Empathy grows by repetition. Begin each morning with a short prayer asking God to make you tender toward the people you will meet. Read one of the Bible verses about empathy from this page, such as Romans 12:15, and let it shape your attitude. Ask yourself at day’s end where you listened well and where you rushed.
Over weeks, you will likely notice changes. You will pause before reacting, ask better questions and recognize pain that once went unseen. These changes rarely arrive by willpower alone. They come as the Holy Spirit softens the heart, and as we cooperate by choosing attention over distraction.
May the Bible verses about empathy gathered here help you become the kind of person others feel safe around. Come back to these passages when you are weary, share them with a friend who is hurting, and remember that the Savior who wept at a grave understands you, and sends you to understand others.
If this page on Bible verses about empathy has helped you, these related collections may be a good next step: Bible verses about compassion, Bible verses about kindness, Bible verses about comfort, Bible verses about grief, Bible verses about helping others, Bible verses about friendship, Bible verses about community, Bible verses about encouragement, Bible verses about supporting a friend, Bible verses about serving others.
To study these verses in more depth, try Bible Gateway, Bible Hub, Bible Study Tools, Blue Letter Bible.
Bible verses about empathy teach through commands and examples rather than the word itself. Romans 12:15 says to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep, and Hebrews 4:15 shows that Christ is touched by our weakness. Together they present empathy as feeling with others and responding in love.
The word empathy does not appear in the King James Version, but Bible verses about empathy are everywhere. Scripture uses words such as compassion, pity, tenderheartedness and mercy. Jesus weeping at the tomb of Lazarus in John 11:35 is one of the clearest pictures of empathy anywhere in the Bible.
Jesus lived out Bible verses about empathy by seeing people’s needs, being moved with compassion, and entering their sorrow. He wept with Mary and Martha, touched lepers, fed hungry crowds and listened to those others ignored. He also acted, so his understanding always led to healing, teaching or practical help.
Job’s friends comforted him well while they sat in silence for seven days. They failed when they began to explain his suffering and blame him. The lesson from these Bible verses about empathy is to listen first, avoid easy answers, and let presence speak. Compassion that judges quickly can become the opposite of comfort.
In Bible verses about empathy, empathy is feeling with a person, while compassion moves further into action to help. The Good Samaritan did both: he saw the wounded man, felt for him, and then bandaged him and paid for his care. Biblical love expects understanding to lead to helpful and sacrificial service.
To live out Bible verses about empathy, ask God to soften your heart, practice listening without interrupting, and notice people who are hurting. Read passages like Romans 12:15 and 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 regularly. Small steps, such as asking a follow-up question or sending a kind message, build empathy over time through consistent practice.
