Each of the Bible verses about favor below is quoted word for word from the King James Version, followed by a short, original reflection.
For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.
Psalms 5:12 (KJV)
Among the Bible verses about favor, David pictures favor as a shield that surrounds the whole person, not a single lucky event. The righteous are those who trust God, and around them he places a protective goodwill. It is a verse for anyone who feels exposed and needs to remember who stands guard.
For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
Psalms 30:5 (KJV)
This is one of the Bible verses about favor that sets a moment of discipline beside a lifetime of kindness. Sorrow is real, but it is a night, not a home. God’s favor is where life is lived, which is why many read it at the end of a long and painful season.
And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.
Luke 2:52 (KJV)
In the Bible verses about favor, even the boy Jesus grew steadily, in mind, body, relationship with the Father and standing among people. The verse shows that favor and ordinary growth go together. It invites us to value patient, balanced development over sudden leaps and shortcuts.
Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
Proverbs 3:3-4 (KJV)
Among the Bible verses about favor, Solomon links favor to character: mercy and truth carried so closely they are worn like jewelry and written on the heart. The promise is a general pattern of trust and good standing, not a guarantee, and it asks us to be kind and honest together.
And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
Luke 1:30 (KJV)
In one of the Bible verses about favor, the angel calms Mary before announcing anything else. Favor here is not praise for her accomplishments but God’s gracious choice of a humble young woman. It teaches that being favored often arrives with great responsibility and a call to trust.
But the LORD was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
Genesis 39:21 (KJV)
In these Bible verses about favor, Joseph is in a cell through no fault of his own, yet the text says the LORD was with him. Favor did not remove the prison; it gave him a place of trust inside it. God’s goodwill can meet us in the hardest rooms.
And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti.
Esther 2:17 (KJV)
Among the Bible verses about favor, Esther’s rise looks like a palace story, yet the book later shows that her position was given for a purpose. Favor placed her where she could one day protect her people. It is a reminder that influence is a trust, not a trophy.
For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
Psalms 84:11 (KJV)
Among the Bible verses about favor, sun and shield together describe light and protection. The promise that no good thing is withheld is tied to walking uprightly, and it is God who defines what is good. This verse steadies readers who wonder why some prayers wait.
For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD.
Proverbs 8:35 (KJV)
Wisdom herself speaks in these Bible verses about favor, and the pairing is striking: finding wisdom means finding life, and with life comes the Lord’s favor. The verse suggests that favor follows a settled desire to know and follow God’s ways, rather than a hunt for results.
A good man obtaineth favour of the LORD: but a man of wicked devices will he condemn.
Proverbs 12:2 (KJV)
Proverbs often speaks in contrasts, and its Bible verses about favor are no exception, and this one sets the good man beside the schemer. It describes how God tends to deal with integrity and with deceit across a lifetime, and it encourages quiet, honest living even when scheming seems to pay.
For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour unto them.
Psalms 44:3 (KJV)
In one of the Bible verses about favor, the psalmist remembers Israel’s history and refuses to credit human strength. The land came because God delighted in his people. The verse is an antidote to pride, teaching us to trace our blessings back to a favor we did not earn.
And the LORD said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name.
Exodus 33:17 (KJV)
In one of the Bible verses about favor, after the golden calf, Moses pleads for God’s presence, and God answers with personal favor: I know thee by name. Favor here is relationship, not a transaction. Being known by name by the Almighty is the heart of what favor means.
But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.
Genesis 6:8 (KJV)
In a world described as corrupt, one man found grace. The sentence is short, yet it opens the story of the ark. Noah’s obedience followed his favor, not the other way round, which is how Scripture often tells the order of things.
The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
Numbers 6:25-26 (KJV)
Part of the ancient priestly blessing and among the Bible verses about favor, these lines picture God’s face shining and lifted toward his people. That is favor in its warmest sense: the smile of a Father. It is a lovely benediction to read over family, friends or yourself.
He that diligently seeketh good procureth favour: but he that seeketh mischief, it shall come unto him.
Proverbs 11:27 (KJV)
Among the Bible verses about favor, favor is tied to what we pursue. Those who go looking for good, for others and for justice, tend to find goodwill, while those who hunt trouble find it. The proverb is a call to aim our daily energy at things that build up.
Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favour her, yea, the set time, is come.
Psalms 102:13 (KJV)
In these Bible verses about favor, God has a set time, and the psalmist waits for it. The verse speaks to people in long exile or long waiting, assuring them that God’s favor has a calendar even when we cannot see it. Patience becomes confident hope, not resignation.
And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
Luke 1:28 (KJV)
Among the Bible verses about favor, the greeting to Mary pairs highly favoured with the Lord is with thee. Favor and presence travel together. The same pairing appears for Joseph in prison, and both stories show that God’s nearness, not comfort, is the true sign of favor.
And delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house.
Acts 7:10 (KJV)
In these Bible verses about favor, Stephen summarizes Joseph’s journey in one sentence, and notice that favor arrives joined to wisdom. God delivered him through his afflictions rather than around them. The verse gives a long view of a life that looked ruined and became a rescue.
LORD, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled.
Psalms 30:7 (KJV)
In this entry among the Bible verses about favor, David admits that he felt strong while favor was upon him, and shaken when God seemed hidden. It is an honest verse about spiritual dependence. Our mountains stand because of God’s goodwill, not our own stability, and we feel it when it seems withdrawn.
Surely he scorneth the scorners: but he giveth grace unto the lowly.
Proverbs 3:34 (KJV)
This proverb is one of the Bible verses about favor, a warning and a promise. Arrogance closes the hand of God, while humility opens it. It is one of the clearest statements that favor flows toward people who know they need it and ask for it without pretense.
When people search for Bible verses about favor, they often hope for a promise that doors will open, bosses will be kind and money will arrive. Scripture does speak of favor in the sight of rulers and neighbors, but the deeper meaning is far richer. Favor is the goodwill of God, the look of welcome on the face of the one who made us.
In the King James Version the word is usually spelled favour, and it appears across the Law, the Prophets, the Gospels and the Epistles. It can describe how God regards a person, how a king regards a servant, or how a community regards a respected neighbor. Reading each case in context keeps us from forcing one meaning onto every one of the Bible verses about favor.
The simplest definition is this: favor is the welcome of someone more powerful toward someone who could never demand it. That is why favor and grace are so close in the Bible. Each page about favor is really a page about a generous God, and the verses that follow should be read with that generosity in mind.
Behind the English word in these Bible verses about favor are several original terms, and a short look at them helps. The Hebrew word chen, often translated grace or favour, pictures a kindly bending toward someone. When Noah and Moses are said to find grace in the eyes of the LORD, it is chen that describes the bending of God’s attention toward them.
Another Hebrew word, ratson, means pleasure, acceptance or delight, and it appears when the psalmist speaks of the time to favour Zion. It carries the sense of a welcome that has been decided. Together these words show that, in the Old Testament Bible verses about favor, favor is relational: it is about a face turned toward you, not an object handed over.
In the New Testament the Greek word charis, usually grace, is used in Luke 2:52 and Luke 1:30 for favor. Mary is called kecharitomene, one who has been graced. This overlap explains why a study of Bible verses about favor soon leads into the grace of God, and it is why we link readers to our verses about God’s grace as a companion study.
A tempting mistake in reading the Bible verses about favor is to treat favor as a paycheck for being good. Some of the Bible verses about favor, such as Proverbs 12:2, do connect favor with a good life, and it is true that integrity tends to lead to good standing. But Scripture never presents favor as something that can be purchased by effort. Noah, Moses and Mary were each chosen before they accomplished anything.
Paul makes the point plainly in a text beside the Bible verses about favor: we are saved by grace through faith, and that not of ourselves. If the highest favor of all, forgiveness, is a gift, then lesser favors cannot be a wage. When we serve God, we respond to goodwill we already have, and we do not work to get it. That reorders everything about how we pray and live.
This does not make behavior irrelevant to the Bible verses about favor. Proverbs 3:3-4 and Proverbs 11:27 show that mercy, truth and the pursuit of good shape the kind of life where favor is recognized. But the order matters: favor first, then fruit. A reader who gets this order right can rest, because the welcome of God is not renewed every morning by performance.
Psalm 5, one of the Bible verses about favor, is a morning prayer in which David asks for guidance while enemies surround him. He ends with confidence: God will bless the righteous and compass them with favour as with a shield. The shield was a large piece of military equipment, and the image tells us favor is protective as well as warm.
Note the word compass, meaning to surround. A shield held on one side leaves the other open, but favor that compasses covers every direction. David is not claiming he has no troubles; the whole psalm is about trouble. He is claiming that the troubled are never outside the circle of God’s goodwill.
Practical readers can use this one of the Bible verses about favor in two ways. When anxious, they can picture themselves surrounded by a shield of favor and pray the verse aloud. When tempted to resentment, they can remember that the same shield covers the righteous in every place, and not only themselves. It is among the most comforting of all Bible verses about favor.
Psalm 30:5, among the Bible verses about favor, sets two measures side by side: a moment of anger and a lifetime of favour. The psalm was written for the dedication of a house and recalls a brush with death. David has been lifted from the pit and wants everyone to know that suffering was brief and mercy was long.
The phrase in his favour is life tells us what favor does. It does not merely decorate existence; it sustains it. Weeping lasts for a night, a term that suggests a definite end. The morning is promised, though the night can be long, and the psalm gives a poet’s patience to anyone sitting in the dark.
Among Bible verses about favor, this is one of the best loved because it gives grief a limit without denying that grief is real. Many people write the verse on a card during loss. It does not say the night is easy. It says the morning belongs to the LORD, and that his favor is the language of dawn.
Luke 2:52, one of the Bible verses about favor, closes the only story we have of Jesus between his birth and ministry. The boy has been in the temple, and Luke summarizes eighteen quiet years in one verse: he increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man. It is a surprisingly human sentence about the Son of God.
Notice the four directions of growth in this entry of the Bible verses about favor: mind, body, God and neighbors. Favor with God and favor with people are placed side by side, which suggests that a life oriented toward the Father will naturally become a life that is welcome among others. This is a pattern, not a formula, since Jesus was later rejected by many.
For parents, teachers and young people, this verse is a template for healthy growth. It reminds us that wisdom, health, spiritual life and relationships are meant to develop together. A child who is encouraged in all four areas is being prepared for the kind of favor Luke describes, one that rests on character and is not built on flattery.
Proverbs 3, a source of the Bible verses about favor, is a father’s counsel to a son, and verses 3 and 4 name two qualities to carry everywhere: mercy and truth. Bind them about the neck, write them on the table of the heart. The result is favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. It is a promise in the style of proverbs, describing how life generally goes.
Mercy and truth must travel together, as the Bible verses about favor teach. Truth without mercy becomes harsh, and mercy without truth becomes weak. Reputation in a family, workplace or church is built slowly by people who tell the truth kindly and show kindness honestly. Such people are trusted, and trust is the most reliable form of favor among humans.
If you are looking for practical steps, begin with these: keep your word, speak gently, admit mistakes quickly and help without announcing it. None of these guarantees a promotion, and the proverb does not claim to. But among Bible verses about favor, this passage shows the daily habits that make a person welcome wherever they go. Our collection on Bible verses about wisdom explores this further.
Joseph’s story among the Bible verses about favor begins with favor of an odd kind: a coat from his father, and the hatred of his brothers. Sold into slavery, falsely accused and imprisoned, he seems to have lost everything. Yet Genesis 39 repeats one sentence like a refrain: the LORD was with Joseph. Favor is defined by presence, not by comfort.
In Genesis 39:21 the LORD shewed him mercy and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison. The keeper had no reason to trust a foreign prisoner, but he did. Joseph worked faithfully in a place designed to forget him, and the result was responsibility and a reputation for integrity.
This is a vital correction to shallow ideas about the Bible verses about favor. Joseph was favored in prison, not delivered from it for years. If we assume favor must remove every difficulty, we will conclude that we have lost it whenever we suffer. The prison chapters teach that God’s goodwill can accompany us through unjust things and still be fully real.
After the years in prison, as the Bible verses about favor recount, Joseph was brought before Pharaoh and elevated to governor. Stephen later says in Acts 7:10 that God gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh. Favor and wisdom are joined again, showing that his promotion rested on competence and discernment as well as on God’s goodwill.
What did Joseph do with his position? He prepared Egypt for famine and fed nations, including his own family who had wronged him. Favor did not become a platform for revenge or luxury. It became stewardship. He tells his brothers that God meant it for good, to save many people alive, which is the purpose of every real blessing.
For anyone who has received a promotion, an opportunity or a position of influence, Joseph’s story asks a question: who will be helped because I was favored? The most faithful reading of Bible verses about favor always moves from receiving to serving. Our page on trusting God pairs well with this story of long waiting.
Among the Bible verses about favor, Esther was an orphaned Jewish girl brought into the Persian king’s household. In Esther 2:17 the king loved her above all the women and she obtained grace and favour in his sight. On the surface it reads like a pageant. Yet the author deliberately avoids naming God in the book, inviting us to see his hand behind circumstances.
The turning point comes when Mordecai tells Esther that she may have come to the kingdom for such a time as this. Her favor was not for comfort but for courage. She risked her life by approaching the king uninvited, and again found favor, in Esther 5, when he extended the golden scepter.
Esther teaches, among the Bible verses about favor, that favor can be hidden and ordinary, and that it often looks like timing, relationships and open doors. It also teaches that the right response is courage and not complacency. If you ever feel you have been placed somewhere for a reason, her story is a fine companion among the Bible verses about favor.
In Luke 1:28, among the Bible verses about favor, the angel Gabriel greets Mary as highly favoured and tells her the Lord is with her. A few lines later, in Luke 1:30, he says she has found favour with God. Mary is troubled by the greeting, which shows she did not see herself as someone important. Her humility is part of the story.
Mary’s favor looked like an impossible assignment: a pregnancy before marriage, gossip, a journey, and eventually the pain of watching her son die. Yet her answer, behold the handmaid of the Lord, shows a willing heart. Favor, in her case, was permission to participate in God’s great plan at personal cost.
This is why reading Bible verses about favor requires care. Mary was truly favored, and her life was not easy. She is called blessed by all generations, yet that blessing is bound up with sorrow, as Simeon had told her. For readers, the lesson is that being chosen by God is a calling, and it comes with his promise of presence.
The phrase found grace in the eyes of the LORD appears at key moments in the Bible verses about favor in the Old Testament. Noah found grace in Genesis 6:8, before the flood. Moses was told in Exodus 33:17 that he had found grace in God’s sight and was known by name. Gideon, Hannah and David each experience the same welcome.
What do these figures share? None were perfect. Noah was later found drunk, Moses killed a man, and David committed grievous sins. Yet each walked with God in a way that kept the relationship alive. Their favor was not sinlessness but a living friendship with a forgiving God.
The hopeful message is that favor is available to people with ordinary flaws. When you read these Bible verses about favor, notice that being known by name is the climax. God does not simply tolerate Moses; he knows him personally. If you want to know how this is possible for sinners, read our study of God’s mercy.
Favor, grace and blessing overlap in Scripture and in the Bible verses about favor, but they are not identical. Grace is the undeserved kindness of God that rescues and forgives. Favor is his welcome and goodwill toward a person or people. Blessing is the concrete good that flows from that welcome: protection, provision, joy and peace. Seeing the difference prevents confusion.
Think of a host welcoming a guest, a picture that helps with the Bible verses about favor. Grace is the invitation given to someone who did not deserve it. Favor is the warmth with which the host receives the guest at the door. Blessing is the meal and the bed prepared inside. All three come from the same generous heart, and all three are shown across the Bible verses about favor on this page.
If you want to explore each separately, our pages on Bible verses about blessings and Bible verses about grace cover the neighboring themes. Together with this page they give a rounded picture. Favor remains the most relational of the three, because it speaks of how God regards us before he gives us anything.
Some teaching promises that if you declare favor over your life, God must give you wealth, promotions and parking spaces. This is not what the Bible verses about favor say. The same Scripture that praises Joseph’s favor shows him in chains, and the same Gospel that calls Mary highly favoured tells of her sorrow. Favor is not a guarantee of ease.
In studying the Bible verses about favor, note that the apostle Paul, who knew grace better than most, wrote of hunger, shipwreck and prison. Jesus himself had nowhere to lay his head. If favor meant an easy, wealthy life, these would be failures of favor. Instead they show that God’s welcome is compatible with hardship, and that his presence is the real treasure.
None of this makes it wrong to ask God for help with work, health or needs. Jesus taught us to pray for daily bread. It means we hold our requests with open hands, ready to receive what he gives and to trust him when he withholds. If you want a broader look at material needs, see our page on Bible verses about provision.
Several Bible verses about favor concern how people regard us. Proverbs 3:4 speaks of favour in the sight of man, Luke 2:52 of Jesus growing in favour with man, and Acts 2:47 of the early church having favour with all the people. A good reputation is treated in Scripture as a real gift and a mark of wise living.
But human favor is never the highest goal in the Bible verses about favor. Jesus warned that woe comes when all men speak well of you, because popularity can be bought by flattering lies. Daniel and Joseph earned respect because they refused to compromise, even when it cost them. True favor with people tends to follow integrity, not performance.
Practically, this means being consistent in public and private, kind to those who can do nothing for you, and careful with your words. A reputation for reliability is built in small moments. If you want to grow in this, the verses collected in our study of Bible verses about kindness are an excellent next step.
Everyone eventually asks whether God’s favor has left them, and the Bible verses about favor answer honestly. A job is lost, a prayer goes unanswered, a diagnosis arrives. Psalm 30:7 speaks to this: when God hid his face, David was troubled. Scripture honestly admits that there are seasons when his goodwill is not felt, and it does not scold the sufferer for asking.
Yet the same psalm ends in dancing instead of mourning. The pattern in the Bible is that hiding is temporary and purposeful. Psalm 102:13 speaks of a set time to favour Zion. Waiting is therefore not evidence of rejection but part of the story, and God’s silence does not equal his absence.
If you are in such a season, hold on to the facts: Christ has been received by the Father, and you are accepted in him. Feelings may fluctuate, but that standing does not. Tell God honestly how you feel, as the psalmists did, and read slowly through our page on patience in waiting while you wait.
Among the Bible verses about favor, Proverbs 3:34 says that God giveth grace unto the lowly. James and Peter later quote it. The consistent teaching is that pride blocks favor because it assumes we do not need it. A person who thinks they are self-made rarely asks for anything, and so rarely notices what they have been given.
Biblical humility is not self-hatred. It is seeing oneself truthfully: created, loved, dependent and gifted. Mary was humble and also confident enough to say yes to the angel. Moses was called the meekest man on earth and also led a nation. Humility makes room for grace, and grace then does extraordinary things through ordinary people.
To practice this, thank God specifically each day for gifts you did not earn, celebrate other people’s success, and be quick to admit what you do not know. Our page on Bible verses about humbleness offers further passages for meditation. In the family of Bible verses about favor, humility is the posture that welcomes everything else.
Is it right to pray for favor after reading the Bible verses about favor? Yes, as long as we pray like children and not like negotiators. The priestly blessing in Numbers 6:25-26 asks that the LORD make his face shine upon us and be gracious. Nehemiah prayed that God would grant him mercy in the sight of the king. These are requests, not demands.
A healthy prayer for favor might sound like this: Lord, you have shown me your kindness in Christ. Please let your goodwill rest on this meeting, this decision, this family. Whatever the outcome, help me to be faithful and to thank you. The prayer asks for help and also surrenders results, which is the opposite of bargaining.
Notice also what Nehemiah did next. He prepared, planned and worked, while praying. Prayer for favor is not an alternative to wisdom and effort. It is the humble acknowledgement that effort cannot guarantee anything unaided. Using Bible verses about favor in prayer, such as Psalm 5:12, gives our words a scriptural shape and our hearts a firm place to rest.
How can ordinary readers live in the favor the Bible verses about favor describe? Begin with gratitude, because it is the natural response to a welcome. Take two minutes each morning to thank God for the kindness already shown to you, naming specific things. A thankful heart notices favor that an anxious heart passes over.
Next, practice the habits that Proverbs praises: honesty, kindness, diligence and humility. These do not earn God’s welcome, but they fit the shape of a life that already has it. Work as unto the Lord, treat people fairly, forgive quickly and give generously. Over time such a life is trusted and welcomed by others.
Finally, remember that favor is meant to be passed on. Joseph fed nations, Esther saved her people and Mary bore the Savior. Ask each week how you can use your position or opportunities to bless someone else. The most meaningful application of Bible verses about favor is to become a source of welcome to others. See also our study of God’s faithfulness.
Scripture, especially the Bible verses about favor, works best when it is memorized and revisited. Choose one verse from this page, perhaps Psalm 5:12 or Psalm 30:5, and write it on a card. Read it at breakfast, say it while you walk and repeat it before sleep. After two weeks you will find it rising to your mind when you need it.
Journaling with the Bible verses about favor can deepen the habit. Write the verse at the top of a page, then answer three questions: what does this tell me about God, what does it ask of me, and who needs to hear it? Answers to the last question often become texts, notes or cards for friends who need encouragement.
You can also share these Bible verses about favor with family. Read one at the dinner table, discuss the story behind it and let children ask questions. Pray the verses over your home. When used this way, the passages stop being decorations and become daily bread, feeding faith slowly and steadily, much as Luke describes for the boy Jesus.
If these Bible verses about favor encouraged you, continue your study with these related collections: Bible verses about God’s grace, Bible verses about grace, Bible verses about blessings, Bible verses about God’s mercy, Bible verses about God’s faithfulness, Bible verses about God’s protection, Bible verses about God’s promises, Bible verses about kindness, Bible verses about provision, Bible verses about humbleness.
To study these verses in more depth, try Bible Gateway, Bible Hub, Bible Study Tools, Blue Letter Bible.
In the Bible verses about favor, favor means the goodwill, welcome and kindness of God toward a person, or sometimes of a ruler or community toward someone. It is closely related to grace. The King James Version spells it favour, and it describes how God regards those he loves, not merely what he gives them.
They overlap but are not identical. Grace is God’s undeserved kindness that forgives and rescues, while favor is his welcome and goodwill toward people. Blessing is the good that results. In Hebrew and Greek the same words often cover both, which is why many Bible verses about favor also speak of grace.
No. Scripture shows that Noah, Moses and Mary were favored before they achieved anything, and that salvation itself is a gift of grace through faith. Good character, as Proverbs teaches, fits the life of someone already welcomed by God, but it never purchases his love or acceptance.
Not necessarily. Among the Bible verses about favor, Joseph was favored in prison, and Mary was highly favoured yet knew sorrow. Favor is God’s presence and goodwill, which may bring open doors, but it is not a promise of ease or riches. Seeking God himself, instead of his gifts, is the safer reading of Scripture.
Psalm 5:12 is a popular choice: with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield. Numbers 6:25-26 and Proverbs 3:3-4 are also well suited to prayer. Pray them as humble requests rather than demands, and trust God with the outcome as well as the asking.
Begin by trusting that you are already welcomed through Christ. Then cultivate the habits of Proverbs 3: mercy, truth, humility and diligence. Jesus grew in favour with God and man through steady, balanced growth, and ordinary faithfulness is still the most reliable path to good standing among people.
