A sympathy card is not the place to explain grief or fix it. The verse should sit quietly next to the loss. These are the ones that do, with wording that says less rather than more.
If you're writing to someone whose loss was sudden or traumatic, keep the verse short and the note shorter. Presence matters more than words.
For a sympathy card
Psalm 34:18
Yahweh is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit.
World English Bible (WEB)
'Yahweh is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit.' It doesn't explain the loss or promise it makes sense. It says God is near to exactly the state the person is in. That's why it's the best all-around sympathy verse.
Yahweh is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort; who comforts us in all our affliction, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, through the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
One line before the verse is usually enough.
Psalm 34:18
Yahweh is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit.
World English Bible (WEB) · Psalm (poetry)
'Yahweh is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit.' It doesn't explain the loss or promise it makes sense. It says God is near to exactly the state the person is in. That's why it's the best all-around sympathy verse.
Matthew 5:4
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
World English Bible (WEB) · Gospel (Jesus’ words and life)
'Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.' Seven words from Jesus. It doesn't rush the mourning; it blesses it, and promises comfort without a date. Fits any card. It's the second of the Beatitudes, spoken to a crowd, and it's unusual because it calls mourners blessed rather than unfortunate. For a card, that reframing is gentle and true without asking the grieving person to feel anything they don't.
Psalm 23:4
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
World English Bible (WEB) · Psalm (poetry)
'Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.' The traditional choice, read at most funerals. It names death plainly and answers it with presence, not explanation.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort; who comforts us in all our affliction, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, through the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
World English Bible (WEB) · Letter (epistle)
God 'comforts us in all our affliction.' Paul calls him 'the God of all comfort,' and the verse is honest that affliction is real. Good for a card because it's about comfort, not resolution. Paul wrote it after a season so hard he says he despaired of life. That's what makes it a credible sympathy verse. It comes from someone who was comforted in real affliction, not from a distance.
Revelation 21:4
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more. The first things have passed away.
World English Bible (WEB) · Apocalyptic vision
'He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more.' A verse about the end of grief, set in the future. Use it with someone who shares that hope; it's a promise about what's coming, not a claim about right now.
Psalm 147:3
He heals the broken in heart, and binds up their wounds.
World English Bible (WEB) · Psalm (poetry)
'He heals the broken in heart, and binds up their wounds.' One sentence, and the image is a physician bandaging. For a card, it says the wound is real and it's being tended. The psalm is about God gathering the scattered and naming the stars, and this line sits in the middle. It's brief enough to write by hand, and it makes no promise about timing, which is honest in the early days of grief.
John 14:1-3
Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many homes. If it weren’t so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and will receive you to myself; that where I am, you may be there also.
World English Bible (WEB) · Gospel (Jesus’ words and life)
'Don't let your heart be troubled... In my Father's house are many homes.' Jesus to his friends the night before he died. It's the traditional funeral reading for a reason: it's about a place prepared. Best for a family who'd want to hear it in Jesus' own words.
Psalm 34:18 fits almost any loss. Matthew 5:4 is the shortest. Psalm 23:4 is the traditional choice.
Keep it short: one sentence of sympathy, the verse with its reference, your name. Don't explain the loss or say it was for the best. Suggested wording is above.