Free printable: Scripture for someone who is grieving

What’s on it

For the first weeks

• Psalm 34:18 — Near to the brokenhearted. It asks nothing of the person but being broken, which is where they are.
• John 11:35 — Jesus wept at a tomb he was about to empty. Grief is not a failure of faith; it is the right response to loss.
• Matthew 5:4 — Blessed are those who mourn. Jesus doesn’t tell them to stop, and he doesn’t say when the comfort comes.

For the mornings

• Lamentations 3:22-23 — New every morning, written in a burned city. Not a promise the day will be good; a promise you weren’t abandoned in the night.
• Psalm 30:5 — Weeping may stay for the night. The night can be long. Someone who has been through one says it ends.

For later, when they are ready

• 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 — The God of all comfort, from a man who needed comforting and got it. Eventually, their grief will be what someone else needs. Not yet.
• Revelation 21:4 — Every tear wiped away. Offer it once, quietly, and let them decide when.

What to say

• “I don’t have anything wise to say. I loved her too.”
• Say the name. People in grief say the worst part is when everyone stops saying it.
• “I’m dropping dinner on the porch Tuesday. No need to answer the door.”
• In three weeks, when it’s quietest, send one line: “Thinking of you today. No reason.”

How to use it

Choose one passage and keep it for a month rather than reading all seven. If you’re sending one, Psalm 34:18 and one honest sentence is enough. Romans 8:28 is true and it is the wrong verse for fresh grief; save it for the one-year mark.

One of the passages, in full

Near to the brokenhearted. It asks nothing of the person but being broken, which is where they are.