Bible verses for someone in prison, and for their family
A surprising amount of the New Testament was written from a cell. Paul wrote Philippians, the most joyful letter in the Bible, while chained and awaiting a verdict. Joseph was in a pit and then a prison for years before anything changed. The Bible remembers prisoners, tells the church to visit them, and does not treat a sentence as the end of a person’s story. These verses are for the person inside, and for the family carrying it on the outside, who often get less sympathy than anyone.
If you are the family: the shame you feel is common and it is not yours. Prison Fellowship and similar ministries have programs for families, and children of incarcerated parents in particular need someone to say out loud that they did nothing wrong.
A verse to start with
For someone in prison, or their family
Philippians 1:12-14
Now I desire to have you know, brothers, that the things which happened to me have turned out rather to the progress of the Good News, so that it became evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my bonds are in Christ, and that most of the brothers in the Lord, being confident through my bonds, are more abundantly bold to speak the word of God without fear.
World English Bible (WEB)
Why this fits
Paul, in chains, to a church he loves: the things that happened to me have turned out for the progress of the Good News. He is not pretending prison is pleasant. He is saying it is not wasted. Written from custody, this is the most credible thing in the Bible about a sentence not being the end of usefulness.
7 verses for someone in prison, or their family
Philippians 1:12-14
Now I desire to have you know, brothers, that the things which happened to me have turned out rather to the progress of the Good News, so that it became evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my bonds are in Christ, and that most of the brothers in the Lord, being confident through my bonds, are more abundantly bold to speak the word of God without fear.
World English Bible (WEB) · Letter (epistle)
Paul, in chains, to a church he loves: the things that happened to me have turned out for the progress of the Good News. He is not pretending prison is pleasant. He is saying it is not wasted. Written from custody, this is the most credible thing in the Bible about a sentence not being the end of usefulness.
Hebrews 13:3
Remember those who are in bonds, as bound with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you are also in the body.
World English Bible (WEB) · Letter (epistle)
“Remember those who are in bonds, as bound with them.” A direct instruction to the church: don’t forget prisoners, and feel it as if it were you. For someone inside, this says you are supposed to be remembered. For the family, it is the verse to hand a church that has gone quiet.
Matthew 25:36
I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to me.’
World English Bible (WEB) · Gospel (Jesus’ words and life)
“I was in prison, and you came to me.” Jesus lists visiting prisoners among the things done to him personally. Whatever you did, the man in the visiting room is, by Jesus’ own words, someone worth a visit. And for the family who keeps making the drive: he counts it.
Genesis 50:20
As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to save many people alive, as is happening today.
World English Bible (WEB) · Narrative
Joseph, years after his brothers sold him and years after Potiphar’s prison, to those same brothers: “you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.” He does not say the prison was good. He says something came of it that he could not have seen from inside. It is a verse for later, and knowing it exists helps now.
Psalm 142:7
Bring my soul out of prison, that I may give thanks to your name. The righteous will surround me, for you will be good to me.
World English Bible (WEB) · Psalm (poetry)
“Bring my soul out of prison, that I may give thanks to your name.” David wrote this hiding in a cave, so the prison was his circumstances, but the words have been prayed in actual cells for three thousand years. It is a prayer you can say as written.
Luke 4:18
The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim release to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, to deliver those who are crushed,
World English Bible (WEB) · Gospel (Jesus’ words and life)
Jesus’ first sermon, quoting Isaiah: sent to proclaim release to the captives. Whatever your parole date, this is what he said he came for. Read it plainly; it is not only spiritual, and it is not only literal. It is both, and it was the first thing he said about his work.
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)
Near to the brokenhearted, and the crushed. For the wife at home, the mother who visits monthly, the kid who tells the school his dad is “away.” The family of a prisoner carries a shame that is not theirs and gets less sympathy than almost anyone. The verse does not ask what the sentence was for.
The one I’d leave out
Romans 13:1–4 (“the authorities are God’s servants”). Quoted at prisoners and their families as a reminder that the system is right. Whatever it means, it is not comfort, and the person has already been sentenced. Hebrews 13:3 is the verse the church is told to act on, not that one.
What to say with it
Write. A letter is the most valuable thing a person inside can receive, and most people stop writing after the first month.
To the family: “How are you doing? Not him. You.”
To a child with an incarcerated parent: “You didn’t do anything wrong, and your dad still loves you.”
Don’t ask what they did. If they want you to know, they’ll tell you.
How to use these verses
Philippians 1:12–14 for the person inside, with the reminder that Paul wrote it there. Psalm 142:7 as a prayer to say as written. Hebrews 13:3 to hand a church that has stopped calling. For the family, Psalm 34:18.
Want more than 7?
These are the ones I’d hand you first. The search covers every verse in the Bible and tells you why each one matched.
The Bible’s answer is not abstract: it includes a murderer (Moses), an adulterer who arranged a killing (David), a man who persecuted Christians to death (Paul), and a thief forgiven on the cross with hours to live. None of them earned it. Romans 8:1: there is now no condemnation for those in Christ. That is the whole answer.
How do I explain this to my kids?
Simply and truthfully, at their level, and with one sentence that they will need to hear many times: you did nothing wrong. Programs for children of incarcerated parents exist and are worth finding; the shame these kids carry is heavy and it is not theirs.
What verse can I write to someone in prison?
Philippians 1:12–14, with: “Paul wrote this in chains. Thinking of you, and I’ll write again next month.” Then write again next month.