Starting over means something ended, and usually not the way you'd have chosen. The Bible is full of people who had to begin again: Abraham leaving home, Israel leaving Egypt, Paul leaving his old life. These verses are about the next step.
A verse to start with
For starting over
Isaiah 43:18-19
Don’t remember the former things, and don’t consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing. It springs out now. Don’t you know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
World English Bible (WEB)
Why this fits
'Don't remember the former things' and 'I will do a new thing' were spoken to exiles who couldn't stop looking back at what they'd lost. God doesn't erase the past; he announces something new and asks, 'Don't you know it?' as if it's already sprouting. A way in the wilderness is exactly what starting over feels like.
7 verses for starting over
Isaiah 43:18-19
Don’t remember the former things, and don’t consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing. It springs out now. Don’t you know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
World English Bible (WEB) · Prophecy
'Don't remember the former things' and 'I will do a new thing' were spoken to exiles who couldn't stop looking back at what they'd lost. God doesn't erase the past; he announces something new and asks, 'Don't you know it?' as if it's already sprouting. A way in the wilderness is exactly what starting over feels like.
Lamentations 3:22-23
It is because of Yahweh’s loving kindnesses that we are not consumed, because his compassion doesn’t fail. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness.
World English Bible (WEB) · Poetry
'New every morning' is the line, and it comes from a book of grief. The writer has watched his city burn. Mercies that reset daily are what you need when a whole life doesn't reset at once. Starting over is mostly a series of mornings.
Philippians 3:13-14
Brothers, I don’t regard myself as yet having taken hold, but one thing I do: forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
World English Bible (WEB) · Letter (epistle)
Paul's own starting over. He'd built an entire identity that he then left behind. 'Forgetting the things which are behind' isn't amnesia; it's refusing to let the past be the thing that defines the direction. 'Stretching forward' is the posture of someone leaning into the next thing.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.
World English Bible (WEB) · Letter (epistle)
'The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.' This is about what happens when a person belongs to Christ, and it's the most complete starting-over statement in the Bible. If the thing you need to leave behind is a version of yourself, this is the verse.
Genesis 12:1
Now Yahweh said to Abram, Leave your country, and your relatives, and your father’s house, and go to the land that I will show you.
World English Bible (WEB) · Narrative
Abraham's story begins with leaving: country, relatives, father's house, destination unknown. He was seventy-five. Every major story in the Bible flows from this one act of starting over late and without a map. That's worth remembering if you feel too old or too unsure.
Psalm 40:1-2
I waited patiently for Yahweh. He turned to me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay. He set my feet on a rock, and gave me a firm place to stand.
World English Bible (WEB) · Psalm (poetry)
Out of the pit, out of the mud, feet set on rock. It's past tense, someone describing how a bad season ended. The order matters: he waited, God heard, then the lifting. Starting over often begins before you can see where you're standing.
Joshua 1:9
Haven’t I commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be dismayed, for Yahweh your God is with you wherever you go.
World English Bible (WEB) · Narrative
Joshua is starting over as leader of a whole nation, replacing Moses, with a river and hostile territory in front of him. 'Be strong and courageous' comes with 'God is with you wherever you go.' New beginnings are frightening; the promise is company, not ease.
Isaiah 43:18-19 ("I will do a new thing") and 2 Corinthians 5:17 ("all things have become new") are the two most people use. Lamentations 3:22-23 is about mercies renewing each morning.
Is there a Bible verse about starting over after failure?
Philippians 3:13-14 is Paul describing his own reset. Psalm 40:1-2 is a description of coming out of a pit.