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Bible verses for healing and sickness

Psalm 103:2-3 is where most people start: bless the LORD, my soul, who forgives all your sins, who heals all your diseases. James 5:14-15 is the passage about calling for the elders and praying over the sick. Both are below in full. So is the harder passage — 2 Corinthians 12:9 — where Paul asks three times for something to be taken away, and it isn't.

12 passages · World English Bible & King James · public domain

  1. Is any amongst you sick? Let him call for the elders of the assembly, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith will heal him who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. If he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.James 5:14-15 · World English Bible

    The practical instruction, and notice it's communal: the elders come to the sick person. Nothing is being asked of the patient.

    King James

    Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

  2. For I will restore health to you, and I will heal you of your wounds,” says the LORD, “because they have called you an outcast, saying, ‘It is Zion, whom no man seeks after.’”Jeremiah 30:17 · World English Bible

    I will restore health to you — said to a nation in ruins, which is the register this verse belongs in.

    King James

    For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the LORD; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after.

  3. Praise the LORD, my soul, and don’t forget all his benefits, who forgives all your sins, who heals all your diseases,Psalms 103:2-3 · World English Bible

    Forgiveness and healing named in one breath, as two halves of the same mercy.

    King James

    Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;

  4. But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought our peace was on him; and by his wounds we are healed.Isaiah 53:5 · World English Bible

    By his wounds we are healed. Read in context it's about a suffering servant bearing something on behalf of others.

    King James

    But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

  5. He said, “If you will diligently listen to the LORD your God’s voice, and will do that which is right in his eyes, and will pay attention to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I am the LORD who heals you.”Exodus 15:26 · World English Bible

    I am the LORD who heals you — spoken at a spring of bitter water made drinkable, three days into a desert.

    King James

    And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.

  6. The LORD will sustain him on his sickbed, and restore him from his bed of illness.Psalms 41:3 · World English Bible

    Sustained on the sickbed. Being held through it rather than lifted out — the verse that wears best in chronic illness.

    King James

    The LORD will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness.

  7. Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be healthy, even as your soul prospers.3 John 1:2 · World English Bible

    A greeting in a personal letter, wishing a friend health. Ordinary, warm, and not a formula.

    King James

    Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

  8. LORD my God, I cried to you, and you have healed me.Psalms 30:2 · World English Bible

    I cried to you and you healed me. A testimony after the fact, which is a different thing from a guarantee before it.

    King James

    O LORD my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.

  9. Heal me, O LORD, and I will be healed. Save me, and I will be saved; for you are my praise.Jeremiah 17:14 · World English Bible

    Heal me and I will be healed. A prayer, not a claim — the difference matters on a hard day.

    King James

    Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise.

  10. A cheerful heart makes good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.Proverbs 17:22 · World English Bible

    A cheerful heart as good medicine. An observation about bodies, not an instruction to perform cheerfulness.

    King James

    A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.

  11. He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Most gladly therefore I will rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest on me.2 Corinthians 12:9 · World English Bible

    Paul asked three times and was told no. Included deliberately, because leaving it out would be dishonest.

    King James

    And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

  12. Jesus went about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the Good News of the Kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness amongst the people.Matthew 4:23 · World English Bible

    Jesus healing every disease and sickness among the people. The plain record of what he did with his time.

    King James

    And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.

Read honestly

This page is likely to be read by someone who is ill, or sitting beside someone who is. So it's worth saying plainly: Scripture contains real promises of healing, and it also contains faithful people who were not healed. Paul asked three times and was told no. Timothy had a recurring stomach complaint and was advised to take something for it. Trophimus was left behind sick. The New Testament reports all of this without embarrassment.

Which means: if you are not healed, that is not a verdict on your faith. Anyone who tells you otherwise is adding something to the text that isn't in it, and doing real harm with it.

For praying over someone

James 5:14-15 is the practical instruction — call the elders, pray, anoint with oil. Notice it is a communal act, not a solo effort of belief. The sick person is not being asked to generate anything; other people come to them.

For the long haul

Psalm 41:3 — the LORD sustains him on his sickbed — is about being held through an illness rather than lifted out of it. For chronic illness, that verse tends to wear better than the dramatic ones. Proverbs 17:22 is the one about a cheerful heart being good medicine, and it is worth reading gently: it's an observation about the body and the spirit, not an instruction to perform cheerfulness for other people.

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For the morning of the results

The LORD will sustain him on his sickbed, and restore him from his bed of illness.

Psalm 41:3

Three months of waiting. This one is about being held through it, not lifted out.

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Questions

What is the best Bible verse for healing?

Psalm 103:2-3 — bless the LORD, my soul, who forgives all your sins, who heals all your diseases — is the most quoted. James 5:14-15 gives the practical instruction to call the elders of the church to pray over the sick. Psalm 41:3, about being sustained on a sickbed, suits long-term illness better.

Does the Bible promise that everyone will be healed?

No. Paul asked three times for a affliction to be removed and was told 'my grace is sufficient for you' (2 Corinthians 12:9). Timothy had a recurring ailment (1 Timothy 5:23) and Trophimus was left behind sick (2 Timothy 4:20). Not being healed is not presented as a failure of faith.

What Bible verse do you pray over someone who is sick?

James 5:14-15 is the passage that describes the practice itself. Psalm 103:2-3, Jeremiah 17:14 and Psalm 41:3 are commonly prayed aloud at a bedside.

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