Bible verses about

Bible Verses About Fear

12 verses · ESV & King James Version

Fear is not a spiritual failure. It is what a nervous system does when something matters and you cannot control it.

Which is worth saying, because “fear not” appears so often in the Bible that it can start to sound like a scolding — as though frightened people were being told off. Read the passages in context and it is the opposite. Almost every time it is said, it is said to someone with excellent reasons to be afraid, and it is said gently. To Joshua, inheriting a job he did not ask for. To Mary, handed a life she had not planned. To disciples in a boat taking on water.

“Fear not” is not “you should not feel that.” It is closer to “you are not alone in this, and it does not end the way you think it does.”

The verses below are the ones people come back to at 2am. Read one, then read it again slowly. The note underneath is there to help you hear what it actually says, rather than what fear tells you it says.

12 verses for when you need them

  1. fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

    Isaiah 41:10 ESV

    Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

    Isaiah 41:10 KJV

    Read it as four promises rather than one sentence: I am with you, I am your God, I will strengthen you, I will hold you. Fear usually only needs one of them at a time.

  2. for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

    2 Timothy 1:7 ESV

    For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

    2 Timothy 1:7 KJV

    Fear is described as something you were not given. Whatever it is, it did not come from God, and it does not get to decide what you are capable of.

  3. 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.

    Psalm 23:4 ESV

    Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

    Psalm 23:4 KJV

    Notice it says through the valley, not around it. The promise is company in the dark place, not a detour around it.

  4. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

    Joshua 1:9 ESV

    Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.

    Joshua 1:9 KJV

    Said to a man taking over from Moses with a nation watching. Courage is commanded here precisely because the situation genuinely warranted fear.

  5. The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

    Psalm 27:1 ESV

    The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

    Psalm 27:1 KJV

    Two questions with no answer expected. When you can name who God is to you, the list of things to dread gets noticeably shorter.

  6. Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”

    Deuteronomy 31:6 ESV

    Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

    Deuteronomy 31:6 KJV

    Most fear is really the fear of being left alone with something. This addresses that directly: he will not fail you, nor forsake you.

  7. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

    1 John 4:18 ESV

    There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

    1 John 4:18 KJV

    A striking claim — love and fear cannot occupy the same space indefinitely. If you are afraid of God, you have not yet met the God described here.

  8. When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.

    Psalm 56:3 ESV

    What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.

    Psalm 56:3 KJV

    Written from Gath, where David had been seized while fleeing Saul. He does not claim he stopped being afraid. He says what he does when he is. Far more usable than pretending.

  9. But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

    Isaiah 43:1-2 ESV

    But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.

    Isaiah 43:1-2 KJV

    Not if you pass through the waters, but when. Scripture assumes hard things will come, and promises company rather than exemption.

  10. The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe.

    Proverbs 29:25 ESV

    The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.

    Proverbs 29:25 KJV

    Names a fear most people carry quietly: what others will think. It calls that a snare — something that catches you and holds you in place.

  11. The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?

    Psalm 118:6 ESV

    The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?

    Psalm 118:6 KJV

    Short enough to memorise today, and it works as a reply when your mind starts listing everything that could go wrong.

  12. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.

    Matthew 10:29-31 ESV

    Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.

    Matthew 10:29-31 KJV

    The argument runs from small to large. If God notices a sparrow falling, the question is not whether he notices you — it is whether you believe you are worth more than a bird.

One practical thing: memorise a verse. Not twelve — one. Fear rarely arrives while you are sitting down with a Bible open. It arrives in a car park, a waiting room, or at 3am, and what you have committed to memory is what you will actually have with you. Psalm 56:3 is one short line and does most of the work.

And if what you are carrying is not ordinary fear — if it is panic attacks, a dread that will not lift, or fear tied to something that was done to you — please tell a doctor or a counsellor as well as telling God. Courage sometimes looks like making that appointment.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the King James Version, which is in the public domain. Scripture quotations marked ESV are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.