40 Bible Verses About Widows

When we think about the challenges faced by widows, the Bible offers comfort, hope, and guidance. Widows hold a special place in God’s heart, and the Scriptures repeatedly remind us of His compassion for them. This post highlights 40 Bible verses about widows that reveal God’s love and care.

Throughout the Old and New Testaments, widows are mentioned as individuals in need of compassion and support, and believers are called to extend a helping hand. Let’s walk through these verses, discover their meaning, and reflect on how we can apply them in our lives today.

40 Bible Verses About Widows

Here are 40 Bible verses about widows, divided between the Old Testament (OT) and New Testament (NT).

Old Testament Bible Verses About Widows

Exodus 22:22-24 “Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry.”
Deuteronomy 10:18 “He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing.”
Deuteronomy 14:29 “So that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.”
Deuteronomy 16:11 “And rejoice before the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, the Levites in your towns, and the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows living among you.”
Deuteronomy 24:19-21 “When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.”
Deuteronomy 27:19 “Cursed is anyone who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow. Then all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’”
Job 29:13 “The blessing of the one ready to perish came upon me, and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.”
Psalm 68:5 “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.”
Psalm 146:9 “The Lord watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.”
Proverbs 15:25 “The Lord tears down the house of the proud, but he sets the widow’s boundary stones in place.”
Isaiah 1:17 “Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.”
Isaiah 10:1-2 “Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless.”
Jeremiah 7:6 “If you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm…”
Jeremiah 22:3 “This is what the Lord says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow…”
Zechariah 7:10 “Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.”

New Testament Bible Verses About Widows

Mark 12:40 “They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”
Mark 12:41-44 “Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, ‘Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.”
Luke 4:25-26 “I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time… Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon.”
Luke 7:12-15 “As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow… When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, ‘Don’t cry.”
Luke 18:3 “And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’”
Acts 6:1 “In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.”
Acts 9:39-41 “Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.”
1 Corinthians 7:8-9 “Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do.”
1 Timothy 5:3 “Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need.”
1 Timothy 5:4 “But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God.”
1 Timothy 5:5 “The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help.”
1 Timothy 5:9 “No widow may be put on the list of widows unless she is over sixty, has been faithful to her husband.”
1 Timothy 5:11 “As for younger widows, do not put them on such a list.”
James 1:27 “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”

How to Apply These Bible Verses About Widows in Daily Life

As followers of Christ, we are called to care for the vulnerable, including widows. Here are some practical ways to live out these Bible verses about widows:

Show Compassion: Listen to their needs and offer support—financial, emotional, or spiritual.
Advocate for Justice: Speak up against any injustice that widows face in your community.
Encourage Community: Invite them into your circles and help them feel valued and loved.
Pray for Widows: Pray for comfort, strength, and provision for widows who may be struggling.
Support Ministries: Partner with local or international ministries that care for widows through education, housing, or livelihood assistance.

Conclusion

The above Bible verses about widows reveal God’s deep concern, compassion, and provision for those who have lost their spouses. Widows are not forgotten in God’s kingdom; they are seen, loved, and defended.

If you are a widow, or know someone who is, let these verses be a source of comfort and hope. God has promised to be near to the brokenhearted and to uphold those in need. For churches and individuals alike, these Scriptures serve as a call to action to care for widows as God does.

Remember, God’s love and justice shine brightest in the way we treat those who are vulnerable. Let these Bible verses about widows guide your heart in prayer, ministry, and daily living.