50 Powerful Bible Verses for Widows

The Bible is filled with messages of God’s care for widows, highlighting His compassion and justice. Psalm 68:5 says, “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling” (NIV). This verse beautifully captures the nature of God as a protector and provider for those in need, especially widows. 

50 Powerful Bible Verses for Widows

Here are 50 Bible verses for widows that can provide strength, guidance, and peace during challenging times.

1. Exodus 22:22-24 (NIV)

“Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry.”

• This verse emphasizes God’s deep concern for widows, ensuring that they are not mistreated. God hears their cries and responds with justice.

2. Deuteronomy 10:18 (NIV)

“He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing.”

• God’s provision for widows is clear here, showing His love in tangible ways like food and clothing.

3. Psalm 146:9 (NIV)

“The Lord watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.”

• This verse reassures widows that God is watching over them, sustaining them in their trials.

4. Isaiah 1:17 (NIV)

“Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.”

• This passage calls on others to defend and protect widows, reflecting God’s heart for justice.

5. Jeremiah 22:3 (NIV)

“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, and do not shed innocent blood in this place.”

• The Bible urges action on behalf of widows, promoting justice and kindness toward them.

6. 1 Timothy 5:3 (NIV)

“Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need.”

• The early church is instructed to care for widows, ensuring that their needs are met.

7. James 1:27 (NIV)

“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.”

• Caring for widows is highlighted as a vital part of a faithful Christian life.

8. Luke 18:1-8 (NIV)

This parable of the persistent widow teaches the importance of persistent prayer and faith in God’s justice.

9. 1 Kings 17:10-16 (NIV)

This passage tells the story of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath, where God miraculously provides for her and her son during a famine.

10. Mark 12:41-44 (NIV)

The story of the widow’s offering teaches about sacrificial giving, where Jesus praises a poor widow for giving all she had.

11. Ruth 1:16-17 (NIV)

“But Ruth replied, ‘Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.'”

• Ruth’s devotion as a widow to her mother-in-law Naomi shows faithfulness and trust in God’s plan.

12. Psalm 68:5 (NIV)

“A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.”

• God is a protector and defender of widows, offering them security in His care.

13. 1 Timothy 5:5 (NIV)

“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.”

• Widows are encouraged to put their trust in God, who will not abandon them.

14. Proverbs 15:25 (NIV)

“The Lord tears down the house of the proud, but he sets the widow’s boundary stones in place.”

• This verse emphasizes God’s protection over the property and rights of widows.

15. Deuteronomy 14:29 (NIV)

“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.”

• This verse encourages the community to provide for widows, ensuring their needs are met.

16. Zechariah 7:10 (NIV)

“Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.”

• God’s people are commanded to treat widows with kindness and fairness.

17. Job 29:13 (NIV)

“The one who was dying blessed me; I made the widow’s heart sing.”

• Job reflects on his compassion toward widows, showing the joy that comes from caring for them.

18. Psalm 94:6 (NIV)

“They slay the widow and the foreigner; they murder the fatherless.”

• This verse speaks of the injustices faced by widows and God’s disapproval of such actions.

19. Luke 7:12-15 (NIV)

Jesus raises the widow’s son from the dead, showcasing His compassion and power.

20. Deuteronomy 24:19 (NIV)

“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.”

• This passage encourages generosity towards widows, allowing them to gather food.

21. Isaiah 54:4-5 (NIV)

“Do not be afraid; you will not be put to shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated. You will forget the shame of your youth and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood. For your Maker is your husband—the Lord Almighty is his name—the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth.”

• God offers a profound promise of hope to widows, becoming their provider and protector in their time of need.

22. Lamentations 1:1 (NIV)

“How deserted lies the city, once so full of people! How like a widow is she, who once was great among the nations! She who was queen among the provinces has now become a slave.”

• This verse metaphorically depicts a widow’s grief, reflecting how loneliness and loss can feel overwhelming.

23. Malachi 3:5 (NIV)

“So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers, and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,” says the Lord Almighty.

• God stands against those who oppress widows, emphasizing His commitment to justice for them.

24. 1 Kings 17:9 (NIV)

“Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.”

• In this passage, God uses a widow to fulfill His plan, showing that widows are capable of serving and being a blessing to others.

25. Ruth 2:11-12 (NIV)

“Boaz replied, ‘I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know before. May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.'”

• Boaz’s words to Ruth, a widow, show the blessings and rewards that God brings to those who act faithfully, even in difficult circumstances.

26. Proverbs 31:9 (NIV)

“Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”

• This verse reminds us of the duty to defend and speak up for widows who may be marginalized or oppressed.

27. Psalm 146:7-9 (NIV)

“He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free, the Lord gives sight to the blind, the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down, the Lord loves the righteous. The Lord watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow, but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.”

• God’s continuous watch and care over widows show His desire to protect and sustain them.

28. Job 31:16-17 (NIV)

“If I have denied the desires of the poor or let the eyes of the widow grow weary, if I have kept my bread to myself, not sharing it with the fatherless.”

• Job’s reflection demonstrates the importance of supporting widows through kindness and generosity.

29. Deuteronomy 26:12-13 (NIV)

“When you have finished setting aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you shall give it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied. Then say to the Lord your God: ‘I have removed from my house the sacred portion and have given it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, according to all you commanded.'”

• This verse encourages provision for widows, demonstrating how they are to be remembered and cared for.

30. Luke 2:36-37 (NIV)

“There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.”

• Anna, a widow, is honored for her dedication to God, showing that widows can live lives of deep spiritual devotion.

31. 1 Corinthians 7:8-9 (NIV)

“Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do. But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.”

• This passage offers guidance for widows regarding their personal lives, encouraging them to seek God’s will for their future.

32. Leviticus 22:13 (NIV)

“But if a priest’s daughter becomes a widow or is divorced yet has no children, and she returns to live in her father’s household as in her youth, she may eat her father’s food. No unauthorized person, however, may eat it.”

• God provides specific instructions for widows in Israel, ensuring their well-being and inclusion in the community.

33. Deuteronomy 24:20-21 (NIV)

“When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time. Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow. When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow.”

• This verse shows God’s provision for widows through the generosity of others in the community.

34. Isaiah 10:1-2 (NIV)

“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.”

• God warns against exploiting widows, making it clear that He stands for justice on their behalf.

35. Luke 4:25-26 (NIV)

“I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon.”

• This passage recounts how God sent Elijah to a specific widow to bless her and sustain her during a time of famine.

36. Acts 6:1 (NIV)

“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.”

• The early church recognized the need to care for widows, highlighting the importance of community support.

37. Isaiah 9:17 (NIV)

“Therefore the Lord will take no pleasure in the young men, nor will he pity the fatherless and widows, for everyone is ungodly and wicked, every mouth speaks folly. Yet for all this, his anger is not turned away, his hand is still upraised.”

• God’s justice extends even to those who neglect or oppress widows.

38. Psalm 68:6 (NIV)

“God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing; but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.”

• God provides family and support to widows, offering them a sense of belonging and love.

39. Psalm 72:12-14 (NIV)

“For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help. He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death. He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight.”

• God’s heart is moved by the plight of widows, and He acts to rescue and save them from harm.

40. Matthew 23:14 (NIV)

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Therefore you will be punished more severely.”

• Jesus condemns the religious leaders who exploit widows, emphasizing God’s displeasure with such injustice.

41. Mark 12:40 (NIV)

“They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”

• Another condemnation from Jesus against those who take advantage of widows, ensuring that they will face judgment.

42. 1 Kings 17:15 (NIV)

“She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family.”

• God miraculously provides for a widow in her time of need, showing His faithfulness.

43. Acts 9:39 (NIV)

“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.”

• This passage shows the widows’ deep connection to the community and the importance of mutual care.

44. Jeremiah 22:3 (NIV)

“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, and do not shed innocent blood in this place.”

• God commands His people to act with justice and compassion toward widows, protecting them from violence and harm.

45. Exodus 22:23 (NIV)

“If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry.”

• God’s responsiveness to the cries of widows speaks of His care for their needs and prayers.

46. James 2:15-17 (NIV)

“Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.”

• James reminds believers that faith must be backed up by action, especially in caring for the needy, including widows.

47. Luke 18:3 (NIV)

“And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.'”

• This parable shows a widow’s persistence in seeking justice, which ultimately leads to her receiving what she needs.

48. Psalm 94:6-7 (NIV)

“They slay the widow and the foreigner; they murder the fatherless. They say, ‘The Lord does not see; the God of Jacob takes no notice.'”

• God is fully aware of the injustices faced by widows and acts on their behalf.

49. Isaiah 1:17 (NIV)

“Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.”

• This verse calls on believers to be proactive in defending widows and ensuring their rights are upheld.

50. Ruth 4:14 (NIV)

“The women said to Naomi: ‘Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a guardian-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel!'”

• Naomi’s story is one of redemption and restoration after loss, highlighting God’s ongoing care for widows.

Conclusion

The Bible’s consistent message for widows is one of hope, compassion, and provision. God sees their pain and provides comfort through His Word and through the community of believers. 

These 50 Bible verses reflect the compassionate care, protection, and provision God has for widows. His desire to watch over and uplift those who are vulnerable reminds us of the special place widows hold in His heart.

 

Read also: 40 Powerful Prayer Points for Exemption from Evil