The Bible calls believers to feel with others: "Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep" (Romans 12:15). Jesus is our example, because He is able to be "touched with the feeling of our infirmities" (Hebrews 4:15). The prophet Ezekiel showed empathy when he went to the exiles and "sat where they sat" (Ezekiel 3:15) before saying a word.
Empathy is the ability to understand and share what someone else is feeling. The word itself is modern and does not appear in the King James Bible, but the idea runs all through it. The KJV speaks of compassion, of being touched with the feeling of another's weakness, and of weeping with those who weep. Empathy is not the same as fixing someone's problem or agreeing with everything they do. It is choosing to step into their world for a while. These twelve verses show friends and leaders who wept with others, the deep empathy of Jesus, and practical wisdom for putting yourself in someone else's place. For the action that should follow, see kindness, mercy and helping other people.
Weeping with those who weep
1. Job 2:12
"And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their heads toward heaven."
When Job's friends arrived, they barely recognized him. Their first response was empathy: they lifted up their voice, and wept, tore their robes and threw dust on their heads, joining him in his grief. Then they sat with him in silence for seven days (Job 2:13). Their mistake came later, when they started explaining his suffering. Often the most empathetic thing you can do is show up, weep and stay quiet.
2. Ezekiel 3:15
"Then I came to them of the captivity at Tel-abib, that dwelt by the river of Chebar, and I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days."
Before Ezekiel preached a word to the exiles in Babylon, he went and stayed among them at Tel-abib: I sat where they sat, and remained there astonished among them seven days. He let their situation sink in. This is a good picture of empathy: before advising people, sit where they sit. Visit the hospital room, the shelter or the lonely apartment, and listen first.
3. Psalms 35:14
"I behaved myself as though he had been my friend or brother: I bowed down heavily, as one that mourneth for his mother."
David describes how he had treated people who later turned against him. When they were sick he fasted and prayed for them (Psalm 35:13), and he grieved as one that mourneth for his mother. True empathy does not depend on how people treat us in return. It treats another person's pain as if it were the pain of our own family.
4. Nehemiah 1:4
"And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven,"
Nehemiah was a trusted official in the Persian palace when he heard that Jerusalem's walls were broken down and its people in distress. Instead of shrugging, he sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed. His empathy led to action: he later risked his position to ask the king for help (Nehemiah 2:5). Feeling with people is often where God's calling begins.
Jesus feels what we feel
5. Hebrews 2:17
"Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people."
Jesus did not rescue us from a distance. In all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren: He took on a real human life with hunger, tiredness, grief and temptation. That is why He can be a merciful and faithful high priest. God's empathy is not theoretical. In Jesus, God knows from the inside what it is to be human.
6. Hebrews 5:2
"Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity."
An earthly high priest could have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way, because he was weak himself. Knowing your own weakness makes you gentler with others. Jesus' compassion is even greater: though He was without sin, He "was in all points tempted like as we are" (Hebrews 4:15). When you are tempted to judge someone, remember your own struggles.
7. Luke 19:41
"And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,"
As Jesus approached Jerusalem, knowing the city would reject Him and later be destroyed (Luke 19:43-44), He beheld the city, and wept over it. He did not gloat over people who were about to refuse Him. He grieved for them. Empathy includes feeling sorrow for people who are making painful choices, rather than writing them off.
8. Matthew 15:32
"Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way."
After three days of teaching and healing, Jesus noticed something practical: the crowd was hungry, and some had come a long way (Mark 8:3). I have compassion on the multitude... I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way. His empathy noticed physical needs, not only spiritual ones, and then He fed four thousand men, besides women and children (Matthew 15:38).
Putting yourself in someone else's place
9. Exodus 23:9
"Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt."
God told Israel not to oppress foreigners, and He gave an empathy-based reason: ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt. Their own past pain was meant to make them tender toward others in the same position. Your hardest experiences can become a source of empathy for people walking the same road today.
10. Proverbs 25:20
"As he that taketh away a garment in cold weather, and as vinegar upon nitre, so is he that singeth songs to an heavy heart."
This proverb warns against tone-deaf cheerfulness. Singing happy songs to an heavy heart is like taking someone's coat on a cold day, or pouring vinegar on nitre (a kind of soda) so that it fizzes: it only makes things worse. Empathy reads the room. A grieving friend may not need a pep talk or a verse about everything working out, but your quiet company.
11. Philippians 2:20
"For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state."
Paul praised Timothy as unusual among his helpers: I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state. Timothy's care was genuine, not performed. Paul adds, "For all seek their own" (Philippians 2:21). Empathy grows as we take our eyes off ourselves, genuinely ask how others are doing, and then listen to the answer.
12. Luke 1:58
"And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her."
Empathy is not only for sad times. When Elisabeth gave birth to John after years of childlessness, her neighbours and her cousins... rejoiced with her. Paul's command begins "Rejoice with them that do rejoice" (Romans 12:15), and that can be harder than weeping with those who weep, especially if you are longing for the same blessing. Celebrating someone else's good news wholeheartedly is a mature form of love.
A short prayer
Lord Jesus, thank You that You are touched with the feeling of my weakness. Give me a heart that feels with others. Teach me to sit where they sit, to listen before I speak, to weep with those who weep and to rejoice wholeheartedly with those who rejoice. Keep me from easy answers and tone-deaf cheer. Let my compassion turn into practical help, as Yours always did. Amen.
Go deeper: a SOAP study prompt
Pick one verse above and write: - Scripture: copy the verse by hand. - Observation: what does it say? Who is speaking, to whom? - Application: what does it mean for you today? - Prayer: turn it into a two-line prayer.
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Frequently asked questions
Is empathy in the Bible?
The word empathy is not in the King James Bible, but the idea is everywhere. Paul says, "weep with them that weep" (Romans 12:15), and Peter urges believers to have "compassion one of another" (1 Peter 3:8). Peter's Greek word there, sympatheis, is the root of the English word sympathy. Jesus models empathy throughout the Gospels.
What is the difference between empathy and sympathy?
Sympathy usually means feeling sorry for someone; empathy means trying to feel with them, understanding their experience from the inside. The Bible's picture of Jesus includes both. He was "moved with compassion" (Matthew 9:36) for the crowds, and He took on our human experience so fully that He "was in all points tempted like as we are" (Hebrews 4:15).
Can empathy go too far?
Some Christian writers warn that empathy becomes unhealthy if feelings replace truth or wisdom, for example by approving of anything a hurting person wants. That is a real danger, but the Bible itself commands compassion: "Put on therefore... bowels of mercies, kindness" (Colossians 3:12). Healthy empathy feels deeply and still holds on to truth, as Jesus did with the people He met. It also needs boundaries, so that caring for others does not mean neglecting your own health.
How can I show empathy to someone who is hurting?
Show up, listen, and resist the urge to fix or explain. Job's friends did best when they sat with him in silence (Job 2:13). Ask questions, reflect back what you hear, and offer practical help like meals or rides. Avoid clichés; Proverbs warns against singing songs "to an heavy heart" (Proverbs 25:20). See encouragement to others and Bible verses for sympathy cards.
Sources: All Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (KJV), public domain in the United States. References were checked against the KJV text from bible-api.com.
Related: Kindness · Mercy · Helping other people · Loving thy neighbor · Encouragement to others · Friendship · Praying for others · Mental health
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