The Bible says God sees and remembers every tear: "put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?" (Psalm 56:8). Jesus Himself wept (John 11:35) and prayed "with strong crying and tears" (Hebrews 5:7). Scripture promises that tears will not have the last word: "thou shalt weep no more" (Isaiah 30:19), and "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes" (Revelation 21:4).
Some tears come quietly in the car or the shower; others come in waves you cannot stop. You might be crying over a loss, a broken relationship, a diagnosis, a child, a sin you regret, or a weight you cannot even name. The Bible never tells you to hide those tears. Its pages are full of people who wept: kings and prophets, mothers and friends, Peter after his denial, and Jesus Himself at a friend's grave. These twelve King James verses show that God sees and hears your tears, introduce people in Scripture who cried before Him, and hold out the promise that one day every tear will be wiped away. If your tears are also a cry for help, see Bible verses about crying out to God, and for loss, grief.
God sees and hears every tear
1. Psalms 39:12
"Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were."
David asks God three things: hear my prayer, listen to my cry, and hold not thy peace at my tears. He treats his tears as a kind of prayer that God should not ignore. You do not always need words. When you cannot find any, your tears themselves can be offered to God. David also calls himself a stranger and a sojourner, someone passing through. This world is not our final home, and it is not strange that we sometimes weep here.
2. Job 16:20
"My friends scorn me: but mine eye poureth out tears unto God."
Job lost his children, his wealth and his health, and the friends who came to comfort him ended up blaming him. My friends scorn me: but mine eye poureth out tears unto God. When people misunderstand your pain, you can still take your tears to the One who understands completely. Job did not hide his grief or pretend to be fine, and in the end God said that Job had spoken what was right, unlike his friends (Job 42:7).
3. Psalms 42:3
"My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?"
My tears have been my meat day and night: grief had become the psalmist's daily food. On top of the sorrow came the painful question, Where is thy God? If you have cried so long that it feels normal, you are in honest company. This same psalm keeps talking to the soul: "hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him" (Psalm 42:5). Tears and hope can live in the same heart at the same time.
4. Psalms 6:8-9
"Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; for the LORD hath heard the voice of my weeping. The LORD hath heard my supplication; the LORD will receive my prayer."
Psalm 6 is one of the Bible's most tearful prayers: "I water my couch with my tears" (Psalm 6:6). Then, suddenly, the tone changes: the LORD hath heard the voice of my weeping. Notice that phrase. Weeping has a voice, and God hears it. Nothing in David's situation had changed yet, but he knew he had been heard, and that knowledge gave him courage to tell his enemies to leave.
People in the Bible who wept
5. Hebrews 5:7
"Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;"
This verse takes us to Gethsemane, the night before Jesus died. He offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears. The Son of God did not face suffering with a calm, dry face. He wept, He pleaded, and He was heard. Because He has cried like this, Jesus understands our tears from the inside. Hebrews says He is a high priest who can be "touched with the feeling of our infirmities" (Hebrews 4:15).
6. 1 Samuel 1:10
"And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore."
Hannah longed for a child for years, and her rival provoked her until she could not eat. At the temple she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore. The priest Eli thought she was drunk (1 Samuel 1:13). She told him she had poured out her soul before the LORD. Afterwards her face was no longer sad, even before anything changed (1 Samuel 1:18). God later gave her a son, Samuel.
7. Matthew 26:75
"And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly."
Peter had promised to follow Jesus to death, then denied Him three times in one night. When the rooster crowed, he remembered Jesus' words, and he went out, and wept bitterly. These are tears of regret and repentance, and they were not the end of Peter's story. After the resurrection Jesus met him by the lake and gave him a new commission: "Feed my sheep" (John 21:17). Tears over our failures can be the doorway to restoration.
8. Luke 7:38
"And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment."
At a dinner in a Pharisee's house, a woman known as a sinner knelt behind Jesus, weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears and dry them with her hair. The host was offended. Jesus was moved. He said her many sins were forgiven, "for she loved much" (Luke 7:47). Her tears were tears of love and gratitude. Jesus does not turn away from emotional, messy worship. He welcomes it.
Tears of love, and tears that will end
9. 2 Corinthians 2:4
"For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears; not that ye should be grieved, but that ye might know the love which I have more abundantly unto you."
Paul had written a hard letter to the church in Corinth, often called the severe letter. He wanted them to know it came out of much affliction and anguish of heart, written with many tears. His purpose was not to hurt them but that ye might know the love which I have more abundantly unto you. Sometimes tears are the cost of loving people enough to tell them the truth. Hard conversations, held with tears, can be some of the most loving things we do.
10. 2 Timothy 1:4
"Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy;"
Paul wrote this, his last letter, from prison in Rome. He remembered Timothy's tears, probably from their last parting, and longed to see him again that I may be filled with joy. Tears at goodbyes show how much people mean to us. Paul did not scold Timothy for crying; he treasured the memory. If you have cried at an airport, a hospital bed or a graveside, your tears are a measure of your love.
11. John 20:15
"Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away."
Mary Magdalene stood weeping outside Jesus' empty tomb, thinking His body had been stolen. A man she thought was the gardener asked, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? Then He said her name, "Mary", and she knew Him (John 20:16). The risen Jesus met her in her tears and turned them into joy. He still knows the reason for your tears, and He still calls His people by name.
12. Isaiah 30:19
"For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee."
God spoke this promise to people who had made poor choices and were suffering for them: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry. Even when our tears come partly from our own mistakes, God's response to our cry is grace. Revelation completes the promise: "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying" (Revelation 21:4).
A short prayer
Lord, You see my tears, even the ones no one else sees. Thank You that You keep them, that You hear the voice of my weeping and that Jesus wept too. I bring You what is breaking my heart today. Comfort me, give me the help I need, and send people to sit with me. When my tears come from my own failures, meet me with grace like You met Peter. Hold me until the day You wipe every tear away. In Jesus' name, 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
Where in the Bible does it say God keeps our tears in a bottle?
David prayed, "Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?" (Psalm 56:8). He wrote it while running for his life. The picture is of God treasuring each tear like something precious kept in a bottle and recorded in His book. Nothing you have cried is forgotten by God. See Bible verses about a broken heart.
Is it a sin or a lack of faith to cry?
No. Crying is part of being human, and the Bible is full of faithful people who wept, including David, Jeremiah, Paul and Jesus, who "wept" at Lazarus's tomb (John 11:35) even though He was about to raise him. Scripture says there is "A time to weep, and a time to laugh" (Ecclesiastes 3:4) and tells us to "weep with them that weep" (Romans 12:15). Tears are not unbelief; they can be one of the most honest prayers we have.
What does the Bible say about tears turning to joy?
Several promises speak of sorrow giving way to joy: "They that sow in tears shall reap in joy" (Psalm 126:5) and "weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning" (Psalm 30:5). Jesus told His disciples, "your sorrow shall be turned into joy" (John 16:20). The final promise is Revelation 21:4. See joy comes in the morning.
What should I do if I cannot stop crying?
Tell God about it, and tell a trusted person too; you do not have to carry it alone. Rest, eat and be gentle with yourself. If you have been crying most days for two weeks or more, have lost interest in things you used to enjoy, or feel hopeless, please talk to a doctor or counselor; that can be depression, and it is treatable. See Bible verses for the depressed and mental health.
If your tears come with thoughts that life is not worth living, please reach out today. If you have thoughts of harming yourself, in the US call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or call 911 in an emergency.
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: Crying out to God · Grief · Broken heart · Joy comes in the morning · Comfort and strength · Depression · Lost loved ones · Darkness
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