bible verses about a broken heart

Bible Verses About a Broken Heart: 12

Bible verses about a broken heart: 12 Scriptures on heartache, a crushed spirit, and God's nearness to the brokenhearted.

Illustrated portrait of Christopher McAllister

By Christopher McAllister

Founder of theBibleand.Love

Published September 30, 2026Updated October 28, 20265 min readPsalm 34:18 (NIV)

On a hillside path, a companion rests a hand on the shoulder of someone holding wild herbs.

"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."

— Psalm 34:18 (NIV)

People who search bible verses about a broken heart want Scripture for heartache, a crushed spirit, and God's nearness when love or hope shatters — not only the grief list (mourning a death). This page is a numbered list of twelve passages with the NIV text and a short note on each. Related lists: Bible verses about grief, Bible verses about comfort, Bible verses about hope, Bible verses about healing, Bible verses about loneliness, Bible verses about forgiveness, and Bible verses about love. Broken heart here means heartache and a crushed spirit — distinct from grief's mourning of the dead alone. God's love binds up those wounds, which love and healing teaches from Scripture.

Word study (lead theme). In Hebrew, "broken" in "brokenhearted" is often from שָׁבַר shabar (Strong's H7665; Bible Hub H7665) — to break, shatter, or crush — joined to לֵב leb (Strong's H3820; Bible Hub H3820), the heart as the inner person. Scripture treats a broken heart as real shatter — and as a place where the Lord draws near and binds up.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Psalm 34 presses that God is nigh to those of a broken heart and saves the contrite — affliction of spirit is not distance from God but a call for his nearness (Bible Hub commentaries on Psalm 34:18; Bible Hub MHC Psalms 34; Blue Letter Bible, Matthew Henry on Psalm 34). On Psalm 147 he marks that the Lord heals the broken in heart and binds up their wounds — healing is his work for the shattered (Bible Hub commentaries on Psalm 147:3; Bible Hub MHC Psalms 147; Blue Letter Bible, Matthew Henry on Psalm 147).

12 Bible verses about a broken heart

  1. Proverbs 15:13. "A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit." Heartache is named as something that crushes the spirit — not a mood you can smile away. See Bible verses about comfort.

  2. Psalm 147:3. "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." Healing and binding are God's verbs for a broken heart — wounds are not left open forever. See Bible verses about healing.

  3. Psalm 38:8. "I am feeble and utterly crushed; I groan in anguish of heart." Crush and groan are prayed, not hidden — anguish of heart has words. See Bible verses about hope.

  4. Psalm 51:17. "My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise." A broken spirit is acceptable offering — God does not despise the crushed heart that turns to him.

  5. Proverbs 17:22. "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." A crushed spirit reaches the body — heartache is not only an idea. See Bible verses about strength.

  6. Proverbs 18:14. "The human spirit can endure in sickness, but a crushed spirit who can bear?" A crushed spirit is heavier than bodily sickness — Scripture names how unbearable heartache feels.

  7. Isaiah 57:15. "For this is what the high and exalted One says — he who lives forever, whose name is holy: 'I live in a high and holy place, but also with the one who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.'" The high God also dwells with the contrite — to revive the heart. See Bible verses about peace.

  8. John 14:1. "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me." Jesus speaks to troubled hearts — belief directed to him when the heart shakes. See Bible verses about faith.

  9. Psalm 69:20. "Scorn has broken my heart and has left me helpless; I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I found none." Heartbreak from scorn and missing comforters is voiced honestly — Scripture does not skip the empty room. See Bible verses about loneliness.

  10. Psalm 31:9-10. "Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and body with grief. My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak." Distress that weakens eyes, soul, and body is prayed aloud — heartache that drains strength. See Bible verses about grief when the wound is loss of someone to death.

  11. 2 Corinthians 7:6. "But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus." God comforts the downcast — sometimes through a person who shows up. See Bible verses about encouragement.

  12. Psalm 126:5. "Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy." Tears are sown, not denied — joy is the harvest, not a demand that you stop crying today. See Bible verses about hope and Bible verses about love.

How to use these verses

Pick one verse for prayer in heartache, a card for someone crushed, or teaching that God draws near to the brokenhearted — not twelve as a quick fix. If you need the Lord-is-close, start with Psalm 34:18. If you need he-heals-and-binds, start with Psalm 147:3. If you need heartache named as a crushed spirit, start with Proverbs 15:13. For mourning a death (not heartache alone), see Bible verses about grief. For comfort language, see Bible verses about comfort. For repair after hurt, see Bible verses about forgiveness. For a daily verse, open Bible verse of the day. The reference page is Psalm 34:18.

Questions people ask

What is a good Bible verse for a broken heart?

Psalm 34:18 (close to the brokenhearted), Psalm 147:3 (heals and binds up wounds), and Isaiah 61:1 (sent to bind up the brokenhearted) are clear starting places.

How do Bible verses about a broken heart differ from grief verses?

Grief pages center mourning a death and loss of a person; a broken-heart page focuses heartache, crush of spirit, and relational shatter. Cross-link Bible verses about grief.

What does shabar mean with leb?

Strong's H7665 shabar is to break or shatter; H3820 leb is the heart as the inner person — together, a shattered inner life, not only a sad mood.

Does God despise a broken heart?

Psalm 51:17 says a broken and contrite heart God will not despise — it is the sacrifice he welcomes.

Where can I read more about comfort, hope, and healing?

Start with Bible verses about comfort, then Bible verses about hope, Bible verses about healing, and Bible verses about grief.

Sources

A man rests a hand on the shoulder of a woman holding wild herbs.

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