"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud."
— 1 Corinthians 13:4 (NIV)
People who search bible verses about patience want Scripture for waiting well — with God, with people, and under pressure. This page is a numbered list of fifteen passages with the NIV text and a short note on each. Love that is patient is opened further in Love is patient Bible verse and Patience and love: 1 Corinthians. Forgiveness and kindness sit beside patience under Bible verses about forgiveness and Bible verses about kindness. For waiting on the Lord himself, see Bible verses about waiting on God. Patience means trusting God's timing; see Bible verses about God's timing. Patience and gentleness sit side by side in the Galatians 5 fruit; see Bible verses about gentleness. Proverbs 16:32 treats patience as strength, not weakness.
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15 Bible verses about patience
1 Corinthians 13:4. "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud." Patience is the first word Paul uses for love — not optional polish. See 1 Corinthians 13:4, Love is patient Bible verse, and 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.
Galatians 5:22. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness…" Forbearance (patience) grows as fruit of the Spirit, not as a personality trick you force alone.
James 5:7-8. "Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near." Patience here is farmer-patience — waiting for a crop you cannot rush.
Romans 12:12. "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer." Patience in affliction sits between hope and prayer — not denial of hard days.
Colossians 3:12. "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." Patience is clothing you put on because you are already dearly loved.
Ecclesiastes 7:8. "The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride." Patience outranks pride when a story is still unfinished.
Proverbs 14:29. "Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick-tempered displays folly." Patience and understanding travel together; a short fuse displays folly.
Proverbs 15:18. "A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient calms a quarrel." Patience can calm a quarrel instead of feeding it.
2 Peter 3:9. "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." God's patience toward people is rescue-shaped, not indifference.
Psalm 37:7. "Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes." Waiting patiently includes refusing to fret over someone else's unjust success.
Romans 8:25. "But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently." Hope and patient waiting belong together when the thing hoped for is not yet visible.
1 Thessalonians 5:14. "And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone." Patience is for everyone — not only for people who are easy.
Hebrews 10:36. "You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised." Perseverance (patient endurance) stands between doing God's will and receiving the promise.
Ephesians 4:2. "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." Patience bears with people in love — not with gritted teeth alone. See also Love and patience.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7. Love is patient and kind; it always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. The full stretch of the love poem keeps patience from shrinking to a single moment. See 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 and Patience and love: 1 Corinthians.
How to use these verses
Pick one verse for a tense morning, a slow season, or a hard relationship — not fifteen. Read it slowly. If you need the love-poem frame, start with 1 Corinthians 13:4. If the wait is under affliction, use Romans 12:12. For forgiveness that often must wait beside patience, use Bible verses about forgiveness. For Romans 15:5's God of patience, see Bible verses about the God of patience. For a daily verse, open Bible verse of the day.
Questions people ask
What is the best Bible verse about patience?
1 Corinthians 13:4 ("Love is patient") and Galatians 5:22 (fruit of the Spirit) are the most common starting places. See Love is patient Bible verse.
What does "love is patient" mean?
It means love does not rush people or explode at the first delay. Paul puts patience first in the love list. See 1 Corinthians 13:4 and Love and patience.
Which verse says God is patient with us?
2 Peter 3:9: the Lord is patient, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance.
How is patience different from kindness?
They sit side by side in 1 Corinthians 13:4 and Galatians 5:22. Patience waits without exploding; kindness acts with warmth. See Bible verses about kindness.
Where should I read next?
Read Patience and love: 1 Corinthians, 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, and Bible verses about forgiveness. For mastery of impulse (not the same as waiting), see Bible verses about self-control. For a daily verse, open Bible verse of the day.
