bible verses for new year

Bible Verses for New Year: 15 Scriptures

Bible verses for the New Year: 15 Scriptures on new mercies, fresh starts in Christ, hope for the year ahead, and love that holds through change.

Illustrated portrait of Christopher McAllister

By Christopher McAllister

Founder of theBibleand.Love

Published September 28, 20265 min readLamentations 3:22-23 (NIV)

A figure with a lamp walks a ridge path as dawn light arrives among wildflowers.

"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."

— Lamentations 3:22-23 (NIV)

People who search bible verses for the New Year want Scripture for a fresh start — hope for January, mercy that renews when the calendar turns, and love that does not expire with the old year. This page is a numbered list of fifteen passages with the NIV text and a short note on each. Related lists: Bible verses about hope, Bible verses about gratitude, Bible verses about faith, and Bible verses about peace. For a daily verse habit into the new year, open Bible verse of the day.

Word study (lead verse). In Lamentations 3:23 the mercies are chadash — new / fresh — from Hebrew חָדָשׁ (Strong's H2319): not recycled leftovers, but mercies that arrive with the morning. The same root appears when God says he will do a "new thing" in Isaiah 43:19. See also Bible Hub H2319.

Matthew Henry notes that God's compassions "do not really fail, no, not even when in anger he seems to have shut up his tender mercies," and that "they are new every morning; every morning we have fresh instances of God's compassion towards us" (Blue Letter Bible, Matthew Henry on Lamentations 3; also Bible Hub commentaries on Lamentations 3:23).

15 Bible verses for the New Year

  1. Lamentations 3:22-23. "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning…" The year turns; mercy is already waiting. See Bible verses about God's love.

  2. Isaiah 43:18-19. "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?" God invites attention forward, not only nostalgia.

  3. 2 Corinthians 5:17. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" A new year is calendar; new creation is Christ.

  4. Philippians 3:13-14. "…Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal…" Paul models forward motion without pretending the past never happened.

  5. Psalm 90:12. "Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." A New Year resolve that is wiser than a list of goals alone.

  6. Proverbs 16:9. "In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps." Plans are good; God's establishing is better. See Bible verses about faith.

  7. Jeremiah 29:11. "‘For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" Hope and a future belong together. See Bible verses about hope.

  8. Romans 8:28. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." The year ahead will mix joy and hard weeks; God still works.

  9. Psalm 51:10. "Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." Renewal starts inside, not only on a calendar page.

  10. Ezekiel 36:26. "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you…" God does not only tidy habits; he promises a new heart.

  11. Joshua 1:9. "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Courage for unknown months. See Bible verses about strength.

  12. Matthew 6:33-34. "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness… Therefore do not worry about tomorrow…" A New Year focus that lowers tomorrow-anxiety. See Bible verses about peace.

  13. Colossians 3:14. "And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." Resolutions need a binding virtue. See Bible verses about love.

  14. 1 Corinthians 13:7-8. "It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." Love outlasts December 31. See 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.

  15. Revelation 21:5. "He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!'" The deepest newness is still ahead — and already begun in Christ.

How to use these verses

Pick one verse for New Year's Eve, a January journal page, or a text to a friend — not fifteen. If you need mercy for a hard restart, start with Lamentations 3:22-23. If you need courage for unknown months, start with Joshua 1:9. If you need identity deeper than a resolution list, start with 2 Corinthians 5:17. For hope and gratitude lists, see Bible verses about hope and Bible verses about gratitude. For a daily verse, open Bible verse of the day.

Questions people ask

What is a good Bible verse for the New Year?

Lamentations 3:22-23 (mercies new every morning) and Isaiah 43:18-19 (God doing a new thing) are clear starting places. 2 Corinthians 5:17 names new creation in Christ.

What Bible verse is about new beginnings?

Isaiah 43:19, 2 Corinthians 5:17, and Ezekiel 36:26 all speak to newness — a new thing God does, a new creation in Christ, and a new heart.

What Scripture helps with New Year resolutions?

Psalm 51:10 (renew a steadfast spirit), Proverbs 16:9 (the Lord establishes steps), and Matthew 6:33 (seek first the kingdom) keep resolutions under God's lead rather than willpower alone.

Is Jeremiah 29:11 a good New Year verse?

Many people use it for hope and a future. Read it also in its context: a promise to exiles that God still had plans. Pair it with Lamentations 3:22-23 when the year ahead feels heavy.

Read Bible verses about hope, Bible verses about faith, and Bible verses about gratitude. For love that holds through change, see Bible verses about God's love and 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.

Explore More

Sources

A woman with a lamp walks a ridge path at dawn.

Keep reading