Bible verses about patience

A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man promotes folly.

A proverb traditionally attributed to Solomon. Patience is paired with understanding, and the quick temper does not create folly so much as put it on display.

Wait patiently for the LORD; be strong and courageous. Wait patiently for the LORD!

The last verse of David's psalm that opens with The LORD is my light. Wait patiently is said twice, and the middle of the verse admits that waiting takes courage.

I waited patiently for the LORD; He inclined to me and heard my cry.

David, and in Hebrew the verb is doubled: waiting, I waited. The waiting comes before the hearing in the order of the sentence, which is usually the order of life.

A man’s insight gives him patience, and his virtue is to overlook an offense.

Patience here is the fruit of insight, not temperament. Overlooking an offense is called a virtue, which is a higher word than most of us would give it.

But if we hope for what we do not yet see, we wait for it patiently.

Paul, in the passage where all creation groans. Hope and patience are tied together: you only wait for what you do not have yet, and that is what makes waiting hard.

The end of a matter is better than the beginning, and a patient spirit is better than a proud one.

The Teacher of Ecclesiastes, traditionally associated with Solomon. The proud spirit wants the beginning; the patient spirit is willing to see a thing through to its end.

You need to persevere, so that after you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised.

The unnamed writer of Hebrews, to believers who had already suffered for their faith and were tempted to drift. Perseverance is the bridge between doing God's will and receiving the promise.

Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Paul, with a farmer's calendar in mind. Harvest comes in due time, not on demand, and the only way to miss it is to stop before it arrives.

He who is slow to anger is better than a warrior, and he who controls his temper is greater than one who captures a city.

Taking a city was the height of achievement in the ancient world, and the proverb ranks a controlled temper above it. Worth learning for the moment right before you speak.

Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men prosper in their ways, when they carry out wicked schemes.

David, in a psalm that says do not fret three times. Being still before the LORD is the antidote to watching other people get ahead by doing wrong.

The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

Traditionally attributed to Jeremiah, written after Jerusalem fell. In the Hebrew acrostic these lines each begin with the word good, which is a striking word to repeat in the middle of a ruined city.

The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise as some understand slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance.

Peter, answering people who mocked the delay in Christ's return. The delay is not slowness but patience, and the patience has a purpose: room for people to come home.

But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.

Isaiah, to a people who would spend decades in exile. Notice the order: flying, then running, then walking. Walking without fainting is the hardest of the three and comes last on purpose.

Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer awaits the precious fruit of the soil—how patient he is for the fall and spring rains. You, too, be patient and strengthen your hearts, because the Lord’s coming is near.

James, traditionally the brother of Jesus, to scattered believers under pressure. The farmer waits for the fall and spring rains because nothing he does can hurry them, and the crop comes anyway.