Journal · 2026-09-30
Bible Verses About Strength
What the King James Bible says about strength, from a shepherd boy facing a giant to a woman who rejoices in time to come.
Scripture rarely describes strength as something a person simply has. Again and again it is something received, borrowed or renewed, and it usually shows up in people who have just admitted they are weak. The verses below trace that idea through the Old and New Testaments, grouped by the kind of strength each one talks about.
All quotations are from the King James Version.
Strength that is given, not summoned
The first group answers the question most people are really asking: where does strength come from when mine has run out?
Isaiah 40:31
“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles.”
The chapter opens with the word comfort and moves toward this promise. Isaiah contrasts young men who faint with those who wait upon the LORD. The difference is not age or fitness but where the strength is drawn from.
Philippians 4:13
“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
The verb in the King James text is striking: Christ strengtheneth me, in the present tense, as an ongoing supply. Paul pairs it with the secret of contentment, which makes it a verse about endurance more than ambition.
Joshua 1:9
“Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.”
God tells Joshua to be strong three times in the first chapter of the book. Repetition like that is a clue: the task ahead was frightening, and strength was being handed to him before he asked.
Strength in the battle
Some of the most vivid strength language in the Bible comes from war, and Christians have long read it as a picture of spiritual struggle.
1 Samuel 17:47
“the battle is the LORD's.”
David says this to Goliath before a single stone is thrown. His confidence is not in his sling but in the conviction that the outcome belongs to God, which is why the verse is loved by anyone facing odds that look impossible.
Ephesians 6:14
“Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth.”
Paul borrows the equipment of a Roman soldier to describe what protects a believer: truth around the waist, righteousness over the heart. The instruction is to stand, not to charge.
Ephesians 6:16
“Above all, taking the shield of faith.”
The shield of faith is the only piece Paul says will quench fiery darts. Burning arrows were a real weapon in his world, and a large shield was the one thing that stopped them, which gives the image a very practical edge.
Psalm 18:2
“The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer.”
The title of Psalm 18 places it on the day David was delivered from Saul. Read as a war song, its list of rock, fortress and deliverer is the vocabulary of a soldier naming the walls that actually held.
Quiet strength
Strength in scripture is not always loud. These verses describe steadiness, dignity and a refuge to return to.
Proverbs 31:25
“Strength and honour are her clothing.”
The woman of Proverbs 31 is clothed in strength and honour, and she shall rejoice in time to come. It is one of the few Bible verses about strength written about a woman, and it is often chosen for mothers and grandmothers.
Psalm 91:2
“He is my refuge and my fortress.”
Psalm 91 speaks of dwelling and abiding, words about staying put. The strength here is the strength of a place you can live in, not a burst of effort.
2 Timothy 4:7
“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course.”
Written near the end of Paul's life, this is strength looking back: a fight fought, a course finished, faith kept. It is often read at funerals and retirements for people who stayed the course.
The source behind every other strength
The last verses step back from human effort altogether.
Psalm 27:1
“The LORD is my light and my salvation.”
The same verse goes on to ask two questions: whom shall I fear, of whom shall I be afraid? When the LORD is light and salvation, fear loses its reason to exist.
Revelation 5:5
“And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed.”
In John's vision no one is found worthy to open the scroll until the Lion of the tribe of Juda is announced. When John turns to look, he sees a Lamb. Scripture's final picture of strength is victory through sacrifice.
A verse about strength often helps most in the place where strength is needed: by the desk, at the door, in a child's room before a hard school year. Each passage above is also available as a watercolor print; browse our scripture wall art or the full collection of Christian wall art.