Bible Verses About Healing

The Bible reveals God as Jehovah Rapha - "the Lord who heals." From physical ailments to broken hearts, Scripture promises divine healing and restoration. These verses demonstrate that healing encompasses body, soul, and spirit through God's compassionate power.

8 Verses

1. James 5:14-15

"Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven."
James prescribes communal prayer for the sick, with elders representing "the ordinary religious teachers of the congregation" (Barnes). The anointing oil likely served dual purposes - medicinal treatment and symbolic of the Holy Spirit's presence. Matthew Henry emphasizes healing is "not ascribed to the anointing with oil, but to prayer," specifically "the prayer of faith" - not "cold and formal" but fervent belief. However, as David Guzik notes, "God does not grant immediate healing for every prayer of faith, and the reasons are hidden in the heart and mind of God." The passage teaches praying expectantly while trusting God's wisdom, recognizing that spiritual healing through forgiveness may accompany or supersede physical restoration (BibleHub Commentaries).

2. Isaiah 53:5

"But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed."
This Messianic prophecy primarily refers to spiritual healing from sin, not physical ailments. Barnes explicitly states the healing is "spiritual healing, or healing from sin... Pardon of sin, and restoration to the favor of God." Matthew Henry explains Christ "heals by taking the sicknesses of his people upon himself," treating sin as "not only a crime... but a disease which tends directly to the death of our souls." The Hebrew "rapha" (healed) is used metaphorically - as Gill notes, sin is "a natural, hereditary, nauseous, and incurable one, but by the blood of Christ." While some apply this to physical healing, the primary biblical interpretation focuses on spiritual restoration through Christ's substitutionary atonement (BibleHub Commentaries).

3. Psalm 147:3

"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds."
This verse primarily addresses emotional and spiritual healing. Barnes interprets it as God healing "mental sorrows" and "a troubled spirit," while Gill sees hearts "broken by the word" with "a true sense of sin, and godly sorrow." Matthew Henry notes God "speaks peace" and "assures them their sins are pardoned." The healing mechanism, according to Gill, involves Christ "pouring in oil and wine" and "applying pardoning grace and mercy." The Geneva Study Bible specifies the brokenness can be "with affliction, or sorrow for sin." Set within praise for God's cosmic power, this verse remarkably shows the Creator of stars personally tending to individual broken hearts (BibleHub Commentaries).

4. 1 Peter 2:24

""He himself bore our sins" in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; "by his wounds you have been healed.""
Peter applies Isaiah 53:5 metaphorically to spiritual healing, not physical healing. The commentaries consistently interpret this as redemption from sin's power - Barnes notes the healing means being "recovered from... faults" and restored spiritually. Gill describes sin as "a natural and hereditary... epidemic distemper" that only Christ can cure. The "stripes" (Greek: molops - "the livid mark or wheal left on the flesh by the scourge" per Cambridge Bible) represent Christ's suffering bringing spiritual restoration. The Pulpit Commentary summarizes: "Faith in the crucified Savior lifts the Christian out of the sickness of sin into the health of righteousness." The past tense "were healed" emphasizes the completed nature of this spiritual healing through the cross (BibleHub Commentaries).

5. Jeremiah 17:14

"Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise."
Jeremiah's prayer seeks healing from multiple wounds - Benson notes he was "wounded, or sick, either with a sense of the dishonour done to God by the sins of the people, or with their reproaches poured upon himself." Matthew Henry identifies this as healing for "wounds or diseases we find to be in our hearts and consciences," emphasizing God can "bind up the troubled conscience, and heal the broken heart." The declaration "you are my praise" means God is both "the cause of [praise], by reason of mercies bestowed" and "the object of it, whom he did and would praise evermore" (Gill). Keil and Delitzsch frame this as Jeremiah's prayer to validate that "trust in the Lord brings blessing" despite his prophetic sufferings. The parallel structure linking healing and salvation demonstrates their inseparable nature in Hebrew thought (BibleHub Commentaries).

6. Psalm 103:2-3

"Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases."
David links forgiveness and healing as interconnected divine mercies. Matthew Henry notes "Christ alone forgives all our sins; it is he alone who heals all our infirmities," suggesting both spiritual and physical dimensions. The Hebrew "תּחלוּאים" (diseases) encompasses "all kinds of inward and outward sufferings" (Keil and Delitzsch), indicating comprehensive restoration. Gill emphasizes these benefits "flow not from the merit of men, but from the mercy of God" and are "such as men are altogether unworthy of." The parallel structure - forgiveness then healing - may suggest sin's connection to suffering, though not necessarily causative. The command "forget not all his benefits" implies we frequently overlook God's ongoing healing work, both seen and unseen. While "all your diseases" expresses God's comprehensive power, it doesn't promise immediate healing of every ailment in this life (BibleHub Commentaries).

7. Exodus 15:26

"He said, "If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you.""
God reveals Himself as "Jehovah Rapha" three days after the Red Sea deliverance, at the bitter waters of Marah. Gill notes He heals "both in body and soul" through "preserving from diseases, and by curing them." The conditional promise links obedience with protection from Egyptian diseases, though Matthew Henry warns this demonstrates how "disappointments... may drive us to the Creator." The healing extends beyond physical - Gill explains God heals "by pardoning their iniquities, which, in Scripture, is sometimes signified by healing." Benson observes this covenant came before the "grievous yoke of ceremonies," representing pure relationship. The name "Rapha" encompasses preservation, cure, and restoration - establishing God's comprehensive healing nature. While obedience brings blessing, the promise doesn't guarantee immunity from all sickness but reveals God's character as the ultimate source of healing in covenant relationship (BibleHub Commentaries).

8. Matthew 9:35

"Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness."
Matthew presents Jesus' threefold ministry as inseparable: teaching, preaching, and healing. Gill notes Jesus healed physical ailments while addressing "spiritual maladies," demonstrating holistic restoration. "Every disease" means "every variety or type" (Ellicott), not necessarily every individual case, as healing often depended on faith. Benson emphasizes Jesus was "moved with compassion" seeing multitudes both spiritually lost and physically suffering. Matthew Henry observes the miracles served to "confirm, as well as recommend, the doctrines he preached," showing "the souls of the meanest in the world are as precious to Christ" as anyone. The healing wasn't merely therapeutic but theological - demonstrating the kingdom's arrival where brokenness yields to wholeness. This comprehensive healing ministry fulfilled Isaiah's prophecies and validated Jesus' messianic claims, making physical healing inseparable from spiritual salvation (BibleHub Commentaries).

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