What Does the Bible Say About Laughing?

Genesis 21:6 ESV / 186 helpful votes

And Sarah said, “God has made laughter for me; everyone who hears will laugh over me.”

Ecclesiastes 3:4 ESV / 173 helpful votes

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

Psalm 126:2 ESV / 158 helpful votes

Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.”

Proverbs 17:22 ESV / 144 helpful votes

A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.

Job 8:21 ESV / 139 helpful votes

He will yet fill your mouth with laughter, and your lips with shouting.

Luke 6:21 ESV / 137 helpful votes

“Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied. “Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.

Genesis 18:12-15 ESV / 134 helpful votes

So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?” The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.” But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.”

Psalm 2:4 ESV / 130 helpful votes

He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.

Proverbs 14:13 ESV / 115 helpful votes

Even in laughter the heart may ache, and the end of joy may be grief.

Proverbs 31:25 ESV / 82 helpful votes

Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.

James 4:9 ESV / 77 helpful votes

Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.

Luke 6:25 ESV / 53 helpful votes

“Woe to you who are full now, for you shall be hungry. “Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.

Psalm 37:12-13 ESV / 47 helpful votes

The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him, but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming.

Psalm 59:8 ESV / 32 helpful votes

But you, O Lord, laugh at them; you hold all the nations in derision.

Psalm 37:13 ESV / 26 helpful votes

But the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming.

Proverbs 29:9 ESV / 25 helpful votes

If a wise man has an argument with a fool, the fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet.

Ecclesiastes 7:3 ESV / 16 helpful votes

Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad.

Habakkuk 1:10 ESV / 14 helpful votes

At kings they scoff, and at rulers they laugh. They laugh at every fortress, for they pile up earth and take it.

Job 39:18 ESV / 14 helpful votes

When she rouses herself to flee, she laughs at the horse and his rider.

Job 41:29 ESV / 12 helpful votes

Clubs are counted as stubble; he laughs at the rattle of javelins.

Genesis 17:17 ESV / 12 helpful votes

Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?”

Psalm 52:6 ESV / 9 helpful votes

The righteous shall see and fear, and shall laugh at him, saying,

2 Chronicles 30:10 ESV / 9 helpful votes

So the couriers went from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun, but they laughed them to scorn and mocked them.

Luke 10:17 ESV / 7 helpful votes

The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!”

Luke 8:53 ESV / 7 helpful votes

And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead.

Matthew 9:24 ESV / 7 helpful votes

He said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him.

Ecclesiastes 7:6 ESV / 7 helpful votes

For as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fools; this also is vanity.

Nehemiah 2:19 ESV / 7 helpful votes

But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant and Geshem the Arab heard of it, they jeered at us and despised us and said, “What is this thing that you are doing? Are you rebelling against the king?”

Mark 5:40 ESV / 6 helpful votes

And they laughed at him. But he put them all outside and took the child's father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was.

Psalm 37:1-40 ESV / 6 helpful votes

Of David. Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. ...

Genesis 18:12 ESV / 6 helpful votes

So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?”

1 Peter 5:8 ESV / 5 helpful votes

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

John 19:12-27 ESV / 5 helpful votes

From then on Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar's friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.” So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic Gabbatha. Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” So he delivered him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus, ...

John 16:20 ESV / 5 helpful votes

Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.

Proverbs 14:9-19 ESV / 5 helpful votes

Fools mock at the guilt offering, but the upright enjoy acceptance. The heart knows its own bitterness, and no stranger shares its joy. The house of the wicked will be destroyed, but the tent of the upright will flourish. There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. Even in laughter the heart may ache, and the end of joy may be grief. ...

Job 9:23-26 ESV / 5 helpful votes

When disaster brings sudden death, he mocks at the calamity of the innocent. The earth is given into the hand of the wicked; he covers the faces of its judges— if it is not he, who then is it? “My days are swifter than a runner; they flee away; they see no good. They go by like skiffs of reed, like an eagle swooping on the prey.

Genesis 18:12-13 ESV / 5 helpful votes

So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?” The Lord said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’

Revelation 21:4 ESV / 4 helpful votes

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

2 Timothy 4:3-4 ESV / 4 helpful votes

For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

Ephesians 5:4 ESV / 4 helpful votes

Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.

Proverbs 19:23-29 ESV / 4 helpful votes

The fear of the Lord leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm. The sluggard buries his hand in the dish and will not even bring it back to his mouth. Strike a scoffer, and the simple will learn prudence; reprove a man of understanding, and he will gain knowledge. He who does violence to his father and chases away his mother is a son who brings shame and reproach. Cease to hear instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge. ...

Proverbs 17:1-11 ESV / 4 helpful votes

Better is a dry morsel with quiet than a house full of feasting with strife. A servant who deals wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully and will share the inheritance as one of the brothers. The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the Lord tests hearts. An evildoer listens to wicked lips, and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue. Whoever mocks the poor insults his Maker; he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished. ...

Ecclesiastes 1:18 ESV / 3 helpful votes

For in much wisdom is much vexation, and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.

43 Bible Verses about Laughing

Genesis 21:6 ESV / 186 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Ecclesiastes 3:4 ESV / 173 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Psalm 126:2 ESV / 158 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 17:22 ESV / 144 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Job 8:21 ESV / 139 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Luke 6:21 ESV / 137 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Genesis 18:12-15 ESV / 134 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Psalm 2:4 ESV / 130 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 14:13 ESV / 115 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 31:25 ESV / 82 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

James 4:9 ESV / 77 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Luke 6:25 ESV / 53 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Psalm 37:12-13 ESV / 47 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Psalm 59:8 ESV / 32 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Psalm 37:13 ESV / 26 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 29:9 ESV / 25 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Ecclesiastes 7:3 ESV / 16 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Habakkuk 1:10 ESV / 14 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Job 39:18 ESV / 14 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Job 41:29 ESV / 12 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Genesis 17:17 ESV / 12 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Psalm 52:6 ESV / 9 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

2 Chronicles 30:10 ESV / 9 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Luke 10:17 ESV / 7 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Luke 8:53 ESV / 7 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 9:24 ESV / 7 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Ecclesiastes 7:6 ESV / 7 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Nehemiah 2:19 ESV / 7 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Mark 5:40 ESV / 6 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Psalm 37:1-40 ESV / 6 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Genesis 18:12 ESV / 6 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Peter 5:8 ESV / 5 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

John 19:12-27 ESV / 5 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

John 16:20 ESV / 5 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 14:9-19 ESV / 5 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Job 9:23-26 ESV / 5 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Genesis 18:12-13 ESV / 5 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Revelation 21:4 ESV / 4 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

2 Timothy 4:3-4 ESV / 4 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Ephesians 5:4 ESV / 4 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 19:23-29 ESV / 4 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 17:1-11 ESV / 4 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Ecclesiastes 1:18 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

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