Bible Verses About Rest.

God built rest into creation. He rested on the seventh day and gave Israel the Sabbath as a gift, a weekly reminder that they were no longer slaves who had to work without end.

Jesus offers a deeper rest to the weary: rest for the soul. These verses invite you to stop, trust God with what is unfinished, and find your strength in him rather than in your own effort.

Come and rest

Jesus invites the tired, not the put-together.

  • Matthew 11:28-30

    Read in context
    Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
  • Psalm 23:1-3

    Read in context
    A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
  • Mark 6:31

    Read in context
    And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.
  • Psalm 62:1-2

    Read in context
    To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.

Rest is a gift

God commands rest because he cares for you.

  • Exodus 20:8-10

    Read in context
    “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates.
  • Psalm 127:2

    Read in context
    It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.
  • Isaiah 30:15

    Read in context
    For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” But you were unwilling,

Rest that remains

Every Sabbath points to a final rest in Christ.

  • Hebrews 4:9-11

    Read in context
    So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.
  • Isaiah 40:29-31

    Read in context
    He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
  • Revelation 14:13

    Read in context
    And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”

Write about Matthew 11:28-30

A short SOAP journal entry: Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer. No account needed to start. Your words stay in this browser until you choose to keep them.

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28-30 (ESV)

Related topics

Scripture quotations are from the ESV(R) Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version(R)), copyright (c) 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.