Bible verses about peace
The peace Scripture describes is not the absence of trouble. John 14:27 offers a peace explicitly unlike what the world gives, and John 16:33 promises tribulation in the same breath as peace. Philippians 4:6-7 describes it as a guard set around the heart and mind, and Isaiah 26:3 ties it to where the mind is fixed.
12 verses about peace
6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7 (KJV) →27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
John 14:27 (KJV) →33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
John 16:33 (KJV) →3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
Isaiah 26:3 (KJV) →11 The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace.
Psalms 29:11 (KJV) →15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
Colossians 3:15 (KJV) →1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Romans 5:1 (KJV) →24 The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: 25 The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: 26 The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
Numbers 6:24-26 (KJV) →9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Matthew 5:9 (KJV) →8 I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.
Psalms 4:8 (KJV) →16 Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all.
2 Thessalonians 3:16 (KJV) →18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.
Romans 12:18 (KJV) →
Peace that is not the absence of trouble
John 16:33 is the clearest statement of this: in the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer. The peace and the tribulation are held in the same sentence, which rules out reading peace as circumstances going well. John 14:27 draws the same distinction — not as the world giveth. The world's version of peace depends on the conditions being right. What is offered here is described as something given and left, independent of whether the situation resolves.
Where peace is said to come from
Isaiah 26:3 makes it a matter of attention: thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee. Philippians 4:7 uses military language — the peace of God shall keep, or garrison, your hearts and minds. Both images are active rather than passive; something is being held in place. Romans 5:1 adds a different sense of the word: peace with God, meaning a settled relationship rather than a settled mood. The two meanings support each other, but they are not the same thing, and much confusion comes from mixing them.
Making peace with other people
Matthew 5:9 blesses peacemakers, not the peaceful — the word implies work. Romans 12:18 is realistic about the limits: if it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. That verse contains two qualifications in a single line, which is an unusually candid acknowledgement that reconciliation is not always available and is not always yours to achieve alone.
Scripture quoted from the King James Version, which is in the public domain. Esther reads the ESV, NIV and NLT in the app.