Bible Verses for Advent: Four Weeks of Hope, Peace, Joy and Love
Advent is the four-week season before Christmas when Christians prepare for the celebration of Jesus' birth. The Bible verses for Advent come primarily from the prophets who foretold the Messiah's coming, the Psalms that express longing and hope, and the Gospel accounts of the nativity. Scripture assigns a theme to each week: hope, peace, joy, and love. All verses below are from the KJV (King James Version) or WEB (World English Bible), both public domain.
Advent 2026 begins on November 29 and runs through December 24.
What Does Scripture Say About Advent?
The word "advent" comes from the Latin adventus, meaning "coming" or "arrival." The Bible does not use the word advent as a season name, but the concept runs through the entire Old Testament as a longing for the promised Messiah. Isaiah, Micah, and the Psalms carry verses that the church has read during this season for centuries because they describe what was anticipated before the first Christmas.
The New Testament opens Advent in a different key. The angels, the shepherds, the magi, and Mary herself all respond to the arrival of something that was long expected. The season is a kind of rehearsal of that original waiting.
Week One: Hope
The first Sunday of Advent 2026 falls on November 29. The theme is hope, and the verses that carry it most directly come from the prophets.
Isaiah 9:6
"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." (KJV)
This is the central Advent prophecy. Isaiah wrote it roughly seven hundred years before the birth of Jesus, addressing a people living under the shadow of Assyrian invasion. The names piled onto this promised child, Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, are themselves a form of hope. The verse has been read on the first Sunday of Advent in many traditions for generations.
Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." (KJV)
Jeremiah wrote this to Israelites in exile. The phrase "expected end" is sometimes translated "a future and a hope." For Advent, it anchors the season's first week in something solid: God's stated intention toward the people he made.
Romans 15:13
"Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost." (KJV)
Paul connects hope directly to joy and peace here, which is why this verse bridges the first and second weeks of Advent. It is a prayer as much as a declaration, worth using as one during the season.
For more verses in this vein, the hope topic collection brings together scripture from across the Old and New Testament.
Week Two: Peace
Isaiah 26:3
"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee." (KJV)
The Hebrew word for peace here is shalom, which means completeness and wholeness rather than simply the absence of conflict. The condition in the verse is a mind that stays fixed on God. Advent, as a season of intentional waiting, is well suited to that practice.
John 14:27
"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." (KJV)
Jesus said this in his final conversation with his disciples before his arrest. The peace he describes is distinct from anything the world can manufacture or take away. It is a good verse to read on a Sunday morning in December when the month is already becoming loud.
Philippians 4:7
"And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." (KJV)
This peace "keeps" the heart the way a garrison keeps a city. The image is protective, active. Advent is as good a time as any to ask for it.
The peace topic collection has more verses along these lines, including shorter ones suited for cards or social posts.
Week Three: Joy
The third Sunday of Advent is traditionally called Gaudete Sunday, from the Latin word for rejoice. The candle on the advent wreath is typically rose-colored rather than purple to mark the shift in tone.
Zephaniah 3:17
"The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing." (KJV)
One of the more surprising verses in the Old Testament. The rejoicing is not ours alone: God himself rejoices over his people with singing. Reading this verse in December, when the news cycle rarely stops, is a small act of recalibration.
Luke 2:10
"And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people." (KJV)
This is the announcement to the shepherds. The angel does not say "moderate satisfaction" or "qualified relief." The word used in the Greek is megas, great or large. The joy announced on the night of the nativity was sized to match the event.
Isaiah 35:10
"And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." (KJV)
Isaiah 35 describes what homecoming looks like after long exile. The image of sorrow and sighing fleeing away is part of what makes this an Advent passage. It points forward.
Week Four: Love
John 3:16
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (KJV)
The fourth week of Advent arrives just before Christmas and closes on the reason the season exists. This verse names the motivation behind the entire story: love. Not sentiment, but a costly act.
1 John 4:9
"In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him." (KJV)
John writes this as the theological explanation for Christmas. The word "manifested" matters: the love was not new, but it became visible in a stable in Bethlehem. Advent is the annual invitation to look at that visibility again.
Romans 5:8
"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (KJV)
This verse belongs to the fourth week because it completes the story the other three weeks have been building toward. The love described here is not conditional on the receiver's condition.
What Are the Four Messages of Advent?
The four themes of Advent, one per week, are hope, peace, joy, and love. Each is represented by a candle on the Advent wreath: three purple (or blue) candles for the more penitential weeks, one rose candle for Gaudete Sunday. The fifth candle at the center is white and is lit on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
Different traditions order the themes differently, but hope, peace, joy, and love is the most widely used sequence in both Catholic and Protestant churches.
What Verses Tell the Christmas Story?
The nativity accounts appear in Luke 2:1-20 and Matthew 1:18-25. Luke gives the shepherds and angels; Matthew gives Joseph's dream and the star. John 1:1-14 is not a nativity narrative but a theological reflection on what the incarnation means.
Luke 2:1-7
"And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria. And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; because he was of the house and lineage of David: To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn." (KJV)
This is the Nativity in Luke. The historical detail, Caesar Augustus, Cyrenius, the census, grounds the story in real events. The final sentence is one of the most compressed in all of Scripture: a firstborn son, swaddling clothes, a manger, no room.
Matthew 1:23
"Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." (KJV)
Matthew quotes Isaiah 7:14 here as the fulfillment of a centuries-old prophecy. The name Emmanuel, God with us, is the theological center of Christmas. It is what Advent anticipates.
John 1:14
"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." (KJV)
John's account of the nativity is not a story but a statement: the Word became flesh. The Greek word translated "dwelt" is eskenos, meaning "pitched a tent" or "tabernacled." God moved into the neighborhood.
You can read these passages in context using the generator at the homepage to explore related verses, or browse the Christmas topic collection for more seasonal scripture.
Bible Verses for an Advent Calendar
If you are filling a 24-day Advent calendar with scripture, the following are well-matched to the daily countdown:
Psalm 25:5
"Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day." (KJV)
Waiting is the verb of Advent. This psalm makes waiting an act of prayer rather than passive delay.
Micah 5:2
"But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." (KJV)
Micah named the birthplace seven centuries before it happened. A good verse for an early December day on the calendar.
Isaiah 40:3
"The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God." (KJV)
This verse, quoted in all four Gospels about John the Baptist, is a traditional Advent reading. The image of preparing a road for a coming king fits the season's posture.
Isaiah 7:14
"Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." (KJV)
The original prophecy Matthew quotes. Worth including near the final days of the calendar.
The Advent reading plan at /bible-verse-for-advent has a verse for each day from November 29 through December 24 if you want a pre-built daily calendar.
Key Takeaways
- Advent runs four weeks before Christmas, beginning the fourth Sunday before December 25. In 2026, that is November 29.
- The four themes are hope (week one), peace (week two), joy (week three), and love (week four).
- The central Advent prophecy is Isaiah 9:6, written about seven centuries before the birth of Jesus.
- Luke 2 and Matthew 1-2 carry the nativity accounts. John 1:14 gives the theological interpretation.
- All verses on this page are from the KJV or WEB, both public domain, and can be shared freely.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Bible verse for the first week of Advent? The most widely used verse for the first week of Advent, whose theme is hope, is Isaiah 9:6: "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Romans 15:13 is another common choice for hope-week readings.
What are the four candles of Advent and their Bible verses? The four Advent candles represent hope, peace, joy, and love. Hope week commonly uses Isaiah 9:6 or Jeremiah 29:11. Peace week uses Isaiah 26:3 or John 14:27. Joy week (Gaudete Sunday) uses Luke 2:10 or Zephaniah 3:17. Love week uses John 3:16 or 1 John 4:9.
When does Advent 2026 start? Advent 2026 begins on Sunday, November 29, 2026 and runs through December 24, Christmas Eve. Christmas Day, December 25, is the first day of the Christmas season in liturgical terms.
What does Scripture say about waiting during Advent? Psalm 25:5 captures the posture of Advent waiting: "Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day." Isaiah 40:31 also speaks to the experience of waiting: "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."
Where in the Bible is the Christmas story told? The nativity accounts appear in Luke 2:1-20 and Matthew 1:18 through 2:12. Luke emphasizes the shepherds, the manger, and the angelic announcement. Matthew emphasizes Joseph's dream, the visit of the magi, and the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. John 1:1-14 is not a narrative but a theological reflection on the incarnation.