New Year Bible Verses for a Fresh Start
Short answer
Lamentations 3:22-23, Philippians 3:13-14, Isaiah 43:19, and Proverbs 16:9 with James 4:14-15 fit a new year best. Lamentations 3:22-23 speaks of mercies that are new every morning, Philippians 3:13-14 of forgetting what is behind, and Isaiah 43:19 of a new thing God says he will do. Proverbs 16:9 and James 4:14-15 speak to planning the year under God's direction, and James 4:14-15 gives the wording 'If the Lord will.'
The verses here come from the King James Version (KJV) and are grouped by what each one says about beginning again. The grouping is one way to read the passages.
For a finished prayer, start with [Prayer for the New Year](/prayers/occasions/prayer-for-the-new-year), which quotes Lamentations 3:22-23 and Isaiah 43:19. If the new year brings hard news, a pastor or someone you trust can help you read these verses in your own situation.
Fresh Start Verses for a New Year
Three verses speak most directly to a new beginning. Lamentations 3:22-23 says: 'It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.' The mercy it names is renewed each morning, so it fits the first morning of a year. Isaiah 43:19 has God speaking in the first person: 'Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it?' The verse goes on to say that God will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
A reader who expects a hard year can take note that the verse names a wilderness and still promises a way through it. 2 Corinthians 5:17 uses newness in a different sense. It says that if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, and that old things are passed away. The condition is being in Christ, so the newness this verse describes belongs to a person who is in Christ.
Verses for Letting Go of Last Year
Philippians 3:13-14 is a letting-go verse in this group. The writer says he does one thing: 'forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before.' The verse pairs forgetting with reaching forward, so its instruction is about where the reader looks next. The same verse says, 'I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.' A reader closing a hard year can use that phrase to name a goal beyond last year's disappointments. The verse does not say the past will vanish.
It tells the reader to forget what is behind and keep moving forward. Psalm 65:11 works as a thanks verse for the year that is ending: 'Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness.' A reader can read it before the new year begins and thank God for the year that was, without needing the verse to say every part of that year was easy. If the year behind included loss or illness, a pastor or trusted friend can help a reader hold thanks and grief together.
Verses for Planning the Year
Five verses bear on planning. Each one places the reader's plans next to God's direction, though in different ways. Proverbs 16:9 reads, 'A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.' The verse puts planning in its first clause and direction in its second.
The reader makes a plan, and the LORD directs the steps. Read it when you write the year's plan. Proverbs 3:5-6 asks the reader to trust the LORD 'with all thine heart' and not to lean on 'thine own understanding.' It then says, 'In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.' James 4:14-15 gives the most direct guidance about planning.
The verse says, 'Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow.' It calls life 'a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.' It then says the reader ought to say, 'If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.' The verse does not forbid planning. It asks that plans be spoken with the phrase 'If the Lord will' attached. Psalm 90:12 says, 'So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.' A year plan can start by counting the days ahead, while the verse's aim is wisdom applied in the heart.
Psalm 31:15 says, 'My times are in thy hand.' The verse places the writer's times in God's hand. A reader who keeps a calendar can hold that calendar loosely with this line in mind. For more prayers about direction, see [Prayers for Guidance](/prayers/guidance).
Verses for Strength and a Blessing
Isaiah 40:31 says, 'they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.' The verse covers both running and walking, so it speaks to the slow days of a long year as well as the fast ones. Numbers 6:24-26 is a blessing in three short lines: 'The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.' Each line begins with 'The LORD' and names a gift: blessing and keeping, grace, and peace.
These lines can be spoken as a blessing over someone at the start of the year. For more on trust through a long stretch, see [Prayers for Faith](/prayers/faith).
Short Verses for Cards and Texts
These three short pieces fit a card or a text message. Each one is a phrase taken from a longer verse, so the reference is printed beside it.
Lamentations 3:23: 'They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.' Isaiah 43:19: 'Behold, I will do a new thing.' Numbers 6:24: 'The LORD bless thee, and keep thee.' Keep the reference with a short phrase when you share it. A reader who wants the full context can read the whole verse in the list above.
A Short New Year Prayer Using These Verses
Use this prayer as written, or change it to fit your own words. Lord, you have said that your mercies are new every morning. Give me that mercy today, and again tomorrow.
I do not know what the year will hold, so I ask you to direct my steps as I make plans. Help me forget what is behind and reach toward what is before me. Where the year is long, renew my strength so that I can keep walking.
Bless me and keep me, and let your face shine on me. Amen. [Prayer for the New Year](/prayers/occasions/prayer-for-the-new-year) offers another prayer for the same season.
Using One Verse across the Year
Choose one verse and put it where you will see it each day, such as a mirror, a planner, or a phone's lock screen. On the first day of each month, read the verse aloud and pray one sentence back to God using its words. The sentence can change from month to month while the verse stays the same.
Choosing One Verse for the Year
Start with three choices: Lamentations 3:22-23 for gratitude, Philippians 3:13-14 for letting go, and Proverbs 16:9 for planning. Your situation decides the emphasis.
A hard year behind points toward the letting-go and mercies verses, Philippians 3:13-14 and Lamentations 3:22-23. A planning season points toward Proverbs and James, Proverbs 16:9 and James 4:14-15.
Holding Resolutions under God's Direction
None of the listed verses mention resolutions by name. James 4:14-15 and Proverbs 16:9 speak to making plans under God's direction, and James 4:14-15 gives the wording: 'If the Lord will.' Traditions differ on how much weight to give resolutions. Write the goals down if that helps, hold them loosely under James 4:14-15, and pray 'If the Lord will' when you read them.
If a goal from last year went unmet, read [How to Pray When You Didn't Reach Your Goals](/answers/how-to-pray-when-you-didnt-reach-your-goals). Choose your new year Bible verses before you write any goals, then read James 4:14-15 once before you finish the list.
Key Bible verses
- It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. — Lamentations 3:22-23
- Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. — Isaiah 43:19
- Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. — 2 Corinthians 5:17
- Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. — Philippians 3:13-14
- Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness. — Psalm 65:11
- A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps. — Proverbs 16:9
- Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. — Proverbs 3:5-6
- Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. — James 4:14-15
- So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. — Psalm 90:12
- My times are in thy hand: deliver me from the hand of mine enemies, and from them that persecute me. — Psalm 31:15
- 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. — Isaiah 40:31
- The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. — Numbers 6:24-26
Frequently asked questions
Which Bible verses are good for the new year?
Lamentations 3:22-23 fits a new year that begins with mercy, Philippians 3:13-14 fits letting go of what is behind, and Isaiah 43:19 fits a new thing God says he will do. Proverbs 16:9 and James 4:14-15 fit planning the year under God's direction. Start with one or two verses rather than the whole list.
What is a short Bible verse for a new year card?
'They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness' (Lamentations 3:23) is a short phrase for a card. 'The LORD bless thee, and keep thee' (Numbers 6:24) works as a blessing, and 'Behold, I will do a new thing' (Isaiah 43:19) is a short line about a new beginning.
What does 'new every morning' mean in Lamentations 3?
The phrase says the LORD's mercies are new every morning. The same verse says his compassions fail not and that the reader is not consumed because of his mercies.
Is making resolutions biblical?
None of the listed verses mention resolutions by name. James 4:14-15 says the reader ought to say, 'If the Lord will,' when making plans, and Proverbs 16:9 says a man's heart deviseth his way while the LORD directeth his steps. Traditions differ on how much weight to give resolutions, so a reader can write goals and hold them loosely under those two verses.
What Bible verse is about starting over?
2 Corinthians 5:17 says that if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, and old things are passed away. Isaiah 43:19 says God will do a new thing and make a way in the wilderness. The 2 Corinthians verse ties the new start to being in Christ.
Which verse should I pick after a hard year?
A hard year behind points toward the letting-go and mercies verses, Philippians 3:13-14 and Lamentations 3:22-23. Psalm 31:15 also says the writer's times are in God's hand. Pick the verse that matches the season you are in now.