Bible Verses About Praying for the Dead
Ranked by the OpenBible.info topical community
These are the Bible verses most often cited for praying for the dead, ranked by the OpenBible.info topical community across 5,304 votes, led by Hebrews 9:27. Each passage links to its verse page or the interactive map; scripture is the King James Version.
Top verses about Praying for the Dead
Hebrews 9:27162 votes
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
Isaiah 8:19135 votes
And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead?
John 3:16124 votes
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.
Revelation 21:4113 votes
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
Revelation 5:8106 votes
And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.
Romans 6:23104 votes
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalms 146:496 votes
His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.
Ecclesiastes 9:5-694 votes
For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
Luke 16:19-3194 votes
There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
1 Timothy 2:592 votes
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
Deuteronomy 18:1191 votes
Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
Leviticus 19:3190 votes
Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God.
Ecclesiastes 9:590 votes
For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
John 14:689 votes
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Romans 14:888 votes
For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.
Ezekiel 18:2087 votes
The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
Psalms 115:1780 votes
The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence.
Philippians 4:679 votes
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
James 5:1678 votes
Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
2 Corinthians 5:876 votes
We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
1 John 4:174 votes
Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
Luke 23:4372 votes
And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.
Psalms 23:468 votes
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Romans 5:1268 votes
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
1 Chronicles 10:1366 votes
So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the Lord, even against the word of the Lord, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it;
What does the Bible say about praying for the dead?
Readers most often cite Hebrews 9:27 on the subject of praying for the dead. Across 5,304 votes, 25 passages are commonly cited for this topic, including Isaiah 8:19, John 3:16, Revelation 21:4. This page lists all 25 in ranked order, quoted in the King James Version, with each linked to its cross-references.