Growing old does not mean losing value in the Bible. “Gray hair is a crown of honor,” says Proverbs. Here you will find 21 Bible verses about aging—promises for the later years of life, verses for milestone birthdays, and prayers for days when strength begins to fail.
God carries us into old age
Promises for older people.
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Yes, I will carry you into old age and until you are gray. I will do it, I will lift up and carry and save.
Isaiah 46:4BirthdayGrandparents
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Do not forsake me in my old age; do not abandon me when I am weak.
Psalm 71:9
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And do not forsake me, O God, in old age, when I am gray, until I proclaim your arm to the children and your power to all who are yet to come.
Psalm 71:18Grandparents
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The righteous will flourish like a palm tree; they will grow like a cedar on Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God. And though they grow old, they will still blossom, be fruitful and fresh.
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Teach us to number our days, that we may gain wisdom.
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Our life is seventy years, and if it is full, eighty years; and if it is pleasant, it is toil and trouble, for it passes quickly, as though we were fleeing.
Psalm 90:10
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Therefore we will not grow weary; but though our outer self is decaying, our inner self is being renewed day by day.
2 Corinthians 4:16BirthdayExhaustion
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I was young and became old, and I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their offspring go begging for bread.
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He who makes your mouth rejoice and your face young again.
Psalm 103:5Health
Wisdom and dignity
Old age has a special value in the Bible.
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Gray hair is a crown of honor, found on the path of righteousness.
Proverbs 16:31
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The strength of youth is its beauty, and gray hair is the ornament of the aged.
Proverbs 20:29
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Yes, “with the grandfathers is wisdom, and with the aged is understanding.”
Job 12:12
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You shall rise before a gray head and honor the aged; for you shall fear your God, for I am the LORD.
3 Moses 19:32
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Tell the older people to be sober, respectable, self-controlled, and sound in faith, love, and patience; and the older women likewise, to keep themselves pure as is fitting for holy women, not slanderers or wine-drinkers, but good teachers.
Titus 2:2-3
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Children will praise your works and speak of your power.
Psalm 145:4Grandparents
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Do not rebuke an older person, but admonish them as a father, the young men as brothers, the older women as mothers, and the younger women as sisters with all purity.
1 Timothy 5:1-2
Older people in the Bible
God calls people in old age too.
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Then Abram set out, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him. But Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran.
1 Moses 12:4Obedience
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And Sarah became pregnant and bore Abraham a son in his old age, about the time God had spoken to him.
1 Moses 21:2
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LORD, now you let your servant go in peace, as you have said; for my eyes have seen your salvation.
Luke 2:29-30
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And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher; she was well advanced in years and had lived seven years with her husband after her virginity, and was now a widow at eighty-four years old; she never left the temple but served God with fasting and prayer day and night.
Luke 2:36-37Widows
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And now behold, the LORD has kept me alive, as he has spoken. It has now been forty-five years since the LORD spoke such words to Moses, when Israel was wandering in the wilderness. And now behold, I am eighty-five years old today, and I am still as strong today as I was on the day Moses sent me; my strength was then, and it is still now, to go out and fight.
Joshua 14:10-11
Bible texts: Luther Bible 1912 (public domain), carefully adapted to modern spelling.
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This might be for you
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Old age in the Bible
In the Bible, old age is a sign of blessing. Abraham sets out at seventy-five, Sarah bears a son in her old age, and Caleb says at eighty-five, “And I am still as strong today as I was on the day Moses sent me” (Joshua 14:11). In the temple, Simeon and Anna, who was eighty-four, wait for the Messiah—and are the first to recognize the baby Jesus (Luke 2:25-38). God calls and uses people of every age.
God’s promise for the later years of life
“Yes, I will carry you into old age and until you are gray” (Isaiah 46:4). This verse is a great comfort to many older people, especially when strength begins to fail. Psalm 71 is an entire prayer of an older person: “Do not forsake me in my old age; do not abandon me when I am weak” (Psalm 71:9). And Psalm 92 promises that the righteous “though they grow old, they will still blossom.” For milestone birthdays, you will find more verses at Bible verses for birthdays, and for grandparents at Bible verses for grandparents.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Bible verse is suitable for an 80th or 90th birthday?
Isaiah 46:4, Psalm 92:13-15, Psalm 71:18, Psalm 90:12, and Psalm 103:2 are popular choices.
What does the Bible say about old age?
The Bible honors old age (Proverbs 16:31; 3 Moses 19:32) and promises that God carries people into old age (Isaiah 46:4).
