The shame whispers that you’re damaged goods. The nightmares steal your sleep and safety. The triggers arrive without warning, turning ordinary moments into battlefields of memory and fear. If you’re walking the painful path of healing from sexual trauma, you might wonder if God sees your invisible wounds or if wholeness is even possible after such devastating betrayal of trust.
Sexual trauma leaves wounds that go far beyond the physical, fracturing your sense of safety, worth, and connection to your own body. The church hasn’t always been a safe space for survivors, sometimes adding religious shame to an already crushing burden. But Scripture tells a different story about God’s heart toward those who have been violated and exploited.
These verses aren’t quick fixes or magic words that erase trauma, but they are anchors of truth when everything feels shattered. God grieves with you, fights for you, and promises divine restoration that trauma tried to steal. Your healing journey is sacred work, and these promises from Scripture can provide light for even the darkest valleys of recovery.
Bible Verses About Healing from Sexual Trauma
1. Psalm 34:18 – The Lord Is Close to the Brokenhearted
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
New International Version (NIV)
2. Isaiah 61:1-3 – Beauty from Ashes
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion—to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit.
English Standard Version (ESV)
3. Psalm 147:3 – He Heals the Brokenhearted
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
New King James Version (NKJV)
4. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 – The God of All Comfort
All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.
New Living Translation (NLT)
5. Psalm 139:13-16 – Fearfully and Wonderfully Made
For it was you who created my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I will praise you because I have been remarkably and wondrously made. Your works are wondrous, and I know this very well. My bones were not hidden from you when I was made in secret, when I was formed in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in your book and planned before a single one of them began.
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
6. Romans 8:1 – No Condemnation
Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
7. Psalm 103:12 – As Far as the East Is from the West
As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
King James Version (KJV)
8. Isaiah 43:1-2 – You Are Precious in My Sight
But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
9. Psalm 56:8 – You Keep Track of All My Sorrows
You’ve kept track of my every toss and turn through the sleepless nights, each tear entered in your ledger, each ache written in your book.
The Message (MSG)
10. 1 Peter 2:24 – By His Wounds You Have Been Healed
He personally carried our sins in His body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.
Amplified Bible (AMP)
11. Jeremiah 17:14 – Heal Me, Lord, and I Will Be Healed
Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed! Deliver me, and I will be delivered! For you are the one I praise!
New English Translation (NET)
12. Psalm 23:3-4 – He Restores My Soul
He renews my life; He leads me along the right paths for His name’s sake. Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff—they comfort me.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
13. Isaiah 54:4 – Do Not Be Afraid of Being Disgraced
Don’t be afraid! You won’t be ashamed. Don’t be embarrassed! You won’t be disgraced. You will forget how ashamed you were when you were young.
Contemporary English Version (CEV)
14. Zephaniah 3:17 – He Will Quiet You with His Love
The Lord your God is with you; his power gives you victory. The Lord will take delight in you, and in his love he will give you new life. He will sing and be joyful over you.
Good News Translation (GNT)
15. Psalm 27:10 – When My Father and Mother Forsake Me
Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord will hold me close.
New Century Version (NCV)
16. 2 Corinthians 5:17 – You Are a New Creation
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away, and look, new things have come.
International Standard Version (ISV)
17. Revelation 21:4-5 – He Will Wipe Every Tear
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death or mourning, crying out or pain, for the former things have passed away. The One seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new!”
Tree of Life Version (TLV)
18. Psalm 9:9 – A Refuge for the Oppressed
The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.
Lexham English Bible (LEB)
19. Isaiah 42:3 – A Bruised Reed He Will Not Break
He won’t break a bruised reed. He won’t quench a dimly burning wick. He will faithfully bring justice.
World English Bible (WEB)
20. Psalm 18:2-3 – My Rock, My Fortress, My Deliverer
Jehovah is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; My God, my rock, in whom I will take refuge; My shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower. I will call upon Jehovah, who is worthy to be praised: So shall I be saved from mine enemies.
American Standard Version (ASV)
21. Romans 8:38-39 – Nothing Can Separate Us from God’s Love
For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Revised Standard Version (RSV)
22. Psalm 30:11-12 – You Turned My Mourning Into Dancing
You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my soul may praise you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you for ever!
New American Bible (NAB)
23. Isaiah 40:11 – He Tends His Flock Like a Shepherd
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.
Douay-Rheims Bible (DRB)
24. Luke 4:18-19 – To Set the Captives Free
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he anointed me to preach good tidings to the poor: he hath sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.
English Revised Version (ERV)
25. Psalm 116:8 – You Have Delivered My Soul from Death
For Thou hast delivered my soul from death, Mine eyes from tears, my feet from overthrow.
Young’s Literal Translation (YLT)
26. 2 Timothy 1:7 – God Has Not Given Us a Spirit of Fear
For God has not given us a spirit of cowardice; but of power, and of love, and of wise discretion.
Darby Translation (DARBY)
27. Psalm 46:1-2 – God Is Our Refuge and Strength
God is our Refuge and Strength, a very present Help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth do change, and though the mountains be moved into the heart of the seas.
Weymouth New Testament (WNT)
28. Isaiah 49:15-16 – Can a Mother Forget Her Nursing Child?
Whether a womman may foryete hir yonge child, that sche haue not merci on the sone of hir wombe? and thouy sche foryetith, netheles Y schal not foryete thee. Lo! Y haue write thee in myn hondis.
Wycliffe Bible (WYC)
29. Psalm 91:4 – Under His Wings You Will Find Refuge
Hee shall couer thee with his feathers, and vnder his wings shalt thou trust: his trueth shalbe thy shielde and buckler.
Geneva Bible (GNV)
30. Ephesians 2:10 – We Are God’s Masterpiece
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Iesus vnto good workes, which God hath before ordeyned, that we shoulde walke in them.
Bishop’s Bible
31. 1 John 3:1 – See What Great Love the Father Has Lavished on Us
Beholde what love the father hath shewed on vs that we shuld be called the sonnes of God. For this cause ye worlde knoweth vs not because it knoweth not him.
Tyndale Bible
32. Psalm 71:20-21 – You Will Restore My Life Again
You have allowed me to suffer much hardship, but you will restore me to life again and lift me up from the depths of the earth. You will restore me to even greater honor and comfort me once again.
The Living Bible (TLB)
33. Joel 2:25 – I Will Restore to You the Years
I will restore to you all that you lost to the swarming locusts, the hopping locusts, the stripping locusts, and the cutting locusts. It was I who sent this great destroying army against you.
The Passion Translation (TPT)
34. Jeremiah 31:13 – I Will Turn Their Mourning Into Joy
Then young women will dance with joy, and men, young and old, will join in. I will turn their sadness into happiness. I will comfort them and give them joy to replace their sorrow.
The Voice Bible (VOICE)
35. 3 John 1:2 – I Pray That You May Enjoy Good Health
Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health. And I pray that everything else may go well with you, just as I know you are doing well spiritually.
New International Reader’s Version (NIrV)
Our Thoughts On What the Bible Says About Sexual Trauma
Scripture speaks with profound tenderness to survivors of sexual trauma, acknowledging both the devastating reality of human evil and God’s fierce love for those who have been wounded. What strikes me most is how the Bible never minimizes trauma or rushes toward cheap comfort. Instead, it validates the depth of pain while offering hope for genuine restoration that honors both the reality of what happened and the possibility of healing.
The biblical narrative consistently shows God as defender of the vulnerable and opponent of those who exploit and harm others. From the Psalms’ raw cries for justice to Jesus’ warnings about those who harm the innocent, Scripture makes clear that God grieves with survivors and holds perpetrators accountable. The promise isn’t that trauma never happened, but that it doesn’t define your identity or limit God’s power to restore what was stolen.
Most importantly, these verses reveal that healing doesn’t mean forgetting or pretending everything is fine. Biblical healing acknowledges scars while declaring that your worth, beauty, and capacity for wholeness remain intact despite what others tried to destroy.
Say This Prayer
Heavenly Father, I come to You carrying wounds that feel too deep for words and shame that whispers lies about my worth. You know every detail of what happened to me, every moment of violation and betrayal that tried to steal my sense of safety and value. I’m grateful that You grieve with me and that my trauma doesn’t shock or overwhelm You.
Help me to believe that what happened to me was not Your will and does not reflect my value in Your eyes. When shame tells me I’m damaged goods, remind me that I am fearfully and wonderfully made. When flashbacks steal my peace, surround me with Your presence. When triggers make me feel powerless, help me remember that You are my refuge and strength.
Bring trustworthy people into my life who can walk with me through this healing journey. Give me wisdom to know when to push forward and when to rest. Help me be patient with the process and celebrate small victories along the way. Restore what trauma tried to steal and use my healing to bring hope to others walking similar paths.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.