Vietnam Evangelical Covenant Church – With permission to use content ideas from Salem Web Network, the Communications Team of Vietnam Evangelical Covenant Church is pleased to share with you a list of key verses arranged by topic from the Bible (Berean Standard Bible).
At a Christian wedding, God’s Word always has a special place: on the invitation, in the sermon, in the blessings of parents and friends. But choosing which verse to use is not always easy. Here are 11 Bible verses for weddings and married love, with a few notes to help you understand and use each one in the right spirit.
These verses can be printed on wedding invitations, read during the ceremony, written in blessings for the bride and groom, or reflected on by the young couple in their first years together.
11 Bible Verses for Weddings
1. Ephesians 5:22–26
“Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, His body, of which He is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her to sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word…”
– Ephesians 5:22–26 (BSB)
This is the passage most often read at Protestant weddings. Its heart is sacrificial love: the husband is called to love his wife as Christ loves the church, and the wife to honor her husband as she honors the Lord.
2. 1 Corinthians 13:4–8
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no account of wrongs. Love takes no pleasure in evil, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will be dismissed.”
– 1 Corinthians 13:4–8 (BSB)
Paul’s “love song” describes love through actions rather than feelings. The wedding day is a good time to read it, but the years after the wedding are when we most need to live it.
3. Ecclesiastes 4:9–12
“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. For if one falls, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to help him up! Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone? And though one may be overpowered, two can resist. Moreover, a cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”
– Ecclesiastes 4:9–12 (BSB)
The “cord of three strands” is often understood as husband, wife and God in the middle. A marriage with God as the third strand is hard to break when trials come.
4. Genesis 2:18, 21–24
“The LORD God also said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make for him a suitable helper.” … So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he slept, He took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the area with flesh. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib that He had taken from the man, and He brought her to him. And the man said: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for out of man she was taken.” For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.”
– Genesis 2:18, 21–24 (BSB)
The story of the first wedding in history: God Himself brought the woman to the man. A spouse is a “helper” God gives, not someone to possess.
5. Proverbs 18:22
“He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD.”
– Proverbs 18:22 (BSB)
A short verse, perfect for a wedding invitation. It reminds the groom that his wife is God’s favor to him.
6. Song of Songs 8:6
“Set me as a seal over your heart, as a seal upon your arm. For love is as strong as death, its jealousy as unrelenting as Sheol. Its sparks are fiery flames, the fiercest blaze of all.”
– Song of Songs 8:6 (BSB)
A “seal” marks ownership and commitment. Married love is described as strong as death, meaning a lifelong bond.
7. Matthew 19:4–6
“Jesus answered, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.””
– Matthew 19:4–6 (BSB)
The words “what God has joined together, let man not separate” are often declared by the pastor in the wedding ceremony. A wedding is not just a promise between two people but a covenant before God.
8. 1 Corinthians 13:1–3
“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a ringing gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have absolute faith so as to move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and exult in the surrender of my body, but have not love, I gain nothing.”
– 1 Corinthians 13:1–3 (BSB)
A wedding can be grand and beautiful, but without love it all “gains nothing.” This is a reminder for the bride and groom to put love above appearances.
9. Ephesians 4:1–3
“As a prisoner in the Lord, then, I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling you have received: with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, and with diligence to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”
– Ephesians 4:1–3 (BSB)
Humility, gentleness and patience are virtues married life greatly needs. “Bearing with one another in love” is practical advice for every new family.
10. Ephesians 3:14–20
“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I ask that out of the riches of His glory He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. Then you, being rooted and grounded in love, will have power, together with all the saints, to comprehend the length and width and height and depth of the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us…”
– Ephesians 3:14–20 (BSB)
Paul’s prayer is a fitting close to a wedding: asking that Christ dwell in the couple’s hearts, so they are rooted in His love.
11. 1 John 3:18
“Little children, let us not love in word and speech, but in action and truth.”
– 1 John 3:18 (BSB)
Wedding vows only have value when lived out in action. This verse is a short but deep blessing for the bride and groom.
Tips for Using Bible Verses at a Wedding
For invitations, choose short verses like Proverbs 18:22, Song of Songs 8:6 or 1 John 3:18. In the ceremony, longer passages such as 1 Corinthians 13 or Ephesians 5 are suitable to read before the sermon. When writing a blessing, you can quote a verse and add a few lines of specific wishes for the couple.
Most importantly, the wedding is only the beginning. The verses read that day will be needed again in the years that follow, as love is tested through the ordinary things of life.
You may also like: 15 Bible Verses About Marriage and Family Worship: 5 Tips for Making Christ the Center.
Lord, bless newly married couples. Be the third strand in their marriage, keeping them in love, humility and faithfulness for life. In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Compiled by: Ly Nguyễn
With permission from: Salem Web Network
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