Bible Readings for Weddings

Genesis 2:18-24

¹⁸And Jehovah God saith, ‘Not good for the man to be alone, I do make to him an helper -- as his counterpart.'

¹⁹And Jehovah God formeth from the ground every beast of the field, and every fowl of the heavens, and bringeth in unto the man, to see what he doth call it; and whatever the man calleth a living creature, that [is] its name.

²⁰And the man calleth names to all the cattle, and to fowl of the heavens, and to every beast of the field; and to man hath not been found an helper -- as his counterpart.

²¹And Jehovah God causeth a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he sleepeth, and He taketh one of his ribs, and closeth up flesh in its stead.

²²And Jehovah God buildeth up the rib which He hath taken out of the man into a woman, and bringeth her in unto the man;

²³and the man saith, ‘This [is] the [proper] step! bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh!' for this it is called Woman, for from a man hath this been taken;

²⁴therefore doth a man leave his father and his mother, and hath cleaved unto his wife, and they have become one flesh.

Ruth 4

¹And Boaz hath gone up to the gate, and sitteth there, and lo, the redeemer is passing by of whom Boaz had spoken, and he saith, ‘Turn aside, sit down here, such a one, such a one;' and he turneth aside and sitteth down.

²And he taketh ten men of the elders of the city, and saith, ‘Sit down here;' and they sit down.

³And he saith to the redeemer, ‘A portion of the field which [is] to our brother, to Elimelech, hath Naomi sold, who hath come back from the fields of Moab;

⁴and I said, I uncover thine ear, saying, Buy before the inhabitants, and before the elders of my people; if thou dost redeem -- redeem, and if none doth redeem -- declare to me, and I know, for there is none save thee to redeem, and I after thee.' And he saith, I redeem [it].'

⁵And Boaz saith, ‘In the day of thy buying the field from the hand of Naomi, then from Ruth the Moabitess, wife of the dead, thou hast bought [it], to raise up the name of the dead over his inheritance.'

⁶And the redeemer saith, ‘I am not able to redeem [it] for myself, lest I destroy mine inheritance; redeem for thyself -- thou -- my right of redemption, for I am not able to redeem.'

⁷And this [is] formerly in Israel for redemption and for changing, to establish anything: a man hath drawn off his sandal, and given [it] to his neighbour, and this [is] the testimony in Israel.

⁸And the redeemer saith to Boaz, ‘Buy [it] for thyself,' and draweth off his sandal.

⁹And Boaz saith to the elders, and [to] all the people, ‘Witnesses [are] ye to-day that I have bought all that [is] to Elimelech, and all that [is] to Chilion and Mahlon, from the hand of Naomi;

¹⁰and also Ruth the Moabitess, wife of Mahlon, I have bought to myself for a wife, to raise up the name of the dead over his inheritance; and the name of the dead is not cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of his place; witnesses ye [are] to-day.'

¹¹And all the people who [are] in the gate say -- also the elders -- ‘Witnesses! Jehovah make the woman who is coming in unto thy house as Rachel and as Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel; and do thou virtuously in Ephrathah, and proclaim the Name in Beth-Lehem;

¹²and let thy house be as the house of Pharez (whom Tamar bare to Judah), of the seed which Jehovah doth give to thee of this young woman.'

¹³And Boaz taketh Ruth, and she becometh his wife, and he goeth in unto her, and Jehovah giveth to her conception, and she beareth a son.

¹⁴And the women say unto Naomi, ‘Blessed [is] Jehovah who hath not let a redeemer cease to thee to-day, and his name is proclaimed in Israel,

¹⁵and he hath been to thee for a restorer of life, and for a nourisher of thine old age, for thy daughter-in-law who hath loved thee -- who is better to thee than seven sons -- hath borne him.'

¹⁶And Naomi taketh the lad, and layeth him in her bosom, and is to him for a nurse;

¹⁷and the neighbouring women give to him a name, saying, ‘There hath been a son born to Naomi,' and they call his name Obed; he [is] father of Jesse, father of David.

¹⁸And these are genealogies of Pharez: Pharez begat Hezron,

¹⁹and Hezron begat Ram, and Ram begat Amminidab,

²⁰and Amminidab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon begat Salmon,

²¹and Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed,

²²and Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David.

Proverbs 5:15-19

¹⁵Drink waters out of thine own cistern, Even flowing ones out of thine own well.

¹⁶Let thy fountains be scattered abroad, In broad places rivulets of waters.

¹⁷Let them be to thee for thyself, And not to strangers with thee.

¹⁸Let thy fountain be blessed, And rejoice because of the wife of thy youth,

¹⁹A hind of loves, and a roe of grace! Let her loves satisfy thee at all times, In her love magnify thyself continually.

Proverbs 18:22

²²[Whoso] hath found a wife hath found good, And bringeth out good-will from Jehovah.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

⁹The two [are] better than the one, in that they have a good reward by their labour.

¹⁰For if they fall, the one raiseth up his companion, but wo to the one who falleth and there is not a second to raise him up!

¹¹Also, if two lie down, then they have heat, but how hath one heat?

¹²And if the one strengthen himself, the two stand against him; and the threefold cord is not hastily broken.

Matthew 19:5-6

⁵and said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and cleave to his wife, and they shall be -- the two -- for one flesh?

⁶so that they are no more two, but one flesh; what therefore God did join together, let no man put asunder.'

Mark 10:6-9

⁶but from the beginning of the creation, a male and a female God did make them;

⁷on this account shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife,

⁸and they shall be -- the two -- for one flesh; so that they are no more two, but one flesh;

⁹what therefore God did join together, let not man put asunder.'

John 2:1-11

¹And the third day a marriage happened in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there,

²and also Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage;

³and wine having failed, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, ‘Wine they have not;'

⁴Jesus saith to her, ‘What -- to me and to thee, woman? not yet is mine hour come.'

⁵His mother saith to the ministrants, ‘Whatever he may say to you -- do.'

⁶And there were there six water-jugs of stone, placed according to the purifying of the Jews, holding each two or three measures.

⁷Jesus saith to them, ‘Fill the water-jugs with water;' and they filled them -- unto the brim;

⁸and he saith to them, ‘Draw out, now, and bear to the director of the apartment;' and they bare.

⁹And as the director of the apartment tasted the water become wine, and knew not whence it is, (but the ministrants knew, who have drawn the water,) the director of the feast doth call the bridegroom,

¹⁰and saith to him, ‘Every man, at first, the good wine doth set forth; and when they may have drunk freely, then the inferior; thou didst keep the good wine till now.'

¹¹This beginning of the signs did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested his glory, and his disciples believed in him;

I Corinthians 7

¹And concerning the things of which ye wrote to me: good [it is] for a man not to touch a woman,

²and because of the whoredom let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her proper husband;

³to the wife let the husband the due benevolence render, and in like manner also the wife to the husband;

⁴the wife over her own body hath not authority, but the husband; and, in like manner also, the husband over his own body hath not authority, but the wife.

⁵Defraud not one another, except by consent for a time, that ye may be free for fasting and prayer, and again may come together, that the Adversary may not tempt you because of your incontinence;

⁶and this I say by way of concurrence -- not of command,

⁷for I wish all men to be even as I myself [am]; but each his own gift hath of God, one indeed thus, and one thus.

⁸And I say to the unmarried and to the widows: it is good for them if they may remain even as I [am];

⁹and if they have not continence -- let them marry, for it is better to marry than to burn;

¹⁰and to the married I announce -- not I, but the Lord -- let not a wife separate from a husband:

¹¹but and if she may separate, let her remain unmarried, or to the husband let her be reconciled, and let not a husband send away a wife.

¹²And to the rest I speak -- not the Lord -- if any brother hath a wife unbelieving, and she is pleased to dwell with him, let him not send her away;

¹³and a woman who hath a husband unbelieving, and he is pleased to dwell with her, let her not send him away;

¹⁴for the unbelieving husband hath been sanctified in the wife, and the unbelieving wife hath been sanctified in the husband; otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy.

¹⁵And, if the unbelieving doth separate himself -- let him separate himself: the brother or the sister is not under servitude in such [cases], and in peace hath God called us;

¹⁶for what, hast thou known, O wife, whether the husband thou shalt save? or what, hast thou known, O husband, whether the wife thou shalt save?

¹⁷if not, as God did distribute to each, as the Lord hath called each -- so let him walk; and thus in all the assemblies do I direct:

¹⁸being circumcised -- was any one called? let him not become uncircumcised; in uncircumcision was any one called? let him not be circumcised;

¹⁹the circumcision is nothing, and the uncircumcision is nothing -- but a keeping of the commands of God.

²⁰Each in the calling in which he was called -- in this let him remain;

²¹a servant -- wast thou called? be not anxious; but if also thou art able to become free -- use [it] rather;

²²for he who [is] in the Lord -- having been called a servant -- is the Lord's freedman: in like manner also he the freeman, having been called, is servant of Christ:

²³with a price ye were bought, become not servants of men;

²⁴each, in that in which he was called, brethren, in this let him remain with God.

²⁵And concerning the virgins, a command of the Lord I have not; and I give judgment as having obtained kindness from the Lord to be faithful:

²⁶I suppose, therefore, this to be good because of the present necessity, that [it is] good for a man that the matter be thus: --

²⁷Hast thou been bound to a wife? seek not to be loosed; hast thou been loosed from a wife? seek not a wife.

²⁸But and if thou mayest marry, thou didst not sin; and if the virgin may marry, she did not sin; and such shall have tribulation in the flesh: and I spare you.

²⁹And this I say, brethren, the time henceforth is having been shortened -- that both those having wives may be as not having;

³⁰and those weeping, as not weeping; and those rejoicing, as not rejoicing; and those buying, as not possessing;

³¹and those using this world, as not using [it] up; for passing away is the fashion of this world.

³²And I wish you to be without anxiety; the unmarried is anxious for the things of the Lord, how he shall please the Lord;

³³and the married is anxious for the things of the world, how he shall please the wife.

³⁴The wife and the virgin have been distinguished: the unmarried is anxious for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit, and the married is anxious for the things of the world, how she shall please the husband.

³⁵And this for your own profit I say: not that I may cast a noose upon you, but for the seemliness and devotedness to the Lord, undistractedly,

³⁶and if any one doth think [it] to be unseemly to his virgin, if she may be beyond the bloom of age, and it ought so to be, what he willeth let him do; he doth not sin -- let him marry.

³⁷And he who hath stood stedfast in the heart -- not having necessity -- and hath authority over his own will, and this he hath determined in his heart -- to keep his own virgin -- doth well;

³⁸so that both he who is giving in marriage doth well, and he who is not giving in marriage doth better.

³⁹A wife hath been bound by law as long time as her husband may live, and if her husband may sleep, she is free to be married to whom she will -- only in the Lord;

⁴⁰and she is happier if she may so remain -- according to my judgment; and I think I also have the Spirit of God.

I Corinthians 11:3, 8-9

³and I wish you to know that of every man the head is the Christ, and the head of a woman is the husband, and the head of Christ is God.

⁸for a man is not of a woman, but a woman [is] of a man,

⁹for a man also was not created because of the woman, but a woman because of the man;

I Corinthians 13:1-13

¹If with the tongues of men and of messengers I speak, and have not love, I have become brass sounding, or a cymbal tinkling;

²and if I have prophecy, and know all the secrets, and all the knowledge, and if I have all the faith, so as to remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing;

³and if I give away to feed others all my goods, and if I give up my body that I may be burned, and have not love, I am profited nothing.

⁴The love is long-suffering, it is kind, the love doth not envy, the love doth not vaunt itself, is not puffed up,

⁵doth not act unseemly, doth not seek its own things, is not provoked, doth not impute evil,

⁶rejoiceth not over the unrighteousness, and rejoiceth with the truth;

⁷all things it beareth, all it believeth, all it hopeth, all it endureth.

⁸The love doth never fail; and whether [there be] prophecies, they shall become useless; whether tongues, they shall cease; whether knowledge, it shall become useless;

⁹for in part we know, and in part we prophecy;

¹⁰and when that which is perfect may come, then that which [is] in part shall become useless.

¹¹When I was a babe, as a babe I was speaking, as a babe I was thinking, as a babe I was reasoning, and when I have become a man, I have made useless the things of the babe;

¹²for we see now through a mirror obscurely, and then face to face; now I know in part, and then I shall fully know, as also I was known;

¹³and now there doth remain faith, hope, love -- these three; and the greatest of these [is] love.

II Corinthians 6:14

¹⁴Become not yoked with others -- unbelievers, for what partaking [is there] to righteousness and lawlessness?

Ephesians 5:22-33

²²The wives! to your own husbands subject yourselves, as to the Lord,

²³because the husband is head of the wife, as also the Christ [is] head of the assembly, and he is saviour of the body,

²⁴but even as the assembly is subject to Christ, so also [are] the wives to their own husbands in everything.

²⁵The husbands! love your own wives, as also the Christ did love the assembly, and did give himself for it,

²⁶that he might sanctify it, having cleansed [it] with the bathing of the water in the saying,

²⁷that he might present it to himself the assembly in glory, not having spot or wrinkle, or any of such things, but that it may be holy and unblemished;

²⁸so ought the husbands to love their own wives as their own bodies: he who is loving his own wife -- himself he doth love;

²⁹for no one ever his own flesh did hate, but doth nourish and cherish it, as also the Lord -- the assembly,

³⁰because members we are of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones;

³¹‘for this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined to his wife, and they shall be -- the two -- for one flesh;'

³²this secret is great, and I speak in regard to Christ and to the assembly;

³³but ye also, every one in particular -- let each his own wife so love as himself, and the wife -- that she may reverence the husband.

Colossians 3:18-19

¹⁸The wives! be subject to your own husbands, as is fit in the Lord;

¹⁹the husbands! love your wives, and be not bitter with them;

Hebrews 13:4

⁴honourable [is] the marriage in all, and the bed undefiled, and whoremongers and adulterers God shall judge.

I Peter 3:1-7

¹In like manner, the wives, be ye subject to your own husbands, that even if certain are disobedient to the word, through the conversation of the wives, without the word, they may be won,

²having beheld your pure behaviour in fear,

³whose adorning -- let it not be that which is outward, of plaiting of hair, and of putting around of things of gold, or of putting on of garments,

⁴but -- the hidden man of the heart, in the incorruptible thing of the meek and quiet spirit, which is, before God, of great price,

⁵for thus once also the holy women who did hope on God, were adorning themselves, being subject to their own husbands,

⁶as Sarah was obedient to Abraham, calling him ‘sir,' of whom ye did become daughters, doing good, and not fearing any terror.

⁷The husbands, in like manner, dwelling with [them], according to knowledge, as to a weaker vessel -- to the wife -- imparting honour, as also being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers be not hindered.

Revelation 19:7-9

⁷may we rejoice and exult, and give the glory to Him, because come did the marriage of the Lamb, and his wife did make herself ready;

⁸and there was given to her that she may be arrayed with fine linen, pure and shining, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.'

⁹And he saith to me, ‘Write: Happy [are] they who to the supper of the marriage of the Lamb have been called;' and he saith to me, ‘These [are] the true words of God;'