Push From God

Bible readings for a funeral

Psalm 23 is the one most services use, and it earns its place. Below are thirteen more, all quoted in full in both translations, with a note on what each one does in a room — because a reading that works on a page can be impossible to get through out loud.

14 passages · World English Bible & King James · public domain

If you are choosing under pressure

Most people picking a funeral reading are doing it in the worst week of their life, on a deadline, for a service they have never had to plan before. So, briefly, the practical part first:

  • Short is safer. Thirty to sixty seconds aloud. Grief makes people read faster than they mean to, and a long passage gives more chances to lose the thread.
  • Whoever reads should not be the closest mourner. Ask a cousin, a colleague, a friend of the family. If the person reading is the person grieving hardest, have someone sitting at the end of the row ready to stand up and finish it.
  • Print it large. Not the reference — the whole text, in something like 16 point. Nobody should be finding a verse in a Bible at a lectern.
  • Read it out loud once, at home, before you commit. This is the step people skip and it is the one that tells you whether you can actually say the words.

Everything on this page is public domain, so you can put any of it straight into an order of service without asking anyone for permission or paying a fee.

  1. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over. Surely goodness and loving kindness shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the LORD’s house forever.Psalms 23 · World English Bible

    The shepherd psalm. Funeral directors and celebrants consistently name it the most-requested reading there is, though nobody has published a survey to settle it. Roughly 45 seconds aloud. It doesn't argue with anyone's grief — it describes being accompanied and keeps going, which is why it works when explanations don't. More on this passage →

    King James

    The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 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. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

  2. “Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many homes. If it weren’t so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will receive you to myself; that where I am, you may be there also.John 14:1-3 · World English Bible

    “In my Father's house are many homes.” Spoken by Jesus to people about to lose him, the night before. Comfort offered by someone who knew exactly what was coming. Related verses →

    King James

    Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

  3. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain any more. The first things have passed away.”Revelation 21:4 · World English Bible

    Every tear wiped away. Twenty seconds, and the single most-quoted line at a graveside. Note it does not say the tears weren't real — it says someone wipes them. Related verses →

    King James

    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.

  4. Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will still live, even if he dies. Whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”John 11:25-26 · World English Bible

    “I am the resurrection and the life.” The opening sentence of the Book of Common Prayer burial service, said by the priest meeting the body rather than read later from the lectern. That is why it so often lands as the coffin comes in.

    King James

    Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

  5. But when this perishable body will have become imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then what is written will happen: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “Death, where is your sting? Hades, where is your victory?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.1 Corinthians 15:54-57 · World English Bible

    “Death, where is your sting?” Defiant rather than consoling. Powerful in a service for someone who fought something for a long time; too combative for some rooms. The line is Hosea’s, by way of the Greek — our Psalm 91 page traces the word.

    King James

    So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

  6. The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves those who have a crushed spirit.Psalms 34:18 · World English Bible

    Near to the broken-hearted. Fifteen seconds. Makes no promise about timelines and asks nothing of anyone listening, which is rarer than it sounds. Related verses →

    King James

    The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

  7. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from God’s love which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.Romans 8:38-39 · World English Bible

    The long list of everything that cannot separate us from love, with death at the front of the queue. Builds as it is read, so it suits a confident reader. Related verses →

    King James

    For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

  8. But we don’t want you to be ignorant, brothers, concerning those who have fallen asleep, so that you don’t grieve like the rest, who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 · World English Bible

    Written to people frightened about their dead. Careful wording: not that you shouldn't grieve, but that you needn't grieve as those without hope. Related verses →

    King James

    But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

  9. For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;Ecclesiastes 3:1-4 · World English Bible

    A time to weep and a time to laugh. Widely used at humanist and mixed-faith services too, because it makes no doctrinal demand of the room. Related verses →

    King James

    To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

  10. Lord, you have been our dwelling place for all generations. Before the mountains were born, before you had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, you are God.Psalms 90:1-2 · World English Bible

    “Lord, you have been our dwelling place for all generations.” Formal and steady. A good opening reading when the service needs settling before anything else happens.

    King James

    LORD, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.

  11. But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives. In the end, he will stand upon the earth. After my skin is destroyed, then I will see God in my flesh, whom I, even I, will see on my side. My eyes will see, and not as a stranger. “My heart is consumed within me.Job 19:25-27 · World English Bible

    “I know that my Redeemer lives.” Charles Jennens took these verses, in the King James wording, for the soprano aria that opens Part III of Handel's Messiah. Among the oldest statements of hope in the Bible, and a great many people know the tune before they know the source.

    King James

    For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.

  12. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.Matthew 5:4 · World English Bible

    Blessed are those who mourn. Eight seconds. Sometimes read alone, immediately before or after the eulogy, where anything longer would be too much. Related verses →

    King James

    Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

  13. It is because of The LORD’s loving kindnesses that we are not consumed, because his mercies don’t fail. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness.Lamentations 3:22-23 · World English Bible

    Mercies new every morning — written by someone sitting in the ruins of a destroyed city. Suits a service where nobody is pretending this is fine. Related verses →

    King James

    It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

  14. The LORD will keep you from all evil. He will keep your soul. The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in, from this time forward, and forever more.Psalms 121:7-8 · World English Bible

    “Your going out and your coming in.” Traditionally a travelling psalm, which is why it is often chosen for a committal. Related verses →

    King James

    The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul. The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

What not to read

Some passages are true and still wrong for the day. Worth saying plainly, because they get chosen with the best of intentions:

  • Romans 8:28 — “all things work together for good.” At a graveside it reliably lands as there is a reason this happened, which asks a grieving family to start looking for the upside of the worst thing in their life. It is a real promise about a long arc; week one is not when to make it.
  • “God needed another angel.” Not in the Bible. People don't become angels, and the sentence implies the death was arranged to fill a vacancy.
  • “God won't give you more than you can handle.” Also not in the Bible. The verse people are reaching for, 1 Corinthians 10:13, is about temptation. Said to someone visibly not handling it, it lands as an accusation.
  • Anything beginning “at least”. Not scripture, but it turns up in eulogies constantly. Grief is not improved by being ranked.

More on this in what to say to someone who's grieving, including the passage where Job's friends get it right for seven days and then ruin it.

What to write in a sympathy card

A card is a different job from a reading. It is handwritten, it goes to one person, and it gets read alone, often more than once. The Emily Post Institute’s advice on sympathy notes is the right place to start: “Say what you truly feel,” and “a single sincere line expressing the genuine feeling you had for the deceased is all you need to write.” A verse, if you add one, goes underneath that line — not instead of it.

The shortest passages on this page, counted word by word in the World English Bible:

  • Matthew 5:4 — ten words, and ten in the King James too. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. The shortest here, and it asks nothing of the person reading it.
  • Psalm 34:18 — nineteen words (twenty-one in the King James). In a card, use the modern wording. The King James ends “such as be of a contrite spirit”, and “contrite” now means sorry for something you did — not a word to hand someone newly bereaved. Our page for grief explains how the word drifted.
  • Lamentations 3:22-23 — twenty-seven words, and one of the few where the King James is shorter, at twenty-five. New every morning was written after Jerusalem fell, not after a good week, which is why it holds up.
  • Revelation 21:4 — thirty-one words; the King James runs to thirty-five. In a card it reads as a promise about later rather than a claim about now, which is the right way round.

Write the reference and the translation underneath — Matthew 5:4, World English Bible — so the person can find it again. And the list under What not to read, above, applies more strongly in a card than at a service, because a card gets reread at two in the morning. Romans 8:28 is still the one to leave out.

If the family is sending printed cards — a memorial card, or thank-you cards after the funeral — the next section matters: both translations on this page can be printed with no permission and no fee.

Printing it

Both translations here are public domain — the King James by age, the World English Bible by the translators' decision. You can reproduce either in an order of service, on a memorial card or on a screen without permission and without a fee.

That is not true of most modern translations. The NIV, ESV and NLT are all copyrighted, and reproducing them in printed material technically requires permission from the publisher. Funeral directors and church administrators run into this constantly, usually without realising. If you want to avoid the question entirely, use the text on this page.

Naming the translation on the order of service is good practice: Psalm 23, King James Version is enough.

“Ashes to ashes” is not in the Bible

The words most people associate with a burial — earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust — are not Scripture. They are the committal in the Church of England’s Book of Common Prayer, said while earth is cast on the coffin: we therefore commit his body to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust; in sure and certain hope of the Resurrection to eternal life. We searched a complete King James text for all three pairs, and none of them is there.

What the prayer book is drawing on is this, from the third chapter of Genesis:

In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.Genesis 3:19 · King James Version

The phrase the Bible does use is dust and ashes, and it occurs three times in the King James, never at a graveside: Abraham calling himself but dust and ashes while he pleads with God over Sodom (Genesis 18:27), and Job twice, at 30:19 and 42:6.

The committal sentence does end in Scripture, though. Its last clause is Philippians 3:21 in the King James wording, almost word for word — the prayer book drops fashioned and even and adds mighty:

For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.Philippians 3:20-21 · King James Version

If you want a burial or committal reading taken straight from the Bible, Genesis 3:19 is the plain one and Ecclesiastes 12:7 is the gentler one:

Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.Ecclesiastes 12:7 · King James Version

The prayer book wording is fine to use, and plenty of families expect it. It is just worth knowing that it is the prayer book, if anyone is about to print “Scripture” above it on the order of service.

If there is no minister

Increasingly there isn't, or the family wants to read something themselves at a crematorium with a twenty-minute slot. A workable shape: one short psalm at the start to settle the room (Psalm 23 or Psalm 90), the eulogy, then one very short passage at the close (Revelation 21:4 or Matthew 5:4). Two readings, both under a minute, is plenty.

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Questions

Is 'ashes to ashes, dust to dust' in the Bible?

No. It is the committal from the Book of Common Prayer burial service: 'earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust; in sure and certain hope of the Resurrection to eternal life'. It draws on Genesis 3:19, 'for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return', and its last clause is Philippians 3:21. The phrase the King James does use, 'dust and ashes', occurs three times: Genesis 18:27, Job 30:19 and Job 42:6.

What is the most common Bible reading at a funeral?

Psalm 23 — 'The LORD is my shepherd' — is the passage most often read at English-language funerals, usually in the King James wording. Revelation 21:4 and John 14:1-3 are the next most common.

How long should a funeral reading be?

Thirty to sixty seconds read aloud is a good target. Grief tends to make people read faster than they intend, and a longer passage gives more opportunities to lose your place. Two short readings work better than one long one.

Can I print Bible verses in an order of service?

It depends on the translation. The King James Version and the World English Bible are both public domain, so you can reproduce them freely with no permission and no fee. Most modern translations — the NIV, ESV and NLT among them — are copyrighted, and reproducing them in printed material technically requires the publisher's permission.

What Bible readings suit a non-religious or mixed-faith funeral?

Ecclesiastes 3:1-4 ('a time to weep, and a time to laugh') is widely used because it makes no doctrinal demand of the people listening. Psalm 23 is also often chosen by families who would not describe themselves as churchgoing.

Who should read at a funeral?

Ideally not the closest mourner. A cousin, colleague or family friend is usually steadier. Whoever reads, have someone sitting nearby who has the text and is willing to stand up and finish it.

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