Bible readings for a wedding

1 Corinthians 13 is the one. The Church of England calls it the number one most popular reading for weddings, and most of your guests can half-recite it. Below are fourteen more, all quoted in full in both translations, with how long each takes to read aloud and a note on what it actually does in a room.

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

The practical part first

Almost everything written about wedding readings is about what they mean. Very little of it is about saying them out loud in front of ninety people, which is the part that goes wrong.

Twenty to forty seconds is plenty. A time is given for every passage below. A reading that looks short on the page takes longer than you expect at a lectern.
Have the reader say it out loud once, at home. This is the step everyone skips, and it is the only reliable way to find out that your uncle cannot get through Ruth without stopping.
Print the whole text, large. Not the reference. Nobody should be hunting for a chapter in a borrowed Bible while the room watches.
Two short readings beat one long one when you want to include two people.

If you are marrying in a register office in England or Wales

None of this is available to you. The Marriage Act 1949 prohibits a religious service in a civil ceremony, and the 2005 approved-premises regulations require that nothing in it is religious in nature. Research on how that is applied found significant variation between individual registrars, so ask yours early rather than assume either way. A church, chapel or other religious venue has no such restriction.

Everything quoted here is public domain — the World English Bible and the King James — so you can print any of it in an order of service without a licence, a fee, or an email to a permissions department.

Love is patient and is kind. Love doesn’t envy. Love doesn’t brag, is not proud, doesn’t behave itself inappropriately, doesn’t seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no account of evil; doesn’t rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will be done away with. Where there are various languages, they will cease. Where there is knowledge, it will be done away with.1 Corinthians 13:4-8 · World English Bible

The most-chosen wedding reading in the English-speaking world. About thirty-five seconds. Worth noticing that it is mostly a list of things love does not do — envy, boast, insist on its own way, keep score — which is a tougher reading than the one people expect. See below for what it was written for. Related verses →

King James
Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
Ruth said, “Don’t urge me to leave you, and to return from following you, for where you go, I will go; and where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May The LORD do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me.”Ruth 1:16-17 · World English Bible

“Where you go, I will go.” Thirty seconds, and the most quietly binding vow in the Bible. It is not spoken to a husband — see below — and couples choose it anyway, because the words do exactly what a vow is supposed to do.

King James
And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the LORD do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.
Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him who is alone when he falls, and doesn’t have another to lift him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have warmth; but how can one keep warm alone? If a man prevails against one who is alone, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 · World English Bible

The threefold cord. Thirty-five seconds. Practical rather than romantic: it is about falling over, keeping warm and being outnumbered, which may be a better account of a marriage than most love poetry manages.

King James
Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
Set me as a seal on your heart, as a seal on your arm; for love is strong as death. Jealousy is as cruel as Sheol. Its flashes are flashes of fire, a very flame of the LORD. Many waters can’t quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man would give all the wealth of his house for love, he would be utterly scorned.Song of Solomon 8:6-7 · World English Bible

“Many waters can't quench love.” Under thirty seconds, and the only passage here written as an actual love poem. Fiercer than couples expect — there is a grave and a flame in it — which is precisely why it lands.

King James
Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it: if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would utterly be contemned.
The third day, there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there. Jesus also was invited, with his disciples, to the wedding. When the wine ran out, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no wine.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does that have to do with you and me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Whatever he says to you, do it.” Now there were six water pots of stone set there after the Jews’ way of purifying, containing two or three metretes apiece. Jesus said to them, “Fill the water pots with water.” So they filled them up to the brim. He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the ruler of the feast.” So they took it. When the ruler of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and didn’t know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the ruler of the feast called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when the guests have drunk freely, then that which is worse. You have kept the good wine until now!” This beginning of his signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.John 2:1-11 · World English Bible

The wedding at Cana, where the wine runs out and Jesus deals with it. Ninety seconds, the longest here. A story rather than a list of virtues, which makes a change if the service already has one abstract reading in it.

King James
And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: And both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it. When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now. This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.
Put on therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, humility, and perseverance; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, if any man has a complaint against any; even as Christ forgave you, so you also do. Above all these things, walk in love, which is the bond of perfection.Colossians 3:12-14 · World English Bible

Compassion, kindness, humility, patience, and forgiving each other. Twenty-five seconds. Written to a congregation about getting along, so it is unusually frank about the fact that you are going to have to forgive this person. Related verses →

King James
Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make him a helper comparable to him.” Out of the ground the LORD God formed every animal of the field, and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. Whatever the man called every living creature became its name. The man gave names to all livestock, and to the birds of the sky, and to every animal of the field; but for man there was not found a helper comparable to him. The LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. As the man slept, he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. The LORD God made a woman from the rib which he had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man will leave his father and his mother, and will join with his wife, and they will be one flesh.Genesis 2:18-24 · World English Bible

“It is not good for the man to be alone.” Eighty seconds as it stands, because it includes the naming of the animals. Many couples cut to verse 18 and then 21-24 — agree that with your officiant rather than improvising. Related verses →

King James
And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
Beloved, let’s love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. He who doesn’t love doesn’t know God, for God is love. By this God’s love was revealed in us, that God has sent his only born Son into the world that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, if God loved us in this way, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God remains in us, and his love has been perfected in us.1 John 4:7-12 · World English Bible

“God is love.” Around fifty seconds. The most explicitly theological reading on this page: it names Christ and atonement outright, which suits a church service and sits heavier in a mixed room.

King James
Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.
But from the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female. For this cause a man will leave his father and mother, and will join to his wife, and the two will become one flesh, so that they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”Mark 10:6-9 · World English Bible

“What God has joined together, let no man separate.” Twenty-five seconds, and the source of the sentence your officiant will say later. It comes from an argument about divorce — see below.

King James
But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
Even as the Father has loved me, I also have loved you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, even as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have spoken these things to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be made full. “This is my commandment, that you love one another, even as I have loved you.John 15:9-12 · World English Bible

“Remain in my love.” Thirty seconds. Spoken by Jesus to his friends on the last night, which gives it a weight that suits a couple who have already been through something together.

King James
As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor that which is evil. Cling to that which is good. In love of the brothers be tenderly affectionate to one another; in honour prefer one another, not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, rejoicing in hope, enduring in troubles, continuing steadfastly in prayer,Romans 12:9-12 · World English Bible

“Let love be without hypocrisy.” Twenty seconds. Brisk and unsentimental. Works well as a second reading when the first one was long. Related verses →

King James
Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another; Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
I thank my God whenever I remember you, always in every request of mine on behalf of you all, making my requests with joy, for your partnership in furtherance of the Good News from the first day until now; being confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.Philippians 1:3-6 · World English Bible

“I thank my God whenever I remember you.” Twenty-five seconds. Written to friends rather than lovers, and warmer for it. A good one to give a parent or a best friend to read. Related verses →

King James
I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now; Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
Don’t let kindness and truth forsake you. Bind them around your neck. Write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favour, and good understanding in the sight of God and man.Proverbs 3:3-4 · World English Bible

“Bind them around your neck.” Fifteen seconds. Short enough for a nervous reader and concrete enough to remember afterwards.

King James
Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
with all lowliness and humility, with patience, bearing with one another in love, being eager to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.Ephesians 4:2-3 · World English Bible

Twelve seconds. Humility, patience, bearing with one another. Almost too short to stand alone, and very good paired with something longer. Related verses →

King James
With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
And above all things be earnest in your love amongst yourselves, for love covers a multitude of sins.1 Peter 4:8 · World English Bible

Eight seconds — the shortest here. “Love covers a multitude of sins.” Often used as a closing line rather than as a reading in its own right.

King James
And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.

What 1 Corinthians 13 was written for

It was not written for a wedding, and knowing that makes it better rather than worse.

Paul is writing to a congregation at Corinth that he spends most of the letter correcting. Chapters 12 to 14 are a single argument about spiritual gifts, and chapter 13 sits in the middle of it. As Christian Today puts it, “in context St Paul was writing about Christian love within the whole church rather than specifically about marriage” — into a situation of pride, rivalry and disorder.

Read it again with that in mind and the shape of it changes. Most of the famous list is negative. Love doesn't envy. Doesn't brag. Isn't proud. Isn't provoked. Takes no account of evil. These are not compliments paid to people in love; they are instructions given to people who were being unpleasant to each other and needed telling.

Which is arguably why it belongs at a wedding more than a love poem would. It describes nothing about how anyone feels on the day. It describes what the two of you will have to do on an ordinary Tuesday in eleven years, when one of you is being insufferable and the other one has the option of keeping score.

Its career as a wedding reading is usually dated to the wedding of the Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer in 1981, where it was read at St Paul's by George Thomas, then Speaker of the House of Commons, to a television audience estimated at around 750 million.

The one that isn't about romance

“Where you go, I will go; and where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God my God.”

Ruth says this to Naomi. They are her mother-in-law and her daughter-in-law, both recently widowed, both with no security to speak of, and Ruth is refusing to be sent back to her own family. It is not a love poem and it was never a marriage vow.

Couples choose it anyway, and the choice is defensible: it is a promise of chosen loyalty to somebody you were not born to, which is closer to what a wedding actually is than most of the alternatives. Just know what it is before a well-read guest mentions it at the reception.

The third strand

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 is usually introduced at weddings as the couple plus God — the cord of three strands that is not quickly broken.

The text does not say what the third strand is. What it does say is stubbornly practical: if two fall down, one can lift the other; two lying together stay warm; two can hold off someone who would overpower one. It is an argument that being alone is worse, made by the least sentimental writer in the Bible.

None of which spoils the wedding reading. It just means the third strand is an interpretation offered by whoever is speaking, not a line you will find in the passage.

The line your officiant will say

“What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate” comes from Mark 10, and Mark 10 is Jesus being asked a question about divorce. That is the setting of the sentence that ends up on every order of service.

It is not a reason to avoid the passage. It is a reason to read the whole thing once before you choose it, so the context belongs to you rather than arriving as a surprise.

For an anniversary

Most anniversary lists reuse the wedding readings. A few of the passages above read better from further along, and two that are not on this page are worth knowing about.

Philippians 1:3-6 — I thank my God whenever I remember you, and a few words later, from the first day until now. That is an anniversary sentence. Paul wrote it to a church, not to a spouse, which is worth knowing and no reason not to borrow it.
1 Peter 4:8 — the shortest passage on this page, eighteen words (seventeen in the King James): love covers a multitude of sins. Commentators from Barnes to the Cambridge Bible take it as a quotation of Proverbs 10:12.

Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all wrongs.Proverbs 10:12 · World English Bible

The Hebrew verb there is kasah (Strong’s 3680), to cover — the same verb Psalm 32 uses for sin being covered, which our page about shame sets out. The Cambridge Bible and the Pulpit Commentary both think Peter translated the line from the Hebrew himself rather than taking the Greek (commentaries on 1 Peter 4:8). On a wedding day it is a promise. By an anniversary it is usually a description.

Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your life of vanity, which he has given you under the sun, all your days of vanity, for that is your portion in life, and in your labour in which you labour under the sun.Ecclesiastes 9:9 · World English Bible

Lovely in a card, and worth reading twice. It says vanity twice — hevel (Strong’s 1892), breath or vapor, the word Ecclesiastes uses for everything that does not last. The verse is not calling the marriage futile. It is saying the days are brief, so live joyfully with the person you are spending them with — which is a better reason to write it after twenty years than on the first day. As written, it is addressed to a husband about his wife.

Proverbs 5:18 turns up on anniversary lists too. Read the chapter before you use it: it closes a warning about adultery, and the verse after it is not one most people would put in a card.

Choosing for the room you will actually have

Mixed guest lists. 1 John 4:7-12 names Christ and atonement directly. That is entirely at home in a church and noticeably heavier in a room where half the guests are there for the couple rather than the theology. Song of Solomon and Ecclesiastes ask nothing of anyone.
Passages that address husbands and wives specifically. Ephesians 5:21-33 is on the Church of England's own list of wedding readings, and couples handle it differently — some read it in full, some read part of it, some choose something else. Settle that with whoever is officiating well before the rehearsal, not on the day.
Give the nervous reader a short one. 1 Peter 4:8 and Ephesians 4:2-3 are both under fifteen seconds and neither loses anything by being brief.

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Questions

What is the most popular Bible reading for a wedding?

1 Corinthians 13 — the passage beginning “Love is patient and is kind”. The Church of England lists it as the number one most popular wedding reading. It is quoted in full at the top of this page in both the World English Bible and the King James Version.

Can we have a Bible reading at a register office wedding?

In England and Wales, no. The Marriage Act 1949 prohibits a religious service within a civil ceremony, and the approved-premises regulations require that the content is not religious in nature. How strictly that is applied varies between individual registrars, so ask yours early. A church or other religious venue is unrestricted.

How long should a wedding reading be?

Twenty to forty seconds aloud for most passages. Every reading on this page has a time given with it. If you want to include two people, two short readings work better than one long one.

Do we need permission to print a reading in the order of service?

Not for anything on this page. The World English Bible and the King James Version are both in the public domain, so you can reproduce them in an order of service without a licence or a fee. Modern translations such as the NIV and ESV are copyrighted and have their own permissions rules.