Bible Verses for Newlyweds (ESV)
These Bible verses for newlyweds are quoted from the ESV, the translation printed in Bible Studies for Husband and Wife. Some are short enough for a wedding card, some are worth reading together in your first year of marriage, and two are classic wedding readings. Each comes with a few lines on what the text says.
Looking for more than a card verse? See the 8-week couples Bible study workbook or try Week 1 free.
Verses for a wedding card
A card has room for one verse and a sentence or two of your own. These five are short, well known, and say something true about marriage without needing a sermon around them. Write the reference and the translation (ESV) under the verse so the couple can find it again, and add one line of your own about why you chose it.
Genesis 2:24: Leave and hold fast
24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
The oldest description of marriage in the Bible, and the one Jesus quotes. It names two things a couple does, leaving and holding fast, and one thing that follows. In a card it says: you have started something new, and it is worth holding on to.
Talk about it: What did each of you leave behind when you married, and what are you holding fast to now?
Matthew 19:6: What God has joined
6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.
Jesus' own words about marriage, often heard in wedding services. In a card it carries a blessing and a charge at once: this marriage is God's work, so guard it.
Talk about it: What is one thing you want to protect in your marriage this year?
1 Corinthians 13:4-5: Love is patient
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude.
Paul describes love by what it does and refuses to do, not by how it feels. That makes it a good card verse for a couple who will soon find out that patience is a decision made on an ordinary Tuesday. For the whole passage, see 1 Corinthians 13 for married couples.
Talk about it: Which line is easiest for you, and which will take practice?
Colossians 3:14: Put on love
14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
Love as something you put on every day, like clothing. The things it holds together are listed just before it: compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience. A short verse with a lot of marriage in it.
Talk about it: What would putting on love look like tomorrow morning, before either of you leaves the house?
Ecclesiastes 4:12: A threefold cord
12 And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
Many couples love the threefold cord and read the third strand as God at the center of the marriage. The text itself does not name the three, so if you write that in a card, write it as your prayer for them rather than as what the verse says. More on this passage: Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 and marriage.
Talk about it: What helps the two of you stand together when something pushes against you?
The complete husband and wife Bible study is a 179-page printable PDF (US Letter): all eight weeks, ESV passages printed in full, his and hers private questions, conversation guides, prayers and shared-action pages.
$12 introductory price until Friday 23 October 2026, 4:59 pm ET (then $17). Instant PDF download. 30-day refund.
Get the 8-week workbook ($12)Try Week 1 free
Prefer Gumroad? The same workbook is also on Gumroad.
Verses for the first year of marriage
The first year is when habits form: who apologizes first, how you argue, whether you pray together or only mean to. These verses are worth reading together more than once in that year, not as rules to hold over each other but as a shared place to start a conversation.
Ephesians 5:28, 31, 33: Love, one flesh, and respect
28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”
33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
These verses come from Ephesians 5:21-33, which speaks to everyone in verse 21, to wives in verses 22-24 and to husbands in verses 25-33. Verse 33 holds both instructions in one sentence. Read the whole passage aloud before discussing either part; reading only your spouse's verse is reading a fragment. In the first year, hear each instruction for yourself before you hear it for the other person.
Talk about it: What does the text say to you, and what is one way to live it out this month?
Philippians 2:3-4: Your interests and theirs
3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Two people sharing a home for the first time find out quickly whose preferences usually win: the thermostat, the weekends, the families at Christmas. Paul's instruction is addressed to everyone, so it lands on both of you, each about your own conduct. It is a verse you bring to yourself first, never one you quote at your spouse.
Talk about it: Where have your interests quietly been winning, and what would looking to your spouse's interests look like?
Ephesians 4:26: Before the sun goes down
26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,
Many newlyweds hear this as a rule never to go to bed angry. The text says something slightly different: be angry and do not sin, and do not let the anger outlast the day. Sometimes the wise move is to pause a heated conversation, agree when you will come back to it, and let go of the anger even while the topic is still open.
Talk about it: How will the two of you pause a conversation that is getting too heated, and how will you come back to it?
Verses to read at a wedding
Two passages are read at weddings again and again, and both are longer than a card can hold.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 gives four short pictures: two who work together, one who lifts the other after a fall, two who keep each other warm, and two who stand against an attacker, closed by the threefold cord. It takes well under a minute to read aloud, and it is honest about marriage: most of its pictures are of hard times. Read the full text with a couples study on Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 and marriage.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 describes love in a run of things it does and things it refuses to do. It is four verses long and ends with love that bears, believes, hopes and endures. Read it with a short study on 1 Corinthians 13 for married couples.
A tip for whoever reads: go slowly, pause at the end of each line, and practice once aloud beforehand. If the reading is printed in the order of service, include the reference and the translation, so guests can find it later.
Turning a card verse into a habit
A verse in a card is a good start. A habit of opening Scripture together is what lasts. The simplest version: once a week, read one passage aloud together; each of you answers a few questions on your own, in writing; talk, taking turns, with one speaking and the other listening; pray briefly, each of you and then together; and choose one small action to do that week. The next week, look back at the action before the new passage.
That is the shape of the 8-week husband and wife Bible study plan, and it suits the first years of marriage because it is small enough to keep when life gets busy. With three minutes, read the passage aloud together; with twenty, read and reflect; with the full time, do the whole study.
A gift for newlyweds
If you want to give more than a verse, point the couple to a study they can do together. Bible Studies for Husband and Wife does not assume a couple is in crisis; it says plainly that it is also for couples whose marriage is steady and who want to keep it that way, because habits of prayer and Scripture are easier to build when the ground is still calm. The first week is free, so a simple gift is to write the link to Week 1 in your card.
The complete husband and wife Bible study is a 179-page printable PDF (US Letter): all eight weeks, ESV passages printed in full, his and hers private questions, conversation guides, prayers and shared-action pages.
$12 introductory price until Friday 23 October 2026, 4:59 pm ET (then $17). Instant PDF download. 30-day refund.
Get the 8-week workbook ($12)Try Week 1 free
Prefer Gumroad? The same workbook is also on Gumroad.
Safety note from the workbook. Nothing in these studies asks anyone to stay in danger, keep silent about abuse, or submit to violence, threats, sexual coercion or control. If you are afraid of your spouse, skip the joint conversations and do not write private answers where your spouse can read them. In immediate danger call 911 (US), 999 (UK) or 112 (EU). US National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 (or text START to 88788). UK National Domestic Abuse Helpline: 0808 2000 247; Men's Advice Line: 0808 8010327.
Questions couples ask
What is a good Bible verse for a newly married couple?
Genesis 2:24 is the classic, and it is the verse Jesus quotes about marriage. For a card, Colossians 3:14 and Ecclesiastes 4:12 are short and well loved. For the first year, read Ephesians 5:21-33 together in full, both the wives' and the husbands' verses.
What Bible verse is good for a wedding card?
Choose a short one: Genesis 2:24, Matthew 19:6, 1 Corinthians 13:4, Colossians 3:14 or Ecclesiastes 4:12. Write the reference and translation underneath so the couple can look it up.
What are good Bible readings for a wedding ceremony?
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 and 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 are two of the most common. Both take under a minute to read aloud.