Top 10 Bible Verses About Marriage

Since wedding season is upon us, I decided to share my top 10 Bible verses about marriage. They aren’t actually all directly referring to marriage, but all of them are great to apply to marriage.

In no particular order:

1. Ephesians 5: 25-33

²⁵Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her ²⁶to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, ²⁷and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. ²⁸In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— ³⁰for we are members of his body. ³¹“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” ³²This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. ³³However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

These verses are commandments from God about having a holy marriage. I think it’s a beautiful section describing how Jesus loved the church, using it as a metaphor for how a husband should love his wife.

2. 1 Corinthians 13:4-10

⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

We’ve all heard this one! A favorite for weddings, this Bible verse about marriage describes true love.

3. 1 John 4:7

⁷Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

This is one of my favorites. While not only about marriage, it does speak about Godly love.

4. 1 Timothy 3:12-13

¹²A deacon must be faithful to his wife and must manage his children and his household well.¹³Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus.

I like this verse from 1 Timothy because it expresses God’s will for a Christian household.

5. Proverbs 31:10

¹⁰A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.

I think this is one of the most popular quotes from Proverbs 31, which is in itself a very popular section of the Bible! Proverbs 31:10 is one of my top 10 Bible verses about marriage because it stresses (and honors) being a noble wife – having good character, which in today’s world is especially important to retain.

6. Deuteronomy 24:5

⁵If a man has recently married, he must not be sent to war or have any other duty laid on him. For one year he is to be free to stay at home and bring happiness to the wife he has married.

I love this verse! In a fairy tale kind of way, it’s cute. And a very good idea for newlyweds.

7. Colossians 3:18-19

¹⁸Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. ¹⁹Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.

This is an important verse, and often misunderstood. I know for a long time I felt weird about “submitting” myself to my husband. It wasn’t until I heard Joyce Meyer speak about the subject that I began to understand what the Lord means.

It’s kind of a big topic, so I won’t go into it too deeply here, but briefly:

God doesn’t give permission for a husband to take advantage of a submissive wife. No, he directly calls husbands to love their wives and not be harsh.

Wifely submission isn’t a bad thing – it’s just respecting your husband and letting him lead (essentially).

8. Ecclesiastes 4:12

¹²Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Okay, so this one is not directly speaking on marriage. Nonetheless, it’s beautiful applied to marriage because it represents a couple and God.

9. Ephesians 4: 2-3

²Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. ³Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

This verse from Ephesians is a good reminder for any marriage.

10. Matthew 19: 4-6

⁴“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’⁵and 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’? ⁶So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

Ephesians 5:31

³¹“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”

Gen 2:24

²⁴That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.

I count this as one quote, because these three scriptures all focus on the same thing: that a husband and wife are one flesh. It must be a pretty important fact if it’s in The Bible three times, right?