Written Vows

Wedding vows with Bible verses: the passages, word for word

Quoted from the King James Version, which is public domain and the phrasing most people recognise. Each passage has the reference attached, what it is normally used for, and one way to fold it into a vow so it sounds said rather than pasted in.

Before you print it

Use the translation your church reads from, so the vow matches the readings around it. Check the reference — the commonest error in a printed order of service is a verse number off by one. And read the passage aloud before you commit to it: scripture that is beautiful on the page can be almost unsayable at speed.

Passages about love

The best known, and therefore the ones that need the most care — a guest who can recite it with you is not listening to you.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

King James Version · the wedding passage

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.

The most-read passage at English-speaking weddings. In a vow, take one clause rather than the whole thing: “I promise to be the kind of love that suffereth long and is kind — patient with you, and gentle, and slow to keep score.”

1 Corinthians 13:13

King James Version · the closing line

And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

Almost always used as an ending rather than an opening. “Faith, hope and love remain, and the greatest of these is love — so I am giving you mine, today and for the rest of my life.”

Colossians 3:14

King James Version · the short one

And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.

Nine words, which makes it the most usable verse on this page. Modern translations render “the bond of perfectness” as “binds them all together in perfect unity,” which reads more easily aloud.

1 John 4:18-19

King James Version · love and fear

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us.

Used by couples who want something less familiar than 1 Corinthians. Pairs naturally with a promise about safety: “Perfect love casteth out fear — so I promise to be somewhere you are never afraid.”

1 Peter 4:8

King James Version · forgiveness

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

The verse to reach for if your vow is about how you will argue rather than how you feel. “Charity shall cover the multitude of sins” is the older rendering of “love covers over a multitude of sins.”

Passages about staying

These make better vows than the love passages, because they are already promises rather than descriptions.

Ruth 1:16-17

King James Version · the loyalty vow

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.

Spoken by Ruth to her mother-in-law, not to a husband — worth knowing before you use it, though almost no one minds. It is the closest thing in scripture to an actual vow, and it can be said nearly as it stands: “Whither thou goest, I will go.”

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

King James Version · the threefold cord

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.

The “cord of three strands” read at a great many Christian weddings, usually taken to mean the couple and God. Folds into a vow easily: “Two are better than one — and I promise to be the one who lifts you up.”

Song of Solomon 8:6-7

King James Version · the seal

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.

The strongest language about love anywhere in scripture, and the least sentimental. Note that it names jealousy as well as love; couples who quote it usually stop after “strong as death.”

Song of Solomon 6:3

King James Version · the shortest of all

I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine.

Eleven words, and it works as a shared line said by both partners in turn — one of the very few pieces of scripture that does.

Passages about covenant and one flesh

The theological backbone rather than the poetry. These are usually read by the minister rather than said in the vow.

Genesis 2:24

King James Version · one flesh

Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

Quoted back by Jesus in Mark 10 and Matthew 19, which is why it appears in nearly every Christian marriage rite.

Mark 10:6-9

King James Version · “let not man put asunder”

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.

The one passage that made it into the liturgy nearly word for word — most officiants say a version of the last sentence immediately after the vows.

Malachi 2:14

King James Version · the covenant

Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.

The nearest scripture comes to naming a marriage vow: the wife is “the wife of thy covenant,” with the LORD as witness. This is the verse behind the Christian claim that marriage is a covenant, not a contract.

Ecclesiastes 5:4-5

King James Version · on keeping a vow

When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.

Rarely read at weddings and worth reading before one. It is the Bible's only direct instruction about vows, and it is a warning rather than an encouragement.

Passages about how to treat each other

The most useful group for a vow, because each one is already a list of concrete behaviour.

Ephesians 4:2-3

King James Version · patience

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.

Written to a church rather than a couple, which is why it reads as practical instruction. “Forbearing one another in love” is the whole of a good marriage in four words.

Romans 12:9-10

King James Version · honour

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.

“Let love be without dissimulation” means without pretence — a sharper promise than most vows contain, and a good line to build one around.

Proverbs 3:3-4

King James Version · mercy and truth

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.

Often used at the ring exchange, because “bind them about thy neck” suits an object worn on the body.

Ephesians 5:25

King James Version · the contested passage

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it.

Verse 25 alone is the part most couples use. The surrounding passage, verses 22 to 33, tells wives to submit to their husbands, and reading it in full is a deliberate choice rather than a neutral one. Decide which you are doing and tell your minister.

Three ways to put scripture in a vow

Quote it, then answer it
Say the verse, then say what you are promising because of it. This is the only method that reliably sounds like a vow rather than a reading: the scripture supplies the reason and your own sentence supplies the promise.
Echo it without naming it
Borrow the phrasing and leave the reference out — “I will be patient with you and kind to you, and I will keep no record of wrongs.” Anyone who knows the passage hears it; anyone who does not still hears a promise.
Name it and stop
“Whither thou goest, I will go” needs nothing after it. A very short quotation used as the last line of a vow is the one case where scripture can carry the ending on its own.
For the authorised vow text your denomination uses, see Christian wedding vows. For whether the vows are in the Bible at all — they are not — see religious wedding vows.

Common questions

What is the most popular Bible verse for wedding vows?
1 Corinthians 13 — the “love suffereth long, and is kind” passage — by a wide margin. It is the most-read wedding passage in the English-speaking world, which is both its strength and its problem: guests know it, so a vow that quotes it needs to do something with it rather than simply recite it.
Why does the King James Version say “charity” instead of “love”?
The translators of 1611 rendered the Greek agape as “charity,” following the Latin caritas. It means self-giving love, not almsgiving. Almost every modern translation uses “love” instead, so if you quote the King James text at a wedding, expect at least one guest to think you have misread it.
Can we use a Bible verse as our whole vow?
You can, but it rarely works. Scripture is written to be read aloud to a congregation, not said to one person, so a verse used as an entire vow tends to sound like a reading rather than a promise. Better: say the verse, then say what you are promising because of it.
Which translation should we use?
The one your church reads from, so the wording matches the rest of the service. This page quotes the King James Version because it is public domain and the phrasing most people recognise. If your minister reads from a modern translation, ask for that wording instead and print it exactly.
Is Ephesians 5 suitable for wedding vows?
It is frequently requested and frequently contentious, because the passage tells wives to submit to their husbands before it tells husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church. Some couples read the whole passage deliberately; many use only verse 25. Decide which you are doing, and tell your minister.