Marriage is one of the most profound commitments two people can make, and one of the most challenging relationships to maintain well. What begins with romance, passion, and dreams of happily ever after eventually settles into the reality of daily life with another imperfect person. Differences that seemed charming during dating become frustrating in marriage. Expectations clash with reality. Selfishness surfaces. Conflict arises. Without a solid foundation and clear guidance, even marriages that start strong can drift into dysfunction or dissolution.
The Bible offers comprehensive wisdom for marriage because God designed it. Scripture doesn’t present marriage as merely a social contract or romantic partnership but as a sacred covenant that reflects Christ’s relationship with the church. From Genesis to Revelation, God’s Word addresses every aspect of marriage: choosing a spouse, the roles of husband and wife, dealing with marriage problems, sexual intimacy, raising children together, and persevering through difficult seasons.
These verses provide biblical guidance for building strong marriages, navigating challenges with grace, and honoring the covenant you’ve made before God. Whether you’re preparing for marriage, celebrating years together, or working to restore what’s been damaged, these truths offer wisdom for the journey.
Bible Verses Regarding Marriage
1. Genesis 2:24 – A Man Leaves His Father and Mother
That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.
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2. Ephesians 5:25 – Husbands, Love Your Wives
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.
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3. Proverbs 18:22 – He Who Finds a Wife Finds What Is Good
He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the Lord.
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4. Ephesians 5:33 – Each One Must Love His Wife
However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
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5. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 – Love Is Patient, Love Is Kind
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
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6. Colossians 3:19 – Husbands, Love Your Wives
Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.
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7. 1 Peter 3:7 – Husbands, Be Considerate
Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.
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8. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 – Two Are Better Than One
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
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9. Proverbs 31:10-11 – A Wife of Noble Character
A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.
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10. Mark 10:9 – What God Has Joined Together
Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.
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11. Hebrews 13:4 – Marriage Should Be Honored by All
Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.
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12. Matthew 19:5-6 – The Two Will Become One Flesh
And 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’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.
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13. 1 Corinthians 7:3-4 – Fulfill Your Marital Duty
The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body but yields it to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body but yields it to his wife.
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14. Proverbs 19:14 – A Prudent Wife Is From the Lord
Houses and wealth are inherited from parents, but a prudent wife is from the Lord.
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15. Ephesians 5:22-24 – Wives, Submit to Your Husbands
Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
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16. 1 Corinthians 7:28 – Those Who Marry Will Face Many Troubles
But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.
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17. Proverbs 12:4 – A Wife of Noble Character
A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown, but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones.
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18. Song of Solomon 8:6-7 – Love Is as Strong as Death
Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away. If one were to give all the wealth of one’s house for love, it would be utterly scorned.
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19. Colossians 3:18 – Wives, Submit to Your Husbands
Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
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20. Titus 2:4-5 – Train the Younger Women
Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.
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21. Malachi 2:15 – Has Not the Lord Made Them One?
Has not the Lord made the two of you one? You belong to him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth.
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22. 1 Corinthians 7:10-11 – A Wife Must Not Separate
To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.
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23. Proverbs 5:18 – May Your Fountain Be Blessed
May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.
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24. 1 Peter 3:1-2 – Wives, Submit to Your Husbands
Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.
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25. Ephesians 5:28-29 – Love Their Wives as Their Own Bodies
In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church.
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26. 1 Timothy 5:8 – Provide for Your Family
Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
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27. Proverbs 21:9 – Better to Live on a Corner of the Roof
Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.
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28. 1 Corinthians 7:14 – The Unbelieving Husband Is Sanctified
For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.
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29. Ruth 1:16-17 – Where You Go I Will Go
But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. 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 deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.”
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30. Proverbs 31:28-29 – Her Children Arise and Call Her Blessed
Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.”
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31. 1 Corinthians 11:11 – Neither Is Independent of the Other
Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman.
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32. Malachi 2:16 – I Hate Divorce
“The man who hates and divorces his wife,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “does violence to the one he should protect,” says the Lord Almighty. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful.
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33. 1 Peter 4:8 – Love Covers Over a Multitude of Sins
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
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34. Colossians 3:13 – Forgive as the Lord Forgave You
Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
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35. Amos 3:3 – Do Two Walk Together Unless They Agree?
Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?
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Our Thoughts On What the Bible Says About Marriage
Scripture presents marriage as far more than a romantic partnership or social arrangement. It’s a covenant relationship designed by God to reflect the relationship between Christ and His church. This elevates marriage beyond personal happiness to something with spiritual significance and eternal implications. The biblical model calls both husband and wife to sacrificial love, mutual submission to God, and commitment that perseveres through difficulty.
What’s countercultural about biblical marriage is how it challenges both spouses to die to selfishness. Husbands are called to love sacrificially as Christ loved the church, giving themselves up for their wives. Wives are called to respect and submit to their husbands’ leadership. Both are called to mutual love, forgiveness, patience, and putting the other’s needs before their own. This isn’t about hierarchy or inequality but about two imperfect people learning to serve each other in ways that reflect God’s design.
The Bible is also remarkably honest about marriage’s challenges. It acknowledges that marriage brings trouble, that conflict happens, and that perseverance is required. But it also celebrates marriage as good, provides practical wisdom for navigating difficulties, and grounds the commitment in God’s unchanging faithfulness rather than fluctuating emotions.
Say This Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for the gift of marriage and for the wisdom Your Word provides for building strong, godly marriages. Whether I’m married, preparing for marriage, or praying for my future spouse, help me to honor the covenant of marriage as You designed it.
For married couples, I pray for sacrificial love between husbands and wives. Help husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church, leading with humility and serving with devotion. Help wives to respect their husbands and support them with grace and wisdom. Give both partners patience, forgiveness, and commitment that doesn’t waver when difficulties come.
Protect marriages from the enemy’s schemes. Where there’s conflict, bring reconciliation. Where there’s distance, restore intimacy. Where there’s hurt, bring healing. Help couples to keep You at the center of their marriage, remembering that a cord of three strands is not easily broken.
For those preparing for marriage, give wisdom in choosing a spouse and grace in learning to love sacrificially. May every marriage honor You and reflect the beauty of Christ’s love for His church.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.