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Bible verses
Bible Verses About Family
The Bible treats family as a gift and a trust from God, to be marked by love, patience, honor, and faith passed down. Joshua 24:15, Psalm 127:3 and Ephesians 6:4 are among the clearest verses about family. God sets the lonely in families (Psalm 68:6), and He means the home to be a place where His ways are lived and loved.
Bible verses about family
“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Joshua 24:15 · King James Version (public domain)
“Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.”
Psalm 127:3 · King James Version (public domain)
“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
Proverbs 22:6 · King James Version (public domain)
“And these words... thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children.”
Deuteronomy 6:6-7 · King James Version (public domain)
“And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”
Ephesians 6:4 · King James Version (public domain)
Parents are called to raise children not in harshness but in the loving nurture and instruction of the Lord.
“Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.”
Colossians 3:20 · King James Version (public domain)
Children honor God when they obey their parents, and this obedience is pleasing in His sight.
“But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.”
1 Timothy 5:8 · King James Version (public domain)
Caring and providing for your own household is presented as a basic expression of genuine faith.
“Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table.”
Psalms 128:3 · King James Version (public domain)
A flourishing family is pictured here as one of God's tender blessings around the table of a home that fears Him.
“Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.”
Proverbs 31:28 · King James Version (public domain)
Faithful, sacrificial love within a family bears fruit when children and spouse rise up to call one another blessed.
“And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”
Acts 16:31 · King James Version (public domain)
The gospel is God's greatest gift to a family, for salvation in Christ is offered to you and your household.
“Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;”
Ephesians 5:25 · King James Version (public domain)
Husbands are called to love their wives with the same self-giving love Christ showed when He gave Himself for the church.
“Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”
Genesis 2:24 · King James Version (public domain)
Marriage is God's own design, a leaving and a cleaving that forms a new one-flesh union under His blessing.
“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.”
3 John 1:4 · King James Version (public domain)
There is no greater joy for a parent's heart than to see their children walking in the truth of Christ.
How these verses point to Christ
These verses are not slogans to prop yourself up. Every true word the Bible speaks about family finds its yes in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 1:20). He is where family, rightly understood, was always leading; come to Him and receive what no verse alone can give.
You do not have to carry this alone
On The Living Bread you can read these passages in full, ask Simon what they mean, hear how Christ has met others in the same place, and pray them with a community that will pray for you by name. You are welcome exactly as you are.
Questions people ask about family
- What does the Bible say about family?
- Scripture calls families to love and honor one another, raise children in God's ways (Ephesians 6:4, Proverbs 22:6), and serve the Lord together (Joshua 24:15). Psalm 127:3 calls children 'an heritage of the LORD.'
- What is a good Bible verse for family?
- Joshua 24:15 ('as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD') and Psalm 127:3 are beloved family verses to pray and to hang on the wall.
- What does the Bible say about honoring parents?
- The fifth commandment says, 'Honour thy father and thy mother' (Exodus 20:12), and Ephesians 6:1-2 repeats it as 'the first commandment with promise,' that it may be well with you.
- What did Jesus say about family?
- Jesus honored His own mother even from the cross (John 19:26-27), and He widened the family of God, saying, 'whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother' (Mark 3:35).
- What does the Bible say about raising children?
- Proverbs 22:6 says, 'Train up a child in the way he should go,' Deuteronomy 6:6-7 tells parents to teach God's words 'diligently unto thy children,' and Ephesians 6:4 urges fathers to bring them up 'in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.'
- How can I pray for my family?
- Pray Scripture over them, ask God for wisdom and unity, and entrust each person to Him. Isaiah 54:13 is a beautiful promise to pray for children: 'all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children.'
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