What does the Bible say

What Does the Bible Say About Wives?

The Bible speaks with honour to wives, describing the strength, wisdom, and worth of a godly woman, and calling wife and husband into a partnership of mutual love and respect. Scripture praises the virtuous wife whose worth is far above rubies, and it points every marriage toward the self-giving love that reflects Christ.

What Scripture says

Here are real verses on wives, each in the King James Version, with a word on what it means.

Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.Proverbs 31:10 (KJV)

A virtuous woman, her price is far above rubies.

Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.Proverbs 31:30 (KJV)

Favour is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman that fears the LORD shall be praised.

Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.Ephesians 5:33 (KJV)

Let the wife see that she reverence her husband, within mutual love.

But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.1 Peter 3:4 (KJV)

The hidden person of the heart, a meek and quiet spirit, is of great price to God.

A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones.Proverbs 12:4 (KJV)

A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband.

That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,Titus 2:4 (KJV)

Older women are to teach the younger to love their husbands and children.

What this means for you today

Scripture honours a wife's character over her appearance, praising a heart that fears God and a strength that blesses her whole household. The Proverbs 31 woman is capable, generous, and wise, not passive.

Biblical marriage is a partnership of love and respect flowing both ways. A wife is called to respect, and a husband to sacrificial love, and both are held together by the grace of God at the centre of the home.

The deepest answer is Jesus

The love that holds any marriage together is finally the love of Christ, who gives both husband and wife the grace to honour and serve one another.

Every one of these Scriptures points beyond itself to a Person. The deepest answer the Bible gives to any human need is not a rule or a technique but Jesus Christ, who came, lived, died, and rose again so that you could be forgiven and brought home to God. He said, Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Whatever you are carrying, you do not have to carry it alone, and you do not have to make yourself clean first. You can come to him today, just as you are.

This is the good news the whole Bible is telling. We were made for God, we have all turned from him and gone our own way, and none of us can fix that on our own. But God did not leave us there. Out of love he sent his Son to take our place, bearing our wrong on the cross and rising again to open the way back to the Father. Everyone who turns to Jesus and trusts him is forgiven, given new life, and welcomed as a beloved child of God, held by a love that will never let go. That is why the Bible's answer to every topic on this page finally leads here. You can respond right now, in your own words, simply telling God you need him and asking Jesus to be your Saviour and Lord. He hears the honest prayer of anyone who comes.

Common questions

What does the Bible say about wives?

The Bible speaks with honour to wives, describing the strength, wisdom, and worth of a godly woman, and calling wife and husband into a partnership of mutual love and respect. Scripture praises the virtuous wife whose worth is far above rubies, and it points every marriage toward the self-giving love that reflects Christ.

What does the Bible say about being a wife?

It honours the strength, wisdom, and worth of a godly woman (Proverbs 31:10), praises a heart that fears the LORD over outward beauty (Proverbs 31:30), and calls for mutual love and respect in marriage (Ephesians 5:33).

What is a Proverbs 31 woman?

She is a picture of a capable, wise, generous, God-fearing woman whose worth is far above rubies (Proverbs 31:10) and whose reverence for God, not her appearance, earns lasting praise (Proverbs 31:30).

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