Bible Verses for Funeral Programs

What actually fits

The commonest mistake is choosing a beautiful passage and then discovering it has to be set at seven points to fit the panel. Work the other way round: decide where the verse is going first, then pick one the right length.

Reposa handles this for you: paste in a verse, choose where it should appear, and the layout finds the largest size that fits the panel. It tells you plainly if it does not fit rather than quietly cutting it.

Comfort

For the days immediately after, and for the people at the back of the room.

• “The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.”

  Psalm 34:18

• “He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.”

  Psalm 147:3

• “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.”

  Matthew 5:4

• “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

  Psalm 46:1

• “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

  Matthew 11:28

• “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”

  1 Peter 5:7

• “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

  Psalm 23:1

  Nine words. The classic cover line.

• “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me.”

  Psalm 23:4

• “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”

  Psalm 30:5

• “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you.”

  John 14:27

Hope and resurrection

• “I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.”

  John 11:25

• “In my Father’s house are many mansions: I go to prepare a place for you.”

  John 14:2

• “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death.”

  Revelation 21:4

• “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

  Philippians 1:21

• “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”

  1 Corinthians 15:55

• “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God.”

  2 Corinthians 5:1

• “Absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”

  2 Corinthians 5:8

  Eleven words. Fits a cover.

• “Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice.”

  1 Peter 1:8

• “The things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

  2 Corinthians 4:18

• “He that believeth in me hath everlasting life.”

  John 6:47

Rest after a long life

For someone in their eighties or nineties, where the service is as much gratitude as grief.

• “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.”

  Psalm 116:15

• “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.”

  2 Timothy 4:7

• “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”

  Matthew 25:21

  Seven words. Very often used on a cover.

• “Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in in his season.”

  Job 5:26

• “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.”

  Psalm 90:12

• “The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness.”

  Proverbs 16:31

• “They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing.”

  Psalm 92:14

• “And they rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.”

  Revelation 14:13

Love and remembrance

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

  1 Corinthians 13:13

• “Charity suffereth long, and is kind. Charity never faileth.”

  1 Corinthians 13:4, 8

• “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

  John 15:13

• “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you.”

  Philippians 1:3

  Nine words. Perfect for an acknowledgement.

• “Neither death, nor life, … shall be able to separate us from the love of God.”

  From Romans 8:38–39

  Shortened: the dots mark the words left out.

• “Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it.”

  Song of Solomon 8:7

• “Her children arise up, and call her blessed.”

  Proverbs 31:28

  For a mother or grandmother.

• “A friend loveth at all times.”

  Proverbs 17:17

A life of faith

• “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”

  2 Corinthians 5:7

• “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.”

  Proverbs 3:5

• “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?”

  Psalm 27:1

• “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

  Joshua 24:15

• “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”

  Psalm 119:105

• “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles.”

  Isaiah 40:31

• “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”

  Philippians 4:13

• “Be still, and know that I am God.”

  Psalm 46:10

  Eight words.

When the loss came too soon

For a child, a young parent, or a sudden death. These are the verses that do not reach for a tidy explanation.

• “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

  Job 1:21

• “Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not.”

  Mark 10:14

• “He shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom.”

  Isaiah 40:11

• “Jesus wept.”

  John 11:35

  Two words. Sometimes the only ones that fit.

• “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”

  2 Corinthians 12:9

• “Underneath are the everlasting arms.”

  Deuteronomy 33:27

  Five words.

• “The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace.”

  Psalm 29:11

• “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee.”

  Psalm 55:22

Where to put it in the program

One verse on the cover, set small and centered under the dates, is almost always the right amount. A second, longer one can sit on the back panel above the acknowledgement, and a third on the back of the prayer cards. That way each piece carries something without any of them looking busy.

Set the verse in italic at the body size or one point smaller, centered, with the reference underneath in small capitals. Do not put a verse across the photograph, and do not repeat the same verse on every surface, because it stops reading as a choice and starts reading as a default.

The full text of the passages most often read aloud is on our page of scripture for a funeral program, and Psalm 23 has a page of its own because it appears in more programs than everything else combined.