Scripture for a Funeral Program

The passages read at most funerals, in the order a service uses them, with the short ones marked so you can see at a glance what will fit on a program panel. Quoted from the King James Version, which is out of copyright and free to reprint.

Updated November 8, 202611 min readWritten by the Reposa team

On this page

How many readings
Old Testament readings
New Testament readings
Gospel readings
Short passages for a panel
If it is a Catholic Mass
Printing it in the program

How many readings you actually need

Service	Readings	Usual shape
Protestant funeral	1–2	A psalm, then a Gospel or epistle passage
Catholic funeral Mass	4	Old Testament · Responsorial Psalm · New Testament · Gospel
Memorial service	1–2	Often one passage and one poem
Graveside only	1	Psalm 23 or Psalm 121, read standing
Celebration of life	0–1	Optional; frequently replaced by a reading of their own
Homegoing service	2	One Old Testament, one New Testament, read by different people

Two readings and a eulogy fill a service comfortably. Three readings plus reflections plus a homily is a long morning for people standing at the back, and the order of service is easier to hold together if you keep it to two.

Old Testament readings

These are read first when there is more than one. The psalms do most of the work, because they were written to be said aloud by people in grief, which is exactly the situation.

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd · KJV · 6 verses · fits a panel

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Ecclesiastes 3:1–8

To every thing there is a season · KJV · the whole passage, as funerals read it

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

Isaiah 40:28–31

They shall mount up with wings as eagles · KJV

Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.

He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Other Old Testament passages worth looking at

Psalm 121 · I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills. Good at a graveside
Psalm 27 · The Lord is my light and my salvation. Often used at a homegoing
Psalm 46:1–7 · God is our refuge and strength. For a sudden death
Psalm 90:1–12 · Teach us to number our days. For a long life
Lamentations 3:22–26 · His mercies are new every morning
Proverbs 31:10–31 · A virtuous woman. Traditional for a mother or grandmother
Wisdom 3:1–9 · The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God. Catholic and Orthodox Bibles

New Testament readings

Romans 8:38–39

Nothing shall separate us · KJV · short enough for a card

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

1 Corinthians 13:4–8, 13

Charity suffereth long · KJV · often read for a spouse

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.

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

Revelation 21:1–4

God shall wipe away all tears · KJV

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

Also commonly read

2 Corinthians 4:16–18 · The things which are not seen are eternal
1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 · Comfort one another with these words
2 Timothy 4:6–8 · I have fought a good fight. For a long, faithful life
1 Peter 1:3–9 · An inheritance incorruptible
1 John 3:1–2 · Behold, what manner of love

Gospel readings

At a Catholic Mass the Gospel is read by the priest or deacon and the congregation stands. In a Protestant service it is usually the last reading before the eulogy.

John 14:1–6

In my Father’s house are many mansions · KJV · the most-used funeral Gospel

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.

Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Matthew 5:1–12 · The Beatitudes. Long, but read at many funerals
Matthew 11:28–30 · Come unto me, all ye that labour. Very short, and it fits a card
John 6:37–40 · All that the Father giveth me shall come to me
John 11:21–27 · I am the resurrection, and the life
Luke 23:33, 39–43 · Today shalt thou be with me in paradise

Short passages that fit on a panel

These are the ones to print in full. Each is short enough to sit on the back of a prayer card or under the photograph on a program panel without dropping below a readable size.

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
Psalm 23:1
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:28
“I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.”
John 11:25
“Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.”
Matthew 5:4
“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”
Revelation 21:4
“The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart.”
Psalm 34:18
“I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.”
2 Timothy 4:7
“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.”
Psalm 116:15
“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.”
John 14:1
“He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.”
Psalm 147:3

There are fifty more, grouped by what they are for, on our page of Bible verses for funeral programs.

If it is a Catholic funeral Mass

The readings are not free choice. They come from the lectionary for funerals, and the parish will usually offer the family a printed sheet to choose from. The structure is fixed:

First Reading · Old Testament, or from Revelation during Easter
Responsorial Psalm · Sung or said; Psalm 23 and Psalm 27 are the usual choices
Second Reading · From the New Testament letters
Gospel Acclamation · Sung; no Alleluia during Lent
Gospel · Read by the priest or deacon; the congregation stands

Print the references and the psalm response in the program so the congregation can join in, and let the lectors read from the ambo rather than from the program. Our Catholic funeral Mass program page lays the whole Mass out in order.

Printing it in the program

Three rules keep it clean. Give the reference in the order of service under the item title, with “Scripture Reading” and Psalm 23 beneath it. Print the full text only once, on a panel where it has room. And say which translation you used, in small type at the end, if it is anything other than the King James.

If you are printing the full text, keep the verse breaks as paragraph breaks rather than running them together, and leave the verse numbers out, because they make a program look like a study Bible.

Common questions

How many scripture readings are there at a funeral?

A Protestant service usually has one or two. A Catholic funeral Mass has three readings and a psalm: an Old Testament reading, the responsorial psalm, a New Testament reading, then the Gospel. A graveside service often has one short passage and nothing else. If you are unsure, one Old Testament passage and one from the Gospels is a safe and complete choice.

Which translation should I print?

Use whichever the church uses, and ask if you do not know. At a Catholic Mass in the United States the readings come from the Lectionary, which is based on the New American Bible, not the newer Revised Edition, so ask the parish for the text. Many Protestant churches use the NIV or the ESV. The King James is in the public domain in the United States, which is why it is quoted here and why it is the safest one to reprint in a program you are making hundreds of copies of.

Do I have to print the whole passage in the program?

No, and usually you should not. Printing the reference on its own, as 'Psalm 23' or 'John 14:1–6', is the normal practice, because the passage is read aloud anyway and the program has limited room. Print the full text only when you want people to read along, or when the passage is short enough to sit as a piece of design on the back panel.

Who reads the scripture?

A family member, a friend, or a lector from the church. It does not have to be clergy. Choose someone who will not be undone by it: a grandchild, a cousin, a colleague. Give them the printed passage in advance and let them read it once out loud at home.

Can we use scripture if the person was not religious?

Families do it all the time, usually because the older generation expects it. If it would misrepresent the person, a poem or a piece of their own writing does the same job. There is no rule, and nobody at the service is keeping score.

Is it acceptable to shorten a passage?

Yes. Readings are commonly trimmed to the verses that carry the meaning. Psalm 23 is almost always read in full because it is short, but a longer passage from Romans or Revelation is regularly cut. Print the verse range you actually read so nobody is following along in the wrong place.