Looking for passages from God’s Word that are appropriate to read at a funeral or memorial service? We have assembled a collection of 100+ of the best Bible verses for funerals to make your search easier.
For ease of reference, we have organized this collection by themes:
- Bible Verses About Death
- Bible Verses About Grief
- Bible Verses For Comfort
- Bible Verses About Strength
- Bible Verses About Healing
- Bible Verses About Heaven
Bible Verses About Death
One of the most difficult things to deal with in life is the death of a family member or a close friend.
Even for Christians, dying is a part of life on earth because the Bible tells us that the wages of sin is death.
However, unlike those that do not believe, Christians have a blessed hope.
Thanks to God, who gave His beloved Son to die for our sins, we can rest assured that heaven awaits those who die in Christ.
Here are some Bible verses about dying and death that are appropriate for a religious funeral or memorial service.
Old Testament Scriptures For Funerals – Death
Genesis 3:19 “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
Job 14:14 “If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my service I would wait, till my renewal should come.”
Psalm 23:4 “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
Psalm 39:4 “O Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting I am!”
Psalm 48:14 “For this God is our God for ever and ever; He will be our guide even to the end.”
Psalm 116:15 “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.”
Psalm 146:4 “When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.”
Proverbs 14:32 “When calamity comes, the wicked are brought down, but even in death the righteous have a refuge.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1-4 “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what 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.”
Isaiah 25:8 “He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.”
Isaiah 53:4-5 “Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.”
Hosea 13:14 “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. Where, O death, are your plagues? Where, O grave, is your destruction?”
New Testament Scriptures For Funerals – Death
John 10:27-29 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” (Jesus speaking)
John 11:23-26 “Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha said to him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?’”
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Romans 8:31-39 “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: ‘For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 14:8 “For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.”
1 Corinthians 15:20-23 “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.”
1 Corinthians 15:54-57 “When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’ ‘O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
2 Corinthians 5:6-8 “So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.”
2 Corinthians 7:10 “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.”
1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 “For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.”
Hebrews 2:14-15 “Since the children have flesh and blood, He too shared in their humanity so that by His death He might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.”
Revelations 1:18 “I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”
Revelations 2:10 “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
Revelation 14:13 “And I heard a voice from heaven saying, ‘Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’ ‘Blessed indeed,’ says the Spirit, ‘that they may rest from their labours, for their deeds follow them!’”
Bible Verses About Grief
Grieving is a heart-wrenching time in our lives.
No one travels through life without, at some point, experiencing the loss of someone or something dear.
The passing of a loved one is one of life’s most difficult challenges, and the pain can be overwhelming.
But God doesn’t leave you to suffer alone.
This collection of Bible verses about grief and intense sorrow reassures us that God not only understands our pain and empathizes with our grief, He will never leave our side.
Old Testament Scriptures For Funerals – Grief
Genesis 37:34-35 “Then Jacob tore his garments and put sackcloth on his loins and mourned for his son many days. All his sons and all his daughters rose up to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted and said, ‘No, I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.’ Thus his father wept for him.”
2 Samuel 12:16-17 “David therefore sought God on behalf of the child. And David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. And the elders of his house stood beside him, to raise him from the ground, but he would not, nor did he eat food with them.”
Job 16:20 “… I pour out my tears to God.”
Psalm 6:6 “I am worn out from sobbing. All night I flood my bed with weeping, drenching it with my tears.”
Psalm 31:9-10 “Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress; my eye is wasted from grief; my soul and my body also. For my life is spent with sorrow, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones waste away.”
Psalm 55:22 “Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall.”
Psalms 71:20-21 “Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up. You will increase my honour and comfort me once again.”
Psalm 77:2 “In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted.”
Psalm 116:8 “For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.”
Psalm 119:28 “My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word.”
Psalm 142:2 “I pour out my lament before him. I tell him my troubles.”
Lamentations 3:31-33 “For no one is cast off by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to anyone.”
Isaiah 51:11 “And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”
New Testament Scriptures For Funerals – Grief
John 11:35 “Jesus wept.”
John 16:22 “Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.”
Psalm 119:28 “My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word.”
2 Corinthians 6:10 “As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.”
John 16:22 “You are now very sad. But later I will see you, and you will be so happy that no one will be able to change the way you feel.”
Psalm 34:18 “The Lord is near to those who are discouraged; he saves those who have lost all hope.”
Bible Verses For Comfort
When you need comfort in times of sorrow and grief, the Bible is an excellent place to turn.
Consider reading at the funeral or memorial service passages from the Scriptures that offer comfort in hard times.
During this difficult time of loss, God promises us that He is always faithful and that He is always looking over us.
He truly cares, and is our protector and comforter in times of need.
Whatever the circumstance are, we can use these comforting Bible verses to sustain us during our time of grief.
Old Testament Scriptures For Funerals – Comfort
Psalm 18:28 “You, Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.”
Psalm 22:24 “For He has not despised or scorned the suffering of the afflicted one; He has not hidden his face from him but has listened to his cry for help.”
Psalm 27:4-5 “One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock.”
Psalm 30:5 “For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”
Psalm 61:2 “From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.”
Psalms 94:19 “When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.”
Psalm 119:50 “My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.”
Isaiah 40:11 “He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.”
Isaiah 66:13 “As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you.”
Jeremiah 31:13 “…For I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.”
New Testament Scriptures For Funerals – Comfort
Matthew 5:4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”
Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
John 14:18 “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.”
Romans 8:18 “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”
Romans 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
Romans 15:4 “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.”
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”
Hebrews 13:5 “…God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’”
1 Peter 5:6-7 “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
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Bible Verses About Strength
The Bible is full of verses about strength in hard times.
Where do we find our strength? In the Lord our God!
The Bible tells us that our strength must start and end with God. It is the power and strength that comes from God that carries us through times of grief and sorrow.
As Christians, we need to surrender to the strength that God provides and accept the fact that His strength is made perfect in our weakness.
If you are struggling to find the right words to encourage a grieving congregation at a funeral or memorial service, the Bible verses below provide comfort and hope because they reassure us that God’s strength will never fail.
Old Testament Scriptures For Funerals – Strength
Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Psalms 9:9 “The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.”
Psalms 10:17 “O LORD, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear.”
Psalm 18:2 “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
Psalm 46:1-2 “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea.”
Psalm 73:26 “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
Isaiah 26:4 “Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.”
Isaiah 40:28-31 “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
Isaiah 41:10 “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Isaiah 43:2 “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.”
New Testament Scriptures For Funerals – Strength
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 “But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
Philippians 4:6-8 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
Philippians 4:13 “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.”
Hebrews 4:14-16 “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but who in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Bible Verses About Healing
Has the death of a loved one, such as a spouse or a child, or even a beloved pet, left you broken-hearted and struggling to cope?
God promises us emotional healing in his Word. He gives us many wonderful reassurances that He will heal the wounds of our heart.
Read these Bible verses about healing and let the Word of God comfort and sustain you.
Old Testament Scriptures For Funerals – Healing
Psalm 30:5 “For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.”
Psalm 34:18 “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
Psalm 147:3 “He heals the brokendhearted and binds up their wounds.”
Isaiah 51:3 “The Lord will surely comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; He will make deserts like Eden, her wastelands like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the sound of singing.”
Malachi 4:2 “But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in His wings…”
New Testament Scriptures For Funerals – Healing
John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
Revelation 7:17 “For the Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
Luke 4:18 “…He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted…”
Bible Verses About Heaven
The Bible speaks about eternity often, in both the Old and New Testaments.
There are Bible verses about heaven in 54 of the 66 books in the Bible. Jesus mentions heaven about 70 times in the book of Matthew alone.
Scriptures about Heaven appears from the very first verse in Genesis—“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”—to the last reference found at the end of Revelation—“He showed me the great city… descending out of heaven from God” (Revelation 21:10).
This collection of Bible verses about heaven is meant to bring you hope and comfort. Heaven is truly where the citizenship of the Christian is.
Find solace in Jesus’ promises that he is preparing a life for us in heaven that is more wonderful than we can even imagine.
Heaven is a place where there is no more pain, no more death, and no more tears.
Old Testament Scriptures For Funerals – Heaven
Deuteronomy 33:27 “The eternal God is your refuge, and his everlasting arms are under you…”
Psalm 24:7 “Open up, ancient gates! Open up, ancient doors, and let the King of glory enter.”
Psalm 41:13 “Blessed be the Lord, God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.”
Psalm 90:2 “Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”
Psalm 145:13 “Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does.”
New Testament Scriptures For Funerals – Heaven
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”
John 6:39-40 “And this is the will of Him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
John 14:1-4 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God]; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.”
Romans 8:16-17 “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with Him.”
1 Corinthians 15:52-57 “In a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Philippians 3:20-21 “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.”
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 “Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him. According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.”
2 Timothy 4:7-8 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.”
James 1:12 “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.”
1 Peter 1:3-9 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
1 John 3:1-2 “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.”
Revelation 21:1-4 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.’”
Revelation 22:13 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
Additional Resources
Love Lives On has a host of other resources to help you during the funeral planning process.
May we recommend the following:
- How to plan a funeral
- 150+ best funeral songs (including popular spiritual music)
- Ultimate guide on funeral flowers
- 10+ practical tips for pallbearers
Bible Verses for Death of Loved One
God promises us strength and comfort in hard times. He also offers us the gift of eternal life, if only we will accept it.
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