18 Bible Verses for Couples: Love, Respect, Arguments and Daily Life

Ephesians 5:21

“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

Reflection: This sentence comes before the instructions the passage is known for. In the oldest Greek manuscripts, verse 22 has no verb of its own; “wives, to your own husbands” takes its verb from this verse, so the instructions that follow begin with something everyone is asked to do.

Ephesians 5:25

“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.”

Reflection: The measure is Christ, who “gave himself up for her.” Paul gives the husbands’ instruction more space (5:25-33) than the wives’ (5:22-24).

Ephesians 5:33

“However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.”

Reflection: The passage ends with a summary in different words. Paul does not repeat submit here; he asks the husband to love and the wife to respect.

1 Peter 3:7

“Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.”

Reflection: Peter ties the way a husband treats his wife to his own prayers. He also calls the wife an heir “with you of the gracious gift of life.”

Mark 10:9

“Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”

Reflection: Jesus says this in answer to Pharisees who asked, “to test him,” whether divorce was lawful (10:2). In that setting the sentence limits divorce and protects the wife.

1 John 4:19

“We love because he first loved us.”

Reflection: John puts God’s love first in time. A couple’s love for each other is described elsewhere in Scripture as a response to that love (Ephesians 5:25; Colossians 3:13).

Song of Solomon 8:6-7

“Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord.”

Reflection: The Hebrew word for “the very flame of the Lord” ends with a short form of God’s name, Yah. It may be the only reference to God in the book, and some translations render it simply as “a mighty flame.”

Proverbs 15:1

“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”

Reflection: The proverb describes what a reply does: a gentle one turns anger away and a harsh one stirs it up, whoever was right to begin with.

James 1:19

“Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.”

Reflection: James puts listening first and asks for speed only there: quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to become angry. For more on this, see Bible verses about communication.

Ephesians 4:2-3

“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”

Reflection: Paul asks for humility, gentleness and patience, and “bearing with one another” assumes the other person will sometimes be hard to live with. The unity is something to keep, with effort.

Colossians 3:13

“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”

Reflection: Paul expects grievances and gives the measure for forgiving them: “as the Lord forgave you.”

Philippians 2:3-4

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.”

Reflection: Count here means to regard or consider. The next verse adds, “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others” (2:4).

Galatians 6:2

“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”

Reflection: Three verses later Paul says “each one should carry their own load” (6:5), using a different word. The burden in verse 2 is a heavy weight that needs help; the load in verse 5 is what each person is expected to carry.

Romans 12:12

“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”

Reflection: The three instructions are joy in hope, patience in affliction and faithfulness in prayer. Patience in affliction assumes the trouble may last.

Colossians 3:23

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.”

Reflection: Paul wrote this to slaves about their earthly masters (3:22). The principle that carries over to a household is that work is done “as working for the Lord.”

1 Corinthians 10:13

“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape.”

Reflection: Paul first says the temptation is “common to man,” something others have faced. The way of escape he promises is a way to “endure it.”

1 Corinthians 7:3-4

“The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.”

Reflection: Paul states the rule for the wife and then the same rule for the husband, in the same words: neither has authority over their own body alone.

Hebrews 13:4

“Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled.”

Reflection: The instruction is addressed to everyone, “among all,” so the honor given to marriage is the whole church’s concern as well as the couple’s.