Bible Verses For Family
Family is one of the places faith gets lived out daily — in the ordinary, unglamorous moments. These verses speak into that.
Family shows up throughout Scripture as both a source of real blessing and, honestly, real difficulty. Below is a collection of verified King James Version verses about family, touching on parenting, honoring parents, and the ordinary work of a household.
Bible Verses For Family
Every verse below is drawn from a verified King James Version text.
And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
1 John 5:20
Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
Psalms 107:15
For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.
Proverbs 3:12
But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth.
Luke 11:17
He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
1 John 5:12
Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
Psalms 107:21
For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
1 John 5:7
Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.
Galatians 3:7
And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee.
Luke 11:7
But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children’s children;
Psalms 103:17
But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.
Mark 11:26
Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
Proverbs 31:28
He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel.
Psalms 103:7
For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates; he hath blessed thy children within thee.
Psalms 147:13
And the king commanded, and they brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and brake all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the den.
Daniel 6:24
If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.
1 John 5:9
When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up.
Psalms 27:10
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.
Psalms 23:6
Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,
Romans 4:16
Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession.
Hebrews 4:14
He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.
1 John 5:10
She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
Proverbs 31:21
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
Luke 11:13
And besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live.
Mark 5:23
That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD:
Isaiah 30:9
Woe to the rebellious children, saith the LORD, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin:
Isaiah 30:1
Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
1 Peter 1:2
Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.
Romans 4:18
And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say, Why then did ye not believe him?
Mark 11:31
For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.
Psalms 139:13
Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.
Luke 11:47
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
Ecclesiastes 3:1
What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of my vows?
Proverbs 31:2
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
1 Peter 1:3
By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
1 John 5:2
In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks.
Isaiah 26:1
Ye shall have a song, as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountain of the LORD, to the mighty One of Israel.
Isaiah 30:29
Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
Psalms 107:31
I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons.
Psalms 16:7
Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God.
Psalms 84:3
My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion:
Proverbs 3:21
She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.
Proverbs 31:15
For as Jonas was a sign unto the Ninevites, so shall also the Son of man be to this generation.
Luke 11:30
To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.
Psalms 145:12
These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
1 John 5:13
And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
Luke 11:2
Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
James 2:21
And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.
Psalms 40:3
Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
1 John 5:5
My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.
James 2:1
And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
Mark 11:25
My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:
Proverbs 3:1
Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.
1 John 5:21
Produce your cause, saith the LORD; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob.
Isaiah 41:21
Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.
Mark 11:10
I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Keep not back: bring my sons from far, and my daughters from the ends of the earth;
Isaiah 43:6
As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:
1 Peter 1:14
And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:
Romans 4:11
For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3:26
And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:
1 Peter 1:17
That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,
Titus 2:4
Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.
Psalms 103:13
I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it.
Ecclesiastes 3:10
For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.
Ecclesiastes 3:19
The curse of the LORD is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just.
Proverbs 3:33
We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.
Psalms 55:14
And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
1 John 5:11
When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out.
Luke 11:24
The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him.
Proverbs 31:1
But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
James 2:9
Thy first father hath sinned, and thy teachers have transgressed against me.
Isaiah 43:27
For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
Psalms 84:10
She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.
Proverbs 31:27
Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.
Proverbs 31:29
Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day.
Daniel 6:13
Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were.
Psalms 39:12
And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised.
Romans 4:12
And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.
Mark 5:7
And having an high priest over the house of God;
Hebrews 10:21
I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts.
Ecclesiastes 3:18
Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
Hebrews 10:29
Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.
Psalms 32:7
And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges.
Luke 11:19
Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
Psalms 107:8
If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?
Luke 11:11
What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?
Romans 4:1
Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.
Daniel 6:10
Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
Psalms 34:11
By thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art he that took me out of my mother’s bowels: my praise shall be continually of thee.
Psalms 71:6
Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
1 Peter 1:6
The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season.
Psalms 145:15
Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
1 Peter 1:18
Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Psalms 51:5
Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah.
Psalms 84:4
One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.
Psalms 27:4
Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres.
Luke 11:48
(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.
Romans 4:17
And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
Psalms 1:3
My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction:
Proverbs 3:11
And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.
Mark 11:17
All verses are quoted from the King James Version (KJV), a public-domain translation.
Understanding Family Through Scripture
Scripture does not romanticize family life. From the earliest chapters of Genesis, family relationships are shown with real conflict — sibling rivalry, favoritism, broken trust — alongside genuine love and loyalty. This honesty is part of what makes its instruction useful rather than idealistic.
Psalm 127:3 calls children “an heritage of the LORD,” framing family fundamentally as something entrusted rather than owned or controlled.
What the Bible Teaches About Family
Raising Children in Faith
Honoring Parents
The command to honor father and mother appears among the Ten Commandments, and Ephesians 6:2 notes it is “the first commandment with promise.” Scripture treats this relationship as foundational, even while acknowledging — through its many flawed family stories — that honoring parents does not require pretending they were perfect.
Family Through Hard Seasons
Family as a Place of Formation
Proverbs 22:6’s well-known instruction to “train up a child in the way he should go” is often read as a guarantee, but its plain sense is closer to a description of long-term formation — patterns set early tend to shape a person’s direction, even when the path is not perfectly straight along the way.
This takes some pressure off any single conversation or moment. Family formation, biblically, looks more like the accumulation of many ordinary days than any one decisive intervention.
Marriage in Scripture
Genesis 2:24’s description of two becoming “one flesh” sets marriage up as Scripture’s original picture of family, predating any other family structure discussed later. Ephesians 5’s instructions to husbands and wives, whatever else is debated about their application, share a common thread: mutual sacrifice, not one-sided authority.
When Family Relationships Are Broken
Scripture does not shy away from broken family relationships — Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery; David’s own household was marked by real dysfunction. Genesis 50:20’s resolution, where Joseph tells his brothers “ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good,” offers a model for reconciliation that does not require pretending the wrong never happened, only choosing not to let it have the final word.
A Few More Verses Worth Knowing
Proverbs 17:6’s observation that “children’s children are the crown of old men” speaks to family across generations, not only within one household. Malachi 4:6’s prophecy about hearts of parents and children being turned toward each other, and Psalm 128’s picture of a household blessed “round about thy table,” round out Scripture’s wide-angle view of family life.
Blessing the Next Generation
The practice of blessing children, seen from Jacob blessing his sons in Genesis to Jesus specifically welcoming children in the Gospels, treats intentional, spoken affirmation as a meaningful part of family life, not an unnecessary sentimentality. Words spoken over a child, Scripture suggests, carry real weight into how that child understands themselves later.
Family and Forgiveness
Few relationships test forgiveness as thoroughly as family, precisely because the history runs so deep. The prodigal son’s father, the reconciliation between Jacob and Esau after years of estrangement, and Joseph’s eventual forgiveness of his brothers all model family reconciliation that took real time — sometimes decades — rather than happening quickly or easily.
A Few More Verses Worth Knowing
Psalm 68:6’s description of God as one who “setteth the solitary in families” speaks to family as a source of belonging, not only obligation. Proverbs 15:20 and Colossians 3:20’s instructions to children, alongside Ephesians 6:1’s call to honor parents “in the Lord,” round out Scripture’s consistent attention to this relationship across every stage of life.
Family and Hospitality
Scripture repeatedly commends hospitality — welcoming others into the household, feeding strangers, opening the family table to people outside the immediate family. Romans 12:13’s instruction to be “given to hospitality” suggests family, biblically, was never meant to be a closed unit, but a place with room made for others as well.
Praying for Your Family
Job’s practice of regularly offering sacrifices on behalf of his children, “lest they have sinned,” models ongoing, proactive prayer for family members rather than only reactive prayer during a crisis. A short daily habit of praying by name for each member of your household, even briefly, is a simple, sustainable way to carry this same posture forward.
Modeling Faith at Home
2 Timothy 1:5’s reference to Timothy’s faith, first present in his grandmother Lois and mother Eunice before it became his own, pictures faith passed down through ordinary family life rather than through formal instruction alone. Much of what children absorb about faith comes less from what is explicitly taught and more from what they simply observe being lived out at home.
Family as an Ongoing Project
No family in Scripture is presented as finished or perfected — every family story includes an ongoing process of failure, repair, growth, and grace. This is a useful corrective for anyone measuring their own family against an idealized standard no biblical family actually met. Family, biblically, is less a fixed achievement and more a lifelong, imperfect project undertaken together.
Family and Everyday Faithfulness
Most of what Scripture actually says about family concerns ordinary, repeated moments — meals, conversations, corrections, small kindnesses — rather than singular dramatic events. Faithfulness within a family tends to be built the same way trust is built anywhere: consistently, over time, through the unremarkable days far more than through the memorable ones.
Family and Sabbath Rest
The Sabbath command in Exodus 20 is explicitly extended to the whole household — sons, daughters, servants, even animals. Rest, in this instruction, is treated as a shared family practice, not only a private, individual discipline. Building in shared, unhurried time together as a family carries real biblical precedent, not just modern convenience.
Family and Legacy
Psalm 78’s instruction to tell “the generation to come” about God’s faithfulness treats family as a vehicle for legacy — not primarily material inheritance, but the passing down of faith itself. What a family chooses to remember, retell, and practice together tends to shape what the next generation carries forward more than almost anything else.
Family Beyond Blood
Jesus himself redefines family in Matthew 12, pointing to his disciples and saying “whosoever shall do the will of my Father… the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.” This widens Scripture’s picture of family to include spiritual community as a genuine, not lesser, form of family — especially meaningful for anyone whose biological family relationships are strained or absent.
Family and Patience
1 Corinthians 13’s description of patient love applies with particular force inside a household, where the same people are seen at their best and worst, repeatedly, over years. Patience within family is less a single virtuous moment and more a long, ongoing practice — renewed daily, much like the mercy Lamentations describes.
Family and the Long View
Much of what a family builds together — trust, faith, shared memory — only becomes fully visible over decades, not within any single season. If your family feels like a work in progress right now, that is consistent with how every family in Scripture is actually portrayed: unfinished, imperfect, and still being shaped.
Family and Forgiveness, Practiced Daily
Because family relationships are so ongoing, small offenses accumulate quickly if they are not addressed. Ephesians 4:26’s instruction not to let the sun go down on anger is especially practical advice for households, where the same people share space day after day. Regularly clearing the air, even over small things, tends to prevent the larger ruptures that are much harder to repair.
Family Rituals and Shared Faith
Passover, the Sabbath meal, and other regular family rituals in Scripture were designed specifically to be repeated, generation after generation, so faith would be experienced together rather than only taught abstractly. Simple, repeated family practices today — grace before meals, a regular prayer time together — carry forward this same idea: faith passed down through shared rhythm, not only through instruction.
Family and Financial Stress
Money pressures are among the most common sources of family conflict, and Scripture addresses this directly rather than avoiding it — Proverbs’ repeated warnings about debt and provision, Paul’s instruction on contentment. Honest conversation about money within a family, difficult as it can be, is treated as part of responsible household stewardship, not a taboo subject to avoid.
Family and the Empty Chair
Every family, eventually, experiences absence — through death, distance, or estrangement. Scripture does not pretend this away. The genealogies themselves record generations that lost members, and the Psalms give language for grieving family loss openly. If your family currently includes an empty chair, that grief belongs in the picture too, not outside it.
One Final Word on Family
A Prayer for Your Family
Consider closing with a simple prayer of your own — naming each family member, thanking God for what is good, and honestly bringing whatever is currently strained. Scripture consistently treats this kind of specific, ongoing prayer for family as one of the most practical things you can do for the people you love.
This collection draws on the King James Version, a public-domain translation available in full at Blue Letter Bible, for anyone who wants to study the wider context of any verse above.
If this speaks to your current situation, you may also want to read Bible Verses For Love or Bible Verses About Identity in Christ, both of which touch on related ground.
Every verse on this page is drawn from the King James Version, a public-domain translation available in full at Blue Letter Bible for anyone who wants to study the wider context.
For related reading, you may also find Bible Verses For Protection from Enemies and Bible Verses For Sin and Forgiveness helpful.
Some readers also return to Bible Verses For Faith During Trials or Bible Verses For Broken Relationships alongside this page.
If you are exploring related themes, Bible Verses For Emotional Healing and Bible Verses For God's Protection are worth a look.
If you want to compare these verses across other translations, Bible Gateway offers a free side-by-side reading tool.
Final Thoughts
Across these verses, family in Scripture is treated as sacred, difficult, and genuinely worth the effort — not because it is easy, but because it is one of the primary places faith gets lived out day to day. Whatever your family looks like right now, we hope these verses offer real encouragement.
If this resonates, you may also want to read Bible Verses For Faith or Bible Verses For Prayer, both of which touch on similar ground from a different angle.