Choosing words for a funeral, a eulogy or a sympathy card is hard. These are the verses Christians have read at gravesides for centuries, about comfort now and hope beyond death. Here is one for you.
A verse for you
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
Spoken at a grave: in Jesus, death is not the end of the story.
KJVJesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
Spoken at a grave: in Jesus, death is not the end of the story.
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.
Jesus comforts His friends before leaving: there is a place prepared for you.
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.
Even in the valley of the shadow of death, you are not alone.
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.
A promise of a day with no more tears, death, sorrow or pain.
We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.
The death of His people is precious in the sight of the Lord.
O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
Because of the resurrection, death has lost its sting.
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 be born and a time to die. Every season is held by God.
But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
Christians still grieve, but with hope: those who die in Jesus will be with Him.
The Bible never calls death good. It calls it an enemy, and Jesus wept at His friend’s tomb. But it does say death is not the end. “I am the resurrection, and the life,” Jesus said, “he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.”
For believers, the New Testament describes death as going home: “absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” Jesus promised His friends a prepared place in His Father’s house.
At a funeral, Psalm 23 is the most read passage of all. It does not avoid the valley of the shadow of death; it walks through it with the Shepherd. Read our full Psalm 23 page for the whole text.
Psalm 23 and John 14:1-3 are the most common, along with John 11:25-26.
Short and gentle works best: Matthew 5:4, Psalm 34:18 or Revelation 21:4. See also our page of verses for grief.
For those who trust in Christ, it promises being with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8), resurrection (John 11:25) and a new creation without death or tears (Revelation 21:4).