Scriptural Texts                     Back to Home

These texts are arranged in the order as found in the Hebrew (Old Testament) and Christian (New Testament) scriptures. 

Hebrew Scriptures

The Creation of Man and Woman
Genesis 1:26:28, 31a

God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and the cattle, and over all the wild animals and all the creatures that crawl on the ground."

God created man in his image. In the image of God he created him. Male and female he created them.

God blessed them, saying, "Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that move on the earth.

God saw all he had made, and indeed it was very good.


The Creation of Woman
Genesis 2:18-24

The Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him."  So the Lord God formed out of the ground various wild animals and various birds of the air, and he brought them to the man to see what he would call them. Whatever the man called each of them would be its name. The man gave names to all the cattle, all the birds of the air, and all the wild animals, but none proved to be a suitable partner for the man.

So the Lord God cast a deep sleep on the man, and while he was asleep, he took out one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. The Lord God then built up into a woman the rib that he had taken from the man. When he brought her to the man, the man said, "This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. This one shall be called 'woman,' for she was taken from man."

This is why a man leaves his father and mother and joins himself to his wife, and the two of them become one flesh.
 

Love is Strong as Death
Song of Songs 2:8-10, 14, 16a; 8:6-7a

I hear my Beloved.

See how he comes

leaping on the mountains,

bounding over the hills,

My Beloved is like a gazelle,

like a young stag.

See where he stands

behind our wall.

He looks in at the window,

he peers through the lattice.

My Beloved lifts up his voice,

he says to me,

"Come then, my love,

my lovely one, come.

My dove, hiding in the clefts of the rock,

in the coverts of the cliff,

show me your face,

let me hear your voice;

for your voice is sweet

and your face is beautiful."

My beloved is mine and I am his.

He said to me:

Set me like a seal on your heart,

like a seal on your arm.

For love is strong as Death,

jealousy relentless as Sheol.

The flash of it is a flash of fire,

a flame of the Lord himself.

Love no flood can quench,

no torrents drown.

Marriage of Tobiah and Sarah
Tobit, 8:5b-7

Blessed are you, O God of our fathers,

Praised be your name forever and ever.

Let the heavens and all your creation praise you forever.

You made Adam and you gave him his wife Eve to be his help and support; and from these two the human race descended.

You said, "It is not good for the man to be alone; let us make him a partner like himself."

Now, Lord, you know that I take this wife of mine not because of lust, but for a noble purpose.  Call down your mercy on me and on her and allow us to live together to a happy old age.

The Good Shepherd
Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

In verdant pastures he gives me repose;

Beside restful waters he leads me;

He refreshes my soul.

He guides me in the right paths for his name's sake.

Though I should walk in the valley of darkness I fear no evil;

For you are ever with me. 

With your rod and your staff that give me courage.

You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes.

You anoint my head with oil;

My cup overflows.

Only goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life;

And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. 

Christian Scriptures

The Greatest of the Gifts is Love
1 Corinthians, 13:1-7, 13

I will show you the way which surpasses all the others. If I speak with human tongues and angelic as well, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong, a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and, with full knowledge, comprehend all mysteries, if I have faith great enough to move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give everything I have to feed the poor and hand over my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. Love is not jealous, it does not put on airs, it is not snobbish. Love is never rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not prone to anger; neither does it brood over injuries. Love does not rejoice in what is wrong but rejoices with the truth. There is no limit to love’s forbearance, to its trust, its hope, its power to endure.

[Love never fails. Prophecies will cease, tongues will be silent, knowledge will pass away. Our knowledge is imperfect and our prophesying is imperfect. When the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away. When I was a child I used to talk like a child, think like a child, reason like a child.  When I became a man I put childish ways aside. Now we see indistinctly, as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. My knowledge is imperfect now; then I shall know even as I am known.]

There are in the end three things that last: Faith, hope, and love, and the greatest of these is love.
 

Love Binds all the Virtues Together

Colossians 3:12-17

Because you are God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with heartfelt mercy, with kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another; forgive whatever grievances you have against one another. Forgive as the Lord has forgiven you. Over all these virtues put on love, which binds the rest together and makes them perfect. Christ’s peace must reign in your hearts, since as members of the one body you have been called to that peace. Dedicate yourselves to thankfulness.

Let the word of Christ, rich as it is, dwell in you. In wisdom made perfect, instruct and teach one another. Sing gratefully to God from your hears in psalms, hymns, and inspired songs. Whatever you do, whether in speech or in action, do it in the name of the Lord Jesus. Give thanks to God the Father through him.
 

The Beatitudes
Matthew 5:1-12a

Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up the mountainside. After he sat down his disciples gathered around and he began to teach them.

"How blest are the poor in spirit, the reign of God is theirs.
Blest too are the sorrowing, they shall be consoled.
Blest are the lowly, then shall inherit the land.
Blest are they who hunger and thirst for holiness, they shall have their fill.
Blest are they who show mercy, mercy shall be theirs.
Blest are the single-hearted for they shall see God.
Blest too the peacemakers, they shall be called children of God.
Blest are those persecuted for holiness' sake, the reign of God is theirs.
Blest are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of slander against you because of me. Be glad and rejoice for your reward is great in heaven."

 

The Two shall become One Body
Matthew 19:4b-6

Jesus said to his disciples, "At the beginning the Creator made them male and female, and then God declared, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and cling to his wife, and the two shall become as one body.'  Therefore, what God has joined let no one separate."
 

They are no longer Two but One Flesh
Mark 10:6-9

Jesus said to his disciples, "At the beginning of creation God made them male and female.  For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and the two shall become as one.  They are no longer two but one flesh.  Therefore let no one separate what God has joined."
 

Marriage Feast of Cana

John 2:1-11
 

There was wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.  Jesus and his disciples had likewise been invited to the celebration. 

At a certain point the wine ran out, and Jesus' mother told him, "They have no more wine."  Jesus replied, "Woman, how does this concern of yours involve me?  My hour has not yet come."  His mother instructed those waiting on table, "Do whatever he tells you." 

As prescribed for Jewish ceremonial washings, there were at hand six stone water jars, each one holding fifteen to twenty-five gallons.  Fill those jars with water," Jesus ordered, at which they filled them to the brim.  "Now," he said, "draw some out and take it to the waiter in charge."  They did as he instructed them.  The waiter in charge tasted the water made wine, without knowing where it had come from; only the waiters knew, since they had drawn the water.  The the waiter in charge called the groom over and remarked to him:  "People usually serve the choice wine first; then when the guests have been drinking awhile, a lesser vintage.  What you have done is keep the choice wine until now."  Jesus performed this first of his signs at Cana in Galilee.  Thus did he reveal his glory, and his disciples believed in him. 

God is Love

1 John 4:16
 

God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.

        OR

God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God in them.

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