A Bible for a Wedding Gift: What to Choose and What to Write

A Bible, or a book of Scripture, is one of the few wedding gifts that is meant to be kept for the whole of a marriage. It can sit on a shelf for years and still be opened on an anniversary, at a christening or on a hard day. Choosing one well is mostly a matter of answering four questions: what should be inside it, which translation, which format, and what you will write in it. This guide goes through each, with the options we make and what they cost, so you can compare them with whatever else you are considering.

1. What should be inside?

There are three good answers, depending on the couple.

A book of Scripture on marriage

For a couple who would not read a whole Bible, or who already own one, a book that gathers what the Bible says about marriage is often the more personal gift. Our Marriage theme book holds 37 passages, 357 verses in all, in eight sections: from Genesis 2 ("they shall be one flesh") through the stories of Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachel, Ruth and Boaz, the Song of Solomon, the letters to husbands and wives, Proverbs 31, Ecclesiastes 4 and 1 Corinthians 13, to the wedding at Cana and "the marriage supper of the Lamb" in Revelation 19. Every passage is printed in full, so it can be read through in an evening or a few pages at a time. If you would like to see the verses first, we have set them out in Bible verses about marriage, gathered by theme.

Three other theme books suit a wedding: Love ("Many waters cannot quench love", Song of Solomon 8:7), Family ("as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD", Joshua 24:15) and Relationships, whose key verse is the wedding favourite "a threefold cord is not quickly broken" (Ecclesiastes 4:12). Two of them together make a pair: Marriage and Love, for example, or Marriage and Family for a couple hoping for children.

The New Testament

For a couple starting a home together, the New Testament is the classic choice, the book many families read from first. Ours comes in one volume of all 27 books, from Matthew to Revelation, with the words of Jesus in red, 28 full-page illustrations, and each book opening with its own cover in the colour and symbol of the series. It has 682 pages in the King James Version or 676 in the World English Bible. If you know the couple's favourite Gospel, John on its own is a smaller, more personal gift.

The Five Books of Moses

Marriage begins in the Torah. Genesis 2 gives the first wedding, and Numbers 6 gives the blessing that is still spoken over many couples: "The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace" (Numbers 6:24–26). Our one-volume Torah holds Genesis to Deuteronomy, with 31 full-page illustrations, in 492 pages (KJV) or 478 (WEB). It suits a couple who love the stories of Genesis, or a Jewish and Christian family who share these five books.

2. King James Version or World English Bible?

All of these books come in a choice of two English translations, at the same price.

• The King James Version (1611, in the standard 1769 text) is the wording most people remember from weddings and funerals: "Charity suffereth long, and is kind". It uses "thee" and "thou" and has a rhythm that suits being read aloud at a ceremony.
• The World English Bible is a modern translation in plain English: "Love is patient and is kind". It is easier for a couple who are new to the Bible, and it writes God's name as "Yahweh" in the Old Testament.

If the couple chose a reading for their ceremony, check which wording they used and match it. If you do not know, the King James Version is the traditional choice for a keepsake; the WEB is the practical choice for daily reading. Our article on the World English Bible explains more about it.

3. Which format?

For a wedding gift, a hardcover is the obvious choice: it can be wrapped, kept and written in. All of the books above are printed as 6 × 9 in casewrap hardcovers with a matte cover, on coated paper that suits the colour illustrations. The theme books are slim (44 to 48 pages); the New Testament and the Torah in one volume are full-size books.

An eBook (a designed PDF and an ePub) is a good addition rather than a substitute: it lets the couple read the same edition on a phone. The Five Books of Moses, the New Testament and the theme books all come as eBooks too, and as softcovers.

If you want a Bible that stands out on a shelf, our two A5 New Testaments are the alternative: the Black Edition, with white Scripture on black pages, and the White Edition, with black text on white pages, both with the words of Jesus in red and in a choice of hardcover or softcover.

4. What to write inside

A handwritten inscription is what turns a book into a keepsake. Our theme books, and the New Testament and Torah volumes, open with a half-title: a first page that carries only the book's title (in the Marriage book, the single word "Marriage"). It is the traditional place for an inscription. Keep it short: the date, both names, who it is from, and one verse. A verse chosen for the couple, rather than the most famous one, is remembered longer.

Some verses that fit on one or two lines, in the King James Version:

• "And they twain shall be one flesh." (Mark 10:8)
• "Two are better than one." (Ecclesiastes 4:9)
• "A threefold cord is not quickly broken." (Ecclesiastes 4:12)
• "My beloved is mine, and I am his." (Song of Solomon 2:16)
• "Set me as a seal upon thine heart." (Song of Solomon 8:6)
• "Above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness." (Colossians 3:14)
• "Heirs together of the grace of life." (1 Peter 3:7)
• "Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it." (Psalm 127:1)
• "Let all your things be done with charity." (1 Corinthians 16:14)
• "The LORD bless thee, and keep thee." (Numbers 6:24)

A simple pattern works well (the names and date are only an example):

For Anna and James, on your wedding day, 12 June. "A threefold cord is not quickly broken." (Ecclesiastes 4:12) With love, from Ruth and David.

One caution about a verse that is often used: "whither thou goest, I will go" (Ruth 1:16) is spoken by Ruth to her mother-in-law Naomi, not to a husband. It is still a beautiful promise of faithfulness, but if you use it, you may want to know the story behind it.

5. Order early

Our hardcovers are printed to order by Lulu after you buy, not taken from a warehouse shelf, and they go by economy post to the countries where Lulu offers an economy service. Shipping is calculated at checkout from the address, and economy shipping is free when the bag comes to $80 or more. The delivery estimate is emailed to you after purchase and depends on the address. Economy post is not a fast service, so for a wedding allow several weeks rather than several days, and if the date is close, consider giving a card that tells the couple the book is on its way. The checkout shows the countries we can deliver to before you pay.

What these gifts cost

A theme book is a modest, personal gift; the one-volume New Testament or Torah is a larger gift, closer to a family Bible. You can look inside every theme book on the theme books page before you choose, and read a preview of every New Testament and Torah book on their pages.