Bible Verses About Friendship

“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”

This proverb says a real friend loves steadily, and that family is meant to be there when life turns hard. Friendship is proven in adversity, not in easy seasons.

“A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who stays closer than a brother.”

Having many companions can still leave you ruined, while one friend can stick closer than family. Depth counts for more than numbers.

“After David had finished speaking with Saul, the souls of Jonathan and David were knit together, and Jonathan loved him as himself. And from that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return to his father’s house. Then Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. And Jonathan removed the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, his sword, his bow, and his belt.”

Jonathan binds himself to David out of love and seals it with a covenant and a gift of his own robe and weapons. He does so even though David will one day take the throne that might have been his.

“But Ruth replied: “Do not urge me to leave you or to turn from following you. For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD punish me, and ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.””

Ruth refuses to leave Naomi and pledges her loyalty, her people and her God. It is a portrait of devotion that costs something.

“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. For if one falls down, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to help him up! Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone? And though one may be overpowered, two can resist. Moreover, a cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”

Two do better than one because they can lift each other up, keep each other warm and stand together against attack. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

“As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”

A metal blade is honed against another, and the proverb says people refine one another in the same way. Good friends make us better, not merely comfortable.

“The wounds of a friend are faithful, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.”

The proverb sets a friend's painful honesty against an enemy's flood of flattery. A friend who tells you a hard truth is showing care.

“Oil and incense bring joy to the heart, and the counsel of a friend is sweetness to the soul.”

The counsel of a friend is compared to the pleasure of perfume and incense. Warm advice refreshes the whole person.

“Therefore encourage and build one another up, just as you are already doing.”

Paul tells the church to keep encouraging one another and building each other up, as they already do. Encouragement is a habit friends practice on purpose.

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

Carrying each other's burdens is described as fulfilling the law of Christ. Friendship in the church is meant to be practical help, not only pleasant company.

“This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not understand what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because everything I have learned from My Father I have made known to you.”

Jesus commands his disciples to love as he has loved them, and says there is no greater love than laying down one's life for friends. He then calls them friends rather than servants, because he has shared everything with them.

“He who walks with the wise will become wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.”

Walking with the wise makes you wise, and keeping company with fools brings harm. The people around you shape you more than you notice.

“Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.””

Paul quotes a common saying that bad company corrupts good habits. It is a sober reminder to choose companions with care.

“Love must be sincere. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Outdo yourselves in honoring one another.”

Love without pretense, devotion to one another and outdoing each other in showing honor describe what a friend can become. Sincere affection is a choice you can practice.

“Just then some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. They tried to bring him inside to set him before Jesus, but they could not find a way through the crowd. So they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.””

Four friends carry a paralyzed man to Jesus and even open the roof to get him in. Jesus responds to their faith, a picture of friends bringing someone to God.