Readings
Funeral readings
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99 readings
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A funeral service usually carries two or three readings — an opening passage, something during the remembrances, and words at the committal. Most run between forty seconds and two minutes. Public-domain texts are printed here in full; work still in copyright is named, with a note on where to find it.
These are sorted by how long they take to say, because that is the decision you are actually making. A family that has asked for four readings and three speakers has asked for a service considerably longer than the one the funeral director has scheduled.
Where a reading needs ordained clergy rather than a lay officiant, the page says so before you choose it. That boundary is real in some traditions, and finding it on the day is too late.
Browse by kind
- Bible verses for a funeral or memorial service40Psalm 23 is the passage read at more funerals than any other, and Psalm 121, John 14, Romans 8, Revelation 21 and Ecclesiastes 3 are the ones that follow it.
- Poems for a funeral or memorial service26The funeral poems out of copyright, and therefore printable in a service script, include Christina Rossetti’s “Remember”, Tennyson’s “Crossing the Bar”, Stevenson’s “Requiem”, Henry Scott Holland’s “Death Is Nothing At All”, and Emily Dickinson.
- Non-religious funeral readings41A non-religious funeral reading carries no scripture, no prayer and no religious framing, which leaves poetry about memory and continuity, prose about a life, and passages that treat death as an ending rather than a passage.
- Hymns for a funeral or memorial service11A congregational hymn takes about four minutes of a funeral service — longer than most people plan for — and needs somebody to lead the singing or a recording cued in advance.
- Prayers and blessings for a funeral service14The prayers a lay officiant leads at a funeral are the opening prayer, the prayer of thanksgiving for the life, the committal words at the graveside, and a closing blessing.
Every reading, shortest first
- 10 secondsMy Own EpitaphJohn Gay · Ten seconds, and he wrote it about himself. A line to close on, not a piece to build a service around.
- 10 secondsOn His BooksHilaire Belloc · One pun, two lines, for someone who lived among books. A line to close on, not a piece to build a service around.
- 10 secondsEternal Rest (Requiem aeternam)Traditional Catholic prayer · Short, said together, and expected at a Catholic vigil.
- 15 secondsRevelation 14:13King James Bible · One verse. "That they may rest from their labours."
- 15 secondsThe Priestly Blessing (Numbers 6:24–26)King James Bible · Fifteen seconds, three thousand years old, and it closes anything.
- 20 secondsMatthew 11:28–30King James Bible · Twenty seconds, and it is about rest. Often the committal reading.
- 20 secondsMay the Road Rise Up to Meet YouTraditional Irish · Ends warm and ends fast. Works at both a wedding and a funeral.
- 20 secondsWords of Committal (Book of Common Prayer, 1662) — short formBook of Common Prayer · The words most people are waiting to hear at a graveside.
- 20 secondsNunc Dimittis (Luke 2:29–32)King James Bible · The prayer of someone who is ready. Fits a death at the end of a long life.
- 25 seconds2 Timothy 4:6–8King James Bible · "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course."
- 25 secondsRequiemRobert Louis Stevenson · Twenty-five seconds, outdoors, no microphone needed. Made for a graveside.
- 25 secondsThere Will Be RestSara Teasdale · Very quiet and very short. Bring a printed copy — the words are not in your script.Reader brings a copy
- 25 secondsThe Body of B. Franklin, Printer — his own mock epitaphBenjamin Franklin · A mock epitaph he wrote for himself as a young man — it is not on his actual gravestone, and say so if you use it. Twenty-five seconds.
- 25 secondsDeep Peace (from the Invocation of Peace)Fiona Macleod (William Sharp) · Barely religious, deeply calming. The real Gaelic-revival poem, not the choral version.
- 30 secondsRuth 1:16–17aKing James Bible · Said between two women, and the most quoted promise in scripture.
- 30 secondsIn the Midst of Life (Book of Common Prayer, 1662)Book of Common Prayer · Bleak and very old. Some families want exactly this; check before you use it.
- 30 secondsWords of Committal — no religious framingOfficiantScript · Ours, for a burial with no religious content. Swap "the earth" for cremation.
- 30 secondsA Closing, with no prayerOfficiantScript · Ours. Closes a service without a blessing, and gives the room a job.
- 30 secondsAfterglow — "I'd like the memory of me to be a happy one"Helen Lowrie Marshall · Gentle and short. Suits a service the family want kept light.Reader brings a copy
- 30 secondsIf I Should Go Before the Rest of YouJoyce Grenfell · The permission-not-to-be-sad poem. Wry rather than funny, and it steadies a room early on.Reader brings a copy
- 35 secondsPsalm 100King James Bible · Short, glad, and useful right at the top of a service.
- 35 secondsIsaiah 43:1–3aKing James Bible · "I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine."
- 35 secondsLamentations 3:22–26King James Bible · "New every morning" — from the middle of a book of grief.
- 35 secondsMicah 6:6–8King James Bible · For someone who lived it rather than talked about it.
- 35 secondsNo Man Is an Island (Meditation XVII)John Donne · For someone whose death took something out of a whole community.
- 35 secondsShe Is Gone / Remember MeDavid Harkins · The "you can shed tears, or you can smile" one. Often misattributed.Reader brings a copy
- 40 secondsPsalm 27:1, 4, 13–14King James Bible · Light and courage, and short enough to open with.
- 40 secondsIsaiah 40:28–31King James Bible · For a family worn out by a long illness.
- 40 secondsJob 19:23–27King James Bible · Job says it from the worst place a person can say it from.
- 40 secondsDeuteronomy 31:6–8King James Bible · One generation handing the work to the next.
- 40 seconds2 Corinthians 4:16–18, 5:1King James Bible · For a body that failed long before the person did.
- 40 secondsPsalm 15 (JPS 1917)JPS 1917 translation · A portrait of an honest person. Read at Jewish funerals for exactly that reason.
- 40 secondsThe Lord's PrayerMatthew 6, King James Bible · Say the first line alone, then let the room carry it. Warn them it is coming.
- 40 secondsDo Not Stand at My Grave and WeepAttributed to Mary Elizabeth Frye · Everyone knows it. Check which wording the family means — several are in circulation.Reader brings a copy
- 40 secondsRumi, on death and reunionJalāl al-Dīn Rūmī · Ask which translation — the popular ones are very loose.Reader brings a copy
- 45 secondsPsalm 130King James Bible · The De Profundis. For grief that is not ready to be comforted.
- 45 secondsIsaiah 25:6–9King James Bible · The feast on the mountain, and tears wiped from every face.
- 45 secondsHebrews 11:1–2, 13–16King James Bible · Pilgrims and strangers looking for a country. Lands hard for a family who emigrated.
- 45 secondsSirach (Ecclesiasticus) 38:16–23King James Bible, Apocrypha · Unusually practical about grief. Check the wording with the family before you use it.Too long to print in full
- 50 secondsPsalm 121King James Bible · A travelling psalm. Often read at the graveside rather than in the chapel.
- 50 secondsPsalm 91:1–6, 11King James Bible · Shelter and wings. Often chosen for someone who was afraid at the end.
- 50 secondsEcclesiastes 3:1–8King James Bible · Reads as well at a secular service as a religious one. Everyone knows it.
- 50 seconds1 Corinthians 15:20–26King James Bible · "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death."
- 50 secondsRevelation 21:1–5aKing James Bible · No more death, no more crying, no more pain. Often chosen after a hard death.
- 50 secondsOn Death, from The ProphetKahlil Gibran · Claims no particular afterlife, which is why it works for a mixed-faith room.
- 50 secondsMake Me an Instrument of Your PeaceAttributed to St Francis of Assisi · First printed in 1912 and not actually by St Francis — but it is the one people want.
- 55 seconds1 John 4:7–12King James Bible · The passage that says plainly where the tradition thinks love comes from.
- 55 secondsJohn 11:21–27King James Bible · Martha says the thing everyone is thinking: you could have stopped this.
- 55 secondsJohn 14:1–6, 27King James Bible · The most-read funeral gospel. "In my Father’s house are many mansions."
- 55 secondsRomans 6:3–9King James Bible · A common epistle at a Catholic funeral, tying the death back to the baptism.
- 55 seconds1 Corinthians 15:51–57King James Bible · The one that turns and speaks directly to death.
- 55 seconds1 Thessalonians 4:13–18King James Bible · Ends with an instruction: comfort one another with these words.
- 55 secondsWisdom 3:1–9King James Bible · The most common first reading at a Catholic funeral.
- 55 secondsPsalm 23 (Jewish Publication Society, 1917)JPS 1917 translation · The Jewish translation rather than the King James, if the family would prefer it.
- 55 secondsEshet Chayil — A Woman of Valour (Proverbs 31, JPS 1917)JPS 1917 translation · Sung on Shabbat, read at the funeral of a mother or grandmother.
- 55 secondsRememberChristina Rossetti · Ends by giving the family permission to be happy again. That is why it lands.
- 55 secondsCrossing the BarAlfred, Lord Tennyson · Tennyson asked for this to be printed last in every collection of his work.
- 55 secondsInvictusWilliam Ernest Henley · Written from a hospital bed. For someone who did not go quietly.
- 55 secondsDeath Be Not Proud (Holy Sonnet X)John Donne · Speaks straight at death and tells it off. Pairs with Romans 8.
- 55 secondsNo Coward Soul Is MineEmily Brontë · Believing but unchurched. Good for someone who had faith but no congregation.
- a minute and a halfProverbs 31:10–12, 25–31King James Bible · Read at weddings, and often at the funeral of a mother or grandmother.
- a minute and a halfPsalm 23King James Bible · The one almost every family asks for, and the one most guests can say along with you.
- a minute and a halfPsalm 46:1–7, 10–11King James Bible · For a death that shook the ground. "Be still, and know."
- a minute and a halfPsalm 90:1–6, 10, 12King James Bible · The psalm of threescore years and ten. Fits a long life well lived.
- a minute and a halfPsalm 103:8–17King James Bible · "He remembereth that we are dust." Mercy rather than judgement.
- a minute and a halfEl Malei RachamimTraditional memorial prayer · The memorial prayer. Ask about the Hebrew name before you plan on leading it.Too long to print in full
- a minute and a halfA Psalm of Life — selected stanzasHenry Wadsworth Longfellow · Aimed at the living rather than the dead. Ends on getting back to work.
- a minute and a halfFuneral Blues — "Stop all the clocks"W. H. Auden · The most requested modern funeral poem, and the hardest to get through.Reader brings a copy
- a minute and a halfDo Not Go Gentle Into That Good NightDylan Thomas · Right for a fighter. Wrong for a peaceful death — read it before you offer it.Reader brings a copy
- a minute and a halfThe DashLinda Ellis · Widely used and actively licensed. Get permission before you print a word of it.Reader brings a copy
- a minute and a halfGone From My Sight — the shipAttributed to Luther F. Beecher; widely printed as Henry Van Dyke · The ship one, used constantly in hospice work. Reads well in a plain voice.
- a minute and a halfPsalm 139:1–12King James Bible · Nowhere is out of reach — including the dark.
- a minute and a halfMatthew 5:1–12 — the BeatitudesKing James Bible · "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted."
- a minute and a halfRomans 8:31–35, 37–39King James Bible · The list at the end is the point. Nothing on it wins.
- a minute and a halfBecause I could not stop for DeathEmily Dickinson · Calm rather than comforting. For a reader who will not rush the dashes.
- a minute and a halfDirge Without MusicEdna St. Vincent Millay · Offers no comfort at all, on purpose. The right poem for an unfair death.
- a minute and a halfMourner's KaddishTraditional, Aramaic · Led by the mourners, needs a minyan. Not yours to lead — arrange it.Too long to print in full
- a minute and a halfAh, Are You Digging on My Grave?Thomas Hardy · Gets funnier and colder until the punchline, which is that nobody remembers her. A personality match for a wicked, self-deprecating sense of humour — not a crowd-pleaser.
- a minute and a halfWarning — "When I am an old woman I shall wear purple"Jenny Joseph · Beloved and frequently misremembered — it is about old age, not dying. Read the family the whole thing first.Reader brings a copy
- a minute and a halfWoodland BurialPam Ayres · Warmly wry rather than laugh-out-loud — say so, if the family asked for something funny.Reader brings a copy
- a minute and a halfDeath Is Nothing At AllHenry Scott Holland · From a 1910 sermon, in his own words rather than the version that circulates.
- two minutesLet Me Die a Youngman's DeathRoger McGough · Rude, energetic, and against dying quietly. Wrong for a peaceful death in old age.Reader brings a copy
- 3 minutesThe Deacon's Masterpiece, or The One-Hoss Shay — selected stanzasOliver Wendell Holmes · A carriage built so well it lasted a hundred years and then went all at once — an allegory for a long, full life that ended suddenly. It lands wrong after a long illness or a slow decline.
- 4 minutesThe Lord's My Shepherd (Crimond)Scottish Psalter, 1650 · Psalm 23 to a tune. Confirm the tune, not just the hymn.Too long to print in full
- 4 minutesIn the GardenC. Austin Miles, 1912 · Intimate rather than grand. Frequently asked for by name.Too long to print in full
- 4 minutesBe Thou My VisionAncient Irish, trans. Mary Byrne 1905 · One of the few that sits comfortably at both a wedding and a funeral.Too long to print in full
- 4 minutesWhat a Friend We Have in JesusJoseph Scriven, 1855 · Easy on a congregation that is struggling to get through the service.Too long to print in full
- 4 minutesAmazing GraceJohn Newton, 1779 · The one a room full of people who never sing will still sing.
- 4 minutesNearer, My God, to TheeSarah Flower Adams, 1841 · Solemn and old. Expect the Titanic association in at least one head.Too long to print in full
- 4 minutesEternal Father, Strong to Save (the Navy Hymn)William Whiting, 1860 · The Navy Hymn. Coordinate it with the honor guard, not around them.Too long to print in full
- 4 minutesA recorded songThe family’s choice · For anything modern. Add the title, and the run-sheet gives it a cue and a slot.Reader brings a copy
- 4 minutesA live performanceA family member or musician · Someone performing live. Plan for the possibility they cannot get through it.Reader brings a copy
- 4 minutesIt Is Well With My SoulHoratio Spafford, 1873 · Its backstory is a shipwreck. Handle that knowledge carefully.Too long to print in full
- 4 minutesThe Old Rugged CrossGeorge Bennard, 1913 · A staple at traditional Protestant services.Too long to print in full
- 4 minutesAbide With MeHenry Francis Lyte, 1847 · Traditional and slow. Suits an older congregation who will actually sing.
- 5 minutesHow Great Thou ArtStuart K. Hine (English text, 1949) · Big and well loved. Watch the reprint license if there is a printed order of service.Reader brings a copy
- 5 minutesThe Cremation of Sam McGeeRobert W. Service · Five minutes, and it needs a confident storyteller — it dies in a nervous voice. Think hard before offering it if the deceased was actually cremated.
- 5 minutesSalat al-Janazah — the Islamic funeral prayerTraditional · Led by an imam. Your job here is to put the family in touch, not to lead.Reader brings a copy
- 8 minutesMusic as people arriveThe venue · You say nothing. It is on the run-sheet so the clock tells the truth.Reader brings a copy
Questions
How many readings should a funeral service have?
A funeral service usually carries two or three readings — an opening passage, something during the remembrances, and words at the committal. Most run between forty seconds and two minutes. Public-domain texts are printed here in full; work still in copyright is named, with a note on where to find it.
Can these readings be printed in the ceremony script?
Pieces still in copyright are listed by title and author only — we name them and tell you where to get them, but we do not reproduce the words. Public-domain text is printed in your script in full.
How long does a reading take out loud?
Between about twelve seconds for a short blessing and four minutes for a congregational hymn, with most readings landing between forty seconds and two minutes. Every entry here carries its own figure, calculated at a ceremony pace of roughly 130 words a minute.
The reading is two minutes. The service is the rest of it.
Answer some questions about them and get the whole service written out — the welcome, the account of their life, the remembrances, the committal — with your chosen readings in place and a run-sheet that knows how long each one takes.
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