Wedding reading
The Priestly Blessing (Numbers 6:24–26)
King James Bible
“The Priestly Blessing (Numbers 6:24–26)” by King James Bible is a blessing read at weddings and funerals alike. It takes about 15 seconds read aloud, usually by the officiant. It is in the public domain, so the full text is printed on this page and goes straight into a ceremony script.
The full text
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.
Public domain, so these words can be printed in a ceremony script or an order of service.
What it is about
Fifteen seconds, three thousand years old, and it closes anything.
Read at weddings and funerals alike. Themes: final blessing · very short · closing a service · shared by Jews and Christians.
Questions about reading it aloud
How long does “The Priestly Blessing (Numbers 6:24–26)” take to read aloud?
“The Priestly Blessing (Numbers 6:24–26)” takes about 15 seconds read aloud at a ceremony pace, which is slower than conversation — roughly 130 words a minute. That is the figure the run-sheet uses when it works out the timing for the whole service.
Who usually reads “The Priestly Blessing (Numbers 6:24–26)”?
Usually the officiant rather than a guest reader. “The Priestly Blessing (Numbers 6:24–26)” runs about 15 seconds, which sits inside the part of the service the officiant is already leading, and keeping it there means it is carried by the person who has rehearsed it.
Can “The Priestly Blessing (Numbers 6:24–26)” be printed in a ceremony script?
Yes. It is in the public domain, so the full text is on this page and can be printed in a script or an order of service.
Where this text was checked
Checked word for word against a full-text edition that is itself the authority — a Project Gutenberg or Wikisource transcription, a publisher’s own edition, or the issuing body’s page.
Checked
A reading is two minutes of the hour.
The rest is the welcome, the vows, the ring exchange, the pronouncement — and the timing that holds them together. Answer some questions about the couple and get the whole ceremony, written out, with this reading in its place.
Other readings that suit the same service
- May the Road Rise Up to Meet You20 secondsTraditional Irish
- Deep Peace (from the Invocation of Peace)25 secondsFiona Macleod (William Sharp)
- Sheva Brachot — the Seven Blessings5 minutesTraditional, Hebrew
- A Closing, with no prayer30 secondsOfficiantScript
- Apache Wedding Blessing40 secondsTraditional, widely anthologised
- Matthew 19:4–625 secondsKing James Bible