Wedding reading
John 15:9–12
King James Bible
“John 15:9–12” (King James Bible) is a scripture reading read at a wedding ceremony. It takes about 35 seconds read aloud, usually by a guest reader. 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
As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
Public domain, so these words can be printed in a ceremony script or an order of service.
Where it comes from
In John’s Gospel these words belong to the long discourse Jesus gives his disciples at their final supper together, on the night before his death.
What it says
Jesus tells his friends that he has loved them the way the Father loved him, and asks them to stay in that love. He says he has told them this so that their joy may be full, and then gives the commandment that sums up the passage: love one another as I have loved you. Spoken on the last night before the crucifixion, it is about love as a choice made under pressure, not a mood.
A gospel reading, short enough to sit anywhere in the ceremony. Read at a wedding ceremony. Themes: abiding love · joy · commandment to love · gospel reading.
Who it suits
Christian weddings where the couple wants words of Jesus rather than of Paul, and services that will include communion. It is short enough for a civil ceremony with a religious family. Couples who want joy to be a theme of the day often choose it for the line about joy being full.
Where it goes in the ceremony
Most often the Gospel reading in a church wedding, which in many traditions the priest or minister reads rather than a guest. In a less formal service, a close friend can read it after an Old Testament reading.
Reading it aloud
The text on this page is 75 words. At a ceremony pace of about 130 words a minute, which is slower than conversation, that comes to about 35 seconds of reading.
- It is spoken by Jesus to his friends. Read it warmly and directly, as if to people you know, rather than in a pulpit voice.
- The word “love” appears again and again. Vary the stress so it does not become a drumbeat; let “continue ye in my love” be the quiet center.
- Stop cleanly on “as I have loved you”. It is a commandment and a closing line at once.
Questions about reading it aloud
How long does “John 15:9–12” take to read aloud?
“John 15:9–12” takes about 35 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 “John 15:9–12”?
Usually a guest reader rather than the officiant. “John 15:9–12” runs about 35 seconds, which is a manageable amount to hand to a friend or family member. Give them a printed copy of their own, in a size they can read without their glasses, and tell them where to stand and how you will introduce them.
Can “John 15:9–12” 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
- 1 John 4:7–12a minute and a halfThe same writer’s tradition, on God being love
- 1 Corinthians 13:4–8a45 secondsThe other most-requested New Testament love passage
- Romans 13:815 secondsOne sentence that says love fulfills the law
- Mark 10:6–930 secondsKing James Bible
- Psalm 10040 secondsKing James Bible
- 1 Corinthians 13:1–13two minutesKing James Bible