Wedding reading
Ruth 1:16–17a
King James Bible
“Ruth 1:16–17a” (King James Bible) is a scripture reading read at weddings and funerals alike. It takes about 30 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
Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried.
Public domain, so these words can be printed in a ceremony script or an order of service.
Where it comes from
In the Book of Ruth these words are not a wedding vow at all: Ruth, a widow from Moab, says them to Naomi, her mother-in-law, when Naomi tells her to go home.
What it says
Ruth refuses to leave. Naomi has lost her husband and both sons and is going back to her own country with nothing, and she urges her daughters-in-law to return to their families. Ruth answers that wherever Naomi goes she will go, wherever Naomi lodges she will lodge, Naomi’s people will be her people and Naomi’s God her God. It is a promise of loyalty chosen freely, made by someone with every reason to walk away.
Said between two women, and the most quoted promise in scripture. Read at weddings and funerals alike. Themes: loyalty · devotion · joining a family · two families becoming one · chosen family.
Who it suits
Weddings where one partner is joining a new family, faith or country, and blended families who want to honor a parent or step-parent. Because the original speakers are two women, many same-sex couples choose it, and it works at a funeral for a daughter-in-law, a lifelong friend or a carer. It is short enough to sit inside a civil ceremony.
Where it goes in the ceremony
At a wedding it often comes just before the vows, or is read by the couple to each other as a lead-in to them. At a funeral it suits the tributes section, read by the person whose loyalty it describes. At about thirty seconds it can share a reader with a second short piece.
Reading it aloud
The text on this page is 50 words. At a ceremony pace of about 130 words a minute, which is slower than conversation, that comes to about 25 seconds of reading.
- The lines pair up: go and go, lodge and lodge, people and people, God and God. Let each pair land before starting the next.
- If the room does not know the story, the officiant can introduce it in one sentence: these are words a woman said to her mother-in-law. It changes how the room hears it.
- The last phrase about death is heavier than the rest. Slow down for it rather than speeding to the finish.
Questions about reading it aloud
How long does “Ruth 1:16–17a” take to read aloud?
“Ruth 1:16–17a” takes about 30 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 “Ruth 1:16–17a”?
Usually a guest reader rather than the officiant. “Ruth 1:16–17a” runs about 30 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 “Ruth 1:16–17a” 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
- Song of Solomon 8:6–735 secondsAnother short Hebrew Bible text about love as strong as death
- Eshet Chayil — A Woman of Valour (Proverbs 31, JPS 1917)a minute and a halfA Jewish text honoring a woman of strength
- Ecclesiastes 4:9–1240 secondsTwo are better than one, in under forty seconds
- Ephesians 4:2–640 secondsKing James Bible
- 1 Corinthians 13:4–8a45 secondsKing James Bible
- 1 Corinthians 13:1–13two minutesKing James Bible