Bible Verses About Friendship
The Bible values friendship highly. Proverbs 17:17 says a true friend keeps loving through every season, Proverbs 27:17 pictures friends sharpening each other like iron, and John 15:13 calls laying down your life for your friends the greatest love. Jesus himself called his disciples friends, not servants.
Scripture is full of friendships worth learning from, from Ruth and Naomi to David and Jonathan. It also has plenty of practical wisdom about who to keep close and how to be a good friend. These verses cover both.
What a true friend is
Proverbs has a lot to say about friends, and most of it is refreshingly honest. A real friend stays in hard times and tells you the truth when it matters. These verses describe the kind of friend worth having, and worth being.
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
Proverbs 17:17 (BSB)
A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who stays closer than a brother.
Proverbs 18:24 (BSB)
As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.
Proverbs 27:17 (BSB)
The wounds of a friend are faithful, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
Proverbs 27:6 (BSB)
Oil and incense bring joy to the heart, and the counsel of a friend is sweetness to the soul.
Proverbs 27:9 (BSB)
Friends who carry each other
Life was never meant to be carried alone. These verses speak of friends who share each other's joys and griefs and help lift the load. Think of someone who has done that for you, and someone you could do it for.
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.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (BSB)
Carry one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Galatians 6:2 (BSB)
Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.
Romans 12:15 (BSB)
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Philippians 2:3-4 (BSB)
Friendships in scripture
Ruth refused to leave Naomi, and Jonathan loved David as himself. Jesus went further still, calling his followers friends and giving his life for them. These stories show friendship as loyalty, honesty and sacrifice.
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 1:16-17 (BSB)
After David had finished speaking with Saul, the souls of Jonathan and David were knit together, and Jonathan loved him as himself.
1 Samuel 18:1 (BSB)
Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
John 15:13 (BSB)
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.
John 15:15 (BSB)
And the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called a friend of God.
James 2:23 (BSB)
Choosing friends wisely
The people we spend time with shape who we become. Scripture is not asking us to be suspicious of everyone, just thoughtful. These verses are a gentle nudge to notice who is drawing you closer to good.
He who walks with the wise will become wise, but the companion of fools will be destroyed.
Proverbs 13:20 (BSB)
Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
1 Corinthians 15:33 (BSB)
Do not make friends with an angry man, and do not associate with a hot-tempered man, or you may learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.
Proverbs 22:24-25 (BSB)
A prayer
Jesus, thank you for calling me your friend. Thank you for the people you have placed in my life who have stood by me, told me the truth and carried me when I could not walk. Help me to be that kind of friend in return: loyal, honest and quick to show up. Heal any friendships that have been hurt, and bring good company to anyone who feels alone today. Amen.
Questions people ask
What does the Bible say about a true friend?
Proverbs 17:17 says a true friend keeps loving through every season, and Proverbs 18:24 speaks of a friend who can be closer than family. Proverbs 27:6 adds that a faithful friend will sometimes say hard things for our good. Together they describe a friend who is loyal, honest and present in difficult seasons.
Who were the best friends in the Bible?
David and Jonathan are the best-known example. 1 Samuel describes Jonathan loving David as himself, even though David's rise threatened Jonathan's own claim to the throne. Ruth and Naomi are another, with Ruth choosing to stay with her mother-in-law after both had lost their husbands.
Did Jesus have friends?
Yes. Jesus had close friendships with his disciples, especially Peter, James and John, and with Mary, Martha and Lazarus in Bethany. In John 15:15 he tells his disciples he no longer calls them servants but friends, because he has shared with them everything he heard from the Father.
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Scripture quotations are from the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), which is in the public domain.