Bible Verses on Friendship

There are plenty of bible verses on friendship to help guide us through our relationships. We learn what makes up a good friend, how to be a good friend, and why friendship is so important in our lives. God does not mean for us to go through our lives alone, and He provides people to us that can encourage and guide us.

What Makes up a Good Friend

• Proverbs 17:17—A friend is always a friend, and relatives are born to share our troubles. (CEV)
• Proverbs 12:26—The godly give good advice to their friends; the wicked lead them astray. (NLT)
• Proverbs 13:20—Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble. (NLT)
• Proverbs 20:6—There are many who say, "You can trust me!" But can they be trusted? (CEV)
• Proverbs 22:24-25—Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered, or you may learn their ways and get yourself ensnared. (NIV)
• 1 Corinthians 15:33—Don't fool yourselves. Bad friends will destroy you. (CEV)

How to Be a Good Friend

• Proverbs 17:17—A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. (ESV)
• Proverbs 18:24—Some friends don't help, but a true friend is closer than your own family. (CEV)
• Luke 6:31—Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. (NASB)
• John 15:12-15—This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. (NLT)
• Romans 12:10—Love each other as brothers and sisters and honor others more than you do yourself. (CEV)
• Ephesians 4:29-32—Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (NIV)
• Colossians 3:12—Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. (NIV)

What Friendship Does

• Exodus 33:11—The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. (NIV)
• Ecclesiastes 4:9-12—Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. (NLT)
• Romans 5:10—Even when we were God's enemies, he made peace with us, because his Son died for us. Yet something even greater than friendship is ours. Now that we are at peace with God, we will be saved by his Son's life. (CEV)