Bible verses for a Christian wedding invitation
Most Coptic wedding invitations open with a line of scripture, above the names and before anything else. These are the verses families in Egypt actually use, in the Arabic they are printed in, with the reference beside each one so you can check it before it goes to print.
Where the verse goes
At the very top, on its own line, before the names of the couple or the families.
The verses
Six that carry a wedding. The first is the one most Coptic invitations use; the last names the wedding Christ himself attended.
فَالَّذِي جَمَعَهُ اللهُ لَا يُفَرِّقُهُ إِنْسَانٌ — من متى ١٩: ٦
وَيَكُونُ الاثْنَانِ جَسَدًا وَاحِدًا — من متى ١٩: ٥
لأَنَّ الْمَحَبَّةَ قَوِيَّةٌ كَالْمَوْتِ — من نشيد الأنشاد ٨: ٦
مِيَاهٌ كَثِيرَةٌ لَا تَسْتَطِيعُ أَنْ تُطْفِئَ الْمَحَبَّةَ، وَالسُّيُولُ لَا تَغْمُرُهَا — من نشيد الأنشاد ٨: ٧
الْمَحَبَّةُ تَتَأَنَّى وَتَرْفُقُ — من كورنثوس الأولى ١٣: ٤
اَلْمَحَبَّةُ لَا تَسْقُطُ أَبَدًا — من كورنثوس الأولى ١٣: ٨
وَدُعِيَ أَيْضًا يَسُوعُ وَتَلاَمِيذُهُ إِلَى الْعُرْسِ — يوحنا ٢: ٢
Shortening a verse without misquoting it
Almost every line above is part of a verse, not the whole of it. That is normal and nobody minds — an invitation has one line, not a paragraph. What matters is that the reference says so. Write من متى ١٩: ٦ when you are printing part of the verse, and متى ١٩: ٦ only when you are printing all of it. It is one word, and it is the difference between quoting scripture and rewriting it.
So: فَالَّذِي جَمَعَهُ اللهُ لَا يُفَرِّقُهُ إِنْسَانٌ is the second half of Matthew 19:6, and takes من. وَدُعِيَ أَيْضًا يَسُوعُ وَتَلاَمِيذُهُ إِلَى الْعُرْسِ is the whole of John 2:2, and does not. Dropping the من on the first one presents a sentence from the middle of a verse as the verse itself.
فَالَّذِي جَمَعَهُ اللهُ لَا يُفَرِّقُهُ إِنْسَانٌ — من متى ١٩: ٦
وَدُعِيَ أَيْضًا يَسُوعُ وَتَلاَمِيذُهُ إِلَى الْعُرْسِ — يوحنا ٢: ٢
Check the wording against a printed Bible or a Coptic Orthodox source before it goes to the printer. Wording drifts as it is copied from one invitation to the next, and by the third copy it is not the verse any more.
If you would rather not print a verse
A short blessing does the same work. These are as common on Coptic invitations as scripture is, and there is nothing less devout about them.
بنعمة الرب يسوع المسيح
بشكر لله وبركته
Common questions
- Which Arabic translation are these in?
- Smith-Van Dyck (فان دايك), the translation used in Coptic Orthodox churches in Egypt and the one nearly every printed invitation quotes. Other translations word these verses differently, so if your church uses one, take the wording from there instead.
- Can we put a verse on an English invitation?
- Yes, and many bilingual invitations print the Arabic verse on both sides rather than translating it — the Arabic is what guests will recognise. If you do translate it, keep the reference in both languages so a reader can find it.
- Is a verse required?
- No. It is a convention, not a rule, and plenty of Coptic invitations open with a blessing or with nothing at all. Nobody counts it as an omission.