Bible verse for friendship
Looking for Bible verses about friendship? Here are the ones people turn to most — with context, a short reflection for each, and why they fit.
"A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity...." Proverbs 27:17 and John 15:13 are the two verses that pair with it most often, below.
Why this one: "at all times" sets a clear standard for what counts as genuine friendship.
Why this one: it frames friendship as something that actively improves you, not just keeps you company.
Why this one: it sets the highest possible bar for what friendship can mean.
More on friendship and Scripture
Proverbs 17:17 pairs friendship with something more specific than good company — "a friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity." The second half is the real test of the first: not who shows up when things are easy, but who's still there when they aren't. That's a higher bar than most casual friendships are built to meet, and the verse seems to know it.
"Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another" describes friendship as something that changes you, not just something pleasant. Real friendship, in this picture, involves enough honesty and closeness to actually shape a person — which means it can also involve friction, the same way sharpening does. John 15:13 raises the stakes further than either proverb — "greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends" — words Jesus spoke about His own friends, shortly before doing exactly that.
Most friendships never require anything close to that kind of sacrifice, but the verse sets the outer edge of what friendship, at its fullest, can mean. Whatever your friendships look like right now — steady or strained, many or few — these verses describe friendship as worth investing in deliberately, not something that just happens on its own.
KJV text is public domain. Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Bible verse for friendship?
Proverbs 17:17 is the one most people reach for first — "at all times" sets a clear standard for what counts as genuine friendship.
Where else does the Bible talk about friendship?
Proverbs 27:17 and John 15:13 are the two verses most often read alongside Proverbs 17:17 on this topic, each adding a different angle.
Is there a short prayer for friendship?
Yes — each verse on this page includes a short prayer written to go with it, meant as a starting point rather than something to recite word for word.
Explore the whole Calcs family here.
Try the Bible Verse Finder.