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The Bible begins with a family and ends with a wedding. In between it tells the stories of families that are anything but ideal: brothers who kill, deceive, and sell each other; fathers who play favorites; a son who leaves and a father who runs to meet him. Its teaching on family is woven through those stories, and it is realistic about what families are like and hopeful about what they can be.
This guide gathers 25 passages under six headings: the foundation, honoring parents, raising children, providing and leading, siblings and the wider household, and what Jesus said about family, which surprised everyone. Quotations are from the Berean Standard Bible; every reference links to the chapter. For marriage specifically, see what the Bible says about marriage.
The foundation
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
The family in the Bible begins with a leaving and a joining. Every household in Scripture is measured against this first one.
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name.
Paul says that fatherhood on earth is named after God's fatherhood, not the other way around. Human family is a copy; God's is the original.
Children are indeed a heritage from the LORD, and the fruit of the womb is His reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are children born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine flourishing within your house, your sons like olive shoots sitting around your table. In this way indeed shall blessing come to the man who fears the LORD.
Psalms 127 and 128 are the Bible's family psalms, and the picture they paint is a table with children around it.
Honoring father and mother
Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
The fifth commandment is the hinge of the ten, the first that concerns other people, and the only one with a promise attached. In the King James Version it is "Honour thy father and thy mother" (Exodus 20:12, KJV). Paul quotes it for the church:
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. "Honor your father and mother" (which is the first commandment with a promise), "that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life on the earth."
Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.
Honor does not end when childhood does. Proverbs is specifically concerned with aging parents, and Jesus, dying on the cross, arranged care for his mother: "Woman, here is your son." "Here is your mother." "So from that hour, this disciple took her into his home" (John 19:26–27).
A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish man despises his mother.
Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband praises her as well.
Even Jesus honored his parents. Luke records that after the incident in the temple at age twelve, "He went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them" (Luke 2:51).
Raising children
These words I am commanding you today are to be upon your hearts. And you shall teach them diligently to your children and speak of them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
This is the Bible's core instruction on parenting: faith is passed on in ordinary time, at home, on the road, at bedtime, by parents who have it on their own hearts first.
Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.
This is a proverb, a statement of how things generally go, not a guarantee, and parents of prodigals should not read it as a verdict on themselves. The KJV wording, "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it," is the one most people know (Proverbs 22:6, KJV).
Fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath; instead, bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord. Fathers, do not provoke your children, so they will not become discouraged.
The New Testament addresses children and fathers in the same breath, and it is unusual in the ancient world for telling fathers what they owe their children: not to exasperate or crush them.
Discipline your son, and he will give you rest; he will bring delight to your soul.
Hebrews explains what biblical discipline is for by pointing to God's: "God disciplines us for our good, so that we may share in His holiness. No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields a harvest of righteousness and peace to those who have been trained by it" (Hebrews 12:10–11). Discipline in Scripture is training, not venting.
As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.
Grandparents are in the picture too. Paul reminds Timothy of "your sincere faith, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice" (2 Timothy 1:5), and Proverbs says "Grandchildren are the crown of the aged" (Proverbs 17:6).
Providing and leading a household
If anyone does not provide for his own, and especially his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
Paul's language is severe on purpose. Providing for your family is not a lesser duty than religion; neglecting it is a denial of the faith.
But if it is unpleasing in your sight to serve the LORD, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve. As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD!
"As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD" hangs on more walls than perhaps any other Old Testament verse (Joshua 24:15, KJV). Joshua spoke it as an old man, to a nation, about his own household.
God said something similar about Abraham: "I have chosen him, so that he will command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just" (Genesis 18:19). And the qualifications for church leaders begin at home: an overseer "must manage his own household well," because "if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how can he care for the church of God?" (1 Timothy 3:4–5).
Siblings and the wider household
Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony!
The psalm is short because the thing it describes is rare. The Bible's sibling stories, Cain and Abel, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and his brothers, are mostly stories of rivalry, and the ones that end well end with forgiveness. Joseph, revealing himself to the brothers who sold him: "do not be distressed or angry with yourselves that you sold me into this place, because it was to save lives that God sent me before you" (Genesis 45:4–5). See our guide to what the Bible says about forgiveness.
Finally, all of you, be like-minded and sympathetic, love as brothers, be tenderhearted and humble.
The Bible also cares for those without family. God is "a father of the fatherless, and a defender of the widows," and "God settles the lonely in families" (Psalm 68:5–6). Ruth, a foreign widow, was taken into the family of Israel and became the great-grandmother of David (Ruth 1:16).
What Jesus said about family
Jesus honored his parents, blessed children, and provided for his mother from the cross. He also said things about family that shocked his hearers.
But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them! For the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."
But Jesus replied, "Who are My mother and My brothers?" Looking at those seated in a circle around Him, He said, "Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of God is My brother and sister and mother."
His own family had come to take him home, thinking he was out of his mind. Jesus did not reject them; his mother and brothers were later in the church. But he redefined family around the will of God, and the New Testament goes on to call believers brothers and sisters, a household, the family of God. When the jailer in Philippi asked what he must do to be saved, the answer included his household: "Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household" (Acts 16:31).
The Bible's teaching on family, then, has two sides. Family is a gift from God, to be honored, provided for, and taught. And family is not the final loyalty; God is, and the person who follows him gains a family larger than the one they were born into.
FAQ
What is the most important Bible verse about family?
Exodus 20:12, "Honor your father and mother," is the commandment, and Joshua 24:15, "As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD," is the most quoted declaration. Deuteronomy 6:6–7 is the core instruction on passing faith to children, and Ephesians 6:1–4 gathers children's and parents' duties in one place.
What does the Bible say about family responsibilities?
Children are to honor and obey their parents (Exodus 20:12, Ephesians 6:1), parents are to teach and discipline without provoking (Deuteronomy 6:7, Ephesians 6:4), and providers are to provide (1 Timothy 5:8). Adult children are responsible for aging parents (Proverbs 23:22, John 19:26–27).
What does "train up a child in the way he should go" mean?
Proverbs 22:6 says that a child taught well in early life will generally carry that teaching into adulthood. It is a proverb, a description of how things usually go, not a promise that guarantees the outcome; the Bible itself records faithful parents with wayward children.
Does the Bible say family comes first?
It says family must be honored and provided for, and it treats neglect of family as a denial of faith (1 Timothy 5:8). It also says that loyalty to God comes before family (Matthew 10:37, Mark 3:35). In practice the two rarely conflict; when they do, Jesus is clear about the order.
What does the Bible say about a broken family?
It tells the stories of many: Joseph's brothers, David's household, the prodigal son. Its answer is forgiveness and God's care. Psalm 68:5–6 calls God a father of the fatherless who "settles the lonely in families," and Joseph's words to his brothers in Genesis 45 show that God can bring good even from betrayal within a family.
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