Bible verses

Bible verses for Mother's Day

The best-known Mother's Day verse is Proverbs 31:28: "Her children arise up, and call her blessed." Other favorites are Proverbs 31:25-26, Exodus 20:12 ("Honour thy father and thy mother"), and Isaiah 66:13 ("As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you").

Mother's Day is not in the Bible, but honouring your mother is one of the Ten Commandments, and Scripture is full of mothers whose faith shaped what came after them: Hannah, Moses' mother, Mary, and Timothy's mother and grandmother.

The verses below are grouped by how people use them: short lines for a card, verses on honouring a mother, the mothers of the Bible, and verses where God compares his own care to a mother's. Every verse is the King James Version text.

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Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
Proverbs 31:28 · KJV

Short verses for a Mother's Day card

Most come from Proverbs 31, which opens as words King Lemuel's mother taught him.

Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
Proverbs 31:28
Her children arise up, and call her blessed, the classic Mother's Day verse.
Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.
Proverbs 31:25
Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.
She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
Proverbs 31:26
She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.
Proverbs 31:29
Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.
Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.
Proverbs 31:30
A woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.
Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
Proverbs 31:10
Her price is far above rubies.
Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall rejoice.
Proverbs 23:25
Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall rejoice.
He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the LORD.
Psalm 113:9
God makes the barren woman a joyful mother of children, a verse for a mother who waited long.

Honour thy mother

Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
Exodus 20:12
Honour thy father and thy mother, the commandment that comes with a promise of long life.
Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.
Ephesians 6:2-3
Paul calls it the first commandment with promise.
My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother: For they shall be an ornament of grace unto thy head, and chains about thy neck.
Proverbs 1:8-9
Forsake not the law of thy mother, for it is an ornament of grace unto thy head.
My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
Proverbs 6:20
Keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother.
Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.
Proverbs 23:22
Despise not thy mother when she is old, a verse for grown children.

Mothers of the Bible

Good for a Mother's Day sermon or a family devotion.

For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him: Therefore also I have lent him to the LORD; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the LORD. And he worshipped the LORD there.
1 Samuel 1:27-28
Hannah prayed for a child for years, then gave Samuel back to the LORD: For this child I prayed.
And there went a man of the house of Levi, and took to wife a daughter of Levi. And the woman conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she hid him three months. And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child therein; and she laid it in the flags by the river’s brink.
Exodus 2:1-3
Moses' mother hid him three months, then set him in an ark of bulrushes by the river.
And Pharaoh’s daughter said unto her, Take this child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee thy wages. And the woman took the child, and nursed it. And the child grew, and she brought him unto Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses: and she said, Because I drew him out of the water.
Exodus 2:9-10
Pharaoh's daughter paid Moses' own mother to nurse him.
And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
Luke 1:46-48
Mary's song: all generations shall call me blessed.
But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
Luke 2:19
Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart, a verse many mothers recognize.
When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.
John 19:26-27
From the cross, Jesus gives his mother into the care of the disciple whom he loved.
When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.
2 Timothy 1:5
Timothy's faith dwelt first in his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice, a verse for a grandmother.
And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all that hear will laugh with me.
Genesis 21:6
Sarah, a mother in old age: God hath made me to laugh.
The inhabitants of the villages ceased, they ceased in Israel, until that I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in Israel.
Judges 5:7
Deborah calls herself a mother in Israel.
And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:
Ruth 1:16
Ruth's loyalty to her mother-in-law Naomi: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.

God's love like a mother's

Places where Scripture compares God's care to a mother's.

As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem.
Isaiah 66:13
As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you.
Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.
Isaiah 49:15
A mother may forget her nursing child, yet will I not forget thee.
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
Matthew 23:37
Jesus longed to gather Jerusalem as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings.
Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child.
Psalm 131:2
A quiet soul is like a weaned child with his mother.
But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children:
1 Thessalonians 2:7
Paul says he was gentle, even as a nurse cherisheth her children.

For a mother raising children

She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.
Proverbs 31:27
She looketh well to the ways of her household.
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6
Train up a child in the way he should go.
And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
Deuteronomy 6:6-7
Teach God's words to your children when you sit at home, walk by the way, lie down and rise up.
Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.
Proverbs 14:1
Every wise woman buildeth her house.
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.
Isaiah 40:11
God, like a shepherd, shall gently lead those that are with young, a verse for a tired new mother.
Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
Psalm 127:3
Children are an heritage of the LORD.

Quick quiz

How well do you know Mother's Day in the Bible?

8 questions, every answer checked against the King James text. Play it here, then try a full book quiz.

Common questions

What is the best Bible verse for Mother's Day?

Proverbs 31:28 is the most used: "Her children arise up, and call her blessed." Proverbs 31:25-26 and Exodus 20:12 are also favorites.

Is Mother's Day in the Bible?

No, the holiday is modern. But honouring your mother is one of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:12), and Paul calls it "the first commandment with promise" (Ephesians 6:2).

Who wrote Proverbs 31?

Proverbs 31:1 calls it "The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him." The chapter is traditionally read as one piece, so the famous description of the virtuous woman is often taken as advice a mother gave her son, though some readers treat verses 10-31 as a separate poem.

What Bible verse can I use for my grandmother?

2 Timothy 1:5 names Timothy's grandmother Lois as the first in his family to have the faith. Proverbs 31:28 and Proverbs 16:31 also suit a grandmother's card.