Friendship in the Bible

• A friend loves at all times; a brother is born for adversityProv 17:17
  The verses

  Prov 17:17A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.
• There is a friend who stays closer than a brotherProv 18:24
  The verses

  Prov 18:24A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who stays closer than a brother.
• The wounds of a friend are faithfulProv 27:6
  The verses

  Prov 27:6The wounds of a friend are faithful, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
• Better a neighbor nearby than a brother far awayProv 27:10
  The verses

  Prov 27:10Do not forsake your friend or your father’s friend, and do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity; better a neighbor nearby than a brother far away.
• As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens anotherProv 27:17
  The verses

  Prov 27:17As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.
• Seldom set foot in your neighbor’s house, lest he grow weary of youProv 25:17
  The verses

  Prov 25:17Seldom set foot in your neighbor’s house, lest he grow weary and hate you.
• A loud blessing early in the morning counts as a curseProv 27:14
  The verses

  Prov 27:14If one blesses his neighbor with a loud voice early in the morning, it will be counted to him as a curse.
• Do not make friends with a hot-tempered manProv 22:24–25
  The verses

  Prov 22:24–25Do not make friends with an angry man, and do not associate with a hot-tempered man, or you may learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.
• Wealth attracts many friends; the poor man is desertedProv 19:4, Prov 19:6
  The verses

  Prov 19:4Wealth attracts many friends, but a poor man is deserted by his friend.

  Prov 19:6Many seek the favor of the prince, and everyone is a friend of the gift giver.
• Bringing up an offense separates friendsProv 17:9
  The verses

  Prov 17:9Whoever conceals an offense promotes love, but he who brings it up separates friends.
• Two are better than one; a cord of three strands is not quickly brokenEccl 4:9–12
  The verses

  Eccl 4:9–12Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. For if one falls down, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to help him up! Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone? And though one may be overpowered, two can resist. Moreover, a cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
• A close friend who shared bread turned against the psalmistPs 41:9, Ps 55:12–14
  The verses

  Ps 41:9Even my close friend whom I trusted, the one who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.

  Ps 55:12–14For it is not an enemy who insults me; that I could endure. It is not a foe who rises against me; from him I could hide. But it is you, a man like myself, my companion and close friend. We shared sweet fellowship together; we walked with the crowd into the house of God.
• Job complains that his friends have turned against himJob 6:14–15, Job 16:20, Job 19:19
  The verses

  Job 6:14–15A despairing man should have the kindness of his friend, even if he forsakes the fear of the Almighty. But my brothers are as faithless as wadis, as seasonal streams that overflow,

  Job 16:20My friends are my scoffers as my eyes pour out tears to God.

  Job 19:19All my best friends despise me, and those I love have turned against me.
• At Paul’s first defense, everyone deserted him2 Tim 4:16
  The verses

  2 Tim 4:16At my first defense, no one stood with me, but everyone deserted me. May it not be charged against them.
• Jesus: no greater love than to lay down one’s life for friendsJohn 15:13–15
  The verses

  John 15:13–15Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not understand what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because everything I have learned from My Father I have made known to you.

Examples

• Abram rescues his relative Lot with 318 trained menGen 14:14–16
  The verses

  Gen 14:14–16And when Abram heard that his relative had been captured, he mobilized the 318 trained men born in his household, and they set out in pursuit as far as Dan. During the night, Abram divided his forces and routed Chedorlaomer’s army, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. He retrieved all the goods, as well as his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the rest of the people.
• Ruth will not leave Naomi: “Where you go, I will go”Ruth 1:16–17
  The verses

  Ruth 1:16–17But Ruth replied: “Do not urge me to leave you or to turn from following you. For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD punish me, and ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.”
• Samuel mourns for Saul1 Sam 15:35, 1 Sam 16:1
  The verses

  1 Sam 15:35And to the day of his death, Samuel never again visited Saul. Samuel mourned for Saul, and the LORD regretted that He had made Saul king over Israel.

  1 Sam 16:1Now the LORD said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have selected from his sons a king for Myself.”
• Jonathan loves David as himself and gives him his robe1 Sam 18:1–4
  The verses

  1 Sam 18:1–4After David had finished speaking with Saul, the souls of Jonathan and David were knit together, and Jonathan loved him as himself. And from that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return to his father’s house. Then Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. And Jonathan removed the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, his sword, his bow, and his belt.
• David and Jonathan kiss, weep and part with an oath1 Sam 20:41–42, 1 Sam 23:16–18
  The verses

  1 Sam 20:41–42When the young man had gone, David got up from the south side of the stone, fell facedown, and bowed three times. Then he and Jonathan kissed each other and wept together—though David wept more. And Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for the two of us have sworn in the name of the LORD, saying, ‘May the LORD be a witness between you and me, and between your descendants and mine forever.’” Then David got up and departed, and Jonathan went back into the city.

  1 Sam 23:16–18And Saul’s son Jonathan came to David in Horesh and strengthened his hand in God, saying, “Do not be afraid, for my father Saul will never lay a hand on you. And you will be king over Israel, and I will be your second-in-command. Even my father Saul knows this is true.” So the two of them made a covenant before the LORD. And David remained in Horesh, while Jonathan went home.
• David’s lament: “Your love to me was extraordinary”2 Sam 1:26
  The verses

  2 Sam 1:26I grieve for you, Jonathan, my brother. You were delightful to me; your love to me was extraordinary, surpassing the love of women.
• For Jonathan’s sake, Mephibosheth always eats at David’s table2 Sam 9:1, 2 Sam 9:7
  The verses

  2 Sam 9:1Then David asked, “Is there anyone left from the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for the sake of Jonathan?”

  2 Sam 9:7“Do not be afraid,” said David, “for surely I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.”
• David to the priest Abiathar: “Stay with me; you will be safe”1 Sam 22:23
  The verses

  1 Sam 22:23Stay with me; do not be afraid, for he who seeks your life is seeking mine as well. You will be safe with me.”
• Hiram king of Tyre had always been a friend of David1 Kgs 5:1
  The verses

  1 Kgs 5:1Now when Hiram king of Tyre heard that Solomon had been anointed king in his father’s place, he sent envoys to Solomon; for Hiram had always been a friend of David.
• David’s friend Hushai stays loyal during Absalom’s revolt2 Sam 15:32–37, 2 Sam 16:16–17
  The verses

  2 Sam 15:32–37When David came to the summit, where he used to worship God, Hushai the Archite was there to meet him with his robe torn and dust on his head. David said to him, “If you go on with me, you will be a burden to me. But you can thwart the counsel of Ahithophel for me if you return to the city and say to Absalom: ‘I will be your servant, my king; in the past I was your father’s servant, but now I will be your servant.’ Will not Zadok and Abiathar the priests be there with you? Report to them everything you hear from the king’s palace. Indeed, their two sons, Ahimaaz son of Zadok and Jonathan son of Abiathar, are there with them. Send them to me with everything you hear.” So David’s friend Hushai arrived in Jerusalem just as Absalom was entering the city.

  2 Sam 16:16–17And David’s friend Hushai the Archite went to Absalom and said to him, “Long live the king! Long live the king!” “Is this the loyalty you show your friend?” Absalom replied. “Why did you not go with your friend?”
• Ittai the Gittite refuses to leave the fleeing David2 Sam 15:19–21
  The verses

  2 Sam 15:19–21Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, “Why should you also go with us? Go back and stay with the new king, since you are both a foreigner and an exile from your homeland. In fact, you arrived only yesterday; should I make you wander around with us today while I do not know where I am going? Go back and take your brothers with you. May the LORD show you loving devotion and faithfulness.” But Ittai answered the king, “As surely as the LORD lives, and as my lord the king lives, wherever my lord the king may be, whether it means life or death, there will your servant be!”
• King Ahaziah visits the wounded King Joram2 Kgs 8:28–29
  The verses

  2 Kgs 8:28–29Then Ahaziah went with Joram son of Ahab to fight against Hazael king of Aram at Ramoth-gilead, and the Arameans wounded Joram. So King Joram returned to Jezreel to recover from the wounds that the Arameans had inflicted on him at Ramah when he fought against Hazael king of Aram. Then Ahaziah son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to Jezreel to visit Joram son of Ahab, because Joram had been wounded.
• Job’s three friends sit with him seven days in silenceJob 2:11–13
  The verses

  Job 2:11–13Now when Job’s three friends—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite—heard about all this adversity that had come upon him, each of them came from his home, and they met together to go and sympathize with Job and comfort him. When they lifted up their eyes from afar, they could barely recognize Job. They began to weep aloud, and each man tore his robe and threw dust in the air over his head. Then they sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights, but no one spoke a word to him because they saw how intense his suffering was.
• Daniel asks the king to promote his three friendsDan 2:17–18, Dan 2:49
  The verses

  Dan 2:17–18Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, urging them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends would not be killed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

  Dan 2:49And at Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to manage the province of Babylon, while Daniel remained in the king’s court.
• Jesus loved Martha, her sister and LazarusLuke 10:38–39, John 11:5, John 11:11
  The verses

  Luke 10:38–39As they traveled along, Jesus entered a village where a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to His message.

  John 11:5Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

  John 11:11After He had said this, He told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to wake him up.”
• Paul’s nephew warns him of a plotActs 23:16
  The verses

  Acts 23:16But when the son of Paul’s sister heard about the plot, he went into the barracks and told Paul.
• Priscilla and Aquila risked their lives for PaulRom 16:3–4
  The verses

  Rom 16:3–4Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who have risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.
• Paul: “I have nobody else like” TimothyPhil 2:19–22
  The verses

  Phil 2:19–22Now I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I learn how you are doing. I have nobody else like him who will genuinely care for your needs. For all the others look after their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know Timothy’s proven worth, that as a child with his father he has served with me to advance the gospel.
• Epaphroditus, Paul’s brother, fellow worker and fellow soldierPhil 2:25
  The verses

  Phil 2:25But I thought it necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my needs.