Old Testament reading for wedding?

[IrrelevantElephant]

Any help would be much appreciated! We need an Old Testament reading for our Catholic wedding. The priest gave us a list of a few suggestions, all of which are along the lines of "a quiet wife is a happy wife" etc, and that's definitely not "us".

I just want a reading about love, that's all, and I'm pulling my hair out struggling to find a nice one!

[AndWhenYouGetThere]

Ruth 1:16-17 was used at a catholic wedding I went to recently.

[whatnowpolonius]

Yep Ruth 1 16-17 is nice, and sounds like it could be a statement made by either husband or wife iyswim. Does it have to be OT? Makes it a bit tricky because it's mostly people kicking the shit out of each other, isn't it?

[ghislaine]

Ha ha, just coming here to say that we had Ruth 1:16-17 at our Catholic wedding ten years ago.... It worked particularly well for us as we are of different Christian denominations and nationalities.

Here's the text:

Ruth 1:16-17
New King James Version (NKJV)

16 But Ruth said:

?Entreat me not to leave you,
Or to turn back from following after you;
For wherever you go, I will go;
And wherever you lodge, I will lodge;
Your people shall be my people,
And your God, my God.
17 Where you die, I will die,
And there will I be buried.
The Lord do so to me, and more also,
If anything but death parts you and me

[OhBuggerandArse]

Song of Songs, surely?

(G'wan, pick a really juicy bit!)

[IrrelevantElephant]

Ruth is lovely, thanks, hadn't thought of that one!! Was going to go with Song of Songs OhBuggerAndArse but wasn't 100% about it, hence posting here for more ideas!

whatnowpolonius I've got my New Testament and Gospel readings sorted I think, but if you can think of any lovely ones, do suggest them! My only criteria is it can't mention divorce, no talk of submitting to your husband, and not the lovely Corinthians one, which I adore but it was done at my grandmothers funeral and I associate it with that now.

[ghislaine]

We also had Numbers 6: 24-26 sung as the final blessing (to the Rutter arrangement) but it would also work well as a reading:

??The Lord bless you
and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine on you
and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you
and give you peace.??

[AMumInScotland]

There's a chunk of Song of Songs which the CofE use for weddings which I think is good, and not actually smutty

2.10-13; 8.6,7

My beloved speaks and says to me:
'Arise, my love, my fair one,
and come away;
for now the winter is past,
the rain is over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth;
the time of singing has come,
and the voice of the turtle dove
is heard in our land.
The fig tree puts forth its figs,
and the vines are in blossom;
they give forth fragrance.
Arise, my love, my fair one,
and come away.'

Set me as a seal upon your heart,
as a seal upon your arm;
for love is strong as death,
passion fierce as the grave.
Its flashes are flashes of fire,
a raging flame.
Many waters cannot quench love,
neither can floods drown it.
If one offered for love
all the wealth of one's house,
it would be utterly scorned.

For the epistle I had Colossians 3.12-17 for my wedding -

As God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

[MareeyaDolores]

Genesis 1 verse 26 onwards?
(God creating mankind 'male and female he created them' etc)

[DandyDan]

I like AMum's suggestion.

We had Psalm 33, which wasn't anything to do with marriage at all.

[Italiangreyhound]

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

9 Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their labor:
10 If either of them falls down,
one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
and has no one to help them up.
11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
12 Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

[MrsHoarder]

We had that one too Italian. Love it

[jcscot]

Just as a thought - the reading for a Nuptial Mass/Wedding Celebration are actually set texts. There's six or so choices for each reading and you're (technically) not allowed to stray putside of those choices. I'm not keen on the "silent wife" reading from Tobit either but chose the reading from the Song of Songs ("Set me as a seal on your arm").

Very often, the priest chooses the gospel rather than the couple - depends on the priest - but you might find that the "suggestions" from your priest are simply the permitted texts.