The best Bible verses for friendship (NIV) include passages about God's love, strength, and guidance. This page features 15+ carefully curated Scripture passages for friendship (NIV), each selected for its relevance and depth. Read, save, and share the perfect verse for your situation.
"But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend,"Psalms 55:13
"You have taken my companions and loved ones from me; the darkness is my closest friend."Psalms 88:18
"Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard."1 John 2:7
"Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is."1 John 3:2
"Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world."1 John 4:1
"Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul."1 Peter 2:11
"Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you."1 Peter 4:12
"Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God."2 Corinthians 7:1
"Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking."2 Peter 3:1
"But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day."2 Peter 3:8
"So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him."2 Peter 3:14
"Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position."2 Peter 3:17
Translations differ in what they optimise for. Some follow the original wording closely at the cost of a natural English sentence; others read smoothly and make interpretive choices to get there. Neither is wrong, but they produce noticeably different verses.
Each of the 15 verses below is shown in the translation you asked for, and every verse links to a page comparing all six side by side — which is usually the fastest way to see where the translators disagreed.
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The most-cited Bible verses for friendship (NIV) are Psalms 55:13, Psalms 88:18, 1 Corinthians 10:14. This page collects 15 of them, each with its full passage, context and the text in six translations.
Read the verse in its surrounding passage before you use it — a verse that fits in isolation sometimes says something different in context. Compare two translations where the wording is unclear, and pick for the person who will read it rather than for the theme.
Scripture returns to friendship (NIV) across both testaments rather than settling it in one passage, which is why the verses on this page do not all say the same thing. Read together they give a fuller answer than any single verse does.
There is no single best translation. The NIV and NLT read most naturally and communicate well to someone outside the church; the ESV and NASB stay closer to the original wording; the KJV carries the phrasing most people recognise. Every verse here links to a page showing all six side by side.
More than any page can list. This one carries the 15 that are most often turned to for friendship (NIV), chosen so each stands on its own and links through to the full chapter it belongs to.