Christmas cards are the one time a year most people write Scripture by hand, so it is worth choosing a verse that is actually about the night in question. These are, and one of them is for the card that is hard to write: the friend whose first Christmas this is without someone. That card matters more than the other forty.
A verse to start with
For a Christmas card
Luke 2:10-11
The angel said to them, Don’t be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all the people. For there is born to you today, in David’s city, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
World English Bible (WEB)
Why this fits
“Don’t be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all the people.” The angel to the shepherds, and the first thing said about Christmas is the same thing said to every frightened person in the Bible: don’t be afraid. For a card, it is the whole story in two sentences, and it starts with the words a hard year needs.
Which verse for the card?
Best overallLuke 2:10-11 — The angel said to them, Don’t be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all the people. For there is born to you today, in David’s city, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
ShortLuke 2:14 — “Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good will toward men.”
For a hard ChristmasMatthew 1:23 — “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall give birth to a son. They shall call his name Immanuel;” which is, being interpreted, “God with us.”
TraditionalIsaiah 9:6 — For a child is born to us. A son is given to us; and the government will be on his shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
What to write with it
One line before the verse is usually enough.
Merry Christmas. Thinking of you and yours this season.
Wishing you a quiet, warm Christmas and a good year ahead.
For a hard year: I know this Christmas is different. Thinking of you and of [name], and holding you both close.
To a friend in treatment: God with us. That includes the infusion chair. Merry Christmas; I’m around all week.
5 verses to choose from
Luke 2:10-11
The angel said to them, Don’t be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all the people. For there is born to you today, in David’s city, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
World English Bible (WEB) · Gospel (Jesus’ words and life)
“Don’t be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be to all the people.” The angel to the shepherds, and the first thing said about Christmas is the same thing said to every frightened person in the Bible: don’t be afraid. For a card, it is the whole story in two sentences, and it starts with the words a hard year needs.
Isaiah 9:6
For a child is born to us. A son is given to us; and the government will be on his shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
World English Bible (WEB) · Prophecy
“For to us a child is born. To us a son is given.” Written seven centuries before Bethlehem, to a nation in the dark. The names that follow, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Prince of Peace, are the traditional Christmas card verse for a reason. It reads well aloud and everyone recognizes it.
John 1:14
The Word became flesh, and lived among us. We saw his glory, such glory as of the one and only Son of the Father, full of grace and truth.
World English Bible (WEB) · Gospel (Jesus’ words and life)
“The Word became flesh, and lived among us.” John’s Christmas story has no manger; it has this sentence. For a card to someone who thinks, it says the point of the season in nine words: God moved into the neighborhood.
Matthew 1:23
“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall give birth to a son. They shall call his name Immanuel;” which is, being interpreted, “God with us.”
World English Bible (WEB) · Gospel (Jesus’ words and life)
“They shall call his name Immanuel,” which is, being interpreted, “God with us.” The verse to write for the hard Christmas card. Not God fixing it, not God explaining it: God with us. For the widow, the family with an empty chair, the friend in treatment, it is the only Christmas promise that does not ring false.
Luke 2:14
“Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good will toward men.”
World English Bible (WEB) · Gospel (Jesus’ words and life)
“Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good will toward men.” The angels’ line, short enough for a small card, and the one that survives on ornaments for a reason. If you want traditional and brief, this is it.
The one I’d leave out
Jeremiah 29:11. It shows up on Christmas cards because of the word hope, and it was written to exiles about a return seventy years off. Nothing to do with Christmas, and to someone having a hard year it reads as “next year will be better,” which you cannot promise. Matthew 1:23 is the Christmas verse for a hard year.
How to use these verses
Write the verse by hand. For most cards, Luke 2:10–11 or Luke 2:14. For the card to someone grieving, Matthew 1:23 and a line that says the person’s name. That card is the one to write first, while you have the energy.
Want more than 5?
These are the ones I’d hand you first. The search covers every verse in the Bible and tells you why each one matched.