Understanding 30 Key Verses About Adultery in the Bible

Bible Verses About Adultery

Old Testament Verses About Adultery

The Old Testament strongly addresses the issue of adultery, emphasizing its moral, spiritual, and social consequences. Here are some key verses about adultery in the Old Testament, along with explanations of their meaning and relevance.

1. Exodus 20:14

“You shall not commit adultery.”

This commandment is part of the Ten Commandments and sets a clear prohibition against adultery. It highlights God’s standard for marital faithfulness and the importance of honoring the covenant of marriage. This verse serves as a foundational principle for maintaining moral purity and protecting family relationships.

2. Leviticus 20:10

“If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death.”

This law reflects the severity with which adultery was viewed in ancient Israel. Adultery was considered a grave sin that disrupted the social fabric and violated God’s law. While the punishment may seem harsh, it underscores the sanctity of marriage and the need for accountability.

3. Deuteronomy 22:22

“If a man is found sleeping with another man’s wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel.”

This verse reinforces the communal responsibility to uphold moral standards. By addressing adultery as “evil,” it emphasizes its corrupting influence on individuals and society. The focus is on maintaining purity and obedience to God’s laws.

4. Proverbs 6:32

“But a man who commits adultery has no sense; whoever does so destroys himself.”

This verse highlights the personal consequences of adultery, describing it as self-destructive behavior. Beyond the immediate harm to relationships, adultery leads to guilt, shame, and spiritual damage. It warns against the foolishness of compromising moral integrity.

5. Proverbs 5:3-5

“For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil; but in the end, she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword.”

This passage vividly describes the allure and danger of adultery. While it may seem enticing at first, it ultimately leads to bitterness and pain. The imagery of a double-edged sword conveys the harm adultery inflicts on both individuals and relationships.

6. Malachi 2:14-16

“You ask, ‘Why?’ It is because the Lord is the witness between you and the wife of your youth. You have been unfaithful to her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.”

Malachi emphasizes the covenantal nature of marriage, portraying unfaithfulness as a violation of a sacred promise. God is described as a witness to the marriage bond, highlighting the spiritual dimension of marital fidelity. This verse calls for honoring commitments made before God.

7. 2 Samuel 11:2-5

This passage recounts King David’s adultery with Bathsheba: “David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, ‘She is Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah.’ Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her.”

David’s sin led to devastating consequences, including deceit, murder, and family turmoil. This story demonstrates how adultery often spirals into greater sin and serves as a reminder of the need for repentance and God’s mercy.

8. Hosea 3:1

“The Lord said to me, ‘Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites.’”

Hosea’s marriage to an unfaithful wife symbolizes God’s relationship with Israel. Despite their spiritual adultery, God demonstrates unconditional love and forgiveness. This verse portrays adultery as a metaphor for unfaithfulness to God, while also pointing to His grace.

9. Job 31:1-4

“I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a young woman.”

Job declares his commitment to purity, recognizing that even lustful thoughts can lead to sin. This proactive approach to avoiding temptation reflects a deep desire to honor God and maintain moral integrity, even in private matters.

10. Ezekiel 16:32

“You adulterous wife! You prefer strangers to your own husband!”

In this passage, adultery is used metaphorically to describe Israel’s unfaithfulness to God. By turning to idols and other nations, Israel violated its covenant relationship with God. This verse emphasizes the spiritual dimension of adultery and the pain it causes in relationships built on trust.

New Testament Verses About Adultery

The New Testament addresses adultery with a focus on moral purity, repentance, and grace. It extends the concept beyond physical acts, emphasizing the condition of the heart and mind. Here are some New Testament verses about adultery with explanations of their meanings.

1. Matthew 5:27-28

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

Jesus expands the definition of adultery to include lustful thoughts, emphasizing that sin begins in the heart. This teaching challenges believers to pursue purity not only in actions but also in intentions.

2. John 8:3-11

“Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”

This passage recounts Jesus’ encounter with a woman caught in adultery. While acknowledging the sin, Jesus offers grace and calls her to leave her life of sin. It highlights God’s forgiveness and the importance of repentance.

3. Matthew 19:9

“I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”

Jesus addresses the sanctity of marriage, stating that divorce and remarriage under certain circumstances constitute adultery. This verse underscores the seriousness of marital vows and fidelity.

4. Mark 10:11-12

“Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.”

Similar to Matthew 19:9, this teaching reinforces the importance of remaining faithful in marriage and the consequences of breaking this covenant.

5. Luke 16:18

“Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”

Luke’s account reiterates the same principle as Matthew and Mark, emphasizing marital commitment and the consequences of unfaithfulness.

6. Romans 7:2-3

“For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive; but if her husband dies, she is released from the law that binds her to him.”

Paul explains the binding nature of marriage, using it as an analogy for the believer’s relationship with the law and Christ. Adultery breaks this sacred bond, violating God’s design for marriage.

7. Galatians 5:19-21

“The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery…those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Adultery is listed among the sinful acts of the flesh. Paul warns that persistent indulgence in such behaviors without repentance leads to spiritual separation from God.

8. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10

“Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Neither the sexually immoral…nor adulterers will inherit the kingdom of God.”

Paul includes adultery in a list of sins that separate people from God’s kingdom, urging believers to turn away from sinful behavior and live in righteousness.

9. 1 Corinthians 6:18

“Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually sins against their own body.”

This verse highlights the unique consequences of sexual sin, including adultery, as it directly impacts one’s own body and spiritual well-being. Paul urges believers to avoid such behavior completely.

10. Hebrews 13:4

“Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.”

The sanctity of marriage is emphasized here, with a warning about God’s judgment on those who defile it through adultery or other forms of immorality.

11. James 4:4

“You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God?”

James uses adultery metaphorically to describe unfaithfulness to God. Pursuing worldly desires is likened to spiritual adultery, underscoring the need for loyalty to God.

12. Revelation 2:20-22

“By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols. I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling.”

This warning against Jezebel’s influence highlights the consequences of unrepentant adultery and sexual immorality. It demonstrates God’s patience but also His justice.

13. Matthew 15:19

“For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.”

Jesus teaches that adultery originates in the heart, emphasizing the importance of guarding one’s thoughts and intentions to avoid sin.

14. Mark 7:21-23

“For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery…”

This verse reiterates that adultery, along with other sins, stems from the heart. True purity begins with inner transformation.

15. 2 Peter 2:14

“With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed—an accursed brood!”

Peter describes false teachers who are consumed by sinful desires, including adultery. This verse warns against following such individuals and their corrupt ways.

16. 1 Timothy 1:9-10

“We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels…for adulterers and perverts.”

Paul lists adultery as a sin that the law addresses, reminding believers of the need for grace and repentance through Christ.

17. Colossians 3:5

“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry.”

Adultery is part of the earthly nature that believers are called to abandon. This verse emphasizes spiritual transformation and living in alignment with God’s will.

18. Ephesians 5:3

“But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.”

Paul calls for a high standard of purity among believers, urging them to avoid even the appearance of sexual sin, including adultery.

19. Matthew 5:31-32

“It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery.”

Jesus redefines the cultural understanding of divorce, linking it to the sin of adultery when done without legitimate cause.

20. Romans 13:9

“The commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not covet,’ and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

Paul reminds believers that the commandment against adultery is part of the broader call to love others. Faithfulness in relationships reflects God’s love and honors His law.