What Does the Bible Say About Adultery?

“And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.”

“And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth:”

“But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man's wife. a man's: Heb. married to an husband”

“Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine.”

“And Abimelech charged all his people, saying, He that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”

“And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her. defiled: Heb. humbled her”

“And it came to pass, when Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with Bilhah his father's concubine: and Israel heard it. Now the sons of Jacob were twelve :”

“And it came to pass at that time, that Judah went down from his brethren, and turned in to a certain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah.”

“And it came to pass about three months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law hath played the harlot; and also, behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt.”

“And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me.”

“Thou shalt not commit adultery.”

“And if a man entice a maid that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife.”

“If her father utterly refuse to give her unto him, he shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins. pay: Heb. weigh”

“And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.”

“And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies:) their enemies: Heb. those that rose up against them”

“Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour's wife, to defile thyself with her.”

“And whosoever lieth carnally with a woman, that is a bondmaid, betrothed to an husband, and not at all redeemed, nor freedom given her; she shall be scourged; they shall not be put to death, because she was not free. betrothed: or, abused by any: Heb. reproached by (or, for) man she shall: or, they, etc: Heb. there shall be a scourging”

“And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the LORD, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, even a ram for a trespass offering.”

“And the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering before the LORD for his sin which he hath done: and the sin which he hath done shall be forgiven him.”

“Do not prostitute thy daughter, to cause her to be a whore; lest the land fall to whoredom, and the land become full of wickedness. prostitute: Heb. profane”

“And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.”

“And the man that lieth with his father's wife hath uncovered his father's nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.”

“And if a man lie with his daughter in law, both of them shall surely be put to death: they have wrought confusion; their blood shall be upon them.”

“And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her father: she shall be burnt with fire.”

“And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,”

“Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man's wife go aside, and commit a trespass against him,”

“And a man lie with her carnally , and it be hid from the eyes of her husband, and be kept close, and she be defiled, and there be no witness against her, neither she be taken with the manner;”

“And the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy come upon him, and he be jealous of his wife, and she be not defiled:”

“Then shall the man bring his wife unto the priest, and he shall bring her offering for her, the tenth part of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil upon it, nor put frankincense thereon; for it is an offering of jealousy, an offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to remembrance.”

“And the priest shall bring her near, and set her before the LORD:”

“And the priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel; and of the dust that is in the floor of the tabernacle the priest shall take, and put it into the water:”

“And the priest shall set the woman before the LORD, and uncover the woman's head, and put the offering of memorial in her hands, which is the jealousy offering: and the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that causeth the curse:”

“And the priest shall charge her by an oath, and say unto the woman, If no man have lain with thee, and if thou hast not gone aside to uncleanness with another instead of thy husband, be thou free from this bitter water that causeth the curse: with another: or, being in the power of thy husband: Heb. under thy husband”

“But if thou hast gone aside to another instead of thy husband, and if thou be defiled, and some man have lain with thee beside thine husband:”

“Then the priest shall charge the woman with an oath of cursing, and the priest shall say unto the woman, The LORD make thee a curse and an oath among thy people, when the LORD doth make thy thigh to rot, and thy belly to swell; rot: Heb. fall”

“And this water that causeth the curse shall go into thy bowels, to make thy belly to swell, and thy thigh to rot: And the woman shall say, Amen, amen.”

“And the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot them out with the bitter water:”

“And he shall cause the woman to drink the bitter water that causeth the curse: and the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter.”

“Then the priest shall take the jealousy offering out of the woman's hand, and shall wave the offering before the LORD, and offer it upon the altar:”

“And the priest shall take an handful of the offering, even the memorial thereof, and burn it upon the altar, and afterward shall cause the woman to drink the water.”

“And when he hath made her to drink the water, then it shall come to pass, that, if she be defiled, and have done trespass against her husband, that the water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter, and her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall rot: and the woman shall be a curse among her people.”

“And if the woman be not defiled, but be clean; then she shall be free, and shall conceive seed.”

“This is the law of jealousies, when a wife goeth aside to another instead of her husband, and is defiled;”

“Or when the spirit of jealousy cometh upon him, and he be jealous over his wife, and shall set the woman before the LORD, and the priest shall execute upon her all this law.”

“Neither shalt thou commit adultery.”

“If any man take a wife, and go in unto her, and hate her,”

“And give occasions of speech against her, and bring up an evil name upon her, and say, I took this woman, and when I came to her, I found her not a maid:”

“Then shall the father of the damsel, and her mother, take and bring forth the tokens of the damsel's virginity unto the elders of the city in the gate:”

“And the damsel's father shall say unto the elders, I gave my daughter unto this man to wife, and he hateth her;”

“And, lo, he hath given occasions of speech against her, saying, I found not thy daughter a maid; and yet these are the tokens of my daughter's virginity. And they shall spread the cloth before the elders of the city.”

“And the elders of that city shall take that man and chastise him;”

“And they shall amerce him in an hundred shekels of silver, and give them unto the father of the damsel, because he hath brought up an evil name upon a virgin of Israel: and she shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days.”

“But if this thing be true, and the tokens of virginity be not found for the damsel:”

“Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die: because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the whore in her father's house: so shalt thou put evil away from among you.”

“If a man be found lying with a woman married to an husband, then they shall both of them die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman: so shalt thou put away evil from Israel.”

“If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto an husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her;”

“Then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die; the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city; and the man, because he hath humbled his neighbour's wife: so thou shalt put away evil from among you.”

“But if a man find a betrothed damsel in the field, and the man force her, and lie with her: then the man only that lay with her shall die: force: or, take strong hold of”

“But unto the damsel thou shalt do nothing; there is in the damsel no sin worthy of death: for as when a man riseth against his neighbour, and slayeth him, even so is this matter:”

“For he found her in the field, and the betrothed damsel cried, and there was none to save her.”

“If a man find a damsel that is a virgin, which is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found;”

“Then the man that lay with her shall give unto the damsel's father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife; because he hath humbled her, he may not put her away all his days.”

“There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel. whore: or, sodomitess”

“Cursed be he that lieth with his father's wife; because he uncovereth his father's skirt. And all the people shall say, Amen.”

“Cursed be he that lieth with his sister, the daughter of his father, or the daughter of his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen.”

“Cursed be he that lieth with his mother in law. And all the people shall say, Amen.”

“Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty man of valour, and he was the son of an harlot : and Gilead begat Jephthah. Jephthah: called Jephte an harlot: Heb. a woman an harlot”

“Then went Samson to Gaza, and saw there an harlot , and went in unto her. harlot: Heb. a woman an harlot”

“And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the side of mount Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Bethlehemjudah . a concubine: Heb. a woman a concubine, or, a wife a concubine”

“And his concubine played the whore against him, and went away from him unto her father's house to Bethlehemjudah , and was there four whole months . four whole months: or, a year and four month: Heb. days, four months”

“And her husband arose, and went after her, to speak friendly unto her, and to bring her again, having his servant with him, and a couple of asses: and she brought him into her father's house: and when the father of the damsel saw him, he rejoiced to meet him. friendly: Heb. to her heart”

“And his father in law, the damsel's father, retained him; and he abode with him three days: so they did eat and drink, and lodged there.”

“Now as they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain sons of Belial, beset the house round about, and beat at the door, and spake to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into thine house, that we may know him.”

“Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.”

“Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun.”

“For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.”

“Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.”

“The eye also of the adulterer waiteth for the twilight, saying, No eye shall see me: and disguiseth his face. disguiseth: Heb. setteth his face in secret”

“In the dark they dig through houses, which they had marked for themselves in the daytime: they know not the light.”

“For the morning is to them even as the shadow of death: if one know them, they are in the terrors of the shadow of death.”

“He is swift as the waters ; their portion is cursed in the earth: he beholdeth not the way of the vineyards.”

“I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?”

“If mine heart have been deceived by a woman, or if I have laid wait at my neighbour's door;”

“Then let my wife grind unto another, and let others bow down upon her.”

“For this is an heinous crime; yea, it is an iniquity to be punished by the judges.”

“For it is a fire that consumeth to destruction, and would root out all mine increase.”

“To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;”

“Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.”

“For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.”

“None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.”

“For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: mouth: Heb. palate”

“But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword.”

“Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.”

“Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.”

“Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth.”

“Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house:”

“Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel:”

“Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger; thy wealth: Heb. thy strength”

“And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed,”

“And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;”