30 Powerful Bible Verses About Adultery

Adultery is a serious sin that deeply impacts individuals, families, and communities. The Bible addresses this issue with clarity, offering both warning and guidance. Whether you’re seeking healing, clarity, or conviction, the scriptures provide insight into God’s heart on this topic. This post shares 30 powerful Bible verses about adultery that can help you understand God’s perspective and lead a life of integrity and purity.

What Does the Bible Say About Adultery?

The Bible consistently condemns adultery, presenting it as a violation of God’s commandments and a betrayal of the sacred bond of marriage. In the Ten Commandments, God commands His people, “You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14). This command underscores the importance of marital faithfulness and integrity in relationships.

Jesus also emphasizes the seriousness of adultery, teaching that even lustful thoughts are a form of unfaithfulness. In Matthew 5:28, He states, “But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

These verses show that adultery isn’t just a physical act but a heart issue. The Bible urges believers to pursue purity, truth, and holiness in all areas of life.

What Does the Bible Say About an Adulterous Woman?

The Bible often uses the image of an adulterous woman to symbolize unfaithfulness, whether in personal relationships or spiritual devotion. Proverbs especially warns men against the seductive and destructive path of an adulterous woman.

Proverbs 5:3-5 (NIV):

• “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. Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave.”

The focus isn’t solely on condemning women but highlighting the dangers of seduction and betrayal in general. Women are also warned against such behavior, and all believers are called to live uprightly.

What Does the Bible Say About an Adulterous Man?

While Scripture often speaks about adulterous women in Proverbs, it is equally clear that men are accountable for their actions. The Bible does not spare adulterous men from judgment.

Job 31:9-12 (NIV):

• “If my heart has been enticed by a woman, or if I have lurked at my neighbor’s door, then may my wife grind another man’s grain, and may other men sleep with her. For that would have been wicked, a sin to be judged.”

Proverbs 6:32 (NIV):

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

Both men and women are held to the same standard of marital fidelity. God expects His followers to honor their commitments and uphold moral purity.

Consequences of Adultery in the Bible

The consequences of adultery are both spiritual and practical. Adultery often results in broken relationships, guilt, loss of trust, and spiritual separation from God.

• “For jealousy arouses a husband’s fury, and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.” – Proverbs 6:34

King David’s affair with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11) led to personal tragedy, including the death of a child and turmoil in his household. While David repented and was forgiven, the consequences of his sin echoed for years.

• “You are not to covet your neighbor’s wife… or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” – Deuteronomy 5:21

God is just, but He is also merciful. Those who repent sincerely can find forgiveness and restoration, though trust may take time to rebuild.

30 Powerful Bible Verses About Adultery

Here are 30 powerful Bible verses about adultery:

1. Exodus 20:14 – “You shall not commit adultery.”
2. Leviticus 20:10 – “If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife… both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.”
3. Proverbs 6:32 – “But a man who commits adultery has no sense; whoever does so destroys himself.”
4. Matthew 5:28 – “But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
5. 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.”
6. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 – “Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers… will inherit the kingdom of God.”
7. Proverbs 5:3-5 – “For the lips of an adulterous woman drip honey… but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave.”
8. Malachi 3:5 – “So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against… adulterers… says the Lord Almighty.”
9. Job 24:15 – “The eye of the adulterer watches for dusk; he thinks, ‘No eye will see me,’ and he keeps his face concealed.”
10. Proverbs 7:25-27 – “Do not let your heart turn to her ways or stray into her paths. Many are the victims she has brought down; her slain are a mighty throng. Her house is a highway to the grave, leading down to the chambers of death.”
11. 1 Corinthians 10:8 – “We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died.”
12. Galatians 5:19 – “The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery…”
13. Ephesians 5:3 – “But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity… because these are improper for God’s holy people.”
14. Colossians 3:5 – “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry.”
15. 1 Thessalonians 4:3 – “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality.”
16. Proverbs 30:20 – “This is the way of an adulterous woman: She eats and wipes her mouth and says, ‘I’ve done nothing wrong.’”
17. Jeremiah 5:7-8 – “Why should I forgive you? Your children have forsaken me and sworn by gods that are not gods. I supplied all their needs, yet they committed adultery and thronged to the houses of prostitutes.”
18. Ezekiel 16:32 – “You adulterous wife! You prefer strangers to your own husband!”
19. Hosea 4:2 – “There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.”
20. Matthew 19:9 – “I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”
21. 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.”
22. Luke 16:18 – “Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”
23. John 8:4-5 – “They said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?’”
24. 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. So then, if she has sexual relations with another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress.”
25. James 4:4 – “You adulterous people! Don’t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God?”
26. 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!”
27. Revelation 21:8 – “But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur.”
28. Revelation 22:15 – “Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.”
29. Proverbs 22:14 – “The mouth of an adulterous woman is a deep pit; a man who is under the Lord’s wrath falls into it.”
30. Deuteronomy 5:18 – “You shall not commit adultery.”

Conclusion

These Bible verses about adultery reveal how seriously God views marital unfaithfulness. Adultery is not just a breach of trust; it’s a sin against God. But the good news is that God also provides forgiveness and restoration through Jesus Christ. Whether you’re seeking healing, guidance, or simply deeper understanding, let these scriptures encourage you to walk in purity and honor God’s design for relationships.

If you’ve found this post helpful, feel free to share it with others who may benefit from these truths.

Read also: 40 Bible Verses About Fornication