35+ Bible Quotes About Adultery: What Scripture Says About Faithfulness
God meant for marriage to be forever, ‘until death do us part.’ Sadly, that is not the world we live in, at least not yet.
As a pastor, my wife and I have the privilege of meeting with couples for Christian marriage counseling. We are personally aware of at least 50 Christian marriages that didn’t survive. We have also watched our own parents go through difficult divorces. While God has gifted us with a good marriage, we’ve had to work hard at it and have had our own struggles and challenges, too.
So, I’m incredibly motivated to help you avoid this painful reality in your own life. There are many ways to go about that, but one of the most powerful is to see what the Bible says about adultery, cheating, and divorce, then ask Him for help to live it out.
In this article, you will find 35 powerful Bible quotes about adultery that reveal the gravity of these actions and their outcomes. You will also discover the hope and the healing after infidelity that God offers to those who repent and seek His forgiveness. Not to mention the strength He offers to help us do what He requires.
So, grab your Bible – or Bible app – and join me on this journey, as we explore the wisdom and guidance that God’s Word gives us to live faithfully and righteously.
What Does the Bible Say About Adultery?
Before we see what Scripture says, though, let’s take a moment to look at a definition so we’re on the same page.
Adultery and cheating are both grievous sins in the Bible that involve betraying your spouse through sexual or emotional unfaithfulness. Biblical adultery is when a married person engages in sexual behavior with someone who is not their spouse. It is not limited to sexual intercourse and breaks the holy bond of marriage covenant.
Cheating is a broader term that covers any kind of lying or deceiving your partner. This includes having emotional adultery or physical adultery relationships. As one survey reveals, though, there is a lot of confusion on what counts as marital infidelity among American evangelicals.
With this background in mind, let’s dig into Bible verses about adultery. If you’re in a difficult place in your marriage or tempted toward involvement in a sexual relationship, obviously, these verses are especially important for you. I hope you’ll take a few minutes to read them and ask God for help and strength. If you want to read Bible Quote No Weapon Formed then visit this site.
If your marriage is in a better place, praise God. But we know that our enemy is always looking for an opportunity to ‘steal, kill, and destroy’ (John 10:10). So – even if you know and agree with these passages in theory – ask God to help them sink in a bit deeper and help you stay faithful and committed. And to keep building a healthy Christian marriage.
Pastor John Piper, one of the godliest men I know, has said he prays for protection for his marriage daily. I’ve started to follow his example and encourage you to do that for your marriage, too.
35 Powerful Bible Quotes About Adultery and Cheating
Bible Verses About the Commandment Against Adultery
The Ten Commandments are clear about this issue. God gave these commands to protect us and help us live well.
“You shall not commit adultery.”
This is from Exodus 20:14. It’s simple and direct. No confusion here about God’s design for marriage.
“And you shall not commit adultery.”
Deuteronomy 5:18 repeats this command. (When God says something twice, we should pay extra attention!)
“For the commandments, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet, and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Romans 13:9 shows us something important. Faithfulness in relationships is actually about love. If we are focused on actively loving others, we will also steer clear from the sins God tells us to avoid.
What Jesus Said About Adultery
Jesus Christ had a lot to say about adultery in the Bible. His teaching goes deeper than just outward actions. If you want to read Bible Quotes About Adversity then visit this site.
“You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
Matthew 5:27-28 is so counter-cultural. Many guys will say, ‘I’m just looking; that doesn’t hurt anyone,’ but in God’s eyes what we do with our hearts and bodies are much closer than we think. This is about lust of the heart, not just physical acts.
“And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”
Matthew 19:9 gives us important teaching about divorce. Here, Jesus gives a legitimate reason for divorce: sexual immorality on the part of one’s spouse. This shows how serious unfaithfulness is in marriage.
“And he said to them, Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”
Mark 10:11-12 emphasizes the permanence of the covenant of marriage.
“Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.”
Luke 16:18 continues this teaching about divorce and remarriage.
“The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say? This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her. And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you? She said, No one, Lord. And Jesus said, Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”
This story from John 8:3-11 shows us something beautiful. Jesus is so incredibly gracious to us, no matter how badly we’ve messed up. If you have failed in this area, know that Jesus stands ready to forgive you, even as He calls you to ‘sin no more.’ This is the perfect balance of grace and truth.
Bible Quotes on Consequences of Adultery
The Bible doesn’t hide the fact that adultery has serious consequences.
“He who commits adultery lacks sense; he who does it destroys himself.”
Proverbs 6:32 is obvious, but in the moment it may not feel like it. Sexual sin destroys lives, families, and futures.
“Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.”
Hebrews 13:4 reminds us that the marriage bed is sacred. God’s judgment is real for those who treat it lightly.
“If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.”
Leviticus 20:10 is from the Old Testament law. While our society does not administer the death penalty for adultery as Israel did, this verse shows just how seriously God considers it under the Law of Moses.
“But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
Revelation 21:8 puts adultery, cheating, and other sexual sins in serious context. From another perspective, they are just another form of sin, which is clear from lists like this one. This connects to eternal life and the wages of sin.
“Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works.”
Revelation 2:22 shows that repentance is always available, but judgment is real.
Scripture About Sexual Immorality and Adultery
The New Testament has clear teaching about fleeing sexual immorality.
“Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.”
1 Corinthians 6:18 tells us to take action. Notice we’re called to flee from sexual immorality. Not flirt with it. Not see how close we can get. Run away from it!
“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 is important context. Paul is not saying that anyone who has ever committed these sins is not a Christian. He’s saying that, if we do not repent and practice them habitually, it reveals that we are not true believers in the kingdom of God.
“But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.”
1 Corinthians 7:2 gives us one of God’s design for marriage purposes: to help us avoid sexual sin.
“Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality.”
Galatians 5:19 lists adultery among the works of the flesh.
“For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.”
Matthew 15:19 shows that sin starts in the heart. This is why Jesus’s teaching about lust is so important.
Old Testament Warnings About Adultery
The book of Proverbs has extensive warnings about adultery in the Old Testament.
“So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words, who forsakes the companion of her youth and forgets the covenant of her God; for her house sinks down to death, and her paths to the departed; none who go to her come back, nor do they regain the paths of life.”
Proverbs 2:16-19 warns about the deceitful nature of adultery.
“For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil, but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well. Should your springs be scattered abroad, streams of water in the streets? Let them be for yourself alone, and not for strangers with you. Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, a lovely deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight; be intoxicated always in her love. Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden woman and embrace the bosom of an adulteress?”
Proverbs 5:3-22 is powerful. Notice the deceitful nature of adultery and sexual sin: it looks great at first, but ‘in the end’ it proves to be disastrous. There’s also a call to rejoice in our own spouse’s sexuality. This is part of honoring your spouse.
“To preserve you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the adulteress. Do not desire her beauty in your heart, and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes. Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned? Or can one walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched? So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife; none who touches her will go unpunished.”
Proverbs 6:24-29 uses vivid imagery. I recently read the story of a pastor who, ten years ago, fell into sexual sin with a woman from his congregation. However, someone else found out about it and just recently made it known publicly. Of course, God sees all we do and He will eventually expose our sins, even if it takes awhile.
The prophets also warned about adultery.
“How can I pardon you? Your children have forsaken me and have sworn by those who are no gods. When I fed them to the full, they committed adultery and trooped to the houses of whores.”
Jeremiah 5:7 connects adultery with idolatry – rejecting God for false gods.
“I have seen your abominations, your adulteries and neighings, your lewd whorings, on the hills in the field. Woe to you, O Jerusalem! How long will it be before you are made clean?”
Jeremiah 13:27 shows God’s heartbreak over His people’s unfaithfulness.
“But in the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: they commit adultery and walk in lies; they strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns from his evil; all of them have become like Sodom to me, and its inhabitants like Gomorrah.”
Jeremiah 23:14 connects adultery with other sins and spiritual corruption.
“Swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.”
Hosea 4:2 shows adultery as part of a pattern of rebellion against God.
Bible Stories About Adultery
The Bible gives us real stories about adultery to learn from.
“In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful. And David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite? So David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him, and he lay with her. Now she had been purifying herself from her uncleanness. Then she returned to her house. And the woman conceived, and she sent and told David, I am pregnant.”
2 Samuel 11:2-5 tells the story of King David and Bathsheba. Notice that at ‘the time when kings go out to battle… David remained at Jerusalem.’ We’re not sure about David’s exact motives for staying back, but the narrator seems to suggest part of his fall into sin involved idleness and not being where he was supposed to be. Actively pursuing God’s calling in our lives is one safeguard against falling into sexual sin.
But here’s the beautiful part:
“David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said to David, The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.”
2 Samuel 12:13 shows God’s grace and forgiveness. It’s worth reading all of 2 Samuel 11-12 in one reading. God’s forgiveness here is another reminder of His grace in the midst of our most grievous sins. David and Bathsheba would soon go on to give birth to another son, Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived. This is restoration and reconciliation in action.
The prophets also used adultery as a metaphor for spiritual adultery.
“She saw that for all the adulteries of that faithless one, Israel, I had sent her away with a decree of divorce. Yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but she too went and played the whore.”
Jeremiah 3:8 uses adultery language to describe idolatry – the people choosing false gods over the true God.
“For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. With their idols they have committed adultery, and they have even offered up to them for food the children whom they had borne to me.”
Ezekiel 23:37 continues this theme of spiritual adultery through idolatry.
Scripture on Marriage and Faithfulness
The Bible doesn’t just warn against adultery. It also shows us the positive path of faithfulness.
“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.”
Ephesians 5:25 gives husbands a powerful model. As they say in sports, sometimes ‘the best defense is a good offense.’ In other words, loving our wives proactively and sacrificially like Jesus loves us, His church, is one important component of avoiding adultery biblically. This is part of Biblical marriage principles.
“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.”
Ephesians 5:31-33 is amazing. Paul, quoting Genesis 2:24, says that God designed marriage to point to the relationship God has with us through Christ! This is what holy marriage is for and will help guard your heart from falling into sin.
“Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress.”
Romans 7:3 clarifies the binding nature of the marriage covenant.
Bible Quotes About God’s Grace and Forgiveness
Here’s the good news: God offers grace and forgiveness to all who turn to Him.
“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”
1 Corinthians 10:13 is powerful. Yes! More grace for our trials: we can rely on God, who will never let us be tempted beyond what we can handle – there is always a way out. If you’re in a moment where you feel like you’re trapped, what’s one escape route God might be offering you? This is about overcoming sexual temptation with God’s strength to resist sin.
“For nothing will be impossible with God.”
Luke 1:37 is from the story where the miraculous birth of Jesus is foretold, but we can apply it much more broadly, including to the sorts of situations we’re discussing here.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 6:23 reminds us that while sin has consequences, God offers us eternal life as a free gift through Jesus Christ.
“You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”
James 4:4 is important. In many places, the Bible talks about spiritual adultery, elevating something – or someone – above God. Affairs are ultimately worship issues. This connects idolatry and adultery.
How to Apply These Bible Verses About Adultery
In conclusion, God’s Word is practical and realistic. God knows we are weak and will be tempted to be unfaithful – both to Him and our spouses.
So, knowing each of us is different, He gives us many reasons to stay faithful. And many different passages – stories, proverbs, commands, warnings, blessings, and promises of future blessing – some of which are sure to appeal to us.
Perhaps most importantly, God has given Christians His Holy Spirit – God living inside of us(!) – to help us resist temptation and honor Him. And, of course, our spouses.
Paul perhaps said it best in Galatians 5:
“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”
Through our relationship with Jesus, the power of sin in our lives has been radically broken so that we are free to breathe the oxygen of love and self-control healthy marriages require. This is spiritual warfare and flesh vs Spirit in action. You’re not alone in your fight against sin; the challenge is to lean into the victory Jesus has already won. This is righteous living and obedience to God.
Your Turn: Reflecting on Scripture About Adultery
Be honest: Are you in a season where you are tempted to give into adultery, cheating, or some other form of sexual sin? If you are, take a few moments and ask God for help, which He loves to give.
If you’re not, take a moment and praise God – that’s His grace at work!
Which Bible quotes about adultery most appeal to you? Which of the reasons and passages for avoiding adultery most resonate with your heart? Why?
Consider accountability. Part of God’s rescue plan for staying faithful to Him and our spouses involves letting other Christians in on our struggles. (See: the ‘one another’ passages in the Bible.) Even if this isn’t an area of particular struggle for you, it’s something worth touching base about as you connect with your closest Christian friends. This is Christian discipleship and accountability in practice.
