18 Then the Lord God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper corresponding  * to him."

21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to come over the man,  * and he slept. God took one of his ribs and closed the flesh at that place. 22 Then the Lord God made the rib he had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man.  *23 And the man said:

This one, at last, is bone of my bone

and flesh of my flesh;

this one will be called "woman,"

for she was taken from man.  *

24 This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh.  *

24 This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh.  *25 Both the man and his wife were naked, yet felt no shame.

24 This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh.  *

22 Then the Lord God made the rib he had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man.  *23 And the man said:

This one, at last, is bone of my bone

and flesh of my flesh;

this one will be called "woman,"

for she was taken from man.  *

24 This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh.  *

26 Then God said, "Let us  * make man  * in  * our image, according to our likeness.  * They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl  * on the earth."  *

27 So God created man in his own image;

he created him in the image of God;

he created them male and female.  *

28 God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth,  * and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth."

1 The man was intimate with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. She said, "I have had a male child with the Lord’s help."  *

25 Adam was intimate with his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, for she said, "God has given  * me another offspring  * in place of Abel, since Cain killed him."

6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate."

4 "Haven’t you read," he replied, "that he who created*them in the beginning made them male and female,*,*5 and he also said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?*,*6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate."

5 and he also said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?*,*6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate."

31 "It was also said, Whoever divorces*his wife must give her a written notice of divorce.*,*32 But I tell you, everyone who divorces his wife, except in a case of sexual immorality, causes her to commit adultery. And whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.*

27 "You have heard that it was said, Do not commit adultery.*,*28 But I tell you, everyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.*

4 They said, "Moses permitted us to write divorce papers  * and send her away."  *

5 But Jesus told them, "He wrote this command for you because of the hardness of your hearts.*6 But from the beginning*of creation*God*made them male and female.*,*7 For this reason a man will leave*his father and mother*8 and the two will become one flesh.*,*So they are no longer two, but one flesh.9 Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate."*

12 Also, if she divorces her husband*and marries another, she commits adultery."

4 Marriage is to be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, because God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.  *

4 Marriage is to be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, because God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.  *

4 Marriage is to be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, because God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.  *

25 Husbands, love your wives,  * just as Christ loved  * the church and gave himself  * for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing  * her with the washing of water by the word.

25 Husbands, love your wives,  * just as Christ loved  * the church and gave himself  * for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing  * her with the washing of water by the word. 27 He did this to present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and blameless.  *

25 Husbands, love your wives,  * just as Christ loved  * the church and gave himself  * for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing  * her with the washing of water by the word. 27 He did this to present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and blameless.  *28 In the same way, husbands are to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hates his own flesh but provides and cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, 30 since we are members of his body.  *

28 In the same way, husbands are to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.

28 In the same way, husbands are to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hates his own flesh but provides and cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, 30 since we are members of his body.  *

22 Wives,  * submit  *,* to your husbands  * as to the Lord, 23 because the husband is the head of the wife  * as Christ is the head  * of the church. He is the Savior of the body.  *24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives are to submit to their husbands in everything.

22 Wives,  * submit  *,* to your husbands  * as to the Lord, 23 because the husband is the head of the wife  * as Christ is the head  * of the church. He is the Savior of the body.  *

22 Wives,  * submit  *,* to your husbands  * as to the Lord, 23 because the husband is the head of the wife  * as Christ is the head  * of the church. He is the Savior of the body.  *24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives are to submit to their husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives,  * just as Christ loved  * the church and gave himself  * for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing  * her with the washing of water by the word. 27 He did this to present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and blameless.  *28 In the same way, husbands are to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hates his own flesh but provides and cares for it, just as Christ does for the church, 30 since we are members of his body.  *31 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife,*and the two will become one flesh.*,*32 This mystery  * is profound, but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 To sum up, each one of you is to love his wife as himself, and the wife is to respect her husband.

31 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife,*and the two will become one flesh.*,*

33 To sum up, each one of you is to love his wife as himself, and the wife is to respect her husband.

33 To sum up, each one of you is to love his wife as himself, and the wife is to respect her husband.

3 But sexual immorality  * and any impurity  * or greed  * should not even be heard of  * among you, as is proper for saints.

18 Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.  *19 Husbands,  * love your wives  * and don’t be bitter  * toward them.

14 Above all, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. 15 And let the peace of Christ, to which you were also called  * in one body, rule your hearts. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell richly among you, in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs,  * singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name  * of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

14 Above all, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.

5 Therefore, put to death what belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity,  * lust,  * evil desire, and greed,  * which is idolatry.  *

7 Husbands,  * in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with a weaker partner,  * showing them honor as coheirs of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.

7 Husbands,  * in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with a weaker partner,  * showing them honor as coheirs of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.

14 Do not commit adultery.  *

17 Do not covet your neighbor’s house. Do not covet your neighbor’s wife, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.  *

2 But because sexual immorality is so common,  *,* each man should have sexual relations with his own wife,  * and each woman should have sexual relations with her own husband.

3 A husband should fulfill his marital duty  * to his wife, and likewise a wife to her husband. 4 A wife does not have the right over her own body, but her husband does. In the same way, a husband does not have the right over his own body, but his wife does.

3 A husband should fulfill his marital duty  * to his wife, and likewise a wife to her husband. 4 A wife does not have the right over her own body, but her husband does. In the same way, a husband does not have the right over his own body, but his wife does. 5 Do not deprive  * one another — except when you agree for a time, to devote yourselves to  * prayer. Then come together again; otherwise, Satan may tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

3 A husband should fulfill his marital duty  * to his wife, and likewise a wife to her husband. 4 A wife does not have the right over her own body, but her husband does. In the same way, a husband does not have the right over his own body, but his wife does. 5 Do not deprive  * one another — except when you agree for a time, to devote yourselves to  * prayer. Then come together again; otherwise, Satan may tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

8 I say to the unmarried  * and to widows:  * It is good for them if they remain as I am. 9 But if they do not have self-control,  * they should marry, since it is better to marry  * than to burn with desire.

10 To the married I give this command  *  — not I, but the Lord — a wife is not to leave  * her husband. 11 But if she does leave, she must remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband — and a husband is not to divorce his wife.  *

14 For the unbelieving husband is made holy  * by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy by the husband.  * Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is they are holy.

32 I want you to be without concerns. The unmarried man is concerned about the things of the Lord — how he may please  * the Lord. 33 But the married man is concerned about the things of the world — how he may please his wife —  34 and his interests are divided. The unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the things of the Lord,  * so that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But the married woman is concerned about the things of the world — how she may please her husband.

39 A wife is bound  * as long as her husband is living. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to anyone she wants — only in the Lord.

1 Now in response to the matters you wrote  * about: "It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman."  *2 But because sexual immorality is so common,  *,* each man should have sexual relations with his own wife,  * and each woman should have sexual relations with her own husband.

18 Flee  * sexual immorality! Every other sin  * a person commits is outside the body, but the person who is sexually immoral  * sins against his own body. 19 Don’t you know that your body is a temple  * of the Holy Spirit  * who is in you,  * whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought  * at a price. So glorify God with your body.  *

13 "Food  * is for the stomach and the stomach for food," and God will do away with both of them. However, the body is not for sexual immorality  * but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 God raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by his power.  *

9 Don’t you know that the unrighteous  * will not inherit God’s kingdom?  * Do not be deceived: No sexually immoral people, idolaters,  * adulterers,  * or males who have sex with males,  *,*10 no thieves,  * greedy  * people, drunkards, verbally abusive people,  * or swindlers  * will inherit God’s kingdom.

4 Love is patient,  * love is kind. Love does not envy,  * is not boastful, is not arrogant,  *5 is not rude, is not self-seeking,  * is not irritable,  * and does not keep a record of wrongs. 6 Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth.  *7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures  * all things.

13 Is Christ divided?  * Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in Paul’s name? 14 I thank God  *,* that I baptized none of you except Crispus  * and Gaius,  *15 so that no one can say you were baptized in my name. 16 I did, in fact, baptize the household  * of Stephanas;  * beyond that, I don’t recall if I baptized anyone else. 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel — not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross  * of Christ will not be emptied of its effect.

1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality  * among you, and the kind of sexual immorality that is not even tolerated  * among the Gentiles  *  — a man is sleeping with his father’s wife.  *2 And you are arrogant! Shouldn’t you be filled with grief  * and remove from your congregation the one who did this?

22 A man who finds a wife finds a good thing  *

and obtains favor from the  Lord.  *

22 A man who finds a wife finds a good thing  *

and obtains favor from the  Lord.  *

22 A man who finds a wife finds a good thing  *

and obtains favor from the  Lord.  *

14 A house and wealth are inherited from fathers,  *

but a prudent wife is from the  Lord.

18 Let your fountain be blessed,

and take pleasure in the wife of your youth.  *

19 A loving deer, a graceful doe  *  —

let her breasts always satisfy you;  *

be lost in her love forever.

3 Though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey

and her words are  * smoother than oil,

4 in the end she’s as bitter as wormwood  *

and as sharp as a double-edged sword.  *

5 Her feet go down to death;

her steps head straight for Sheol.  *

6 She doesn’t consider the path of life;

she doesn’t know that her ways are unstable.

7 So now, sons, listen to me,

and don’t turn away from the words from my mouth.  *

8 Keep your way far from her.

Don’t go near the door of her house.  *

9 Otherwise, you will give up your vitality to others

and your years to someone cruel;

3 Though the lips of the forbidden woman drip honey

and her words are  * smoother than oil,

4 in the end she’s as bitter as wormwood  *

and as sharp as a double-edged sword.  *

5 Her feet go down to death;

her steps head straight for Sheol.  *

6 She doesn’t consider the path of life;

she doesn’t know that her ways are unstable.

8 Keep your way far from her.

Don’t go near the door of her house.  *

9 Otherwise, you will give up your vitality to others

and your years to someone cruel;

10 strangers will drain your resources,

and your hard-earned pay will end up in a foreigner’s house.

11 At the end of your life, you will lament

when your physical body has been consumed,

12 and you will say, "How I hated discipline,

and how my heart despised correction.  *

13 I didn’t obey my teachers

or listen closely  * to my instructors.

14 I am on the verge of complete ruin

before the entire community."

19 A loving deer, a graceful doe  *  —

let her breasts always satisfy you;  *

be lost in her love forever.

20 Why, my son, would you lose yourself

with a forbidden woman

or embrace a wayward woman?  *

29 So it is with the one who sleeps with

another man’s wife;

no one who touches her will go unpunished.  *

32 The one who commits adultery  * lacks sense;

whoever does so destroys himself.  *

32 The one who commits adultery  * lacks sense;

whoever does so destroys himself.  *

33 He will get a beating  * and dishonor,

and his disgrace will never be removed.

34 For jealousy enrages a husband,  *

and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.

35 He will not be appeased by anything

or be persuaded by lavish bribes.

4 A wife of noble character  * is her husband’s crown,  *

but a wife who causes shame

is like rottenness in his bones.  *

9 A person’s heart plans his way,

but the Lord determines his steps.  *

9 Better to live on the corner of a roof

than to share a house with a nagging wife.  *

10 Who can find a wife of noble character?  *,*

She is far more precious than jewels.  *

15 Didn’t God make them one and give them a portion of spirit? What is the one seeking?  * Godly offspring. So watch yourselves carefully,  *,* so that no one acts treacherously against the wife of his  * youth.

16 "If he hates  * and divorces his wife,"  * says the Lord God of Israel, "he  * covers his garment with injustice,"  * says the Lord of Armies. Therefore, watch yourselves carefully,  * and do not act treacherously.

14 Do not be yoked together with those who do not believe. For what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness?  * Or what fellowship does light  * have with darkness?  *

3 For this is God’s will,  * your sanctification:  * that you keep away  * from sexual immorality, 4 that each of you knows how to control his own body  * in holiness and honor, 5 not with lustful passions,  * like the Gentiles, who don’t know God.

15 See to it that no one repays evil for evil  * to anyone,  * but always pursue what is good for one another and for all.  *

10 for the sexually immoral  * and males who have sex with males,  * for slave traders, liars,  * perjurers, and for whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching  *

2 An overseer,  * therefore, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, self-controlled, sensible,  * respectable, hospitable,  * able to teach,

12 Deacons are to be husbands of one wife, managing their children and their own households competently.

6 An elder  * must be blameless,  * the husband of one wife, with faithful  * children who are not accused of wildness or rebellion.

5 "When a man takes a bride, he must not go out with the army or be liable for any duty. He is free to stay at home for one year, so that he can bring joy to the wife he has married.

1 "If a man marries a woman, but she becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, he may write her a divorce certificate, hand it to her, and send her away from his house.  *

13 "If a man marries a woman, has sexual relations with her, and comes to hate her, 14 and accuses her of shameful conduct, and gives her a bad name, saying, ‘I married this woman and was intimate with her, but I didn’t find any evidence of her virginity,’ 15 the young woman’s father and mother will take the evidence of her virginity and bring it to the city elders at the city gate.  *16 The young woman’s father will say to the elders, ‘I gave my daughter to this man as a wife, but he hates her. 17 He has accused her of shameful conduct, saying, "I didn’t find any evidence of your daughter’s virginity," but here is the evidence of my daughter’s virginity.’ They will spread out the cloth before the city elders.

8 You are not to have sex with your father’s wife;  * she is your father’s family.  *

20 You are not to have sexual intercourse with  * your neighbor’s wife, defiling yourself with her.  *

10 "If a man commits adultery  * with a married woman — if he commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife — both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death. 13 If a man sleeps with a man as with a woman,  * they have both committed a detestable act.  * They must be put to death; their death is their own fault.

7 They are not to marry a woman defiled by prostitution.  *,* They are not to marry one divorced  * by her husband, for the priest is holy to his God.

13 "He is to marry a woman who is a virgin. 14 He is not to marry a widow,  * a divorced woman,  * or one defiled by prostitution. He is to marry a virgin from his own people,

6 Set me as a seal on your heart,

as a seal on your arm.  *

For love is as strong as death;  *

jealousy is as unrelenting as Sheol.

Love’s flames are fiery flames  *  —

an almighty flame!  *

7 A huge torrent cannot extinguish love;

rivers cannot sweep it away.

If a man were to give all his wealth  * for love,  *

it would be utterly scorned.

7 A huge torrent cannot extinguish love;

rivers cannot sweep it away.

If a man were to give all his wealth  * for love,  *

it would be utterly scorned.

7 You are absolutely beautiful,  * my darling;

there is no imperfection in you.

5 Your breasts are like two fawns,

twins of a gazelle,  * that feed among the lilies.

9 You have captured my heart,  * my sister,  * my bride.

You have captured my heart with one glance of your eyes,

with one jewel of your necklace.

6 May his left hand be under my head,

and his right arm embrace me.  *

2 Oh, that he would kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!

For your caresses  * are more delightful than wine.  *

9 Enjoy life with the wife you love all the days of your fleeting  * life,  * which has been given to you under the sun, all your fleeting days. For that is your portion in life and in your struggle  * under the sun.

9 Enjoy life with the wife you love all the days of your fleeting  * life,  * which has been given to you under the sun, all your fleeting days. For that is your portion in life and in your struggle  * under the sun.

9 Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts. 10 For if either falls, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to lift him up. 11 Also, if two lie down together, they can keep warm; but how can one person alone keep warm?  *12 And if someone overpowers one person, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not easily broken.

14 " ‘Return, you faithless children  *  — this is the Lord’s declaration — for I am your master,  *,* and I will take you,  * one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion.

2 When the Lord first spoke to Hosea, he said this to him:

Go and marry a woman of promiscuity,  *

and have children of promiscuity,

for the land is committing blatant acts of promiscuity

by abandoning the  Lord.

2 Rebuke your mother; rebuke her.  *

For she is not my wife and I am not her husband.  *

Let her remove the promiscuous look from her face  *

and her adultery from between her breasts.

36 This is what the Lord God says: Because your lust was poured out and your nakedness exposed by your acts of prostitution with your lovers, and because of all your detestable idols and the blood of your children that you gave to them,  *37 I am therefore going to gather all the lovers you pleased  *  — all those you loved as well as all those you hated. I will gather them against you from all around and expose your nakedness  * to them so they see you completely naked.

17 But the Lord struck Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues because of Abram’s wife, Sarai.  *18 So Pharaoh sent for Abram and said, "What have you done to me? Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife?

1 Abram’s wife, Sarai, had not borne any children for him, but she owned an Egyptian slave named Hagar. 2 Sarai said to Abram, "Since the Lord has prevented me from bearing children, go to my slave; perhaps through her I can build a family." And Abram agreed to what Sarai said.  *3 So Abram’s wife, Sarai, took Hagar, her Egyptian slave, and gave her to her husband, Abram, as a wife for him. This happened after Abram had lived in the land of Canaan ten years.

10 The Lord said, "I will certainly come back to you in about a year’s time, and your wife Sarah will have a son! "  * Now Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent behind him.

11 Abraham and Sarah were old and getting on in years.  * Sarah had passed the age of childbearing.  *12 So she laughed to herself: "After I am worn out and my lord is old, will I have delight? "  *

9 But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his, so whenever he slept with his brother’s wife, he released his semen on the ground so that he would not produce offspring for his brother. 10 What he did was evil in the Lord’s sight, so he put him to death also.

24 Then David comforted  * his wife Bathsheba; he went to her and slept with her. She gave birth to a son and named  * him Solomon.  *,* The Lord loved him,

21 However, Abijah grew strong, acquired fourteen wives, and fathered twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters.