31 Bible Verses about Harlots

Most Relevant Verses

Leviticus 19:29

Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute, so that the land does not practice prostitution and become full of lewdness.

Proverbs 7:25

Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways -- do not wander into her pathways;

Proverbs 2:16

to deliver you from the adulteress, from the sexually loose woman who speaks flattering words;

Jeremiah 3:6-9

When Josiah was king of Judah, the Lord said to me, "Jeremiah, you have no doubt seen what wayward Israel has done. You have seen how she went up to every high hill and under every green tree to give herself like a prostitute to other gods. Yet even after she had done all that, I thought that she might come back to me. But she did not. Her sister, unfaithful Judah, saw what she did. She also saw that I gave wayward Israel her divorce papers and sent her away because of her adulterous worship of other gods. Even after her unfaithful sister Judah had seen this, she still was not afraid, and she too went and gave herself like a prostitute to other gods.read more.
Because she took her prostitution so lightly, she defiled the land through her adulterous worship of gods made of wood and stone.

Deuteronomy 23:18

You must never bring the pay of a female prostitute or the wage of a male prostitute into the temple of the Lord your God in fulfillment of any vow, for both of these are abhorrent to the Lord your God.

Deuteronomy 23:17-18

There must never be a sacred prostitute among the young women of Israel nor a sacred male prostitute among the young men of Israel. You must never bring the pay of a female prostitute or the wage of a male prostitute into the temple of the Lord your God in fulfillment of any vow, for both of these are abhorrent to the Lord your God.

Isaiah 57:3

But approach, you sons of omen readers, you offspring of adulteresses and prostitutes!

Jeremiah 3:6

When Josiah was king of Judah, the Lord said to me, "Jeremiah, you have no doubt seen what wayward Israel has done. You have seen how she went up to every high hill and under every green tree to give herself like a prostitute to other gods.

Jeremiah 5:7

The Lord asked, "How can I leave you unpunished, Jerusalem? Your people have rejected me and have worshiped gods that are not gods at all. Even though I supplied all their needs, they were like an unfaithful wife to me. They went flocking to the houses of prostitutes.

Hosea 2:5

For their mother has committed adultery; she who conceived them has acted shamefully. For she said, "I will seek out my lovers; they are the ones who give me my bread and my water, my wool, my flax, my olive oil, and my wine.

Hosea 4:12

They consult their wooden idols, and their diviner's staff answers with an oracle. The wind of prostitution blows them astray; they commit spiritual adultery against their God.

Ezekiel 23:5

"Oholah engaged in prostitution while she was mine. She lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians -- warriors

Amos 8:14

These are the ones who now take oaths in the name of the sinful idol goddess of Samaria. They vow, 'As surely as your god lives, O Dan,' or 'As surely as your beloved one lives, O Beer Sheba!' But they will fall down and not get up again."

Micah 1:7

All her carved idols will be smashed to pieces; all her metal cult statues will be destroyed by fire. I will make a waste heap of all her images. Since she gathered the metal as a prostitute collects her wages, the idols will become a prostitute's wages again."

Revelation 17:5-7

On her forehead was written a name, a mystery: "Babylon the Great, the Mother of prostitutes and of the detestable things of the earth." I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of those who testified to Jesus. I was greatly astounded when I saw her. But the angel said to me, "Why are you astounded? I will interpret for you the mystery of the woman and of the beast with the seven heads and ten horns that carries her.

Jeremiah 3:3

That is why the rains have been withheld, and the spring rains have not come. Yet in spite of this you are obstinate as a prostitute. You refuse to be ashamed of what you have done.

Proverbs 9:14-18

So she sits at the door of her house, on a seat at the highest point of the city, calling out to those who are passing by her in the way, who go straight on their way. "Whoever is simple, let him turn in here," she says to those who lack understanding.read more.
"Stolen waters are sweet, and food obtained in secret is pleasant!" But they do not realize that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of the grave.

Proverbs 7:12

at one time outside, at another in the wide plazas, and by every corner she lies in wait.)

Amos 2:7

They trample on the dirt-covered heads of the poor; they push the destitute away. A man and his father go to the same girl; in this way they show disrespect for my moral purity.

Exodus 34:15-16

Be careful not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to their gods, and someone invites you, you will eat from his sacrifice; and you then take his daughters for your sons, and when his daughters prostitute themselves to their gods, they will make your sons prostitute themselves to their gods as well.

Proverbs 5:3-20

For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey, and her seductive words are smoother than olive oil, but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave.read more.
Lest she should make level the path leading to life, her paths are unstable but she does not know it. So now, children, listen to me; do not turn aside from the words I speak. Keep yourself far from her, and do not go near the door of her house, lest you give your vigor to others and your years to a cruel person, lest strangers devour your strength, and your labor benefit another man's house. And at the end of your life you will groan when your flesh and your body are wasted away. And you will say, "How I hated discipline! My heart spurned reproof! For I did not obey my teachers and I did not heed my instructors. I almost came to complete ruin in the midst of the whole congregation!" Drink water from your own cistern and running water from your own well. Should your springs be dispersed outside, your streams of water in the wide plazas? Let them be for yourself alone, and not for strangers with you. May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in your young wife -- a loving doe, a graceful deer; may her breasts satisfy you at all times, may you be captivated by her love always. But why should you be captivated, my son, by an adulteress, and embrace the bosom of a different woman?

Leviticus 21:9

If a daughter of a priest profanes herself by engaging in prostitution, she is profaning her father. She must be burned to death.

Genesis 38:13-20

Tamar was told, "Look, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep." So she removed her widow's clothes and covered herself with a veil. She wrapped herself and sat at the entrance to Enaim which is on the way to Timnah. (She did this because she saw that she had not been given to Shelah as a wife, even though he had now grown up.) When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute because she had covered her face.read more.
He turned aside to her along the road and said, "Come on! I want to have sex with you." (He did not realize it was his daughter-in-law.) She asked, "What will you give me in exchange for having sex with you?" He replied, "I'll send you a young goat from the flock." She asked, "Will you give me a pledge until you send it?" He said, "What pledge should I give you?" She replied, "Your seal, your cord, and the staff that's in your hand." So he gave them to her and had sex with her. She became pregnant by him. She left immediately, removed her veil, and put on her widow's clothes. Then Judah had his friend Hirah the Adullamite take a young goat to get back from the woman the items he had given in pledge, but Hirah could not find her.

Joshua 2:1-21

Joshua son of Nun sent two spies out from Shittim secretly and instructed them: "Find out what you can about the land, especially Jericho." They stopped at the house of a prostitute named Rahab and spent the night there. The king of Jericho received this report: "Note well! Israelite men have come here tonight to spy on the land." So the king of Jericho sent this order to Rahab: "Turn over the men who came to you -- the ones who came to your house -- for they have come to spy on the whole land!"read more.
But the woman hid the two men and replied, "Yes, these men were clients of mine, but I didn't know where they came from. When it was time to shut the city gate for the night, the men left. I don't know where they were heading. Chase after them quickly, for you have time to catch them!" (Now she had taken them up to the roof and had hidden them in the stalks of flax she had spread out on the roof.) Meanwhile the king's men tried to find them on the road to the Jordan River near the fords. The city gate was shut as soon as they set out in pursuit of them. Now before the spies went to sleep, Rahab went up to the roof. She said to the men, "I know the Lord is handing this land over to you. We are absolutely terrified of you, and all who live in the land are cringing before you. For we heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you left Egypt and how you annihilated the two Amorite kings, Sihon and Og, on the other side of the Jordan. When we heard the news we lost our courage and no one could even breathe for fear of you. For the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on earth below! So now, promise me this with an oath sworn in the Lord's name. Because I have shown allegiance to you, show allegiance to my family. Give me a solemn pledge that you will spare the lives of my father, mother, brothers, sisters, and all who belong to them, and rescue us from death." The men said to her, "If you die, may we die too! If you do not report what we've been up to, then, when the Lord hands the land over to us, we will show unswerving allegiance to you." Then Rahab let them down by a rope through the window. (Her house was built as part of the city wall; she lived in the wall.) She told them, "Head to the hill country, so the ones chasing you don't find you. Hide from them there for three days, long enough for those chasing you to return. Then you can be on your way." The men said to her, "We are not bound by this oath you made us swear unless the following conditions are met: When we invade the land, tie this red rope in the window through which you let us down, and gather together in your house your father, mother, brothers, and all who live in your father's house. Anyone who leaves your house will be responsible for his own death -- we are innocent in that case! But if anyone with you in the house is harmed, we will be responsible. If you should report what we've been up to, we are not bound by this oath you made us swear." She said, "I agree to these conditions." She sent them on their way and then tied the red rope in the window.

Judges 11:1

Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a brave warrior. His mother was a prostitute, but Gilead was his father.

Judges 16:1

Samson went to Gaza. There he saw a prostitute and went in to have sex with her.

Hosea 1:2

When the Lord first spoke through Hosea, he said to him, "Go marry a prostitute who will bear illegitimate children conceived through prostitution, because the nation continually commits spiritual prostitution by turning away from the Lord."

Isaiah 23:15-17

At that time Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, the typical life span of a king. At the end of seventy years Tyre will try to attract attention again, like the prostitute in the popular song: "Take the harp, go through the city, forgotten prostitute! Play it well, play lots of songs, so you'll be noticed!" At the end of seventy years the Lord will revive Tyre. She will start making money again by selling her services to all the earth's kingdoms.

Isaiah 1:21

How tragic that the once-faithful city has become a prostitute! She was once a center of justice, fairness resided in her, but now only murderers.

Isaiah 57:7-9

On every high, elevated hill you prepare your bed; you go up there to offer sacrifices. Behind the door and doorpost you put your symbols. Indeed, you depart from me and go up and invite them into bed with you. You purchase favors from them, you love their bed, and gaze longingly on their genitals. You take olive oil as tribute to your king, along with many perfumes. You send your messengers to a distant place; you go all the way to Sheol.

From Thematic Bible


Harlots » Warnings against

Proverbs 7:10

Suddenly a woman came out to meet him! She was dressed like a prostitute and with secret intent.

Proverbs 2:18

For her house sinks down to death, and her paths lead to the place of the departed spirits.

Proverbs 5:3

For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey, and her seductive words are smoother than olive oil,

Proverbs 6:24

by keeping you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the loose woman.

Harlots » General references to

Deuteronomy 23:18

You must never bring the pay of a female prostitute or the wage of a male prostitute into the temple of the Lord your God in fulfillment of any vow, for both of these are abhorrent to the Lord your God.

Leviticus 21:14

He must not marry a widow, a divorced woman, or one profaned by prostitution; he may only take a virgin from his people as a wife.

Leviticus 19:29

Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute, so that the land does not practice prostitution and become full of lewdness.

Genesis 34:31

But Simeon and Levi replied, "Should he treat our sister like a common prostitute?"

1 Kings 3:16

Then two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.

Women » Harlots » Warnings against

Proverbs 7:10

Suddenly a woman came out to meet him! She was dressed like a prostitute and with secret intent.

Proverbs 2:18

For her house sinks down to death, and her paths lead to the place of the departed spirits.

Proverbs 5:3

For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey, and her seductive words are smoother than olive oil,

Proverbs 6:24

by keeping you from the evil woman, from the smooth tongue of the loose woman.

Women » Harlots » General references to

Deuteronomy 23:18

You must never bring the pay of a female prostitute or the wage of a male prostitute into the temple of the Lord your God in fulfillment of any vow, for both of these are abhorrent to the Lord your God.

Leviticus 21:14

He must not marry a widow, a divorced woman, or one profaned by prostitution; he may only take a virgin from his people as a wife.

Leviticus 19:29

Do not profane your daughter by making her a prostitute, so that the land does not practice prostitution and become full of lewdness.

Genesis 34:31

But Simeon and Levi replied, "Should he treat our sister like a common prostitute?"

1 Kings 3:16

Then two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him.

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