86 Bible Verses about Wives

Most Relevant Verses

Proverbs 31:10-31

A woman of excellence, who will find? For her worth [is] far more than precious jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and gain he will not lack. She does him good, but not harm all the days of her life.read more.
She seeks wool and flax, and she works with the diligence of {her hands}. She is like the ships of a merchant; from far off she brings her food; And she arises while [it is] still night, and gives food to her household, and tasks to her servant girls. She considers a field and buys it, from the fruit of {her hand} she plants a vineyard. She girds her waist in strength, and makes her arms strong. She perceives that her merchandise [is] good; her lamp does not go out in the night. Her hands she puts onto the distaff, and her palms hold a spindle. Her palm she opens to the poor, and her hand she reaches [out] to the needy. She does not fear for her house [when] it snows, for {her entire household} is clothed [in] crimson. She makes for herself coverings; her clothing [is] fine linen and purple. Her husband is known at the gates, in his seat among the elders of the land. Linen garments she makes and sells, and she supplies sashes for the merchants. Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs {at the future}. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and instruction of kindness [is] upon her tongue. She looks after the ways of her household, and the bread of idleness she will not eat. Her children rise and consider her happy, her husband [also], and he praises her; "Many daughters have done excellence, but {you surpass} all of them." Charm [is] deceit and beauty [is] vain; [but] a woman who fears Yahweh shall be praised. Give to her from the fruit of her hand, and may they praise her works in the city gates.

Esther 1:17

For this deed of the queen {will be known} to all the women, causing them {to look with contempt on their husbands}, as they will say, 'King Ahasuerus commanded Queen Vashti to be brought before him but she did not come!'

Esther 1:20

And let the king's decree that he will make be proclaimed in all his kingdom, because it [is] vast and all the women will honor their husbands, great and small."

Exodus 21:5

But if the slave explicitly says, "I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,"

Deuteronomy 13:6-10

"If your brother, the son of your mother or your son or your daughter {or your wife whom you embrace} or {your intimate friend} in secrecy {says}, 'Let us go and let us serve other gods!' [gods] that you and your ancestors have not known, from [among] the gods of the people who are around you, {those near you or those far from you}, from [one] end of the earth and up to the [other] end of the earth, you must not give in to him, and you shall not listen to him, and your eye shall not take pity on him, and you shall not have compassion, and you shall not cover [up] for him.read more.
But you shall certainly kill him; your hand shall be first against him to kill him and next the hand of all [of] the people. And you shall stone him with stones and let him die, for he tried to seduce you from Yahweh your God, the [one] bringing you from [the] land of Egypt, from the house of slavery.

Genesis 2:23-24

And the man said, "{She is now} bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh; {she} shall be called 'Woman,' for {she was taken} from man." Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall cling to his wife, and they shall be as one flesh.

Malachi 2:15

{Did not one God make them?} But a remnant of [the] spirit is his. And what does the one [God] desire? An offspring of God. {You must be attentive to} your spirit, and you must not be unfaithful to the wife of your youth.

Matthew 19:4-6

And he answered [and] said, "Have you not read that the one who created [them] from the beginning made them male and female and said, 'On account of this a man will leave his father and his mother and will be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, man must not separate."

Mark 10:6-9

But from the beginning of creation 'he made them male and female. Because of this a man will leave his father and mother and will be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh,' so that they are no longer two but one flesh.read more.
Therefore what God has joined together, man must not separate."

Genesis 2:20-22

And the man {gave names} to every domesticated animal and to the birds of heaven and to all the wild animals. But for [the] man there was not found a helper {as his counterpart}. And Yahweh God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man. While he slept, he took one of his ribs, and closed up {the flesh where it had been}. And Yahweh God fashioned the rib which he had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man.

Deuteronomy 7:3-4

And you shall not intermarry with them; you shall not give your daughter to their son; and you shall not take his daughter for your son. For their sons and daughters will cause your son to turn away {from following me}, and [so] they will serve other gods, and {the anger of Yahweh would be kindled} against you, and he would quickly destroy you.

Exodus 34:16

and you take from their daughters for your sons, and their daughters prostitute [themselves] after their gods, and they cause your sons to prostitute [themselves] after their gods.

Joshua 23:12-13

for if indeed you turn back and join these remaining nations {among you}, and you intermarry with them, {marrying their women and they yours}, know for certain that Yahweh your God {will not continue to drive out} these nations from before you; they will be for you a snare and a trap, a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land that Yahweh your God has given to you.

Ephesians 5:22-24

--wives to their own husbands as to the Lord, because [the] husband is [the] head of the wife, as also Christ [is the] head of the church (he himself [being the] Savior of the body). But as the church is subject to Christ, thus also wives [should be subject] to their husbands in everything.

1 Peter 3:1-6

In the same way, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some are disobedient to the word, they may be won over without a word by the conduct of their wives, [when they] see your respectful, pure conduct. Let your adornment not be the external [kind], braiding hair and putting on gold jewelry or putting on [fine] clothing,read more.
but the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable [quality] of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is highly valuable in the sight of God. For in the [same] way formerly the holy women also, who hoped in God, used to adorn themselves [by] being subject to their own husbands, like Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose children you have become [when you] do good and are not frightened with respect to any terror.

Titus 2:4-5

in order that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands [and to] love their children, [to be] self-controlled, pure, busy at home, good, being subject to their own husbands, in order that the word of God may not be slandered.

Numbers 5:11-31

Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, "Speak to the {Israelites} and say to them, 'If any man's wife goes astray and acts unfaithfully to him, and a man sleeps with her and ejaculates and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband and she is concealed, although she is defiled, and there is no witness against her and she was not caught,read more.
if a spirit of jealousy comes over him, and he is jealous [of] his wife and she is defiled; or if a spirit of jealousy comes over him and he is jealous [of] his wife but she is not defiled, he will bring his wife to the priest. And he will bring her offering for her, one-tenth of an ephah of flour. He will not pour oil on it, and he will not put frankincense on it because [it is] a grain offering of jealousy, a grain offering of remembering, a reminding of guilt. " 'Then the priest will bring her near and present her {before} Yahweh; the priest will take holy waters in a clay vessel, and from the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle, and the priest will put [it] into the waters. And the priest will present the woman {before} Yahweh, and he will uncover the head of the woman; he will then put in her hands the grain offering of the remembering--[which is] the grain offering of jealousy--and in the hand of the priest will be the waters of bitterness that brings a curse. Then the priest will make her swear an oath, and he will say to the woman, "If a man has not slept with you, and if you have not had an impurity affair under your husband, go unpunished from the waters of bitterness that brings this curse. But if you have had an affair under your husband, and if you are defiled and a man other than your husband had intercourse with you," the priest will make the woman swear an oath of the sworn oath of the curse, the priest will say to the woman, "May Yahweh give you a curse and a sworn oath in the midst of your people with Yahweh making your hip fall away and your stomach swollen; and these waters that bring a curse will go into your intestines to cause [your] womb to swell and to make [your] hip fall away." And the women will say, "Amen. Amen." " 'And the priests will write these curses on the scroll, and he will wipe [them] off into the waters of the bitterness. He will make the woman drink the waters of the bitterness that brings a curse, and the waters of bitterness that bring a curse will go into her. The priest will take the grain offering of jealousy from the hand of the woman, and he will wave the grain offering {before Yahweh}, and he will present it to the altar; the priest will grasp her memorial offering from the grain offering, and he will turn [it] into smoke [on] the altar, and afterward he will make the woman drink the waters. When he has made her drink the waters, it will come about, if she has defiled herself and acted unfaithfully to her husband and the waters of bitterness that bring a curse go into her and her stomach swells and her hip falls away, the woman will be as a curse in the midst of her people. And if the woman is not defiled, and she [is] pure, she will go unpunished and be able to conceive children. " 'This [is] the regulation of jealousy, when a woman has an affair under her husband and she is defiled, or when a spirit of jealousy comes over a man and he is jealous [of] his wife, he will present the woman {before Yahweh},and the priest will do to her all of this law. The man will go unpunished from guilt, and the woman, she will bear her guilt.'"

Proverbs 23:27

For a deep pit is a prostitute, and a narrow well is {an adulteress}.

Matthew 14:3-4

For Herod, [after] arresting John, bound him and put [him] in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because John had been saying to him, "It is not permitted for you to have her."

Mark 6:17-18

For Herod himself had sent [and] arrested John and bound him in prison because of Herodias, the wife of Philip his brother, because he had married her. For John had been saying to Herod, "It is not permitted for you to have your brother's wife."

Mark 10:12

And if she divorces her husband [and] marries another, she commits adultery."

Luke 3:19

But Herod the tetrarch, who had been reproved by him concerning Herodias, his brother's wife, and concerning all the evil deeds that Herod had done,

1 Corinthians 7:39-40

A wife is bound for as long a time [as] her husband lives. But if her husband {dies}, she is free to marry whomever she wishes, only in the Lord. But she is happier if she remains thus, according to my opinion--and I think I have the Spirit of God.

1 Corinthians 7:8-9

Now I say to the unmarried and to the widows: [It is] good for them if they remain as I [am]. But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn [with sexual desire].

Genesis 18:9-15

And they said to him, "Where [is] Sarah your wife?" And he said, "Here, in the tent." And he said, "I will certainly return to you {in the spring}, and look, Sarah your wife [will have] a son." Now Sarah [was] listening at the doorway of the tent, and which [was] behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah [were] old, {advanced in age}; {the way of women} had ceased to be for Sarah.read more.
So Sarah laughed to herself saying, "After I am worn out and my husband is old, shall [this] pleasure be to me?" Then Yahweh said to Abraham, "What [is] this [that] Sarah laughed, saying, 'Is it indeed true [that] I will bear a child, now [that] I have grown old?' Is anything too difficult for Yahweh? At the appointed time I will return to you {in the spring} and Sarah [shall have] a son." But Sarah denied [it], saying, "I did not laugh," because she was afraid. He said, "No, but you did laugh."

Judges 13:2-5

There was a certain man from Zorah, from the tribe of the Danites, and his name [was] Manoah; his wife [was] infertile and did not bear children. And an angel of Yahweh appeared to the woman, and he said to her, "Behold, you [are] infertile and have not borne [children], but you will conceive and bear a son. So then, be careful and do not drink wine or strong drink, and do not eat anything unclean,read more.
because you [will] conceive and bear a son. No razor {will touch} his head, because the boy will be a {Nazirite of God} {from birth}. And it is he who will begin to deliver Israel from [the] hand of [the] Philistines."

1 Samuel 1:9-20

Then Hannah got up after eating and drinking at Shiloh. (Now Eli the priest [was] sitting on his chair by the doorpost of the temple of Yahweh.) She [was] {deeply troubled}, so she prayed to Yahweh and wept bitterly. She {made a vow} and said: "O Yahweh of hosts, if you will look with compassion on the misery of your female servant, and will remember me, and not forget your female servant, and will give to your female servant {a male child} then I will give him to Yahweh all the days of his life, and a razor will never pass over his head."read more.
{While} she continued to pray before Yahweh, Eli was observing her mouth. Now Hannah had been speaking in her heart; her lips [were] moving, but her voice could not be heard, so Eli considered her [to be] drunk. Then Eli said to her, "How long will you behave like someone [who is] drunk? Put away your wine!" But Hannah answered and said, "No, my lord. I am a woman {deeply distressed}, but I have not drunk wine [or] strong drink. [Rather], I have poured out my soul before Yahweh. Do not regard your female servant as {worthless}, but because of the extent of my worries and my provocation I have spoken all of this." Then Eli answered and said, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant your request that you have asked of him." And she said, "May your female slave find favor in your sight." Then the woman went on her way and ate [something], and {her face did not look sad any longer}. Then they rose early in the morning and worshiped before Yahweh {and returned} to their house at Ramah. Then Elkanah {had sexual relations with} Hannah his wife, and Yahweh remembered her. {In due time}, Hannah conceived and gave birth to a son. She called his name Samuel, for [she said], "I requested him from Yahweh."

Luke 1:5-25

It happened that in the days of Herod, king of Judea, [there was] a certain priest, Zechariah by name, of the division of Abijah. And {he had a wife} from the daughters of Aaron, and her name [was] Elizabeth. And they were both righteous in the sight of God, living blamelessly in all the commandments and regulations of the Lord. And {they did not have} a child, because Elizabeth was barren. And they were both advanced {in years}.read more.
And it happened that [while] he was serving as priest before God in the order of his division, according to the custom of the priesthood he was chosen by lot to enter into the temple of the Lord to burn incense. And the whole crowd of the people were praying outside at the hour of the incense offering. And an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. And Zechariah was terrified [when he] saw [the angel], and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will call his name John. And {you will experience joy and exultation}, and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he must never drink wine or beer, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit [while he is] still in his mother's womb. And he will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God. And he will go on before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous, to prepare for the Lord a people made ready." And Zechariah said to the angel, "By what will I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced {in years}!" And the angel answered [and] said to him, "I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to announce to you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and not able to speak until the day these [things] take place, {because} you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time." And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and began to wonder [when] he was delayed in the temple. And [when he] came out he was not able to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them, and remained unable to speak. And it happened that when the days of his service came to an end, he went away to his home. Now after these days, his wife Elizabeth conceived, and she kept herself in seclusion [for] five months, saying, "Thus the Lord has done for me in the days in which he has concerned himself with [me], to take away my disgrace among people."

1 Samuel 19:11-17

Then Saul sent messengers to David's house to guard him and to kill him in the morning, but Michal his wife told David, saying, "If {you do not save your life} tonight, [then] tomorrow you [will be] killed!" So Michal lowered David through the window, and he went and fled and escaped. Then Michal took the household god and put it on the bed and put a quilt of goat's hair at its head and covered [it] with the clothes.read more.
And Saul sent messengers to arrest David, but she said, "He [is] ill." So Saul sent the messengers to see David, saying, "Bring him up to me in the bed, so that I can kill him." When the messengers came, {to their surprise} the idol [was] on the bed [with] the quilt of goat's hair at the head. Then Saul said to Michal, "Why have you deceived me like this and sent away my enemy, so that he escaped?" Michal said to Saul, "He said to me, 'Let me go, why should I kill you?'"

1 Samuel 25:14-35

But a young man of the servants told Abigail, Nabal's wife, saying, "Look, David sent messengers from the desert to greet our master, but he addressed them angrily, even though the men [were] very good to us; we were not mistreated and did not miss anything all the days we went about with them {while we were} in the field. They were a wall to us both night and day, all {the days we were} with them keeping the sheep.read more.
And so then, know and {consider} what you should do, for evil has been decided against our master and against all his household, and he [is such] {a wicked man}, {nobody can reason with him}!" Then Abigail {quickly took} two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five prepared sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred raisin cakes, and two hundred fig cakes, and she put [them] on the donkeys. Then she said to her servants, "Go ahead before me; look, I am coming after you," but she did not tell her husband Nabal. {And then}, [as] she [was] riding on the donkey and [was] going down the ravine of the mountain, David and his men [were] coming down to meet her, and she met them. Now David had said, "Surely {in vain} I guarded all that this fellow had in the desert. And nothing was missed of all that [was] his, but he returned evil against me in place of good! {May God severely punish the enemies of David} and again do thus if I leave behind {anything that is his} until the morning, [not even] {one male}!" When Abigail saw David, she hurried and got down from the donkey and fell on her face before {David's anger}, and she bowed down to the ground. She fell at his feet and said, "On me, my lord, [be] the guilt! Please let your female servant speak {to you personally}! Hear the words of your female servant! Please do not let my lord set his heart against {this worthless man}, Nabal; for as his name, so [is] he. Nabal [is] his name, and stupidity [is] with him! But I, your female servant, did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent. So then, my lord, {as Yahweh lives and as your soul lives}, since Yahweh restrained you from bloodguilt {by taking matters into your own hand}, so then, may your enemies be like Nabal, even {those who seek to do my lord harm}. So then, this gift which your female servant has brought to my lord, may it be given to the young men {who follow my lord}. Please forgive the transgression of your female servant, because Yahweh will certainly make a lasting house for my lord, because my lord [is] fighting the battles of Yahweh, and evil will not be found in you {as long as you live}. Should a man arise to pursue you and to seek your life, may the life of my lord be wrapped in the pouch of the living with Yahweh your God. But as for the life of your enemy, he will sling it from within the pocket of the sling! {And then} when Yahweh has done for my lord according to all the good that he has spoken concerning you, and has appointed you as leader over Israel, then this will not be an obstacle for you or a stumbling block of conscience for my lord [either] by the shedding of blood without cause or by {my lord taking matters into his own hands}. And when Yahweh does good to my lord, then remember your female servant." Then David said to Abigail, "Blessed be Yahweh the God of Israel who has sent you this day to meet me! And blessed be your discretion, and blessed be you who have prevented me this day from bloodguilt and [from] delivering myself by my own hand. But {as Yahweh lives}, the God of Israel who has prevented me from harming you, if you had not hurried and come to meet me, surely there would not have been {one male} left alive for Nabal by the light of morning!" Then David took from her hand what she had brought for him, and he said to her, "Go up to your house in peace. See, I have listened to your voice, and I have {granted your request}."

Titus 2:3-5

Older women likewise [are to be] reverent in [their] behavior, not slanderous, not enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, in order that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands [and to] love their children, [to be] self-controlled, pure, busy at home, good, being subject to their own husbands, in order that the word of God may not be slandered.

Matthew 27:19

And [while] he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent [a message] to him, saying, "{Have nothing to do with that righteous man}, for I have suffered much as a result of a dream today because of him.")

Judges 13:22-23

And Manoah said to his wife, "We will certainly die because we have seen God." But his wife said to him, "If Yahweh wanted to kill us he would not have taken from our hand the burnt offering and the grain offering, or shown us all these things, or now announced to us things such as these."

Daniel 5:10-12

Because of the words of the king and his lords, the queen came into {the banqueting hall} and the queen {spoke up} and said, "O king, live {forever}, and let not your thoughts terrify you and [do] not let your facial expressions {grow pale}. There is a man in your kingdom {who has the spirit of the holy gods in him}. And in the days of your {predecessor}, enlightenment and insight and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods was found in him; and, O king, Nebuchadnezzar your {predecessor} appointed him [as] chief of the magicians, the conjurers, the {astrologers}, [and] the diviners. Your {predecessor} the king [did this] {because} [there] was found in him [an] excellent spirit and understanding and insight [for] interpreting dreams and explaining riddles and solving riddles; [that is], in Daniel {whom the king named} Belteshazzar. Now, let Daniel be called and he will tell the explanation."

Genesis 3:8-12

Then they heard the sound of Yahweh God walking in the garden {at the windy time of day}. And the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Yahweh God among the trees of the garden. And Yahweh God called to the man and said to him, "Where [are] you?" And he replied, "I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid because I [am] naked, so I hid myself."read more.
Then he asked, "Who told you that you [were] naked? Have you eaten from {the tree from which I forbade you to eat}?" And the man replied, "The woman whom you gave [to be] with me--she gave to me from the tree and I ate."

1 Kings 11:3-4

He had seven hundred princesses and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned his heart. It happened at the time of Solomon's old age that his wives guided his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully with Yahweh his God as the heart of David his father [had been].

1 Kings 21:20-26

Then Ahab said to Elijah, "Have you found me, my enemy?" He said, "I have found you because you have sold yourself to do evil in the eyes of Yahweh. 'Look, I [am] bringing disaster on you, and I will sweep away after you. I will cut off for Ahab {every male} in Israel, bond or free. I will make your house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, {because you made me angry} and have caused Israel to sin.'read more.
Moreover, concerning Jezebel, Yahweh has said, 'The dogs will eat Jezebel in the outer rampart of Jezreel.' The one who dies for Ahab in the city, the dogs will eat; the one who dies in the open country, the birds of heaven will eat." Truly, there was no one like Ahab who had sold himself by doing evil in the eyes of Yahweh, whose wife Jezebel urged him on. Also, he acted very abominably by going after idols like all the Amorites had done whom Yahweh had driven out from before the {Israelites}."

Job 2:9

Then his wife said to him, "Are you still persisting in your blamelessness? {Curse} God and die."

Jeremiah 3:20

However, as a wife departs treacherously from her lover, so you have dealt treacherously with me, house of Israel," {declares} Yahweh.

Ezekiel 16:8

" 'And I passed by you, and I saw you, and look, {your time of lovemaking had come}, and [so] I spread out my hem over you, and I covered your nakedness, and I swore to you, and I entered into a covenant with you,' {declares} the Lord Yahweh, 'and {you became mine}.

Isaiah 62:5

For [as] a young man marries a virgin, [so] shall your sons marry you, and [as is the] joy of [the] bridegroom over [the] bride, [so] shall your God rejoice over you.

Jeremiah 2:2

"Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, {saying}, 'Thus says Yahweh, "I remember [concerning] you the loyal love of your childhood, the love of your betrothal-time, your going after me in the desert, in [the] land not sown.

Ezekiel 16:32

O, adulterous woman! In the place of her husband she received strangers.

Hosea 2:2

Plead with your mother, plead-- because she [is] not my wife, and I [am] not her husband. Let her put away her whoring {from before her}, and her adultery from between her breasts.

Ephesians 5:25-27

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for her; in order that he might sanctify her by cleansing [her] with the washing of water by the word; in order that he might present to himself the church glorious, not having a spot or wrinkle or any such [thing], but that she may be holy and blameless.

From Thematic Bible


Counsel » Wives » Examples of

2 Kings 4:8-10

It happened one day that Elisha passed through to Shunem where there [was] a wealthy woman, and she urged him to eat bread; so it happened each time he passed through, he would stop there to eat. She said to her husband, "Please now, I know that he [is] a holy man of God who is passing {our way} regularly; let us make a small enclosed room [upstairs] and put a bed, table, chair, and lampstand there for him, so that when he comes to us, he can turn and stay there.

Matthew 27:19

And [while] he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent [a message] to him, saying, "{Have nothing to do with that righteous man}, for I have suffered much as a result of a dream today because of him.")

Judges 13:22-23

And Manoah said to his wife, "We will certainly die because we have seen God." But his wife said to him, "If Yahweh wanted to kill us he would not have taken from our hand the burnt offering and the grain offering, or shown us all these things, or now announced to us things such as these."

Daniel 5:10-12

Because of the words of the king and his lords, the queen came into {the banqueting hall} and the queen {spoke up} and said, "O king, live {forever}, and let not your thoughts terrify you and [do] not let your facial expressions {grow pale}. There is a man in your kingdom {who has the spirit of the holy gods in him}. And in the days of your {predecessor}, enlightenment and insight and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods was found in him; and, O king, Nebuchadnezzar your {predecessor} appointed him [as] chief of the magicians, the conjurers, the {astrologers}, [and] the diviners. Your {predecessor} the king [did this] {because} [there] was found in him [an] excellent spirit and understanding and insight [for] interpreting dreams and explaining riddles and solving riddles; [that is], in Daniel {whom the king named} Belteshazzar. Now, let Daniel be called and he will tell the explanation."

Duty » To brethren » Wives

Esther 1:20

And let the king's decree that he will make be proclaimed in all his kingdom, because it [is] vast and all the women will honor their husbands, great and small."

Kings » Forbidden to multiply » Wives

Deuteronomy 17:17

And he must not {acquire many} wives for himself, so that his heart [would] turn aside; and {he must not accumulate silver and gold for himself excessively}.

Temptation » Yielding to temptation » Idolatry » Solomon » Influence » Wives

Nehemiah 13:26

Did not King Solomon of Israel sin in this way? And among the many nations there was no king like him, and he was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Yet the foreign women made even him sin.

1 Kings 11:4

It happened at the time of Solomon's old age that his wives guided his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully with Yahweh his God as the heart of David his father [had been].

Wives » Duties of, to their husbands » To be subject to them

Ephesians 5:24

But as the church is subject to Christ, thus also wives [should be subject] to their husbands in everything.

Wives » Good » Duty of, to unbelieving husbands

1 Peter 3:1-2

In the same way, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some are disobedient to the word, they may be won over without a word by the conduct of their wives, [when they] see your respectful, pure conduct.

1 Corinthians 7:13-14

And if any wife has an unbelieving husband and he consents to live with her, she must not divorce her husband. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the brother, since otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy.

Wives » Good » Are a blessing to husbands

Wives » Not to be selected from among the unGodly

Genesis 26:34

And [when] Esau was forty years old he took as wife Judith, daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath, daughter of Elon the Hittite.

Genesis 28:1

Then Isaac called Jacob and blessed him. And he instructed him and said to him, "You must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.

Genesis 24:3

that I may make you swear by Yahweh, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose midst I am dwelling,

Wives » Duties of, to their husbands » To be faithful to them

1 Corinthians 7:3-5

The husband must fulfill his obligation to his wife, and likewise also the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but her husband [does]. And likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but his wife [does]. Do not defraud one another, except perhaps by agreement, for a time, in order that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and [then] you should be {together} again, lest Satan tempt you because of your lack of self control.

Wives » Duties of, to their husbands » To obey them

1 Corinthians 14:34

the women must be silent in the churches, for it is not permitted for them to speak, but they must be in submission, just as the law also says.

Titus 2:5

[to be] self-controlled, pure, busy at home, good, being subject to their own husbands, in order that the word of God may not be slandered.

Wives » Should be adorned » With good works

1 Timothy 5:10

being well-attested by good works, if she has brought up children, if she has shown hospitality, if she has washed the feet of the saints, if she has helped those who are oppressed, if she has devoted herself to every good work.

Wives » Should be adorned » Not with ornaments

Wives » Good » Should be silent in the churches

1 Corinthians 14:34

the women must be silent in the churches, for it is not permitted for them to speak, but they must be in submission, just as the law also says.

Wives » Should seek religious instruction from their husbands

Wives » Good--exemplified » Orpah and ruth

Ruth 1:8

But Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, "Go, each [of you] return to her mother's house. May Yahweh {show kindness to you} [just] as you did with the dead and with me.

Ruth 1:4

And {they took} for themselves Moabite wives. The name of the one [was] Orpah and the name of the other [was] Ruth. And they lived there about ten years.

Wives » Good » Are diligent and prudent

Proverbs 31:13-27

She seeks wool and flax, and she works with the diligence of {her hands}. She is like the ships of a merchant; from far off she brings her food; And she arises while [it is] still night, and gives food to her household, and tasks to her servant girls. read more.
She considers a field and buys it, from the fruit of {her hand} she plants a vineyard. She girds her waist in strength, and makes her arms strong. She perceives that her merchandise [is] good; her lamp does not go out in the night. Her hands she puts onto the distaff, and her palms hold a spindle. Her palm she opens to the poor, and her hand she reaches [out] to the needy. She does not fear for her house [when] it snows, for {her entire household} is clothed [in] crimson. She makes for herself coverings; her clothing [is] fine linen and purple. Her husband is known at the gates, in his seat among the elders of the land. Linen garments she makes and sells, and she supplies sashes for the merchants. Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs {at the future}. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and instruction of kindness [is] upon her tongue. She looks after the ways of her household, and the bread of idleness she will not eat.

Wives » Bad--exemplified » Samson's wife

Judges 14:15-17

When it was the fourth day, they said to Samson's wife, "Entice your husband and tell us the riddle, or we will burn you and your father's house with fire. Have you invited us to rob us?" And Samson's wife wept before him, and she said, "You must hate me; you do not love me. You told the riddle to {my people}, but you have not explained [it] to me." He said to her, "I have not explained [it] to my father and mother. [Why] should I explain it to you?" She wept before him the seven days of their feast; and it happened, because she nagged him, on the seventh day he explained [it] to her, and she told the riddle to {her people}.

Wives » Duties of, to their husbands » To reverence them

Wives » Good--exemplified » Esther

Esther 2:15-17

When the turn came near for Esther daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai, who had taken [her] as a daughter, to go to the king, she did not ask anything except what Hegai the eunuch of the king who was in charge of the women, advised. And Esther carried favor in the eyes of everyone that saw her. Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus, to his {palace}, in the tenth month that is Tebeth in the seventh year of his reign. And the king loved Esther more than all the women, and she won his favor and loyalty more than all the virgins, so he put a {royal crown} on her head and made her queen instead of Vashti.

Wives » Good » Are a token of the favor of God

Wives » Good » Secure confidence of husbands

Wives » Good » Are benevolent to the poor

Wives » Good » Bring honor on husbands

Wives » Good » Are praised by husbands

Wives » Good » Are from the lord

Wives » Of ministers should be exemplary

Wives » Should be adorned » With a meek and quiet spirit

1 Peter 3:4-5

but the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable [quality] of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is highly valuable in the sight of God. For in the [same] way formerly the holy women also, who hoped in God, used to adorn themselves [by] being subject to their own husbands,

Wives » Should be adorned » With modesty and sobriety

Wives » Bad--exemplified » Michal

2 Samuel 6:16

It happened that when the ark of Yahweh came [into] the city of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked down through the window and saw King David leaping and dancing before Yahweh, and she despised him in her heart.

Wives » Duties of, to their husbands » To remain with them for life

Romans 7:2-3

For the married woman is bound by law to [her] husband while he lives, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of the husband. Therefore as a result, if she belongs to another man [while] her husband is living, she will be called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress [if she] belongs to another man.

Wives » Good--exemplified » Wife of manoah

Judges 13:10

The woman quickly ran and told her husband, and she said to him, "Look! The man who came to me the [other] day appeared to me."

Wives » Bad--exemplified » Zeresh

Esther 5:14

And Zeresh his wife and all of his friends said to him, "Let them make a gallows fifty cubits high, and in the morning tell the king, "Let them hang Mordecai on it; then go with the king to the banquet happily." The advice pleased Haman, so he had the gallows made.

Wives » Good--exemplified » Sarah

1 Peter 3:6

like Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose children you have become [when you] do good and are not frightened with respect to any terror.

Wives » Bad--exemplified » Sapphira

Acts 5:1-2

Now a certain man {named} Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and he kept back for himself [some] of the proceeds, and [his] wife was aware of [it]. And he brought a certain part [and] placed [it] at the feet of the apostles.

Wives » Duties of, to their husbands » To love them

Wives » Bad--exemplified » Herodias

Mark 6:17

For Herod himself had sent [and] arrested John and bound him in prison because of Herodias, the wife of Philip his brother, because he had married her.

Wives » Bad--exemplified » Job's wife

Job 2:9

Then his wife said to him, "Are you still persisting in your blamelessness? {Curse} God and die."

Topics on Wives

Bad Wives Examples

Judges 14:15-17

When it was the fourth day, they said to Samson's wife, "Entice your husband and tell us the riddle, or we will burn you and your father's house with fire. Have you invited us to rob us?"

David's Wives

1 Samuel 25:39-42

When David heard that Nabal had died, he said, "Blessed be Yahweh who has vindicated the case of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and he has kept back his servant from evil; but Yahweh has returned the evil of Nabal on his [own] head." Then David sent and spoke with Abigail to take her for his wife.

Good Wives Examples

Judges 13:10

The woman quickly ran and told her husband, and she said to him, "Look! The man who came to me the [other] day appeared to me."

Named Wives

1 Samuel 14:50

The name of Saul's wife [was] Ahinoam the daughter of Ahimaaz, and the name of the commander of his army [was] Abner, the son of Ner, Saul's uncle.

Other Wives

Genesis 7:13

On this same day, Noah, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and the wife of Noah and the three wives of his sons with them, went into the ark,

Transferring Wives

Jeremiah 5:8

They were well-fed lusty horses, they neighed each to the wife of his neighbor.

Wives For Benjamin

Judges 21:1

The men of Israel had sworn at Mizpah, saying, "None of us will give his daughter to Benjamin as a wife."

Wives, Dress

1 Timothy 2:9-10

Likewise also the women should adorn themselves in appropriate clothing, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold jewelry or pearls or expensive clothing,

Wives, Duties Of

Genesis 24:3

that I may make you swear by Yahweh, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites in whose midst I am dwelling,

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