61 Bible Verses about Marriage, Restrictions Concerning

And Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite, whose name was Shuah; and he took her, and went in to her.

And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphnath-paaneah; and he gave him for a wife Asenath the daughter of Poti-pherah priest of On: and Joseph went over all the land of Egypt.

And Moses was content to dwell with the man: and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter.

And the son of an Israelitish woman whose father was an Egyptian, went out among the children of Israel; and this son of the Israelitish woman and a man of Israel strove together in the camp;

And they took to themselves wives of the women of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth: and they dwelt there about ten years.

Now Sheshan had no sons, but daughters. And Sheshan had a servant, an Egyptian, whose name was Jarha. And Sheshan gave his daughter to Jarha his servant for a wife; and she bore him Attai.

And among the sons of the priests there were found that had taken foreign wives: namely, of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren; Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah. And they gave their hands that they would put away their wives; and being guilty, they offered a ram of the flock for their trespass. And of the sons of Immer; Hanani, and Zebadiah.read more.
And of the sons of Harim; Maaseiah, and Elijah, and Shemaiah, and Jehiel, and Uzziah. And of the sons of Pashur; Elioenai, Maaseiah, Ishmael, Nethaneel, Jozabad, and Elasah. Also of the Levites; Jozabad, and Shimei, and Kelaiah (the same is Kelita,) Pethahiah, Judah, and Eliezer. Of the singers also; Eliashib: and of the porters; Shallum, and Telem, and Uri. Moreover, of Israel: of the sons of Parosh; Ramiah, and Jeziah, and Malchiah, and Miamin, and Eleazar, and Malchijah, and Benaiah. And of the sons of Elam; Mattaniah, Zechariah, and Jehiel, and Abdi, and Jeremoth, and Eliah. And of the sons of Zattu; Elioenai, Eliashib, Mattaniah, and Jeremoth, and Zabad, and Aziza. Of the sons also of Bebai; Jehohanan, Hananiah, Zabbai, and Athlai. And of the sons of Bani; Meshullam, Malluch, and Adaiah, Jashub, and Sheal, and Ramoth. And of the sons of Pahath-moab; Adna, and Chelal, Benaiah, Maaseiah, Mattaniah, Bezaleel, and Binnui, and Manasseh. And of the sons of Harim; Eliezer, Ishijah, Malchiah, Shemaiah, Shimeon, Benjamin, Malluch, and Shemariah. Of the sons of Hashum; Mattenai, Mattathah, Zabad, Eliphelet, Jeremai, Manasseh, and Shimei. Of the sons of Bani; Maadai, Amram, and Uel, Benaiah, Bedeiah, Chelluh, Vaniah, Meremoth, Eliashib, Mattaniah, Mattenai, and Jaasau, And Bani, and Binnui, Shimei, And Shelemiah, and Nathan, and Adaiah, Machnadebai, Shashai, Sharai, Azareel, and Shelemiah, Shemariah, Shallum, Amariah, and Joseph. Of the sons of Nebo; Jeiel, Mattithiah, Zabad, Zebina, Jadau, and Joel, Benaiah. All these had taken foreign wives: and some of them had wives by whom they had children.

And thou take of their daughters to thy sons, and their daughters go astray after their gods, and make thy sons go astray after their gods.

Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give to his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take to thy son. For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.

Else if ye do in any wise go back, and cleave to the remnant of these nations, even these that remain among you, and shall make marriages with them, and associate with them, and they with you: Know for a certainty that the LORD your God will no more drive out any of these nations from before you; but they shall be snares and traps to you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until ye perish from off this good land which the LORD your God hath given you.

And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, Hittites, and Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites: And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods.

But king Solomon loved many foreign women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; Of the nations concerning which the LORD said to the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in to you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon cleaved to these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.read more.
For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father. Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. And likewise did he for all his foreign wives, who burnt incense and sacrificed to their gods.

And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshiped him.

Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the LORD whom he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god.

Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass.

Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled to him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very bitterly. And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said to Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have taken foreign wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing.

In those days also I saw Jews that had married wives of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab: And their children spoke half in the speech of Ashdod, and could not speak in the Jews language, but according to the language of each people. And I contended with them, and cursed them, and smote certain of them, and plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, Ye shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor take their daughters to your sons, or for yourselves.read more.
Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? yet among many nations was there no king like him, who was beloved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel: nevertheless even him did outlandish women cause to sin. Shall we then hearken to you to do all this great evil, to transgress against our God in marrying foreign wives?

And that we would not give our daughters to the people of the land, nor take their daughters for our sons:

And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that thou wilt not take a wife for my son of the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I dwell: But thou shalt go to my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.

And Esau was forty years old when he took for a wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite: Who were a grief of mind to Isaac and Rebekah.

And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of my life, because of the daughters of Heth: if Jacob shall take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these who are of the daughters of the land, what good will my life do me?

And Isaac called Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said to him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. Arise, go to Padan-aram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother's father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother's brother.

Then his father and his mother said to him, Is there not a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said to his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.

So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife: and when he went in to her, the LORD gave her conception, and she bore a son.

Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law.

And Ezra the priest stood up, and said to them, Ye have transgressed, and have taken foreign wives to increase the trespass of Israel. Now therefore make confession to the LORD God of your fathers, and do his pleasure: and separate yourselves from the people of the land, and from the foreign wives. Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud voice, As thou hast said, so must we do.read more.
But the people are many, and it is a time of much rain, and we are not able to stand abroad, neither is this a work of one day or two: for we are many that have transgressed in this thing. Let now our rulers of all the congregation stand, and let all them who have taken foreign wives in our cities come at appointed times, and with them the elders of every city, and its judges, until the fierce wrath of our God for this matter shall be turned from us. Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahaziah the son of Tikvah were employed about this matter: and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite helped them. And the children of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest, with certain chief of the fathers, after the house of their fathers, and all of them by their names, were separated, and sat down in the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter. And they made an end with all the men that had taken foreign wives by the first day of the first month.

The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband is dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord.

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

But to the rest I speak, not the Lord, if any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she is pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away. And the woman who hath a husband that believeth not, and if he is pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy.read more.
But if the unbelieving departeth, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases; but God hath called us to peace. For how knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife?

None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their nakedness: I am the LORD. The nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover: she is thy mother, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. The nakedness of thy father's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father's nakedness.read more.
The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father, or daughter of thy mother, whether born at home, or born abroad, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover. The nakedness of thy son's daughter, or of thy daughter's daughter, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover: for theirs is thy own nakedness. The nakedness of thy father's wife's daughter, begotten by thy father, (she is thy sister) thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's sister: she is thy father's near kinswoman. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister: for she is thy mother's near kinswoman. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's brother, thou shalt not approach to his wife: she is thy aunt. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy daughter-in-law: she is thy son's wife, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother's wife: it is thy brother's nakedness. Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, neither shalt thou take her son's daughter, or her daughter's daughter, to uncover her nakedness; for they are her near kinswomen: it is wickedness. Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness besides the other in her life-time.

And the man that lieth with his father's wife hath uncovered his father's nakedness; both of them shall surely be put to death: their blood shall be upon them. And if a man shall lie with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death: they have wrought confusion; their blood shall be upon them.

A man shall not take his father's wife, nor discover his father's skirt.

In thee have they uncovered their fathers' nakedness: in thee have they humbled her that was set apart for pollution. And one hath committed abomination with his neighbor's wife; and another hath lewdly defiled his daughter-in-law; and another in thee hath humbled his sister, his father's daughter.

For Herod had laid hold on John, and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife. For John had said to him, It is not lawful for thee to have her.

For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife: for he had married her. For John had said to Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife.

And yet indeed she is my sister: she is the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.

And I, whither shall I cause my shame to go? and as for thee, thou wilt be as one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, I pray thee, speak to the king; for he will not withhold me from thee.

If brethren shall dwell together, and one of them shall die and have no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry without to a stranger: her husband's brother shall go in to her, and take her to him for a wife, and perform the duty of a husband's brother to her. And it shall be, that the first-born which she beareth, shall succeed in the name of his brother who is dead, that his name may not become extinct in Israel. And if the man shall not like to take his brother's wife, then let his brother's wife go up to the gate to the elders, and say, My husband's brother refuseth to raise up to his brother a name in Israel, he will not perform the duty of my husband's brother.read more.
Then the elders of his city shall call him, and speak to him: and if he shall stand to it, and say, I like not to take her, Then shall his brother's wife come to him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face, and shall answer and say, So shall it be done to that man that will not build up his brother's house. And his name shall be called in Israel, The house of him that hath his shoe loosed.

Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead be not cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of his place: ye are witnesses this day.

And Judah said to Onan, Go in to thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother.

And Naomi said, Turn again, my daughters: why will ye go with me? shall I bear more sons, that they may be your husbands? Turn again, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have a husband. If I should say, I have hope, if I should have a husband also to-night, and should also bear sons; Would ye wait for them till they should be grown? would ye stay for them from having husbands? nay, my daughters; for it grieveth me much for your sakes, that the hand of the LORD has gone out against me.

And he said, Who art thou? And she answered, I am Ruth thy handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over thy handmaid; for thou art a near kinsman.

Then said Boaz, What day thou buyest the field of the hand of Naomi, thou must buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance.

Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man shall die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed to his brother. Now there were with us seven brothers: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased; and having no issue, left his wife to his brother. Likewise the second also, and the third, to the seventh.

Master, Moses wrote to us, If a man's brother shall die, and leave his wife, and leave no children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise seed to his brother. Now there were seven brothers: and the first took a wife, and dying left no seed. And the second took her, and died, neither left he any seed: and the third likewise.read more.
And the seven had her, and left no seed: last of all the woman died also.

Saying, Master, Moses wrote to us, If any man's brother should die, having a wife, and he should die without children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up seed to his brother. There were therefore seven brothers: and the first took a wife, and died without children. And the second took her for a wife, and he died childless.read more.
And the third took her; and in like manner the seven also: And they left no children, and died.

And Onan knew that the seed would not be his: and it came to pass, when he went in to his brother's wife, that he frustrated the purpose, lest he should give seed to his brother.

And the kinsman said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar my own inheritance: redeem thou my right to thyself; for I cannot redeem it.

And if a man shall entice a maid that is not betrothed, and lie with her, he shall surely endow her to be his wife.

If a man shall find a damsel that is a virgin, who is not betrothed, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found; Then the man that lay with her shall give to the damsel's father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife; because he hath humbled her, he may not put her away all his days.

For the woman who hath a husband, is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband is dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then, if while her husband liveth, she is married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband is dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.

The LORD grant you that ye may find rest, each of you in the house of her husband. Then she kissed them; and they lifted up their voice, and wept.

I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they remain even as I. But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn.

I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give no occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.

Whoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery; and whoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband, committeth adultery.

And I say to you, Whoever shall put away his wife, except for lewdness, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoever marrieth her who is put away, committeth adultery.

And he saith to them, Whoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.

And to the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband: But if she shall depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.

When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it shall come to pass that she findeth no favor in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. And when she hath departed from his house, she may go and be another man's wife. And if the latter husband shall hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house; or if the latter husband shall die, who took her to be his wife;read more.
Her former husband who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the LORD: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.

But I say to you, That whoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of lewdness, causeth her to commit adultery: and whoever shall marry her that is divorced, committeth adultery.

But if the unbelieving departeth, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases; but God hath called us to peace.