What Does the Bible Say About Adultery?

Much is written in the Bible on the subject of adultery. In fact, God sees this sin as so serious that it is one of the Ten Commandments. For example, in Exodus 20:14, it says, "You shall not commit adultery." The Ten Commandments in the Bible are pretty clear when it comes to right and wrong, so there is not much room for interpretation. The Bible also tells many stories of leaders who were once mighty heroes for God yet were destroyed or rendered ineffective because of adultery. Let's look a little further and examine what the Bible tells us on the subject of adultery.

There are many examples in the Bible where adultery led to other sins. For example, in 2 Samuel (chapters 11-12), the Bible tells us the story of when King David had an affair with a married woman named Bathsheba. Eventually, David found out that Bathsheba was pregnant with his child, so in order for him to cover up his sin, he tried to make Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah, go home and sleep with her – so that Uriah would think that the child was his. This did not work, however, so eventually David had Uriah killed on the battlefield. Among the sins that David committed, you’ll notice immediately that he broke three of the Ten Commandments: David covets his neighbor’s wife (Exodus 20:17), commits adultery (Exodus 20:14), and then commits murder (Exodus 20:13) by having Uriah killed on the battlefield.

Adultery can lead to more sins. For example, the Bible tells us in Proverbs 6:34 how a husband might react to another man if his wife commits adultery with him: "For jealousy arouses a husband's fury, and he will show no mercy when he takes revenge.” Think about the stories you hear in the news today, some people murder their spouses so that they can try and continue in their adulterous affair. Additionally, some leaders in high political positions tell many lies to the public in order to cover up their adulterous affairs.

Adultery affects more than just the adulterer. Adultery is one of the grounds for divorce in many different legal systems. It destroys trust in a marriage, and it can permanently scar a marriage even if there was reconciliation. It is preferable that a couple stay together for the sake of children, but the home may never be the same. In most cases, there will be that element of distrust that can take years to heal (if it ever does). This could be why Jesus made an exception with regard to adultery when it came to the forbidden act of divorce. In the Bible, Jesus says in Matthew 5:31-32, "It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery."

The Bible shows where adultery had a negative impact on children. Going back to the example of King David’s affair with Bathsheba (2 Samuel chapters 11-12), after Bathsheba gives birth to a son, the prophet Nathan informs David of his sins and says he will receive three punishments. Two of those punishments applied to his children.

First, in 2 Samuel 12:10 Nathan tells King David, "Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house," which meant that David and his family would encounter much violence in the future. However, before those future events were to happen, one of the other punishments stated that David and Bathsheba would lose the child they had from their adulterous affair (2 Samuel 12:14). After that, the punishment about the “sword never departing” (2 Samuel 12:10) began to apply even more with his other children (Tamar, Absalom, and Amnon).

Amnon raped his half-sister, Tamar, and was then later killed by his half-brother, Absalom, in vengeance. Later, Absalom rebelled against his father King David and drove him out of Jerusalem. During Absalom's short rule over Israel, he had sexual relations with David's concubines to display to the people his rebellion towards his father (2 Samuel 16:21-22). All of the terrible events described above were consequences of one adulterous affair.

Adultery can be a tremendous financial drain on a family. It’s difficult enough taking care of one family without having to entertain an outsider who is more than just a friend. The Bible says in 1 Timothy 5:8, "If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever."