Here is a list of 50 Bible verses where sexual relations or related topics are mentioned, organized by theme, with a summary for each. The Bible presents sexuality as a gift from God, to be enjoyed within the covenant of marriage, while also providing clear warnings against sexual immorality and outlining its severe consequences .
📜 Laws and Prohibitions in the Old Testament
These verses from the Pentateuch establish the foundational laws regarding sexual conduct for the Israelite community.
1. Exodus 20:14 – “You shall not commit adultery.” The fundamental commandment against marital infidelity .
2. Exodus 22:19 – “Whoever has sex with an animal shall surely be put to death.” A prohibition and severe penalty for bestiality .
3. Leviticus 18:6 – “You may not have sex connection with anyone who is a near relation.” The general prohibition against incest .
4. Leviticus 18:7 – “You may not have sex relations with your father or your mother.” A specific prohibition against incest with a parent .
5. Leviticus 18:8 – “You may not have sex relations with your father’s wife.” A prohibition against incest with a stepmother .
6. Leviticus 18:10 – “You may not have sex relations with your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter.” A prohibition against incest with a granddaughter .
7. Leviticus 18:12 – “You may not have sex connection with your father’s sister.” A prohibition against incest with an aunt .
8. Leviticus 18:14 – “You may not have sex relations with the wife of your father’s brother.” A prohibition against incest with an uncle’s wife .
9. Leviticus 18:16 – “You may not have sex relations with your brother’s wife.” A prohibition against incest with a sister-in-law .
10. Leviticus 18:19 – “You may not go near a woman or have sex relations with her when she is unclean.” A prohibition against sexual relations during a woman’s menstrual period .
11. Leviticus 18:20 – “You may not have sex relations with your neighbour’s wife.” A prohibition against adultery with a neighbor’s spouse .
12. Leviticus 18:22 – “You may not have sex relations with men, as you do with women: it is a disgusting thing.” A prohibition against homosexual acts .
13. Leviticus 18:23 – “You may not have sex relations with a beast… it is an unnatural act.” A prohibition against bestiality .
14. Leviticus 19:20 – Regulations concerning sex with a betrothed slave woman .
15. Leviticus 20:10 – “If a man has sex relations with another man’s wife… he and she are certainly to be put to death.” The penalty for adultery .
16. Leviticus 20:11 – “The man who has sex relations with his father’s wife… the two of them are to be put to death.” The penalty for incest with a stepmother .
17. Leviticus 20:12 – “If a man has sex relations with his son’s wife, the two of them are to be put to death.” The penalty for incest with a daughter-in-law .
18. Leviticus 20:13 – “If a man has sex relations with a man… let them be put to death.” The penalty for homosexual acts .
19. Leviticus 20:15 – “If a man has sex relations with a beast, let him be put to death.” The penalty for bestiality .
20. Leviticus 20:17 – “If a man takes his sister… and has sex relations with her… it is an act of shame.” The prohibition and penalty for incest with a sister .
21. Leviticus 20:18 – “If a man has sex relations with a woman at the time when she is unwell…” The prohibition against sex during menstruation .
22. Leviticus 15:18 – “If a man has sex relations with a woman… the two of them will have to be bathed in water.” A law concerning ritual cleansing after sexual relations .
23. Deuteronomy 22:30 – “A man may not take his father’s wife.” A reiteration of the prohibition against incest .
24. Deuteronomy 27:20 – “Cursed is he who has sex relations with his father’s wife.” A curse pronounced on the act of incest with a stepmother .
25. Deuteronomy 27:21 – “Cursed is he who has sex relations with any sort of beast.” A curse pronounced on bestiality .
26. Deuteronomy 27:22 – “Cursed is he who has sex relations with his sister.” A curse pronounced on incest with a sister .
27. Deuteronomy 27:23 – “Cursed is he who has sex relations with his mother-in-law.” A curse pronounced on incest with a mother-in-law .
💞 The Ideal for Marriage
These verses highlight the positive, beautiful, and sacred nature of sexual intimacy within the bounds of marriage.
28. Genesis 2:24 – “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” The foundational verse establishing the marital union .
29. Genesis 2:25 – “Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame.” The pre-fall ideal of vulnerability and intimacy without shame .
30. Song of Solomon 1:2 – “Kiss me and kiss me again, for your love is sweeter than wine.” An example of the passionate, erotic love celebrated in the Song of Solomon .
31. Proverbs 5:18-19 – Advises a man to “rejoice in the wife of your youth… may her breasts satisfy you always.” A positive command to find sexual satisfaction within marriage .
32. 1 Corinthians 7:3-4 – “The husband should fulfill his wife’s sexual needs… The wife gives authority over her body to her husband.” A command for mutual sexual responsibility and selflessness in marriage .
⚠️ Warnings Against Sexual Immorality
The New Testament provides strong warnings against sexual sin, underscoring its spiritual and personal consequences.
33. Matthew 5:28 – “Anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Jesus’ teaching that sin begins in the heart and mind .
34. Romans 1:24-27 – Describes God “giving over” people to their sinful desires, including same-sex relations, as a consequence of idolatry .
35. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 – “Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality… will inherit the kingdom of God.” A warning that unrepentant sexual sin is a barrier to God’s kingdom .
36. 1 Corinthians 6:13 – “The body… is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord.” Clarifies the purpose of the body .
37. 1 Corinthians 6:15-17 – “Should a man take his body, which is part of Christ, and join it to a prostitute? Never!” Highlights the spiritual significance and bonding nature of sex .
38. 1 Corinthians 6:18 – “Flee from sexual immorality… he who sins sexually sins against his own body.” A direct command to avoid sexual sin, which uniquely damages the self .
39. 2 Corinthians 12:21 – Paul’s concern that he will find people who have not repented of their “impurity, sexual sin and debauchery” .
40. Galatians 5:19-21 – Lists “sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery” as “acts of the flesh” that prevent one from inheriting the kingdom of God .
41. Ephesians 5:3 – “But sexual immorality and all impurity… must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.” A command for purity and holiness among believers .
42. Colossians 3:5 – “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion…” .
43. 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 – “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality.” .
44. Hebrews 13:4 – “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.” .
45. Jude 1:7 – Cites the punishment of Sodom and Gomorrah as an example of “sexual immorality” .
📖 Narrative Examples
These verses tell stories about sexual sin, demonstrating its impact and consequences.
46. Genesis 19:5 – “Bring them out to us, that we may have sex with them.” The men of Sodom demand to have sex with Lot’s angelic visitors .
47. Genesis 39:7-12 – Joseph’s refusal to “sleep with” his master’s wife, demonstrating godly resistance to sexual temptation .
48. Judges 19:22 – “Bring out the man who came into your house, that we may have sex with him!” The men of Gibeah make a similar demand to the Levite .
49. Judges 21:11 – “Every male, and every woman who has had sex relations with a man, you are to put to the curse.” A brutal wartime command that distinguishes between virgins and non-virgins .
50. Ezekiel 22:10 – “They have sex with their father’s wife within you.” A prophetic denunciation of incest in Jerusalem .