Hebrews 13:4

Hebrews 13:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.
• New International Version (NIV)Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.

Context of Hebrews 13:4

2Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it. 3Remember those in prison as if you were bound with them, and those who are mistreated as if you were suffering with them. Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers. 5Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.” 6So we say with confidence: “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”

Hebrews 13:4 word by word

Τίμιος ὁ γάμος ἐν πᾶσιν καὶ ἡ κοίτη ἀμίαντος· πόρνους γὰρ καὶ μοιχοὺς κρινεῖ ὁ θεός.¶Read the interlinear

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Marriageγάμοςgamos · weddingG1062
• should be honoredτίμιοςtimios · preciousG5093
• byἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• allπᾶςpas · allG3956
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• marriage bedκοίτηkoitē · bedG2845
• kept undefiledἀμίαντοςamiantos · pureG283
• forγάρgar · forG1063
• Godθεόςtheos · GodG2316
• will judgeκρίνωkrinō · to judgeG2919
• the sexually immoralπόρνοςpornos · sexual sinnerG4205
• adulterersμοιχόςmoichos · adultererG3432

Cross-references for Hebrews 13:4

• Genesis 1:27So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
• Genesis 2:21So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he slept, He took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the area with flesh.
• Leviticus 21:13The woman he marries must be a virgin.
• 2 Kings 22:14So Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam, Achbor, Shaphan, and Asaiah went and spoke to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, the keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the Second District.
• Proverbs 5:15Drink water from your own cistern, and running water from your own well.
• Isaiah 8:3And I had relations with the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. The LORD said to me, “Name him Maher-shalal-hash-baz.
• 1 Corinthians 7:2But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband.
• 1 Corinthians 9:5Have we no right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas?
• 1 Timothy 3:2An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,
• 1 Timothy 5:14So I advise the younger widows to marry, have children, and manage their households, denying the adversary occasion for slander.
• Hebrews 12:16See to it that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his birthright.
• 1 Corinthians 6:9Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual acts,
• Galatians 5:19The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery;
• Ephesians 5:5For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure, or greedy person (that is, an idolater) has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
• Colossians 3:5Put to death, therefore, the components of your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry.
• Revelation 22:15But outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

Commentaries on Hebrews 13:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Marriage is honorable in all - Let this state be highly esteemed as one of God's own instituting, and as highly calculated to produce the best interests of mankind. This may have been said against the opinions of the Essenes, called Therapeutae, who held marriage in little repute, and totally abstained from it themselves as a state of comparative imperfection. At the same time it shows the absurdity of the popish tenet, that marriage in the clergy is both…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Marriage is honorable in all - The object here is to state that “honor” is to be shown to the marriage relation. It is not to be undervalued by the pretence of the superior purity of a state of celibacy, as if marriage were improper for any class of people or any condition of life; and it should not be dishonored by any violation of the marriage contract. The course of things has shown that there was abundant reason for the apostle to assert with…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4To honor marriage means to protect it and see it as very important. Sexually immoral refers to any inappropriate sexual behavior. Adultery breaks the marriage promise by having sexual relations outside the marriage.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. is, &c.--Translate, "Let marriage be treated as honorable": as He 13:5 also is an exhortation. in all--"in the case of all men": "among all." "To avoid fornication let EVERY MAN have his own wife" (1Co 7:2). Judaism and Gnosticism combined were soon about to throw discredit on marriage. The venerable Paphnutius, in the Council of Nice, quoted this verse for the justification of the married state. If one does not himself marry, he should not prevent…Read the comment

Topics related to Hebrews 13:4

• Adultery
• Marriage

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Altar
• Bed
• Continuing
• Entertain
• Forgetful
• Marriage
• Meat
• Restore

Commentaries on Hebrews 13

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings