# Bible verses about faithfulness in marriage > Bible verses about faithfulness in marriage from the World English Bible: one flesh, a well of your own, Malachi's warning, and love that gives itself. Canonical: https://lucernel.com/guides/bible-verses/marriage-faithfulness Last updated: 2026-10-30 Faithfulness in marriage is more than avoiding one act. The Bible talks about delight, honor, kindness and keeping your word. These verses come from the World English Bible, and they are offered whether your marriage is strong, strained or somewhere between. Pray the short prayer at the end. **Hebrews 13:4 is the plainest verse on faithfulness in marriage.** Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the bed be undefiled. The verse asks for honor toward marriage and faithfulness within it, and it ends with a serious warning that God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers. (Hebrews 13:4) ## One flesh from the beginning Genesis 2:24 says that a man leaves his father and mother, joins with his wife, and they become one flesh. Jesus quotes it in Matthew 19 when he is asked about marriage, and he adds that what God has joined together, people should not tear apart. Marriage is described here as a joining, and faithfulness protects that joining. A husband or wife who guards their eyes and thoughts is protecting something real and shared. > Therefore a man will leave his father and his mother, and will join with his wife, and they will be one flesh. > (Genesis 2:24) > He answered, “Haven’t you read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall be joined to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh’? So that they are no more two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, don’t let man tear apart.” > (Matthew 19:4-6) ## Delight in your own Proverbs 5 is a father's advice to his son. He uses the picture of a well and running water, and says the springs should be for yourself alone, not for strangers with you. Then he tells the reader to rejoice in the wife of his youth. The advice is more than a ban. It invites delight in what is yours. In Song of Solomon 8 the bride speaks: set me as a seal on your heart, for love is strong as death, and many waters cannot quench it. Together the passages describe faithfulness as love that chooses the same person again. If lust has been pulling your attention elsewhere, these verses point you back toward the person you promised yourself to. That return can start small: a kind word, a shared meal, a prayer for your spouse. > Drink water out of your own cistern, running water out of your own well. Should your springs overflow in the streets, streams of water in the public squares? Let them be for yourself alone, not for strangers with you. Let your spring be blessed. Rejoice in the wife of your youth. A loving doe and a graceful deer— let her breasts satisfy you at all times. Be captivated always with her love. > (Proverbs 5:15-19) > Set me as a seal on your heart, as a seal on your arm; for love is strong as death. Jealousy is as cruel as Sheol. Its flashes are flashes of fire, a very flame of the LORD. Many waters can’t quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man would give all the wealth of his house for love, he would be utterly scorned. > (Song of Solomon 8:6-7) ## Keeping faith Malachi speaks to men of Judah who have dealt treacherously with the wife of their youth, whom he calls their companion and the wife of their covenant. The LORD is named as witness between them, and the prophet says to take heed to your spirit. The next verse, Malachi 2:16, speaks about divorce and is hard to read quickly. If it weighs on you, bring it to a pastor instead of reading it alone. Hebrews 13:4 puts the same concern in one sentence for the whole church. Marriage is to be honored, and the bed is to be undefiled. > Yet you say, ‘Why?’ Because the LORD has been witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously, though she is your companion and the wife of your covenant. Did he not make you one, although he had the residue of the Spirit? Why one? He sought godly offspring. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let no one deal treacherously against the wife of his youth. > (Malachi 2:14-15) > Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the bed be undefiled; but God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers. > (Hebrews 13:4) ## Love that gives itself Ephesians 5:25-28 tells husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the assembly and gave himself up for her. The pattern is self-giving, not taking. Colossians 3:12-14 is for all believers: compassion, kindness, humility, patience, bearing with one another, forgiving, and above all love. In 1 Corinthians 7:3-5 Paul describes marriage as mutual. Each owes the other affection, and the only exception he names is by consent for a season, for prayer. None of this describes a perfect spouse. These verses say what each person is asked to bring, and they never say to measure your faithfulness by how well the other person does. > Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the assembly and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that he might present the assembly to himself gloriously, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without defect. Even so husbands also ought to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself. > (Ephesians 5:25-28) > Put on therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, humility, and perseverance; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, if any man has a complaint against any; even as Christ forgave you, so you also do. Above all these things, walk in love, which is the bond of perfection. > (Colossians 3:12-14) > Let the husband give his wife the affection owed her, and likewise also the wife her husband. The wife doesn’t have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise also the husband doesn’t have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Don’t deprive one another, unless it is by consent for a season, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer, and may be together again, that Satan doesn’t tempt you because of your lack of self-control. > (1 Corinthians 7:3-5) ## When your marriage is under strain A strained marriage is not proof that you have failed, and nothing here is written to measure you. Ask for help early. A pastor or a Christian counselor can walk with both of you, or with you alone. - If your marriage is in crisis, or if lust and secrecy have hurt it, talk to a pastor or a counselor. You do not have to repair it alone. - If anyone in your home is unsafe, or you are afraid of your spouse, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or your local emergency number. Nothing here asks anyone to stay in danger. ## A prayer for your marriage Lord, hold my marriage in your hands. Keep my eyes, my thoughts and my words faithful. Teach me to delight in the person you gave me, and to love as you love. Where there is hurt, bring healing and good help. Amen. ## Frequently asked questions ### What does the Bible say about faithfulness in marriage? Hebrews 13:4 asks that marriage be held in honor and the bed be undefiled. Proverbs 5:15-19 invites a husband to delight in his own wife, and Malachi 2:14-15 speaks of marriage as a covenant with the LORD as witness. ### Does faithfulness include thoughts and eyes? Jesus spoke about looking with lust in Matthew 5:27-28, and Job made a covenant with his eyes in Job 31:1. Both apply to married and single people alike. ### Can I be married and still struggle with lust? Yes, and many do. The Bible's answer is the same for everyone: confess, return to God and ask for help. Telling a pastor or counselor is a good first step. ### Should I tell my spouse? That is a serious decision, best made with a pastor or counselor and not in the middle of a crisis. James 5:16 speaks of confessing to one another, and a wise helper can help you do it well. ### What if my marriage is in crisis? Talk to a pastor or counselor soon. If anyone in the home is unsafe, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or your local emergency number. ## Sources (checked 2026-10-01) - [World English Bible (public domain), eBible.org](https://ebible.org/find/details.php?id=engwebp)