# adultery

## Related Ideas:

adulterer, adulteress, adulterous, immoral woman

## Definition:

The term "adultery" refers to a sin that occurs when a married person has sexual relations with someone who is not that person's spouse. Both of them are guilty of adultery. The term "adulterous" describes this kind of behavior or any person who commits this sin.

* The term "adulterer" refers generally to any person who commits adultery.
* Sometimes the term "adulteress" is used to specify that it was a woman who committed adultery.
* Adultery breaks the promises that a husband and wife made to each other in their covenant of marriage.
* God commanded the Israelites to not commit adultery.
* The term "adulterous" is often used in a figurative sense to describe the people of Israel as being unfaithful to God, especially when they worshiped false gods.

## Translation Suggestions:

* If the target language does not have one word that means "adultery," this term could be translated with a phrase such as "having sexual relations with someone else's wife" or "being intimate with another person's spouse."
* Some languages may have an indirect way of talking about adultery, such as "sleeping with someone else's spouse" or "being unfaithful to one's wife." (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-euphemism]])
* When "adulterous" is used in a figurative sense, it is best to translate it literally in order to communicate God's view of his disobedient people as being compared to an unfaithful spouse. If this does not communicate accurately in the target language, the figurative use of "adulterous" could be translated as "unfaithful" or "immoral" or "like an unfaithful spouse."

(See also: [commit](../other/commit.md), [covenant](../kt/covenant.md), [sexual immorality](../other/fornication.md), [faithful](../kt/faithful.md))

## Bible References:

* [Exodus 20:14](rc://en/tn/help/exo/20/14)
* [Hosea 04:1-2](rc://en/tn/help/hos/04/01)
* [Luke 16:18](rc://en/tn/help/luk/16/18)
* [Matthew 05:28](rc://en/tn/help/mat/05/28)
* [Matthew 12:39](rc://en/tn/help/mat/12/39)
* [Revelation 02:22](rc://en/tn/help/rev/02/22)

## Examples from the Bible stories:

* __[13:06](rc://en/tn/help/obs/13/06)__ "Do not commit __adultery__."
* __[28:02](rc://en/tn/help/obs/28/02)__ Do not commit __adultery__.
* __[34:07](rc://en/tn/help/obs/34/07)__ "The religious leader prayed like this, 'Thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like other men-such as robbers, unjust men, __adulterers__, or even like that tax collector.'"

## Word Data:

* Strong's: H2114, H5003, H5004, H5237, G3428, G3429, G3430, G3431, G3432

## Forms Found in the English ULB:

adulterer, adulterers, adulteress, adulteresses, adulteries, adulterous, adultery, immoral woman

