Chapter 26

Of Marriage

1. Marriage is to be between one man and one woman; neither is it lawful for
any man to have more than one wife, nor for any woman to have more than
one husband at the same time.

Genesis Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife:
2:24 and they shall be one flesh.

Malachi And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one?
2:15 That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal
treacherously against the wife of his youth.

Matthew And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at
19:4 the beginning made them male and female,
Matthew And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his
19:5 wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?
Matthew Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined
19:6 together, let not man put asunder.

2. Marriage was ordained for the mutual help of husband and wife,

Genesis And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him
2:18 an help meet for him.

for the increase of mankind with a legitimate issue,

Genesis And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish
1:28 the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of
the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.
and for preventing of uncleanness.

I Corinthians Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every
7:2 woman have her own husband.

I Corinthians But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn.
7:9

3. It is lawful for all sorts of people to marry, who are able with judgment to
give their consent;

Hebrews Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and
13:4 adulterers God will judge.

I Timothy Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the
4:1 faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
I Timothy Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
4:2
I Timothy Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created
4:3 to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.

yet it is the duty of Christians to marry in the Lord;

I Corinthians The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be
7:39 dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord.

and therefore such as profess the true religion, should not marry with infidels, or
idolators; neither should such as are godly be unequally yoked, by marrying with
such as are wicked in their life, or maintain damnable heresy.
Nehemiah And I contended with them, and cursed them, and smote certain of them, and plucked
13:25 off their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, Ye shall not give your daughters
unto their sons, nor take their daughters unto your sons, or for yourselves.
Nehemiah Did not Solomon king of Israel sin by these things? yet among many nations was
13:26 there no king like him, who was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all
Israel: nevertheless even him did outlandish women cause to sin.
Nehemiah Shall we then hearken unto you to do all this great evil, to transgress against our God
13:27 in marrying strange wives?

4. Marriage ought not to be within the degrees of consanguinity or affinity,

forbidden in the Word;

Leviticus And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

18:1
Leviticus Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the LORD your God.
18:2
Leviticus After the doings of the land of Egypt, wherein ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after the
18:3 doings of the land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall ye not do: neither shall ye
walk in their ordinances.
Leviticus Ye shall do my judgments, and keep mine ordinances, to walk therein: I am the
18:4 LORD your God.
Leviticus Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall
18:5 live in them: I am the LORD.
Leviticus None of you shall approach to any that is near of kin to him, to uncover their
18:6 nakedness: I am the LORD.
Leviticus The nakedness of thy father, or the nakedness of thy mother, shalt thou not uncover:
18:7 she is thy mother; thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
Leviticus The nakedness of thy father's wife shalt thou not uncover: it is thy father's nakedness.
18:8
Leviticus The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father, or daughter of thy mother,
18:9 whether she be born at home, or born abroad, even their nakedness thou shalt not
uncover.
Leviticus The nakedness of thy son's daughter, or of thy daughter's daughter, even their
18:10 nakedness thou shalt not uncover: for theirs is thine own nakedness.
Leviticus The nakedness of thy father's wife's daughter, begotten of thy father, she is thy sister,
18:11 thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
Leviticus Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's sister: she is thy father's near
18:12 kinswoman.
Leviticus Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister; for she is thy mother's
18:13 near kinswoman.
Leviticus Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father's brother, thou shalt not approach
18:14 to his wife: she is thine aunt.
Leviticus Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy daughter in law: she is thy son's wife;
18:15 thou shalt not uncover her nakedness.
Leviticus Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy brother's wife: it is thy brother's
18:16 nakedness.
Leviticus Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of a woman and her daughter, neither shalt thou
18:17 take her son's daughter, or her daughter's daughter, to uncover her nakedness; for they
are her near kinswomen: it is wickedness.
Leviticus Neither shalt thou take a wife to her sister, to vex her, to uncover her nakedness,
18:18 beside the other in her life time.
Leviticus Also thou shalt not approach unto a woman to uncover her nakedness, as long as she
18:19 is put apart for her uncleanness.
Leviticus Moreover thou shalt not lie carnally with thy neighbour's wife, to defile thyself with
18:20 her.
Leviticus And thou shalt not let any of thy seed pass through the fire to Molech, neither shalt
18:21 thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.
Leviticus Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.
18:22
Leviticus Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any
18:23 woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion.
Leviticus Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled
18:24 which I cast out before you:
Leviticus And the land is defiled: therefore I do visit the iniquity thereof upon it, and the land
18:25 itself vomiteth out her inhabitants.
Leviticus Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, and shall not commit any of
18:26 these abominations; neither any of your own nation, nor any stranger that sojourneth
among you:
Leviticus (For all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you,
18:27 and the land is defiled;)
Leviticus That the land spue not you out also, when ye defile it, as it spued out the nations that
18:28 were before you.
Leviticus For whosoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit
18:29 them shall be cut off from among their people.
Leviticus Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these
18:30 abominable customs, which were committed before you, and that ye defile not
yourselves therein: I am the LORD your God.

nor can such incestuous marriages ever be made lawful, by any law of man or
consent of parties, so as those persons may live together as man and wife.

Mark 6:18 For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife.

I Corinthians It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication
5:1 as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father's
wife.
I Corinthians And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this
5:2 deed might be taken away from among you.
I Corinthians For I verily, as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as though
5:3 I were present, concerning him that hath so done this deed,
I Corinthians In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit,
5:4 with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
I Corinthians To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit
5:5 may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.