Or don’t you know that he who is joined to a prostitute is one body? For, “The two”, he says, “will become one flesh.”
Parallel translations
- KJV What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.
- BSB Or don’t you know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.”
- NKJV Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For “the two,” He says, “shall become one flesh.”
- NASB Or do you not know that the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her? For He says, “The two shall become one flesh.”
- NLT And don’t you realize that if a man joins himself to a prostitute, he becomes one body with her? For the Scriptures say, “The two are united into one.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Joining oneself to a prostitute makes one body with her, as Scripture says the two become one flesh. It matters because sexual union creates a real bond, never a casual act.
Overview
Citing Genesis 2:24, Paul insists sexual relations forge a genuine 'one flesh' union, even in immorality. Sex is never trivial or merely physical; it joins persons at a deep level. This God-designed reality is precisely why sexual sin is so serious and so contrary to the believer's union with Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Gen 2:24Therefore a man will leave his father and his mother, and will join with his wife, and they will be one flesh.
- Eph 5:31“For this cause a man will leave his father and mother, and will be joined to his wife. The two will become one flesh.”
- Mark 10:8and the two will become one flesh, so that they are no longer two, but one flesh.
- Matt 19:5–6and said, ‘For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall join to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh?’
- Matt 21:31–32Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said to him, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Most certainly I tell you that the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering into God’s Kingdom before you.
- Heb 11:31By faith, Rahab the prostitute, didn’t perish with those who were disobedient, having received the spies in peace.
- Judg 16:1Samson went to Gaza, and saw there a prostitute, and went in to her.
- Gen 34:31They said, “Should he deal with our sister as with a prostitute?”
- Gen 38:24About three months later, Judah was told, “Tamar, your daughter-in-law, has played the prostitute. Moreover, behold, she is with child by prostitution.” Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burned.”
- Gen 38:15When Judah saw her, he thought that she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Christ crucified is the wisdom and power of God; he is our Passover sacrificed for us, the firstfruits of resurrection, the foundation on which everything is built.
How 1 Corinthians 6:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.