Prostitution, both as a physical act and as a symbol of spiritual unfaithfulness, is addressed numerous times in the Bible. While the term “prostitute” is used in both the literal and metaphorical sense, Scripture consistently condemns sexual immorality and places a high value on the sanctity of marriage, purity, and faithfulness. From the Old Testament to the New Testament, the Bible provides teachings on the destructive nature of prostitution, offering warnings about its consequences and pointing to redemption and repentance for those trapped in sin.
Prostitution in the Bible is not just about the physical act but also represents a deeper spiritual metaphor. Israel’s unfaithfulness to God is often likened to adultery or prostitution, where the people of God turn away from their true Husband, God, and pursue other idols. The Scriptures reveal both the destructive effects of prostitution and the compassion God extends toward those who are exploited, seeking restoration and healing.
In this article, we explore 45 Bible verses that touch on the subject of prostitution, ranging from literal references to the act to deeper spiritual truths. These verses highlight God’s heart for purity, the call to holiness, and the redemptive power of grace. They also remind us of the importance of living a life that reflects God’s design for human sexuality and relationships.
1. Proverbs 2:16-17
“To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words; Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.”
This passage warns against being led astray by prostitutes, who forsake the covenant of marriage and follow their own lusts.
2. Proverbs 5:3-5
“For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil: But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.”
The seductive nature of prostitution is highlighted here, warning of the deadly consequences that follow.
3. Proverbs 6:24-26
“To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman. Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids. For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.”
This passage emphasizes the destructive consequences of following a prostitute, which leads to poverty and the loss of one’s life.
4. Proverbs 7:10-12
“And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of a harlot, and subtle of heart. She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house: Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.”
Here, prostitution is depicted as a seductive, dangerous practice that lures individuals into sin.
5. Proverbs 23:27-28
“For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit. She also lieth in wait as for a prey, and increaseth the transgressors among men.”
This verse presents prostitution as a snare that leads people deeper into sin and destruction.
6. Leviticus 19:29
“Do not prostitute thy daughter, to cause her to be a whore; lest the land fall to whoredom, and the land become full of wickedness.”
God prohibits the exploitation of women through prostitution, emphasizing the moral and spiritual dangers it brings to a society.
7. Leviticus 21:9
“And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her father: she shall be burnt with fire.”
This verse underscores the seriousness of sexual immorality, particularly in the context of religious leadership.
8. Genesis 38:15-16
“When Judah saw her, he thought her to be a harlot; because she had covered her face. And he turned unto her by the way, and said, Go to, I pray thee, let me come in unto thee; for he knew not that she was his daughter in law. And she said, What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in unto me?”
This story of Tamar and Judah illustrates the destructive consequences of engaging in prostitution and sexual immorality.
9. Ezekiel 16:31
“Thou hast played the harlot also with the Egyptians, thy neighbours, great of flesh; and hast increased thy whoredoms, to provoke me to anger.”
This passage metaphorically refers to Israel’s idolatry and unfaithfulness to God, likening it to prostitution and adultery.
10. Ezekiel 16:33-34
“They give gifts to all whores: but thou givest thy gifts to all thy lovers, and hirest them, that they may come unto thee on every side for thy whoredom. And thou hast withstood the foulest of women in thy whoredoms.”
This verse uses prostitution as a metaphor for Israel’s spiritual unfaithfulness, highlighting how they gave themselves to foreign gods.
11. Hosea 4:12-14
“My people ask counsel at their stocks, and their staff declareth unto them: for the spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err, and they have gone a whoring from under their God. They sacrifice upon the tops of the mountains, and burn incense upon the hills, under oaks and poplars and elms, because the shadow thereof is good: therefore your daughters shall commit whoredom, and your spouses shall commit adultery.”
In this passage, Hosea condemns Israel’s spiritual prostitution and their worship of idols, resulting in moral decay.
12. Hosea 9:1
“Rejoice not, O Israel, for joy, as other people: for thou hast gone a whoring from thy God, thou hast loved a reward upon every cornfloor.”
Prostitution is here used symbolically to describe Israel’s disloyalty to God and their pursuit of worldly pleasures.
13. Hosea 14:4
“I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him.”
Despite Israel’s spiritual prostitution, God promises to restore and heal them if they turn back to Him.
14. Revelation 17:1-2
“And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.”
In Revelation, the “great whore” symbolizes the spiritual corruption of nations that commit idolatry and immorality.
15. Revelation 18:3
“For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.”
This verse condemns the spiritual prostitution of nations that seek wealth and power through sin and corruption.
16. Matthew 21:31-32
“Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.”
Jesus compares the publicans and harlots with the religious leaders of His time, highlighting their openness to repentance and faith.
17. Matthew 7:22-23
“Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”
Jesus warns against false professions of faith, suggesting that a life of sin—whether literal prostitution or spiritual unfaithfulness—will be judged.
18. John 8:3-11
“And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, they say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not… And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.”
The story of the woman caught in adultery reveals Jesus’ compassion and grace for those trapped in sin, including prostitution.
19. 1 Corinthians 6:15-16
“Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.”
Paul rebukes believers for engaging in sexual immorality, reminding them of the sacredness of their bodies.
20. 1 Corinthians 6:18
“Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.”
Paul emphasizes the importance of fleeing sexual immorality, including prostitution, because it violates one’s own body and God’s holiness.
21. 1 Timothy 1:9-10
“Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine.”
Paul lists prostitution and sexual immorality as part of the sins that go against God’s law and sound doctrine.
22. Hebrews 13:4
“Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.”
The Bible places great emphasis on the sanctity of marriage and condemns prostitution and adultery, promising judgment for those who live in such sin.
23. 2 Peter 2:14
“Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children.”
Peter describes those who engage in sexual immorality, including prostitution, as being spiritually corrupt and misleading others.
24. James 4:4
“Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”
This verse highlights how spiritual adultery and prostitution—loving the world and its sinful ways—separate us from God.
25. Galatians 5:19-21
“Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”
Sexual immorality, including prostitution, is listed as one of the works of the flesh that prevents people from inheriting the kingdom of God.
26. 1 John 2:15-17
“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.”
John warns against loving the world and its sinful ways, which include prostitution and sexual immorality. The lust of the flesh and the eyes leads to destruction, but those who follow God’s will live forever.
27. Romans 6:12-13
“Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.”
Believers are called not to let sin dominate their lives, including the sin of prostitution, but rather to offer themselves to God in holiness.
28. 2 Corinthians 12:21
“And lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and that I shall bewail many which have sinned already, and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they have committed.”
Paul expresses concern for those who refuse to repent of sexual immorality, including prostitution, and calls for repentance and change.
29. Isaiah 57:7
“Upon a lofty and high mountain hast thou set thy bed: even thither wentest thou up to offer sacrifice.”
Isaiah condemns the practice of seeking sinful pleasure, akin to prostitution, by going to high places to worship idols and engage in immoral acts.
30. Ezekiel 23:17
“And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoredom, and she was polluted with them, and her mind was alienated from them.”
This verse portrays Israel’s spiritual unfaithfulness as prostitution, describing the act of idolatry and sexual immorality that lead to defilement.
31. Ezekiel 23:19
“Yet she multiplied her whoredoms, in calling to remembrance the days of her youth, wherein she had played the harlot in the land of Egypt.”
This passage metaphorically speaks of Israel’s continued unfaithfulness to God, likening it to prostitution and spiritual adultery.
32. Jeremiah 3:6-9
“The Lord said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot. And I said after she had done all these things, Turn thou unto me. But she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it.”
Here, spiritual prostitution is depicted through Israel’s pursuit of idols, and God’s invitation to repentance is extended despite their repeated unfaithfulness.
33. Revelation 21:8
“But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
The fate of those who engage in prostitution, among other sins, is described here as eternal separation from God, symbolized by the “lake of fire.”
34. Isaiah 1:21
“How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.”
Isaiah laments the moral decay of Jerusalem, comparing it to a prostitute due to its abandonment of justice and righteousness.
35. Micah 1:7
“And all the graven images thereof shall be beaten to pieces, and all the hires thereof shall be burned with fire, and all the idols thereof will I lay desolate: for she gathered it of the hire of an harlot, and they shall return to the hire of an harlot.”
Micah speaks against the idolatry of Israel, equating it to prostitution, and warns of judgment on those who worship idols.
36. 1 Kings 14:24
“And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the Lord cast out before the children of Israel.”
Prostitution and other forms of sexual immorality are linked here with the practices of the pagan nations, whom God had driven out for their wickedness.
37. Deuteronomy 23:17
“There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel.”
God’s command to His people is clear: there should be no prostitution among His people, as it is a sin that defiles and brings shame.
38. Jeremiah 2:20
“For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the harlot.”
This verse symbolizes Israel’s sin of spiritual prostitution as they wandered after idols, forsaking God’s covenant.
39. Matthew 5:28
“But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.”
Jesus expands on the commandment against adultery, teaching that even lust in the heart is sin, similar to the sin of prostitution.
40. Galatians 6:7
“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”
This verse is a warning that the consequences of sinful actions, including prostitution, will eventually come back, emphasizing the importance of repentance.
41. Revelation 2:20
“Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.”
This reference to Jezebel speaks of spiritual prostitution, where a false prophet leads people into immorality and idolatry.
42. Hebrews 10:26
“For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins.”
The warning here is for those who continue in sin without repentance, including the sin of prostitution, which leads to eternal separation from God.
43. Romans 1:24
“Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves.”
God’s judgment is described for those who choose to engage in sexual immorality, including prostitution, following the lusts of their hearts.
44. Titus 2:12
“Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.”
Believers are called to reject ungodliness, including prostitution, and to live lives that reflect godliness and purity.
45. Mark 6:11
“And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them.”
This verse demonstrates that rejection of the gospel and embracing sin, including prostitution, leads to judgment.
Conclusion
Prostitution, both physical and spiritual, is consistently condemned in the Bible. The Scriptures remind us of God’s design for purity and holiness in relationships, as well as the destructive consequences of engaging in sexual immorality. However, the Bible also offers hope for repentance and restoration, showing that no sin is beyond God’s forgiveness when one truly seeks Him. The call to flee from sexual immorality, including prostitution, is not just for avoiding temporal consequences but for living in alignment with God’s holiness and purpose for our lives. May these verses serve as both a warning and an invitation to seek purity, righteousness, and God’s transforming grace.
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