What Does the Bible Say About Intentional Relationships?

Ephesians 5:33 ESV / 4 helpful votes

However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

Proverbs 22:6 ESV / 4 helpful votes

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Genesis 2:24 ESV / 4 helpful votes

Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

1 Peter 3:7 ESV / 3 helpful votes

Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.

Hebrews 13:4 ESV / 3 helpful votes

Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.

Hebrews 10:24 ESV / 3 helpful votes

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,

Ephesians 5:28 ESV / 3 helpful votes

In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.

Ephesians 5:21 ESV / 3 helpful votes

Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:33 ESV / 3 helpful votes

Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 ESV / 3 helpful votes

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

1 Corinthians 13:1-13 ESV / 3 helpful votes

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; ...

Matthew 19:4-6 ESV / 3 helpful votes

He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

Proverbs 6:16-19 ESV / 3 helpful votes

There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.

Exodus 20:12 ESV / 3 helpful votes

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

Genesis 2:18 ESV / 3 helpful votes

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”

Genesis 1:28 ESV / 3 helpful votes

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Revelation 21:8 ESV / 2 helpful votes

But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

1 Peter 5:7 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

1 Peter 5:6 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,

1 Peter 4:8 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.

James 1:19 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger;

Hebrews 10:25 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

1 Timothy 5:8 ESV / 2 helpful votes

But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

Colossians 3:23 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,

Colossians 3:9-10 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

Ephesians 6:4 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Ephesians 6:1 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

Ephesians 5:25 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her,

Ephesians 5:6 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

Ephesians 4:32 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Ephesians 4:29 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

Ephesians 4:26 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,

Galatians 6:2 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

2 Corinthians 5:19 ESV / 2 helpful votes

That is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

2 Corinthians 5:18 ESV / 2 helpful votes

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.

1 Corinthians 7:10-11 ESV / 2 helpful votes

To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband (but if she does, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and the husband should not divorce his wife.

1 Corinthians 7:2 ESV / 2 helpful votes

But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.

1 Corinthians 7:1 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.”

Romans 12:19 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

Romans 12:17 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.

Romans 12:10 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.

John 15:13 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

John 3:16 ESV / 2 helpful votes

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16-17 ESV / 2 helpful votes

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Luke 16:18 ESV / 2 helpful votes

“Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.

Mark 2:27 ESV / 2 helpful votes

And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.

Matthew 19:9 ESV / 2 helpful votes

And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”

Matthew 5:31-32 ESV / 2 helpful votes

“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Malachi 2:16 ESV / 2 helpful votes

“For the man who does not love his wife but divorces her, says the Lord, the God of Israel, covers his garment with violence, says the Lord of hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and do not be faithless.”

Jeremiah 17:9 ESV / 2 helpful votes

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

Proverbs 27:6 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.

Proverbs 24:28 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Be not a witness against your neighbor without cause, and do not deceive with your lips.

Proverbs 19:9 ESV / 2 helpful votes

A false witness will not go unpunished, and he who breathes out lies will perish.

Proverbs 15:1 ESV / 2 helpful votes

A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

Proverbs 13:20 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.

Psalm 127:3-5 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

Psalm 19:14 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Deuteronomy 6:6-7 ESV / 2 helpful votes

And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

Exodus 20:14 ESV / 2 helpful votes

“You shall not commit adultery.

Genesis 2:23-24 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

61 Bible Verses about Intentional Relationships

Ephesians 5:33 ESV / 4 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 22:6 ESV / 4 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Genesis 2:24 ESV / 4 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Peter 3:7 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Hebrews 13:4 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Hebrews 10:24 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Ephesians 5:28 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Ephesians 5:21 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Corinthians 15:33 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Corinthians 13:1-13 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 19:4-6 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 6:16-19 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Exodus 20:12 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Genesis 2:18 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Genesis 1:28 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Revelation 21:8 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Peter 5:7 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Peter 5:6 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Peter 4:8 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

James 1:19 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Hebrews 10:25 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Timothy 5:8 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Colossians 3:23 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Colossians 3:9-10 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Ephesians 6:4 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Ephesians 6:1 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Ephesians 5:25 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Ephesians 5:6 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Ephesians 4:32 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Ephesians 4:29 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Ephesians 4:26 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Galatians 6:2 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

2 Corinthians 5:19 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

2 Corinthians 5:18 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Corinthians 7:10-11 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Corinthians 7:2 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Corinthians 7:1 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Romans 12:19 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Romans 12:17 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Romans 12:10 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

John 15:13 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

John 3:16 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

John 3:16-17 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Luke 16:18 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Mark 2:27 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 19:9 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 5:31-32 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Malachi 2:16 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Jeremiah 17:9 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 27:6 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 24:28 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 19:9 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 15:1 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 13:20 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Psalm 127:3-5 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Psalm 19:14 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Deuteronomy 6:6-7 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Exodus 20:14 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Genesis 2:23-24 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

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