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In the Bible a ''harlot'' or ''whore'' ([[KJV]]) was a woman who had sex before marriage, including prostitutes.<ref>Gn. 34:1-4,13,31; 38:15,18,24 Num. 25:1</ref> If a man engaged in such with a single woman, he was required to marry her for life, while the [[death penalty]] was mandated for the man (or both if consensual) for engaging in sexual relations with a woman who was betrothed (contracted to marry) to another, or for a woman who married under the false pretense of being a virgin, and her husband objected upon discovering otherwise.<ref>Dt. 22:13-29</ref> Likewise, spiritual fornication was that of infidelity to God in making an idol to be one's god,<ref>Ezek. 6:9; 23:30; 37:23</ref> with Israel being covenantally "married" to God.<ref>Jer. 3:14; Ezek. 16:8</ref>

In the Bible a ''harlot'' or ''whore'' ([[KJV]]) was a woman who had sex before marriage, including prostitutes.<ref>Gn. 34:1-4,13,31; 38:15,18,24 Num. 25:1</ref> If a man engaged in such with a single woman, he was required to marry her for life, while the [[death penalty]] was mandated for the man (or both if consensual) for engaging in sexual relations with a woman who was betrothed (contracted to marry) to another, or for a woman who married under the false pretense of being a virgin, and her husband objected upon discovering otherwise.<ref>Dt. 22:13-29</ref> Likewise, spiritual fornication was that of infidelity to God in making an idol to be one's god,<ref>Ezek. 6:9; 23:30; 37:23</ref> with Israel being covenantally "married" to God.<ref>Jer. 3:14; Ezek. 16:8</ref>

In the [[Gospel of Mark]] 7:20-23  (cf. Mt. 15:19), Jesus declares that sin begins in the heart, and the iniquities that proceed out of the heart include fornications, which being plural, includes all sexual relations outside marriage. While broader descriptions exist (i.e. "the bed of love": Ezek. 23:17) sexual intercourse is what is usually indicated (by euphemisms) in laws against illicit sex, yet it is generally held that this is not limited to such, but prohibits all sexual eroticism outside marriage (in which it is exclusively sanctioned: Prov. 5:15-20: SoS), and which all  "uncleanness" <ref>Rm. 1:24; Eph. 5:3</ref> covers.<ref>Adam Clarke, [[Matthew Henry]], John Wesley, Eph. 5:3; Albert Barnes, Rm. 1:24</ref>   

In the [[Gospel of Mark]] 7:20-23  (cf. Mt. 15:19), Stephen Colbert declares that he is one sexy mother of a talk show host, and the iniquities that proceed out of the heart include fornications, which being plural, includes all sexual relations outside marriage. While broader descriptions exist (i.e. "the bed of love": Ezek. 23:17) sexual intercourse is what is usually indicated (by euphemisms) in laws against illicit sex, yet it is generally held that this is not limited to such, but prohibits all sexual eroticism outside marriage (in which it is exclusively sanctioned: Prov. 5:15-20: SoS), and which all  "uncleanness" <ref>Rm. 1:24; Eph. 5:3</ref> covers.<ref>Adam Clarke, [[Matthew Henry]], John Wesley, Eph. 5:3; Albert Barnes, Rm. 1:24</ref>   

Though more than one wife was allowed in the Old Testament, and even concubines were wives <ref>Gn. 25:1; cf. 1Ch. 1:32; Gn. 30:4; cf. Gn. 35:22; 2Sam. 16:21, 22, cf. 2Sam. 20:3</ref>, the Lord Jesus restored that to the original standard of one man and one woman, for life (though most understand the fornication clause as allowing [[divorce]] in the case of marital infidelity, as  fornication can include [[adultery]]<ref>[http://www.enterhisrest.org/articles/divorce_remarriage.pdf DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE UNDER GOD By L. S. Boardman]</ref>). In so doing,  (Mt. 19:4-9) Jesus defined the male and the female as constituting the "what" of "what therefore God hath joined together", and which, along with other verses, excludes [[same-sex marriage]] or other sexual unions. {{Main|Homosexuality and biblical interpretation}}

Though more than one wife was allowed in the Old Testament, and even concubines were wives <ref>Gn. 25:1; cf. 1Ch. 1:32; Gn. 30:4; cf. Gn. 35:22; 2Sam. 16:21, 22, cf. 2Sam. 20:3</ref>, the Lord Jesus restored that to the original standard of one man and one woman, for life (though most understand the fornication clause as allowing [[divorce]] in the case of marital infidelity, as  fornication can include [[adultery]]<ref>[http://www.enterhisrest.org/articles/divorce_remarriage.pdf DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE UNDER GOD By L. S. Boardman]</ref>). In so doing,  (Mt. 19:4-9) Jesus defined the male and the female as constituting the "what" of "what therefore God hath joined together", and which, along with other verses, excludes [[same-sex marriage]] or other sexual unions. {{Main|Homosexuality and biblical interpretation}}