1 Corinthians 6:16
in 1 Corinthians 6Or 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.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Or know ye not that he that is joined to a harlot is one body? for, The twain, saith he, shall become one flesh.
KJV
What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.
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This verse in 1 Corinthians 6
Commentary
11 notes on this verseFor, as it is said, the one who joins himself to a prostitute is one body with her. Sexual immorality joins them together as one, just as in nature, two become one. As it is written, 'They shall become one flesh' (Genesis 2:24). It is …
This site's exposition
Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?
on 1 Corinthians 6:15-17
Paul cites Genesis 2:24, The two will become one flesh, to show that sexual union forms a real bond whatever the intention. Uniting a member of Christ with a prostitute is therefore unthinkable.
This site's exposition
one with her in body
Paul applies Genesis 2:24, the founding word on marriage, to a man's union with a prostitute. Chrysostom observes that the joining itself makes the two into one. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown take the Genesis words as God speaking through Adam.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Then he makes out how the fornicator becomes this, saying thus, "Know ye not that he that is joined unto a harlot is one body?" How is this evident? "For the twain, saith He, shall become one." For the conjunction suffers the two no longer to be two, but makes them both one.
A man guilty of fornication and the impurity which comes from it insults his marriage and his wife. He sins against his own body and consequently against his wife, because the two are one flesh.
The Medieval Church2 voices
Thirdly he presents the minor, saying: Do you not know that he who joins his body to a prostitute, namely, by fornicating, becomes one body with her? Namely, by an unclean union. To prove this he appeals to the authority of Genesis, saying, For it …
The cited passage shows what was stated, that is, in what manner the members of Christ become members of a harlot. Through intercourse, he says, a man becomes one with a harlot; therefore his members, which were members of Christ, become members of a harlot.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot,.... Not in marriage, but in carnal copulation, and unclean embraces, is one body with her for two ("saith he", Adam, or Moses, or God, or the Scripture, or as R. Sol.
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
But he that is joined to the Lord - By faith. Is one spirit with him - And shall he make himself one flesh with an harlot?
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:80%@v14-17
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
He that is joined to a harlot is one body - In Sohar Genes., fol. 19, we have these remarkable words: Whosoever connects himself with another man’s wife, does in effect renounce the holy blessed God, and the Church of the Israelites.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Justification of his having called fornicators "members of an harlot" (1Co 6:15). joined--by carnal intercourse; literally, "cemented to": cleaving to. one body--with her. saith he--God speaking by Adam (Ge 2:24;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The words behind it
19 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ἢ | e | Or | G2228 → | 342 times |
| οὐκ | ouk | surely | G3756 → | 1664 times |
| οἴδατε | oidate | you know | ||
| ὅτι | hoti | that | G3754 → | 1292 times |
| ὁ | ho | who | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| κολλώμενος | kollomenos | is being joined | G2853 → | |
| τῇ | tea | to the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| πόρνῃ | porne | prostitute | G4204 → | |
| ἓν | hen | one | G1520 → | 343 times |
| σῶμά | soma | body | G4983 → | 142 times |
| ἐστιν; | estin | is? | G1510 → | 2333 times |
| ἔσονται | esontai | Will become | G1510 → | 2333 times |
| γάρ | gar | for | G1063 → | 1039 times |
| φησιν | phesin | it says | G5346 → | 66 times |
| οἱ | hoi | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| δύο | duo | two | G1417 → | 133 times |
| εἰς | eis | into | G1519 → | 1755 times |
| σάρκα | sarka | flesh | G4561 → | 146 times |
| μίαν· | mian | one; | G1520 → | 343 times |
ἢOr
eG2228 →342 times
οὐκsurely
oukG3756 →1664 times
οἴδατεyou know
oidate
ὅτιthat
hotiG3754 →1292 times
ὁwho
hoG3588 →19766 times
κολλώμενοςis being joined
kollomenosG2853 →
τῇto the
teaG3588 →19766 times
πόρνῃprostitute
porneG4204 →
ἓνone
henG1520 →343 times
σῶμάbody
somaG4983 →142 times
ἐστιν;is?
estinG1510 →2333 times
ἔσονταιWill become
esontaiG1510 →2333 times
γάρfor
garG1063 →1039 times
φησινit says
phesinG5346 →66 times
οἱthe
hoiG3588 →19766 times
δύοtwo
duoG1417 →133 times
εἰςinto
eisG1519 →1755 times
σάρκαflesh
sarkaG4561 →146 times
μίαν·one;
mianG1520 →343 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 2:24For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
it leads to
- Matthew 19:3–9
Then some Pharisees came and tested Him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?”
- Ephesians 5:28–31
In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
- Mark 10:6–12
However, from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’
- Romans 7:2
For instance, a married woman is bound by law to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage.
- 1 Peter 3:1–7
Wives, in the same way, submit yourselves to your husbands, so that even if they refuse to believe the word, they will be won over without words by the behavior of their wives
- Matthew 19:3–9
Through
Ephesians 5:31“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”
it leads to
- Genesis 2:24
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 19:5
and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?
- Genesis 2:24
Through
Mark 10:8and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one flesh.
it leads to
- Ephesians 5:28
In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
- Ephesians 5:28
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies10
About 1 Corinthians

This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ambrosiaster, Commentary on 1 Corinthians; Frederic Godet, Commentary on First Corinthians; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on the Epistles of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians; John Chrysostom, Homily on 1 Corinthians 18; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Oecumenius, PAULINE COMMENTARY FROM THE GREEK CHURCH; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on 1 Corinthians and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on 1 Corinthians.
