Overview
The Bible addresses sodomy across 23 verses, drawn from both the Old and New Testaments. These passages cluster most in Leviticus, Genesis and 1 Kings. Closely related themes include Sodomites, Sodom, Angel (1) and Sanitation. Figures whose stories touch this theme include Lot and Asa.
Key Bible verses about sodomy
Old Testament
Genesis
And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.
And Lot went out at the door unto them, and shut the door after him,
And said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly.
Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.
Leviticus
Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.
Neither shalt thou lie with any beast to defile thyself therewith: neither shall any woman stand before a beast to lie down thereto: it is confusion.
If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast.
And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
Deuteronomy
1 Kings
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.
And he took away the sodomites out of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made.
And the remnant of the sodomites, which remained in the days of his father Asa, he took out of the land.
New Testament
Romans
Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
1 Timothy
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;
People in the Bible and sodomy
Biblical figures whose stories intersect with this theme.
In the Bible dictionary
Studying sodomy for yourself
- Begin with Genesis 19:5, then read the passages below in canonical order.
- Compare how Leviticus, Genesis and 1 Kings each treat the theme.
- Consider the lives of Lot and Asa and how their stories intersect with it.
- Widen the study to related themes: Sodomites, Sodom, Angel (1) and Sanitation.
Frequently asked questions
What does the Bible say about sodomy?
The Bible addresses sodomy across 23 verses, drawn from both the Old and New Testaments. These passages cluster most in Leviticus, Genesis and 1 Kings. Closely related themes include Sodomites, Sodom, Angel (1) and Sanitation. Figures whose stories touch this theme include Lot and Asa.
How many Bible verses are about sodomy?
The Bible references sodomy in 23 verses (King James Version).
Where does the Bible first mention sodomy?
In canonical order, the first of these passages is Genesis 19:5: “And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.”
Which people in the Bible are associated with sodomy?
Lot and Asa.
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