Perhaps you’ve heard these words in wedding vows and wondered about their deeper significance. Maybe you’re preparing for marriage and want to understand what “forsaking all others” truly means biblically.
You might be struggling in your marriage because this concept wasn’t clearly understood or practiced.
These forsaking all others meaning bible verses will show you what Scripture teaches about exclusive commitment, covenant loyalty, and the protective boundaries God designed for marriage relationships.
The phrase “forsaking all others” traditionally appears in Christian wedding ceremonies, declaring that spouses abandon all other romantic possibilities to commit exclusively to each other.
While this exact phrase doesn’t appear in Scripture, the concept saturates biblical teaching about marriage from Genesis through Revelation.
God designed marriage as an exclusive covenant between one man and one woman, requiring forsaking all competing relationships, priorities, and loyalties that threaten marital unity and devotion.
30 Forsaking All Others Meaning
1. Genesis 2:24 (NIV)
“That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.”
Marriage requires leaving parents and uniting with a spouse. Forsaking begins with family reorientation. These foregoing verses establish that marriage creates new primary relationships superseding even parental bonds, demanding loyalty shift from family of origin.
2. Matthew 19:5-6 (ESV)
“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.”
God joins husband and wife into one flesh. Separation violates divine joining. Forsaking all others means recognizing that God Himself unites spouses, creating indivisible union that no person should ever attempt to divide.
3. Malachi 2:14 (NKJV)
“Yet you say, ‘For what reason?’ Because the LORD has been witness between you and the wife of your youth, with whom you have dealt treacherously; yet she is your companion and your wife by covenant.”
God witnesses marriage covenants. Betrayal is treachery. These forsaking all others meaning verses identify marriage as a witnessed covenant where unfaithfulness constitutes treachery against both spouse and God who observed your vows.
4. Proverbs 5:15-17 (NLT)
“Drink water from your own well—share your love only with your wife. Why spill the water of your springs in the streets, having sex with just anyone? You should reserve it for yourselves. Never share it with strangers.”
Sexual exclusivity protects marriage. Sharing intimacy outside marriage wastes what belongs exclusively to the spouse. Forsaking all others includes reserving physical and emotional intimacy solely for covenant partners, never sharing with outsiders.
5. 1 Corinthians 7:2 (CSB)
“But because sexual immorality is so common, each man should have sexual relations with his own wife, and each woman should have sexual relations with her own husband.”
Each spouse belongs exclusively to their partner sexually. Forsaking maintains boundaries. These forsaking all others meaning verses command sexual exclusivity where husband relates only to his wife and wife only to her husband.
6. Hebrews 13:4 (NASB)
“Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.”
Honor marriage and keep the bed undefiled. God judges violation. Forsaking all others maintains purity in marriage bed, recognizing that defiling it through adultery invites divine judgment against covenant breakers.
7. Exodus 20:14 (KJV)
“Thou shalt not commit adultery.”
God’s seventh commandment prohibits adultery directly. Forsaking requires faithfulness. This fundamental command establishes that forsaking all others isn’t optional suggestion but divine mandate protecting marriage’s exclusive nature from violation.
8. Proverbs 6:32-33 (NRSV)
“But he who commits adultery has no sense; he who does it destroys himself. He will get wounds and dishonor, and his disgrace will not be wiped away.”
Adultery destroys the adulterer. Consequences include permanent disgrace. These forsaking all others meaning verses warn that violating marriage covenant through unfaithfulness produces self-destruction and lasting shame that cannot be erased.
9. Matthew 5:28 (MSG)
“Don’t think you’ve preserved your virtue simply by staying out of bed. Your heart can be corrupted by lust even quicker than your body. Those leering looks you think nobody notices—they also corrupt.”
Forsaking includes guarding your heart and eyes. Mental faithfulness matters. Jesus expanded forsaking beyond physical acts to include thought life, establishing that lustful looking violates forsaking principle even without physical contact.
10. Song of Solomon 2:16 (AMP)
“My beloved is mine and I am his; he grazes his flock among the lilies.”
Mutual belonging characterizes covenant love. Exclusive possession provides security. These forsaking all others meaning verses celebrate reciprocal ownership where each spouse belongs completely to the other, creating safety through mutual devotion.
11. Ephesians 5:31 (NET)
“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and will be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”
Paul reaffirmed Genesis’ pattern of leaving and cleaving. Forsaking transcends cultures and eras. New Testament confirmation establishes that forsaking all others remains God’s unchanging design for marriage across all generations and societies.
12. 1 Corinthians 7:3-4 (HCSB)
“A husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise a wife to her husband. A wife does not have the right over her own body, but her husband does. In the same way, a husband does not have the right over his own body, but his wife does.”
Spouses surrender body rights to each other exclusively. Mutual authority replaces individual autonomy. These forsaking all others meaning verses teach that marriage transfers body ownership to spouse, requiring sexual availability exclusively within covenant relationship.
13. Proverbs 5:18-19 (CEV)
“Have pleasure from the wife you married when you were young. She is beautiful and graceful, just like a deer; you should be attracted to her and stay deeply in love.”
Find pleasure exclusively in your covenant spouse. Attraction should remain focused. Forsaking all others includes maintaining romantic attraction toward spouse throughout marriage, refusing to let age or familiarity diminish exclusive devotion.
14. Deuteronomy 24:5 (GNT)
“When a man is newly married, he is not to be drafted into military service or any other public duty; he is to be excused from duty for one year so that he can stay home and make his wife happy.”
New husbands focused exclusively on wives initially. Marriage required undivided attention. These forsaking all others meaning verses demonstrate priority given to establishing marriage relationships by protecting newlyweds from competing demands during the foundational year.
15. Ecclesiastes 9:9 (NCV)
“Enjoy life with the wife you love. Enjoy all the useless days of this useless life God has given you here on earth—it is all you have. So enjoy the work you have to do here on earth.”
Enjoy life exclusively with your spouse. She’s your lifelong companion. Forsaking all others means finding life’s joy primarily through covenant partners rather than seeking fulfillment through relationships outside marriage bonds.
16. 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4 (ISV)
“For this is God’s will: your sanctification. You are to keep away from sexual immorality. Each of you must know how to control your own body in holiness and honor.”
God’s will includes sexual purity and self-control. Forsaking requires discipline. These forsaking all others meaning verses establish that controlling your body in holiness means reserving sexual expression exclusively for legitimate spouse.
17. Colossians 3:5 (TLV)
“Therefore, put to death what is worldly in you—sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed (which is idolatry).”
Put sexual sin to death. Lust constitutes idolatry. Forsaking all others demands executing lustful desires for anyone besides spouse, recognizing that such desires function as idolatry competing with covenant loyalty.
18. Job 31:1 (LEB)
“I have made a covenant with my eyes, and how could I look closely at a virgin?”
Job covenanted with his eyes against lustful looking. Visual discipline protects faithfulness. These forsaking all others meaning verses model proactive boundary-setting where you establish visual covenants preventing wandering eyes from violating forsaking commitment.
19. Proverbs 6:29 (WEB)
“So is he who goes to his neighbor’s wife. Whoever touches her will not be unpunished.”
Violating another’s marriage brings punishment. Boundaries protect all marriages. Forsaking all others includes respecting others’ covenant relationships by maintaining appropriate distance from married people, protecting both your marriage and theirs.
20. Romans 7:2-3 (ASV)
“For the woman that hath a husband is bound by law to the husband while he liveth; but if the husband dies, she is discharged from the law of the husband. So then if, while the husband liveth, she be joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if the husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is no adulteress, though she be joined to another man.”
Marriage binds spouses until death. Remarriage during a spouse’s life constitutes adultery. These forsaking all others meaning verses establish marriage’s permanence, teaching that covenant exclusivity continues throughout the spouse’s lifetime under normal circumstances.
21. Mark 10:11-12 (RSV)
“And he said to them, ‘Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.’”
Divorce followed by remarriage constitutes adultery. Covenant breaking has consequences. Forsaking all others originally included forsaking the option of divorce and subsequent remarriage, maintaining covenant faithfulness until death.
22. 1 Corinthians 6:16 (DARBY)
“Do ye not know that he that is joined to the harlot is one body? For the two, he says, shall be one flesh.”
Sexual union creates one-flesh bond even outside marriage. Intimacy has profound consequences. These forsaking all others meaning verses warn that sexual involvement with anyone creates bonding that violates exclusive one-flesh union reserved for covenant spouse.
23. Proverbs 2:17 (WNT)
“Who has left the friend of her youth and forgotten her God-made covenant.”
An unfaithful spouse abandons a youthful companion and violates God-made covenant. Two betrayals occur simultaneously. Forsaking all others recognizes that marriage betrayal simultaneously breaks covenant with spouse and with God who ordained the relationship.
24. Matthew 19:9 (GNV)
“And I say vnto you, Whosoeuer shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marrie another, committeth adulterie: and whosoever marrieth her which is divorced, doeth commit adulterie.”
Jesus allowed divorce only for sexual immorality. Otherwise remarriage constitutes adultery. Forsaking all others established permanence where covenant breaking through sexual sin becomes only biblically acceptable grounds for ending marriage.
25. Proverbs 31:11-12 (TLB)
“Her husband can trust her, and she will richly satisfy his needs. She will not hinder him but help him all her life.”
Trustworthy wives satisfy husbands’ needs throughout life. Forsaking includes lifelong helpfulness. These forsaking all others meaning verses describe faithful spouses who consistently meet a partner’s needs across the entire marriage rather than abandoning commitment when difficulties arise.
26. 1 Peter 3:7 (TPT)
“Husbands, in the same way, live with their wives with understanding, showing them respect as women who are the weaker partner and as co-heirs of the grace that brings true life. Do this so that nothing will interfere with your prayers.”
Husbands show understanding and respect to wives. Forsaking includes honoring. Forsaking all others encompasses treating spouses with respect and understanding, recognizing shared inheritance requires maintaining a relationship that doesn’t hinder spiritual connection with God.
27. Ephesians 5:25 (VOICE)
“Husbands, love your wives in the same way the Anointed One loves His bride, the church. He gave His life for her.”
Husbands love wives sacrificially like Christ loved the church. Forsaking includes self-sacrifice. These forsaking all others meaning verses establish that covenant loyalty means loving spouse sacrificially, prioritizing their welfare even when requiring personal cost.
28. Titus 2:4-5 (NIrV)
“Then they can advise the younger women to love their husbands and children. The younger women must control themselves. They must be pure. They must take good care of their homes. They must be kind. They must follow the lead of their husbands. Then no one will be able to speak evil things against God’s word.”
Wives love husbands and remain pure. Forsaking maintains purity and submission. Covenant faithfulness includes wives loving husbands exclusively, maintaining sexual purity, and following leadership within God’s established marital structure.
29. Song of Solomon 8:6-7 (ERV)
“Put me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm. Love is as strong as death; jealousy is as strong as the grave. Love bursts into flames; it is a hot flame, a flame of the LORD himself! Floods of water cannot put out love, and rivers cannot sweep it away. If a man offered everything in his house for love, people would totally reject it.”
Covenant love burns strong as death. Nothing extinguishes true love. These forsaking all others meaning verses celebrate exclusive love’s intensity, describing devotion so powerful that no force can destroy it or price can purchase it.
30. Genesis 24:67 (GWT)
“Isaac took her into his mother Sarah’s tent. He married Rebekah. She became his wife, and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.”
Isaac found comfort in exclusive love with Rebekah. Marriage provides consolation. Forsaking all others creates intimate bond where spouse becomes primary source of comfort, replacing even parental relationships as life’s central human connection.
Our Thoughts On What The Bible Says About Forsaking All Others
These forsaking all others meaning verses reveal that biblical marriage requires exclusive commitment superseding all competing relationships, priorities, and loyalties.
Forsaking begins with leaving parents to unite with their spouse, creating a new primary relationship that supersedes even family origins.
Sexual exclusivity forms a core component—each spouse belongs exclusively to their partner physically, emotionally, and mentally, with Jesus expanding faithfulness beyond physical acts to include thought life and lustful looking.
Marriage creates one-flesh union witnessed by God Himself, making unfaithfulness treachery against both spouse and the covenant-witnessing God.
Forsaking all others includes maintaining romantic attraction toward spouse throughout marriage, refusing to let age or familiarity diminish exclusive devotion. The marriage bed must remain undefiled with God judging those who violate covenant through adultery.
Covenant exclusivity continues throughout the spouse’s lifetime under normal circumstances, with only sexual immorality providing biblical grounds for ending marriage.
Forsaking encompasses treating a spouse with sacrificial love, respect, understanding, and lifelong commitment that finds life’s primary joy through covenant partners rather than seeking fulfillment through relationships outside marriage bonds.
Say This Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank You for the gift of marriage and the beautiful design of exclusive covenant love. Help me understand the depth of forsaking all others, recognizing it’s far more than avoiding physical adultery.
Guard my heart and eyes from wandering toward anyone besides my spouse. Help me maintain mental faithfulness, refusing lustful thoughts about others.
Make my spouse my exclusive source of romantic affection, physical intimacy, and emotional connection. Forgive me for times I’ve allowed competing relationships, priorities, or interests to threaten the primacy of my marriage covenant.
Help me leave parents appropriately and cleave to my spouse, making our relationship the central human bond in my life. Teach me to find life’s joy primarily through my covenant partner rather than seeking fulfillment outside our marriage.
Give me sacrificial love like Christ showed the church, prioritizing my spouse’s welfare even when requiring personal cost. Help me treat my spouse with consistent respect, understanding, and honor throughout our entire marriage.
Protect us from sexual immorality, maintaining purity in our marriage bed. Remove any attraction toward others, keeping my desire focused exclusively on the spouse You’ve given me.
Help us remain faithful until death separates us, maintaining covenant loyalty regardless of difficulties we face.
Thank You that marriage between one man and one woman reflects Christ’s relationship with the church. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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