Sexual Sin Words in the ALT

Part Two

(Fornication Words: Part Two)

By Gary F. Zeolla

      Part One of this series on sexual sin words, we studied πορνεία (porneía; fornication) and πορνεύω (porneúō; to commit fornication). In this Part Two, we will consider three more words that are cognate with πορνεία.

      In previous editions of the ALT, ἐκπορνεύω was rendered as “to indulge in gross immorality.” But “immorality” was deemed too vague and inconsistent with the renderings of other words in the πορνεία cognate word set. Furthermore, “gross” is inherently ambiguous. By contrast, “flagrant” is defined as being “so obviously inconsistent with what is right or proper as to appear to be a flouting of law or morality” (Merriam-Webster). This characterization of sexual sin—practiced as if it were perfectly normal or even virtuous—is precisely the nuance captured by this Greek verb, hence the new rendering “to indulge in flagrant fornication.”

Genesis 38:24-26:

      The background to this passage is rather complicated. Judah’s son Er marries a woman named Tamar, but he dies. She then marries his brother Onan under the levirate custom, but he also dies. By tradition of the time, Judah should have given the next brother, Shelah, to marry her, but Judah did not do so. In frustration, Tamar disguises herself as a prostitute, and Judah pays to have sex with her (vv.12-23).

      ²⁴Now it happened after three months, it was reported to Judah, saying, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has indulged in flagrant fornication! And listen! In [the] womb having [fig., She is pregnant] by fornication!” So Judah said, “Bring her out, and let her be burnt!”

      [Note: At this point, Judah and his informant do not know the identity of the father. Because Tamar is a widow and thus not married, her pregnancy is immediate evidence of illicit activity. The messenger uses the intensified verb “indulged in flagrant fornication” (ἐκπορνεύω; ekporneúō), while Judah levies the charge of “fornication” (πορνεία; porneía). The intense form of the verb reflects the perceived gravity of this unauthorized pregnancy, which, under the Mosaic Law, would carry the death penalty (Deut 22:23f).]

      ²⁵But as she was being brought out, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, “By the man whose these things are [fig., belong], I am having in [the] womb [fig., am pregnant].” And she said, “Come to know [fig., Please identify] whose [is] this ring and necklace and staff.” ²⁶So Judah recognized [them] and said, “Tamar has been pronounced righteous rather than I, for I did not give her to Shelah my son.” And he did not add still to know her [sexually] [or, He did not know her [sexually] again].

      [Note: Judah’s initial outrage is a striking example of hypocrisy, given that he is the very man who impregnated her through his own act of fornication. This account underscores how strictly fornication was condemned within the biblical community. The hypocrisy is exposed when Tamar produces Judah’s own seal and staff, forcing him to reckon with his own sin. This sordid history provides a stark, real-world example of the chaotic consequences that inevitably follow the path of fornication.]

Jude 1:7:

      ⁷Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, in a similar manner to these [fallen angels], having indulged in flagrant fornication and having gone after different flesh [fig., having engaged in homosexual sex], are exhibited [as] an example of suffering [the] divine justice of eternal fire. [see Gen 19:4,5,24,25]

      [Note: This verse confirms that wholesale homosexual activity was a primary reason for the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. The Genesis narrative of the men of the city demanding to engage with the visitors (Gen 19:4f) serves as an illustration of the “flagrant fornication” (ἐκπορνεύω; ekporneúō) in which the Sodomites habitually engaged.

      [The figurative rendering “having engaged in homosexual sex” for the literal “having gone after different flesh” is necessary because the divinely ordained pattern is for a man to pursue the “flesh” of a woman (Gen 2:24; Matt 19:5). Therefore, a man pursuing the flesh of another man is “different”—that is, contrary to the created order (cp. Rom 1:26f). The “different flesh” cannot refer to “angelic flesh” as some claim because the Sodomites believed they were accosting human men (Gen 19:5). The distinction is clearly male versus female, not human versus angelic.

      [The reason Jude mentions this narrative is these cities “are exhibited as an example of suffering the divine justice of eternal fire.” God judged the sexual depravity of Sodom by raining down fire and brimstone (Gen 19:24f). He will judge the unrepentant in the future by consigning them to the lake of fire (Rev 21:8; 22:15).]

Ephesians 5:3-14:

      ³But fornication and all impurity [or, immorality] or covetous desire [or, greed], stop letting it even be named among you*, as is fitting for holy ones, ⁴also [neither] indecent behavior [or, obscene speech] and foolish [or, idle] talk nor coarse joking [or, vulgar talk]—the [things] not fitting—but rather thanksgiving. ⁵For this you* are knowing, that every fornicator or unclean [or, impure] [person] or covetous person (who is an idolater), does not have an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. [cp. Gal 5:19-21]

      [Note: Paul opens another vice list with πορνεία (porneía), “fornication,” at the head. The present negative imperative μηδὲ ὀνομαζέσθω (mēde onomazesthō), “stop letting it even be named,” means fornication must not be tolerated or treated casually in conversation (v.4). It is grouped with impurity and greed—covetous desire for what God has not given—which Paul labels idolatry (cp. Col 3:5). The warning is severe: the fornicator (pórnos), unclean person, or covetous man has no inheritance in Christ’s kingdom, meaning he or she is damned (cp. 1Cor 6:9f; Gal 5:19-21; Rev 21:8; 22:15).]

      ⁶Let no one be deceiving [or, misleading] you* with empty [fig., foolish] words, for because of these [things] the wrath of God is coming upon the sons [and daughters] of disobedience. ⁷Therefore, stop becoming joint-partakers with them. ⁸For you* were at one time darkness, but now [you* are] light in [the] Lord; as children of light be walking about [fig., conducting yourselves] ⁹(for the fruit of the Spirit [is] in all goodness [or, moral excellence] and righteousness and truth), ¹⁰proving [or, discovering] what is acceptable to the Lord.

      [Note: Because of the preceding sins, “the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience” (v.6). Fornication is not a minor lapse, but a damnable sin when committed without repentance. Christians, however, must be fundamentally different from the world. We “were at one time darkness” but now are “light in the Lord.” That identity demands a transformed life. The present-tense commands throughout the chapter—“be walking about,” “stop participating,” “be exposing”—show that sanctification is ongoing. A person cannot continue in the same sins as before salvation without the Holy Spirit’s conviction (John 16:8; 1John 3:6-10).]

      ¹¹And stop participating in the unfruitful works of the darkness, but instead, even be exposing [them]. ¹²For it is vile [or, disgraceful] even to speak of the [things] being done by them in secret. ¹³But all the [things] exposed by the light are revealed, for every[thing] revealed is light. ¹⁴For this reason, He [or, it] says, “Be waking up, the one sleeping, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

      [Note: Light exposes “unfruitful works of the darkness” (v.11). Such sins are “unfruitful” because they do not lead us closer to God, but away from Him; they are destructive to individuals and society. God is light (1John 1:5); anything opposite Him is darkness. We are not only to abstain from fornication but to ἐλέγχετε (elenchō), “expose/reprove” it. These sins are so vile it is disgraceful even to speak of them in detail (v.12), yet they must be brought into the light so hearts can be convicted. The contrast is sharp: darkness hides sin; light reveals it and delivers from it (v.13). The call to “wake up” and “arise from the dead” addresses those slumbering in sin (v.14).]

      [Application: A continual, unrepentant lifestyle of premarital sex, accompanied by a lack of conviction, proves a person is not saved—regardless of any past “sinner’s prayer” or vibrant church activity (Matt 7:21-23). The Holy Spirit convicts true believers and leads them out of sin (1John 1:9). If you are in a sexual relationship, God-given guilt will drive you to end it. It is nearly impossible to stop the sexual activity without ending the intimate situation that enables it. “True love marries” applies to couples who have not yet sinned sexually and wish to honor God. Couples already living in sin are serving lust, not God or each other. They must repent and prove that repentance by ending the sexual activity and ceasing to live together before considering marriage. Statistics support what Scripture warns: premarital sex correlates with higher divorce rates—a fact doubly applicable to professing Christians living in fornication. Marriage built on unrepentant sin rarely succeeds.]

      Note: Additional verses with πόρνος will be discussed later in this series. But here, we will proceed with the next word cognate to it.

Translation Note:

      The literal rendering “hired fornicator” was considered for the ALT to maintain cognate consistency with the πορνεία root. However, this was ultimately deemed too awkward for the ALT text.

      Conversely, some argue that the meaning of this specific term should dictate the definition and translation of the entire cognate set, effectively limiting all of these words to the concept of prostitution. As we have seen, however, that interpretation would be lexicographically inaccurate and would fail to do justice to the wider usage of these terms in the Greek Bible.

Leviticus 21:6-9:

      ⁶They [i.e., the Levitical priests] will be holy to their God, and they will not profane the Name of their God; for they offer the sacrifices of the LORD, gifts {Heb., food} of their God, and they will be holy. ⁷“They will not take to themselves a woman [who is] a prostitute and one [who is] having been profaned and a woman [who is] put away [fig., divorced] from her husband, [for] he [i.e., the priest] is holy to the LORD his God.

      [Note: Most versions take verse 7 as referring to two women, a woman defiled by prostitution and one who is divorced. They do so by omitting the first “and” (Greek: καὶ; kai; Heb.,   וַ , waw). The ALT translates both occurrences of kai and thus takes the verse as referring to three women. The first is a prostitute (πόρνη; pórnē). The second is a woman who is “profaned” (βεβηλόω; bebēloō). See on 19:29 for a full discussion on this word; but here, in this context it refers to a woman who has been violated by losing her virginity outside of marriage.]

      [The injunction for a priest not to marry such women is understandable. A godly man needs a godly wife, and that begins with sexual purity. Neither a prostitute nor a woman who has engaged in premarital sex would have been considered ritually and morally fit for a priest who is to be holy to the LORD. Such a marriage would be spiritually mismatched, as you would have a husband who is serious about the things of God and a wife who had despised God’s standards for sexuality.]

      [The third forbidden woman is one who is divorced. Why is that not allowed? Unless the divorce occurred because her husband committed fornication (Matt 19:9), then her remarriage would put her and the priest into an adulterous state. Also, getting married, divorced, then remarried is not God’s ideal (Matt 19:4-6), while priests were to represent God by being holy and were to be examples to the people of God’s ideals (cp. Mal 2:7.]

      ⁸And you will sanctify him. He offers the gifts {Heb., food} of the LORD your* God. He will be holy, for I the LORD, the One sanctifying them [am] holy. ⁹And if a daughter of a man, a priest should be profaned to indulge in flagrant fornication {Heb., becomes a prostitute}, she profanes the name of her father. She will be burned with fire.

      [Note: To be “profaned” here means the daughter lost her virginity outside of wedlock. Once called to parenthood, a priest must raise godly children (cp. 1Tim 3:4 for the NT parallel). A daughter who despised the priesthood and her father’s reputation by becoming promiscuous was not permitted to remain a member of theocratic Israel. While such capital regulation is not applicable to modern secular governments (John 18:36), the parental principle remains, and the ministries of godly men have frequently been disgraced by the ungodly actions of their children (cp. 1Sam 2:12-17, 22-25).]

1Corinthians 6:12-17:

            ¹²All [things] are lawful to me, but all [things] are not advantageous [or, beneficial]. All [things] are lawful to me, but I will not be controlled by anything. ¹³The foods for the stomach, and the stomach for the foods. But God will make both this [stomach] and these [foods] useless. So the body [is] not for fornication, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. ¹⁴Now God both raised up the Lord and will raise us up through His power.

      [Note: The Corinthians were twisting Christian liberty into license, using the slogan “All [things] are lawful,” which Paul quotes and qualifies. They compared sex to eating—“The foods for the stomach”—arguing that both were bodily functions with no moral weight. Paul refutes this: food and the stomach are temporary, but the body is eternal; it will be raised (v. 14). Therefore, the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord. Sexual intimacy is not equivalent to digestion; it carries lasting, covenantal significance.]

      ¹⁵You* know that your* bodies are members of Christ, do you* not? So having taken the members of Christ, shall I make [them] members of a prostitute? May it not be! ¹⁶You* know that the one joined to the prostitute is one body [with her], do you* not? For He says, “They will be—the two—into one flesh [or, The two will become one flesh]” [Gen 2:24, LXX].

      [Note: To have sex with a prostitute is to take Christ’s own members and join them to her. The horror of this thought prompts Paul’s strongest denial: Μὴ γένοιτο (Mē genoito! — “May it not be!”). Sex creates a “one flesh” union (Gen 2:24). It is not a casual transaction. While πόρνη (pórnē: “prostitute”) refers to a specific form of sexual sin, the inclusive use of πόρνος (pórnos; “fornicator”) in verse 9 demonstrates that Paul’s argument applies to all fornication. Any sexual act outside of marriage creates a “one flesh” bond that fragments the person’s ability to cleave within a future marital covenant.

      [Also, following Jesus’ example in Matthew 19:4-6, Paul treats Genesis 1–2 as literal history and binding doctrine. The created “one-flesh” principle still governs sexual activity; it was designed to seal a lifelong marriage covenant, not to be broken and re-formed repeatedly. Violating that design brings spiritual, emotional, and relational ruin.]

      ¹⁷But the one joined to the Lord is one spirit [with Him].

      [Note: Christians already exist in a spiritual union with Christ. To engage in fornication is to attempt to fuse that holy union with an unholy one—an unthinkable act. Because sexual intimacy is a “one-flesh” reality, fornication is not like food that passes through the body; it binds, and when performed outside of wedlock, it damages. This explains why, statistically, those who are not virgins at marriage are significantly more likely to divorce than those who are virgins: prior “one-flesh” bonds impair the integrity of the unique marital covenant bond.]

Conclusion to Fornication Words

      Fornication is a serious and damnable sin. But if you repent of committing it and trust in Christ, you can be forgiven. If you do, Christ will give you a new nature with the ability to refrain from it.

      ¹⁴For the love of Christ compels us, having judged [or, concluded] this: that since One died on behalf of all, consequently, these all died. ¹⁵And He died on behalf of all, so that the ones living should no longer be living to themselves, but to the One having died and having been raised on behalf of them. ¹⁶Therefore, from now on we know no one according to [the] flesh; and even if we have known Christ according to [the] flesh, but now no longer do we know [Him thus].

      ¹⁷Therefore, if anyone [is] in Christ, [he is] a new creation. The old [things] passed away. Look! All [things] have become new! [cp. Gal 6:15] ¹⁸And all these [things are] of God, the One having reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ and having given to us the ministry of that reconciliation, ¹⁹how that God was in Christ reconciling [the] world to Himself, not imputing their transgressions to them and having put in [or, having committed to] us the word of that reconciliation (2Cor 5:14-19).

      The next issue of Darkness to light newsletter will continue this study with a look at Greek words for adultery. In the meantime, see the two-volume set God’s Sex Plan for more detailed discussions on all of these passages.

Notes:

      All Bible passages quoted from:

      Analytical-Literal Translation of the Old Testament: Volume I: The Torah. Copyright © 2012-2026.  Analytical-Literal Translation of the New Testament: Third Edition (Corrected). Copyright © 1999-2024 by Gary F. Zeolla (www.zeolla.org).

      Analytical-Literal Translation of the New Testament: Third Edition (Corrected). Copyright © 1999-2026 by Gary F. Zeolla (www.zeolla.org).

      Note: The quoted passages include updates for the new edition of the ALT: NT, though it is a long way off, as my work on it and the other ALT volumes has been very slow due to personal struggles and updating the text more than I had originally planned.

References:

      These word sets were developed using the BibleWorks 10 software program and its many included Greek and Hebrew texts and lexicons, English Bible versions, and other Bible study aids. Also utilized was Gab AI, Meta AI, and BibleGPT. The definitions are consolidated from all of these sources.

      Merriam-Webster Dictionary and Thesaurus.

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