Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died, and since he had no children he left his wife to his brother.

For Herod himself had sent men, arrested John, and bound him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because Herod ¹  had married her.

But if they do not have self-control, let them get married. For it is better to marry than to burn with sexual desire. ¹ 

You will no longer be called, “Abandoned,” and your land will no longer be called “Desolate.” Indeed, ¹  you will be called “My Delight is in Her,” ²  and your land “Married.” ³  For the Lord will take delight in you, and your land will be married to him. ⁴ 

Now Eleazar son of Aaron married one of the daughters of Putiel and she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers’ households ¹  of Levi according to their clans.

Or who among you ¹  has become engaged to a woman but has not married her? He may go home, lest he die in battle and someone else marry her.”

accusing her of impropriety ¹  and defaming her reputation ²  by saying, “I married this woman but when I had sexual relations ³  with her I discovered she was not a virgin!”

If a man is caught having sexual relations with ¹  a married woman ²  both the man who had relations with the woman and the woman herself must die; in this way you will purge ³  evil from Israel.

If the second husband rejects ¹  her and then divorces her, ²  gives her the papers, and evicts her from his house, or if the second husband who married her dies,

(Pharaoh, king of Egypt, had attacked and captured Gezer. He burned it and killed the Canaanites who lived in the city. He gave it as a wedding present to his daughter, who had married Solomon.)

As if following in the sinful footsteps of Jeroboam son of Nebat were not bad enough, he married Jezebel the daughter of King Ethbaal of the Sidonians. Then he worshiped and bowed to Baal. ¹ 

He followed in the footsteps of the kings of Israel, just as Ahab’s dynasty had done, for he married Ahab’s daughter. ¹  He did evil in the sight of ²  the Lord.

(His Judahite wife gave birth to Jered the father of Gedor, Heber the father of Soco, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah.) These were the sons of Pharaoh’s daughter Bithiah, whom Mered married. ¹ 

He followed in the footsteps of the kings of Israel, just as Ahab’s dynasty had done, for he married Ahab’s daughter. ¹  He did evil in the sight of ²  the Lord.

For many in Judah had sworn allegiance to him, ¹  because he was the son-in-law of Shecaniah son of Arah. His son Jonathan had married the daughter of Meshullam son of Berechiah.

And from among the priests: the descendants of Hobaiah, the descendants of Hakkoz, and the descendants of Barzillai (who had married a woman from the daughters of Barzillai the Gileadite and was called by that name).

Marry and have sons and daughters. Find wives for your sons and allow your daughters get married so that they too can have sons and daughters. Grow in number; do not dwindle away.

Yet you ask, “Why?” The Lord is testifying against you on behalf of the wife you married when you were young, ¹  to whom you have become unfaithful even though she is your companion and wife by law. ² 

There was also a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old, ¹  having been married to her husband for seven years until his death.

For a married woman is bound by law to her husband as long as he lives, but if her ¹  husband dies, she is released from the law of the marriage. ²