verb
moicheuamō
Strong’sG3431
I commit adultery
stem moicheu-15 times in the New Testamentin 7 of 27 books9 forms occur
What it means
A plain-English reading of the word, with the lexicons it draws on — Abbott-Smith, Strong's, and Liddell-Scott-Jones — right below it, in full.
AI Summary
To commit adultery — to be sexually unfaithful to a marriage partner 124. The verb is used both without an object, simply meaning "commit adultery" 13, and with a woman named as its object, meaning to commit adultery with her, seduce or debauch her 13. In the passive it is used of the woman herself as the one against whom the adultery is committed 13.
The word is also used figuratively of idolatry, describing the worship of idols — literally "the tree and the stone" — as a kind of unfaithfulness comparable to adultery 13.
Sources: 1 Abbott-Smith 2 Strong's 3 LSJ 4 Dodson. Condensed by anthropic/claude-sonnet-5 on 2026-09-23 — it may still misstate what these say; check them yourself if it matters to you.
The lexicons it was drawn from, in full:
Abbott-Smith — the 1922 lexicon entry, in full
μοιχεύω
(< μοιχός), [in LXX: Ex 20:13, Le 20:10, al. (נאף);]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G3431 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Saidmoy-khyoo'-o
to commit adultery
Fromfrom G3432;
King Jamescommit adultery.
James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, 1890 — public domain. The numbers in it link to the entries here.
Liddell-Scott-Jones — the classical dictionary this word appears in
commit adultery with a woman, debauch her, with accusative, Refs 5th c.BC+:—passive, of the woman, Refs 5th c.BC+
2 metaphorically, worship idolatrously, τὸ ξύλον καὶ τὸν λίθον LXX
II intransitive, commit adultery, Refs 6th c.BC+
III metaphorically, in future middle (in passive sense), οὐ μοιχεύσεταί μου τὰ φιλήματα her kisses shall not be adulterously stolen from me, Refs 3rd c.AD+
H. G. Liddell, R. Scott, H. S. Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon (9th ed., 1925–1940) — digitised by the Perseus Digital Library and corrected and expanded by Tyndale House, Cambridge, via STEPBible-Data's TFLSJ table, CC BY 4.0. Covers all of Greek literature, not just the Bible.
Translated as
Every occurrence, sorted by the English it was actually given — the evidence for what the word means, not a gloss of it.
Berean Standard Bible (BSB), dedicated to the public domain — berean.bible.
Biblang forms
What the New Testament actually uses, first — the whole system this verb is built from is one click further down.
| Form and the Greek behind it | What it is | Usually | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| moicheuasōμοιχεύεις | happening now · youpresent active indicative 2nd person singular | commit adultery | 2× |
| moicheuatōμοιχεύει | happening now · he/she/itpresent active indicative 3rd person singular | commits adultery | 2× |
| moicheuasiμοιχεύσεις | will happen · youfuture active indicative 2nd person singular | commit adultery | 3× |
| moicheuataἐμοίχευσεν | happened · he/she/itaorist active indicative 3rd person singular | committed adultery | 1× |
| moicheuaseiaμοιχεύσῃς | happened · youaorist active subjunctive 2nd person singular | commit adultery | 3× |
| moicheuarōμοιχεύειν | happening now · the “to …” formpresent active infinitive | commit adultery | 1× |
| moicheuiraμοιχευθῆναι | happened · the “to …” formaorist passive infinitive | commit adultery | 1× |
| moicheuarōntoinμοιχεύοντας | happening now · objectpresent active participle accusative plural masculine | commit adultery | 1× |
| moicheuorōntasμοιχευομένη | happening now · subjectpresent middle or passive participle nominative singular feminine | adultery | 1× |
Every form the New Testament uses, in paradigm order. What the system can build beyond them — the whole of this verb, whether the text happens to use it or not — is in the tables below.
Every form the system can build — all 172, by mood, including the ones the New Testament never uses
Statements — indicative mood, 8 occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | moicheuamō | moicheuame | moicheuami | moicheuama | moicheuamē | moicheuamelē |
| you 2nd person singular | moicheuasō2×μοιχεύεις | moicheuase | moicheuasi3×μοιχεύσεις | moicheuasa | moicheuasē | moicheuaselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | moicheuatō2×μοιχεύει | moicheuate | moicheuati | moicheuata1×ἐμοίχευσεν | moicheuatē | moicheuatelē |
| we 1st person plural | moicheuanō | moicheuane | moicheuani | moicheuana | moicheuanē | moicheuanelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | moicheuavō | moicheuave | moicheuavi | moicheuava | moicheuavē | moicheuavelē |
| they 3rd person plural | moicheualō | moicheuale | moicheuali | moicheuala | moicheualē | moicheualelē |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | moicheuomō | moicheuome | moicheuomē | moicheuomelē |
| you 2nd person singular | moicheuosō | moicheuose | moicheuosē | moicheuoselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | moicheuotō | moicheuote | moicheuotē | moicheuotelē |
| we 1st person plural | moicheuonō | moicheuone | moicheuonē | moicheuonelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | moicheuovō | moicheuove | moicheuovē | moicheuovelē |
| they 3rd person plural | moicheuolō | moicheuole | moicheuolē | moicheuolelē |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | will happen future | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | moicheuimi | moicheuima |
| you 2nd person singular | moicheuisi | moicheuisa |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | moicheuiti | moicheuita |
| we 1st person plural | moicheuini | moicheuina |
| ye 2nd person plural | moicheuivi | moicheuiva |
| they 3rd person plural | moicheuili | moicheuila |
May, might — subjunctive mood, 3 occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | moicheuameiō | moicheuameia | moicheuameiē |
| you 2nd person singular | moicheuaseiō | moicheuaseia3×μοιχεύσῃς | moicheuaseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | moicheuateiō | moicheuateia | moicheuateiē |
| we 1st person plural | moicheuaneiō | moicheuaneia | moicheuaneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | moicheuaveiō | moicheuaveia | moicheuaveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | moicheualeiō | moicheualeia | moicheualeiē |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | moicheuomeiō | moicheuomeiē |
| you 2nd person singular | moicheuoseiō | moicheuoseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | moicheuoteiō | moicheuoteiē |
| we 1st person plural | moicheuoneiō | moicheuoneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | moicheuoveiō | moicheuoveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | moicheuoleiō | moicheuoleiē |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | moicheuimeia |
| you 2nd person singular | moicheuiseia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | moicheuiteia |
| we 1st person plural | moicheuineia |
| ye 2nd person plural | moicheuiveia |
| they 3rd person plural | moicheuileia |
Commands — imperative mood, no occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | moicheuasōr | moicheuasar | moicheuasēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | moicheuatōr | moicheuatar | moicheuatēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | moicheuavōr | moicheuavar | moicheuavēr |
| they 3rd person plural | moicheualōr | moicheualar | moicheualēr |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | moicheuosōr | moicheuosēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | moicheuotōr | moicheuotēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | moicheuovōr | moicheuovēr |
| they 3rd person plural | moicheuolōr | moicheuolēr |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | moicheuisar |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | moicheuitar |
| ye 2nd person plural | moicheuivar |
| they 3rd person plural | moicheuilar |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | moicheuamoiō | moicheuamoia |
| you 2nd person singular | moicheuasoiō | moicheuasoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | moicheuatoiō | moicheuatoia |
| we 1st person plural | moicheuanoiō | moicheuanoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | moicheuavoiō | moicheuavoia |
| they 3rd person plural | moicheualoiō | moicheualoia |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | moicheuomoiō |
| you 2nd person singular | moicheuosoiō |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | moicheuotoiō |
| we 1st person plural | moicheuonoiō |
| ye 2nd person plural | moicheuovoiō |
| they 3rd person plural | moicheuoloiō |
acted on passive voice
| Who person | happened aorist |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | moicheuimoia |
| you 2nd person singular | moicheuisoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | moicheuitoia |
| we 1st person plural | moicheuinoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | moicheuivoia |
| they 3rd person plural | moicheuiloia |
The “to …” form — infinitive, 2 occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | moicheuarō1×μοιχεύειν | moicheuari | moicheuara | moicheuarē |
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | moicheuorō | moicheuorē | ||
| acted on passive voice | moicheuiri | moicheuira1×μοιχευθῆναι |
Used as an adjective — participle, 2 occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | moicheuarōntos1× | moicheuarintos | moicheuarantos | moicheuarēntos |
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | moicheuorōntos1× | moicheuorēntos | ||
| acted on passive voice | moicheuirintos | moicheuirantos |
Each is given in the form it takes as a subject. From there a participle carries the ordinary noun endings, in every case, number and gender — so these four columns are the whole of what the verb contributes.
How every form is built — the slots that make them
moicheu is this word in every one of its forms. The slots after it make all the rest.
same in every form varies — every value shown
Where it appears
Every verse the word appears in, filed under the form it takes there.
15 occurrences, every one of them listed
moicheuasō“commit adultery”happening now · youpresent active indicative 2nd person singular2×
Romans 2:22tos legarōntor mē moicheuarō moicheuasō? tos bdelussorōntor teim eidōleim hierosulasō?You who forbid adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you …
James 2:11… kai Mē foneuaseia; ei de ouk moicheuasō foneuasō de, genasē parabatos nomou.… not murder.” If you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have …
moicheuatō“commits adultery”happening now · he/she/itpresent active indicative 3rd person singular2×
Luke 16:18… tan gunaikan autou kai gamarōntos heteran moicheuatō, kai tos apoluorēntan apo androu gamarōntos …… his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and he who marries a divorced …
Luke 16:18… kai tos apoluorēntan apo androu gamarōntos moicheuatō.… he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
moicheuasi“commit adultery”will happen · youfuture active indicative 2nd person singular3×
Matthew 5:27Akouava hoti legita; Ouk moicheuasi.… that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’
Matthew 19:18… Iēsus legata; Tem Ouk foneuasi, Ouk moicheuasi, Ouk kleptasi, Ouk pseudomarturasi,… answered, “‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear …
Romans 13:9tem gar; Ouk moicheuasi, Ouk foneuasi, Ouk kleptasi, Ouk epithumasi, …The commandments “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal …
moicheuata“committed adultery”happened · he/she/itaorist active indicative 3rd person singular1×
Matthew 5:28… gunaikan pros tem epithumara autan ēdē moicheuata autan en ta kardia autou.… to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
moicheuaseia“commit adultery”happened · youaorist active subjunctive 2nd person singular3×
Mark 10:19tain entolain oidasē; Mē foneuaseia, Mē moicheuaseia, Mē kleptaseia, Mē pseudomarturaseia, Mē aposteraseia, …… commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear …
Luke 18:20tain entolain oidasē; Mē moicheuaseia, Mē foneuaseia, Mē kleptaseia, Mē pseudomarturaseia, …You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal …
James 2:11tos gar legarantos Mē moicheuaseia legata kai Mē foneuaseia; ei de …For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If …
moicheuarō“commit adultery”happening now · the “to …” formpresent active infinitive1×
Romans 2:22“commit adultery”tos legarōntor mē moicheuarō moicheuasō? tos bdelussorōntor teim eidōleim hierosulasō?… do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?
moicheuira“commit adultery”happened · the “to …” formaorist passive infinitive1×
Matthew 5:32“commit adultery”… autou parektos logou porneiau poiatō autan moicheuira, kai hos ean apoluorēntan gamateia moichotō.… who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, brings adultery upon her. And he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
moicheuarōntoin“commit adultery”happening now · objectpresent active participle accusative plural masculine1×
Revelation 2:22… balamō autan eis klinan, kai toin moicheuarōntoin meta autau eis thlipsian megan, ean …… bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her will suffer great tribulation …
moicheuorōntas“adultery”happening now · subjectpresent middle or passive participle nominative singular feminine1×
John 8:4… houtas tas gunaikas katalabita epi autofōro moicheuorōntas… was caught in the act of adultery.