The Watchtower, “Questions From Readers”
“any married person who goes outside the marriage bond and engages in immoral sexual relations, whether with someone of the opposite sex or someone of the same sex, whether natural or unnatural and perverted, is guilty of committing por·neiʹa or “fornication” in the Bible sense.”
The answer broadens the meaning of the Greek word rendered ‘fornication’ at Matthew 5:32 and 19:9 beyond ordinary heterosexual intercourse. At this stage the broadened definition is still confined to acts outside the marriage.
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Provenance and verification note for The Watchtower, Questions From Readers
Confidence note. Document opened on the Watchtower Online Library on 19 September 2026 and read in full; the quoted sentence follows the page 768 marker. The article runs pp. 766-768.
Corroborated by. src-chg-p-w-1974-1115-qfr-marital
Notes. The organisation’s own index lists this article under the year 1972 with the entry ‘fornication (porneia) as grounds for divorce (Mt 5:32; 19:9): w72 766-768’. The answer itself says that it ‘clearly marks a correction in the view expressed on previous occasions in the columns of this magazine’.
Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-chg-p-w-1972-1215-qfr-porneia