Many people look to the Bible for direction and wisdom on mixing races. In reality, several scriptures in the Bible speak to this topic and shed light on how God views it.
You’re not the only one searching for biblical passages that address racial mixing. This subject is becoming increasingly important today because more people are marrying and having children with people from other racial backgrounds.
The answer to the question of whether or not the Bible directly addresses this topic is yes. Regardless of color or ethnicity, the Bible emphasizes the equality of all persons before God.
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Bible Verses On Mixing Races
Although the Bible doesn’t directly address the topic of racial mixing, it does stress the significance of treating everyone with respect and love, regardless of their ethnicity. The following 10 Biblical passages address this subject:
1. Galatians 3:28
There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
2. Acts 17:26
From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.
3. Genesis 1:27
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
4. Colossians 3:11
Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
5. Deuteronomy 10:17-19
For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing.
6. Genesis 1:27
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” This verse teaches that all people are created in God’s image and therefore have inherent dignity and worth.
7. John 4:9
The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?’ (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)
8. Ephesians 2:14
For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier.
9. Acts 17:26
And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place.
10. 2 Corinthians 6:14
Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?
What Does The Bible Say About Different Races Mixing
1. Nothing in the Bible prohibits dating or wedlock a person of a different race.
There are a few incidental references to race in the Bible (e.g., Jeremiah 13:23 indicates that Ethiopians had different complexion), but nothing that implies one race is better than another. Numbers 12:1–16 describe the marriage of Moses and a Cushite (Ethiopian) woman. God was upset with Aaron and Miriam because they had criticized the union.
2. It was prohibited for Hebrews to wed Canaanites and other pagans (Exodus 34:11-16; Deuteronomy 7:1-3). The reason was not that the Hebrews, Amorites, Canaanites, etc., were genetically distinct; instead, it was because those people worshipped idols.
The apostle Paul advised Christians to avoid getting married to non-believers (2 Corinthians 6:14), but this time the motivation was religious rather than racial.
3. Jesus and His apostles preached that regardless of arbitrary divisions like race and nationality, we should appreciate and have compassion for every member of God’s created family.
Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37), in which a Samaritan man showed kindness to a Jewish man even though they were enemies from different racial, ethnic, and religious origins. Jesus concludes by instructing us to “go and do likewise.”
The apostle Paul declared that all persons are equal, regardless of their racial or ethnic heritage, social rank, etc.
All of you baptized into Christ have covered yourselves with Christ, so you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
4. Paul is teaching complete oneness and shared identity among the groups, not only tolerance of various ethnic groups in the Church. He asserts that we are each composed of the same body and members of the same family.
We must experience a profound change in how we view ourselves once we have been rescued by faith and brought into Christ. This will cause us to think very differently about other groups of believers as well. The fact that we are Christians and followers of Christ and his kingdom now serves as the foundation of who we are.
All other identities are overruled and eclipsed by this. Hence, whether we are White Christians or Black Christians (or Asian or Latin Americans, etc.), our primary identity is that we are Christians.
5. All racial and ethnic groupings share the same equal status and distinctive value because all individuals are made in the likeness of God. When they are compatible with the faith, Scripture approves of interethnic unions.
The gospel requires us to go out to people of all ethnic backgrounds with compassion and the gospel.
What Does The Bible Say About Mixing Races KJV
1. Matthew 7:16-20
Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
2. Jeremiah 2:21
Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me?
3. Hosea 5:6-7
They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the LORD; but they shall not find him; he hath withdrawn himself from them. They have dealt treacherously against the LORD: for they have begotten strange children: now shall a month devour them with their portions.
4. Genesis 1:11
And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
5. Deuteronomy 23:2
A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the LORD.
Important Bible Verses About Interracial Marriage
An important Bible verse about understanding interracial marriage is:
2 Corinthians 6:14: “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers.”
The phrase “unbelievers” in the last sentence is crucial. No matter how good and kind a non-Christian is, a Christian shouldn’t marry one.
1. According to Deuteronomy 7:1-6, the Canaanites will “turn your boys away from following Me, that they may serve other gods,” hence the Israelis should exterminate them all and avoid being married to them.
2. Aaron and Miriam were condemned in Numbers 12:1–15 for opposing the interracial marriage of Moses and his wife. The fascinating tale of a stranger who joined the genealogy of Christ is told in the book of Ruth.
According to Matthew 1, the harlot Rahab, also from a different country, is a member of Christ’s family tree. It is self-evident from Colossians 3:11 that everyone is one in Christ in the eyes of God.
3. The Bible makes it plain that interracial marriage is acceptable as long as both partners are Christians and are “equally yoked.” When a Christian couple thinks about getting married, they must carefully and prayerfully evaluate how their union will affect their family connections, society, and future offspring.
A devoted Christian spouse can easily overcome a variety of conflicts among themselves. Nonetheless, there are some cultural settings where an interracial union presents serious obstacles to the acceptability of the union and/or the children of the union.
4. Genesis 11:1–9: In this chapter, God confuses the people’s language and disperses them over the land after the Tower of Babel. Although this chapter does not specifically address marriages, it is frequently seen as a cautionary tale against human arrogance and the perils of attempting to create a single, homogenous society.
5. Intermarriage with the inhabitants of the neighboring nations is expressly forbidden in Deuteronomy 7:3–4: “You shall not intermarry with them, giving your girls to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, for they would drive away your sons from following me, to serve other gods.”
Bible Verse-Do Not Mix Races
In biblical times, the idea of race did not exist in the same sense that it does today.
The Bible does contain several verses that stress the value of marrying within one’s own family, but these verses do not talk directly about race. Instead, they focus on the significance of keeping cultural and religious traditions alive.
The Old Testament book of Deuteronomy illustrates this when it states,
“You shall not intermarry with them, giving your girls to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, for they would convert your sons from following me, to serve other gods” (Deuteronomy 7:3-4).
The rule against intermarriage in this situation was explicitly tied to the risk of abandoning the worship of God.
It’s crucial to remember that the Bible offers God’s love and redemption to individuals of all racial and ethnic backgrounds. In fact, according to the New Testament, “there is no Jew nor Gentile, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian or Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all, and is in all” (Colossians 1:15). (Colossians 3:11).
In conclusion, the Bible mentions the value of cultural and religious traditions but does not explicitly forbid interracial unions or relationships.
