Matthew 19
New King James Version
Marriage and Divorce(A)
19 Now it came to pass, (B)when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. 2 (C)And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there.
3 The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?”
4 And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who [a]made them at the beginning (D)‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, (E)‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and (F)the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”
7 They said to Him, (G)“Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?”
8 He said to them, “Moses, because of the (H)hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your (I)wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 (J)And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for [b]sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.”
10 His disciples said to Him, (K)“If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry.”
Jesus Teaches on Celibacy
11 But He said to them, (L)“All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given: 12 For there are [c]eunuchs who were born thus from their mother’s womb, and (M)there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He who is able to accept it, let him accept it.”
Jesus Blesses Little Children(N)
13 (O)Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for (P)of such is the kingdom of heaven.” 15 And He laid His hands on them and departed from there.
Jesus Counsels the Rich Young Ruler(Q)
16 (R)Now behold, one came and said to Him, (S)“Good[d] Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”
17 So He said to him, [e]“Why do you call Me good? [f]No one is (T)good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, (U)keep the commandments.”
18 He said to Him, “Which ones?”
Jesus said, (V)“‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ 19 (W)‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, (X)‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”
20 The young man said to Him, “All these things I have (Y)kept [g]from my youth. What do I still lack?”
21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, (Z)go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
With God All Things Are Possible(AA)
23 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that (AB)it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
25 When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”
26 But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but (AC)with God all things are possible.”
27 Then Peter answered and said to Him, “See, (AD)we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?”
28 So Jesus said to them, “Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, (AE)you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 (AF)And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother [h]or wife or children or [i]lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. 30 (AG)But many who are first will be last, and the last first.
Footnotes
- Matthew 19:4 NU created
- Matthew 19:9 Or fornication
- Matthew 19:12 Emasculated men
- Matthew 19:16 NU omits Good
- Matthew 19:17 NU Why do you ask Me about what is good?
- Matthew 19:17 NU There is One who is good. But
- Matthew 19:20 NU omits from my youth
- Matthew 19:29 NU omits or wife
- Matthew 19:29 Lit. fields
Matthew 19
Holman Christian Standard Bible
The Question of Divorce
19 When Jesus had finished this instruction,(A) He departed from Galilee and went to the region of Judea across the Jordan.(B) 2 Large crowds followed Him, and He healed them there.(C) 3 Some Pharisees approached Him to test Him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife on any grounds?”(D)
4 “Haven’t you read,” He replied, “that He who created[a] them in the beginning made them male and female,”(E)[b] 5 and He also said:
“For this reason a man will leave
his father and mother
and be joined to his wife,
and the two will become one flesh?(F)[c]
6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, man must not separate.”
7 “Why then,” they asked Him, “did Moses command us to give divorce papers(G) and to send her away?”
8 He told them, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because of the hardness of your hearts. But it was not like that from the beginning. 9 And I tell you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”[d](H)
10 His disciples(I) said to Him, “If the relationship of a man with his wife is like this, it’s better not to marry!”
11 But He told them, “Not everyone can accept this saying, but only those it has been given(J) to. 12 For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb, there are eunuchs who were made by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves that way because of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.”
Blessing the Children
13 Then children were brought to Him so He might put His hands on them and pray. But the disciples rebuked them.(K) 14 Then Jesus said, “Leave the children alone, and don’t try to keep them from coming to Me, because the kingdom of heaven is made up of people like this.”[e](L) 15 After putting His hands on them, He went on from there.
The Rich Young Ruler
16 Just then someone came up and asked Him,(M) “Teacher, what good must I do to have eternal life?”(N)
17 “Why do you ask Me about what is good?”[f] He said to him. “There is only One who is good.[g] If you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”(O)
18 “Which ones?” he asked Him. Jesus answered:
Do not murder;
do not commit adultery;
do not steal;
do not bear false witness;(P)
19 honor your father and your mother;
and love your neighbor as yourself.(Q)[h]
20 “I have kept all these,”[i] the young man told Him. “What do I still lack?”
21 “If you want to be perfect,”[j] Jesus said to him, “go, sell your belongings and give to the poor,(R) and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”
22 When the young man heard that command, he went away grieving, because he had many possessions.
Possessions and the Kingdom
23 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “I assure you: It will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven!(S) 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”(T)
25 When the disciples heard this, they were utterly astonished and asked, “Then who can be saved?”
26 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”(U)
27 Then Peter responded to Him, “Look, we have left everything and followed You. So what will there be for us?”
28 Jesus said to them, “I assure you: In the Messianic Age,[k](V) when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne,(W) you who have followed Me will also sit on 12 thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses, brothers or sisters, father or mother,[l] children, or fields because of My name will receive 100 times more and will inherit eternal life.(X) 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.(Y)
Footnotes
- Matthew 19:4 Other mss read made
- Matthew 19:4 Gn 1:27; 5:2
- Matthew 19:5 Gn 2:24
- Matthew 19:9 Other mss add Also whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery; Mt 5:32
- Matthew 19:14 Lit heaven is of such ones
- Matthew 19:17 Other mss read Why do you call Me good?
- Matthew 19:17 Other mss read No one is good but One—God
- Matthew 19:19 Ex 20:12-16; Lv 19:18; Dt 5:16-20
- Matthew 19:20 Other mss add from my youth
- Matthew 19:21 Or complete
- Matthew 19:28 Lit the regeneration
- Matthew 19:29 Other mss add or wife
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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