⁷ Husbands, in the same way, show consideration for your wives in your life together, paying honor to the woman—though the weaker vessel,^[a] they are joint heirs of the gracious gift of life—so that nothing may hinder your prayers.^(A)

¹⁹ Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly.

²³ Then the man said,

²⁴ Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh.^(B)

³ Some Pharisees came to him, and to test him they asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause?”^{(A) 4} He answered, “Have you not read that the one who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’^{(B) 5} and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?^{(C) 6} So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” ⁷ They said to him, “Why then did Moses command us to give a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her?”^{(D) 8} He said to them, “It was because you were so hard-hearted that Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. ⁹ And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”^[a](E)

²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her ²⁶ in order to make her holy by cleansing her with the washing of water by the word, ²⁷ so as to present the church to himself in splendor, without a spot or wrinkle or anything of the kind, so that she may be holy and without blemish.^{(A) 28} In the same way, husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.

³³ Each of you, however, should love his wife as himself, and a wife should respect^[a] her husband.

³ The husband should give to his wife what is due her and likewise the wife to her husband.^(A)

¹⁴ You ask, “Why does he not?” Because the Lord was a witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant.^{(A) 15} Did God^[a] not make them one, flesh with spirit in it? And what does the one desire? Godly offspring. So look to yourselves, and do not let anyone be faithless to the wife of his youth.^{[b](B) 16} For I hate^[c] divorce, says the Lord, the God of Israel, and covering one’s garment with violence, says the Lord of hosts. So take heed to yourselves and do not be faithless.

¹⁹ Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.^(A)