¹⁸ Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.”^{(A) 19} So out of the ground the Lord God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air and brought them to the man to see what he would call them, and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name.^{(B) 20} The man gave names to all cattle and to the birds of the air and to every animal of the field, but for the man^[a] there was not found a helper as his partner. ²¹ So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh.^{(C) 22} And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 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.^(E)

Psalm 8

Divine Majesty and Human Dignity

To the leader: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of David.

Warning to Pay Attention

2 Therefore we must pay greater attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. ² For if the message declared through angels proved valid, and every transgression or disobedience received a just penalty,^{(A) 3} how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? It was declared at first through the Lord, and it was confirmed for us by those who heard him,^{(B) 4} while God added his testimony by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, distributed according to his will.^(C)

Exaltation through Abasement

⁵ Now God^[a] did not subject the coming world, about which we are speaking, to angels.^{(D) 6} But someone has testified somewhere,

Now in subjecting all things to them, God^[f] left nothing outside their control. As it is, we do not yet see everything in subjection to them,^(F)

⁹ but we do see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower^[a] than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God^[b] he might taste death for everyone.^(A)

¹⁰ It was fitting that God,^[c] for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many children to glory, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through sufferings.^{(B) 11} For the one who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father.^[d] For this reason Jesus^[e] is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters,^{(C) 12} saying,

¹³ And again,

And again,

¹⁴ Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,^{(F) 15} and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death.^{(G) 16} For it is clear that he did not come to help angels but the descendants of Abraham. ¹⁷ Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people.^{(H) 18} Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.^(I)

² Some,^[a] testing him, asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” ³ He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” ⁴ They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her.”^{(A) 5} But Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you. ⁶ But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’^{(B) 7} ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife,^{[b](C) 8} and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh.^{(D) 9} Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

¹⁰ Then in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. ¹¹ He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her,^{(E) 12} and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

Jesus Blesses Little Children

¹³ People were bringing children to him in order that he might touch them, and the disciples spoke sternly to them. ¹⁴ But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not stop them, for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. ¹⁵ Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.”^{(F) 16} And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.^(G)