⁵ And he said, “‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’^[a]

²¹ So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God took out one of the man’s ribs^[a] and closed up the opening. ²² Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man.

²³ “At last!” the man exclaimed.

²⁴ This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.

² But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband.

³¹ As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.”^[a]

⁴ The wife gives authority over her body to her husband, and the husband gives authority over his body to his wife.

¹⁶ And don’t you realize that if a man joins himself to a prostitute, he becomes one body with her? For the Scriptures say, “The two are united into one.”^[a]

⁵ But Jesus responded, “He wrote this commandment only as a concession to your hard hearts. ⁶ But ‘God made them male and female’^[a] from the beginning of creation. ⁷ ‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife,^{[b] 8} and the two are united into one.’^[c] Since they are no longer two but one, ⁹ let no one split apart what God has joined together.”

⁹ Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.