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Some Pharisees came to Jesus and tried to trick him. They asked, “Is it right for a man to divorce his wife for any reason he chooses?”

Jesus answered, “Surely you have read in the Scriptures: When God made the world, ‘he made them male and female.’[a] And God said, ‘So a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two will become one body.’[b] So there are not two, but one. God has joined the two together, so no one should separate them.”

The Pharisees asked, “Why then did Moses give a command for a man to divorce his wife by giving her divorce papers?”

Jesus answered, “Moses allowed you to divorce your wives because you refused to accept God’s teaching, but divorce was not allowed in the beginning. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman is guilty of adultery.[c] The only reason for a man to divorce his wife is if his wife has sexual relations with another man.”

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Footnotes

  1. 19:4 ‘he made . . . female’ Quotation from Genesis 1:27 or 5:2.
  2. 19:5 ‘So . . . body.’ Quotation from Genesis 2:24.
  3. 19:9 adultery Some Greek copies continue, “And anyone who marries a divorced woman is guilty of adultery.” Compare Matthew 5:32.

Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife(A) for any and every reason?”

“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’[a](B) and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’[b]?(C) So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

“Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”(D)

Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”(E)

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 19:4 Gen. 1:27
  2. Matthew 19:5 Gen. 2:24