Matthew 19
New American Standard Bible
Concerning Divorce
19 (A)When Jesus had finished these words, He left Galilee and (B)came into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan; 2 and [a]large crowds followed Him, and (C)He healed them there.
3 Some Pharisees came to [b]Jesus, testing Him and [c]asking, “(D)Is it lawful for a man to [d]divorce his wife for any reason at all?” 4 And He answered and said, “Have you not read (E)that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘(F)For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and (G)the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no person is to separate.” 7 They *said to Him, “(H)Why, then, did Moses command to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away?” 8 He *said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to [e]divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. 9 And I say to you, (I)whoever [f]divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman [g]commits adultery[h].”
10 The disciples *said to Him, “If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry.” 11 But He said to them, “(J)Not all men can accept this statement, but (K)only those to whom it has been given. 12 For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by people; and there are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who is able to accept this, let him accept it.”
Jesus Blesses Little Children
13 (L)Then some children were brought to Him so that He would lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But Jesus said, “[i](M)Leave the children alone, and do not [j]forbid them to come to Me; for (N)the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” 15 After laying His hands on them, He departed from there.
The Rich Young Ruler
16 (O)And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do so that I may obtain (P)eternal life?” 17 And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but (Q)if you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” 18 Then he *said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “(R)You shall not commit murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not give false testimony; 19 (S)Honor your father and mother; and (T)You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 20 The young man *said to Him, “All these I have kept; what am I still lacking?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be [k]complete, go and (U)sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have (V)treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 22 But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.
23 And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, (W)it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 And again I say to you, (X)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.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” 26 And looking at them, Jesus said to them, “(Y)With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
The Disciples’ Reward
27 Then Peter responded and said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?” 28 And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the [l]regeneration when (Z)the Son of Man will sit on [m]His glorious throne, (AA)you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And (AB)everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother [n]or children or farms on account of My name, will receive [o]many times as much, and will inherit eternal life. 30 (AC)But many who are first will be last; and the last, first.
Footnotes
- Matthew 19:2 Or many
- Matthew 19:3 Lit Him
- Matthew 19:3 Lit saying
- Matthew 19:3 Lit send away
- Matthew 19:8 Lit send away
- Matthew 19:9 Lit sends away
- Matthew 19:9 One early ms makes her commit adultery
- Matthew 19:9 One early ms adds and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery
- Matthew 19:14 Or Permit the children
- Matthew 19:14 Or prevent them from coming
- Matthew 19:21 Or perfect
- Matthew 19:28 Or renewal; i.e., the new world
- Matthew 19:28 Lit the throne of His glory
- Matthew 19:29 One early ms adds or wife
- Matthew 19:29 One early ms a hundred times
Matthew 19
Christian Standard Bible
The Question of Divorce
19 When Jesus had finished saying these things,(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,[b](E) 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’?[c](F) 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one 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 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 He responded, “Not everyone can accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given.(J) 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. The one who is able to accept it should accept it.”
Blessing the Children
13 Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them.(K) 14 Jesus said, “Leave the little children alone, and don’t try to keep them from coming to me, because the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”[e](L) 15 After placing 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.[h](Q)
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, he went away grieving, because he had many possessions.
Possessions and the Kingdom
23 Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell 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 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”(U)
27 Then Peter responded to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you. So what will there be for us?”
28 Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, in the renewal of all things,(V) when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne,(W) you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother[k] or children or fields because of my name will receive a hundred times more and will inherit eternal life.(X) 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.(Y)
Footnotes
- 19:4 Other mss read made
- 19:4 Gn 1:27; 5:2
- 19:5 Gn 2:24
- 19:9 Other mss add Also whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery; Mt 5:32
- 19:14 Lit heaven is of such ones
- 19:17 Other mss read “Why do you call me good?”
- 19:17 Other mss read “No one is good but one—God
- 19:18–19 Ex 20:12–16; Lv 19:18; Dt 5:16–20
- 19:20 Other mss add from my youth
- 19:21 Or complete
- 19:29 Other mss add or wife
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