Matthew 19
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Teaching about Divorce
19 When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan.(A) 2 Large crowds followed him, and he cured them there.(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?”(C) 4 He answered, “Have you not read that the one who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’(D) 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’?(E) 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?”(F) 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](G)
10 The[b] disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” 11 But he said to them, “Not everyone can accept this teaching, but only those to whom it is given.(H) 12 For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.”
Jesus Blesses Little Children
13 Then children were being brought to him in order that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples spoke sternly to those who brought them, 14 but Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, and do not stop them, for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.”(I) 15 And he laid his hands on them and went on his way.
The Rich Young Man
16 Then someone came to him and said, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?”(J) 17 And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is one who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness.(K) 19 Honor your father and mother. Also, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”(L) 20 The young man said to him, “I have kept all these;[c] what do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money[d] to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”(M) 22 When the young man heard this word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions.
23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven.(N) 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astounded and said, “Then who can be saved?” 26 But Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible.”(O)
27 Then Peter said in reply, “Look, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?”(P) 28 Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man is seated on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.(Q) 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or[e] children or fields for my name’s sake will receive a hundredfold[f] and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.(R)
Footnotes
Matthew 19
International Standard Version
Teaching about Divorce(A)
19 When Jesus had finished saying these things,[a] he left Galilee and went to the territory of Judea on the other side[b] of the Jordan. 2 Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.
3 Some Pharisees came to him in order to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man[c] to divorce his wife for any reason?”
4 He answered them, “Haven’t you read that the one who made[d] them at the beginning ‘made them male and female’[e] 5 and said, ‘That is why a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?[f] 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, man must never separate.”
7 They asked him, “Why, then, did Moses order us ‘to give a certificate of divorce and divorce her’?”[g]
8 He told them, “It was because of your hardness of heart that Moses allowed you to divorce your wives. But from the beginning it was not this way. 9 I tell you that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”[h]
10 His disciples asked him, “If that is the relationship of a man with his wife, it’s not worth getting married!”
11 “Not everyone can accept this saying,” he replied, “except those to whom celibacy[i] has been granted, 12 because some men are celibate from birth,[j] while some are celibate because they have been made that way by others. Still others are celibate because they have made themselves that way for the sake of the kingdom from[k] heaven. Let anyone accept this who can.”
Jesus Blesses the Little Children(B)
13 Then some little children were brought to him so that he might lay his hands on them and pray. But the disciples rebuked those who brought[l] them. 14 Jesus, however, said, “Let the little children come to me, and stop keeping them away, because the kingdom from[m] heaven belongs to people like these.” 15 When he had laid his hands on them, he went on from there.
A Rich Man Comes to Jesus(C)
16 Just then a man came up to Jesus.[n] “Teacher,”[o] he asked, “what good deed should I do to have eternal life?”
17 Jesus[p] asked him, “Why ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good.[q] If you want to get into that life, you must keep the commandments.”
18 The young man[r] asked him, “Which ones?”
Jesus said, “‘You must not murder,[s] you must not commit adultery,[t] you must not steal,[u] you must not give false testimony,[v] 19 honor your father and mother,’[w] and, ‘you must love your neighbor as yourself.’”[x]
20 The young man told him, “I have kept all of these.[y] What do I still lack?”
21 Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell what you own and give the money[z] to the destitute, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come back and follow me.” 22 But when the young man heard this statement he went away sad, because he had many possessions.
Salvation and Reward(D)
23 Then Jesus told his disciples, “I tell all of you[aa] with certainty, it will be hard for a rich person to get into the kingdom from[ab] heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get into the kingdom of God.”
25 When the disciples heard this, they were completely astonished. “Who, then, can be saved?” they asked.
26 Jesus looked at them intently and said, “For humans this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.”
27 “Look!” Peter replied. “We have left everything and followed you. So what will we get?”
28 Jesus told them, “I tell all of you[ac] with certainty, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne in the renewed creation, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, governing the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 In fact, everyone who has left his homes, brothers, sisters, father, mother, children, or fields because of my name will receive a hundred times as much[ad] and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”
Footnotes
- Matthew 19:1 Lit. finished these sayings
- Matthew 19:1 I.e. the east side
- Matthew 19:3 Other mss. lack for a man
- Matthew 19:4 Other mss. read created
- Matthew 19:4 Cf. Gen 1:27; 5:2
- Matthew 19:5 Cf. Gen 2:24
- Matthew 19:7 Cf. Deut 24:1, 3
- Matthew 19:9 Other mss. read adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery
- Matthew 19:11 Lit. it
- Matthew 19:12 Lit. from the mother’s womb
- Matthew 19:12 Lit. of
- Matthew 19:13 The Gk. lacks those who brought
- Matthew 19:14 Lit. of
- Matthew 19:16 Lit. him
- Matthew 19:16 Other mss. read Good Teacher
- Matthew 19:17 Lit. He
- Matthew 19:17 Other mss. read Why do you call me good? No one is good except for one—God
- Matthew 19:18 Lit. He
- Matthew 19:18 Cf. Exod 20:13; Deut 5:17
- Matthew 19:18 Cf. Exod 20:14; Deut 5:18
- Matthew 19:18 Cf. Exod 20:15; Deut 5:19
- Matthew 19:18 Cf. Exod 20:16; Deut 5:20
- Matthew 19:19 Cf. Exod 20:12; Deut 5:16
- Matthew 19:19 Cf. Lev 19:18
- Matthew 19:20 Other mss. read kept all of these since I was a young man
- Matthew 19:21 The Gk. lacks the money
- Matthew 19:23 The Gk. pronoun you is pl.
- Matthew 19:23 Lit. of
- Matthew 19:28 The Gk. pronoun you is pl.
- Matthew 19:29 Other mss. read many times as much
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