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
Lexham English Bible
On Divorce
19 And it happened that when Jesus had finished these statements, he went away from Galilee and came into the region of Judea on the other side of the Jordan. 2 And large crowds followed him, and he healed them there. 3 And Pharisees came up to him in order to[a] test him, and asked[b] if it was permitted for a man to divorce his wife for any cause. 4 And he answered and[c] said, “Have you not read that the one who created them[d] from the beginning made them male and female 5 and said, ‘On account of this a man will leave his[e] father and his[f] mother and will be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?[g] 6 So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, man must not separate.” 7 They said to him, “Why then did Moses command us[h] to give a document—a certificate of divorce—and to divorce her?” 8 He said to them, “Moses, with reference to your hardness of heart, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not like this. 9 Now I say to you that whoever divorces his wife, except on the basis of sexual immorality, and marries another commits adultery, and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.”[i]
10 The disciples[j] said to him, “If this is the case of a man with his[k] wife, it would be better not to marry!” 11 But he said to them, “Not everyone can accept this saying but those to whom it has been given. 12 For there are eunuchs who were born as such from their mother’s womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by people, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs[l] for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who is able to accept this,[m] let him accept it.”[n]
Little Children Brought to Jesus
13 Then children were brought to him so that he could lay his[o] hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 But Jesus said, “Allow the children, and do not forbid them to come to me, for to such belongs[p] the kingdom of heaven.” 15 And he laid his[q] hands on them and[r] traveled on from there.
A Rich Young Man
16 And behold, someone came up to him and[s] said, “Teacher, what good thing must I do so that I will have eternal life?” 17 And he said to him, “Why are you asking me about what is good? There is one who is good. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments!” 18 He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “Do not commit murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, 19 honor your[t] father and your[u] mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.” 20 The young man said to him, “All these I have observed. What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give the proceeds[v] to the poor—and you will have treasure in heaven—and come, follow me.” 22 But when[w] the young man heard the statement, he went away sorrowful, because he was one who had many possessions.
23 And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I say to you that with difficulty a rich person will enter into the kingdom of heaven! 24 And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich person into[x] the kingdom of God.” 25 So when[y] the disciples heard this,[z] they were extremely amazed, saying, “Then who can be saved?” 26 But Jesus looked at them[aa] and[ab] said to them, “With human beings this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 27 Then Peter answered and[ac] 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 in the renewal of the world,[ad] when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me—you also will 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 or wife[ae] or children or fields on account of my name will receive a hundred times as much, and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.
Footnotes
- Matthew 19:3 Here “in order to” is supplied as a component of the participle (“test”) which is understood as purpose
- Matthew 19:3 Here the participle (“asked”) is translated as a finite verb because of English style
- Matthew 19:4 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“answered”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Matthew 19:4 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Matthew 19:5 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
- Matthew 19:5 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
- Matthew 19:5 A quotation from Gen 2:24
- Matthew 19:7 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Matthew 19:9 Some manuscripts omit “and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery”
- Matthew 19:10 Some manuscripts have “His disciples”
- Matthew 19:10 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
- Matthew 19:12 An understood repetition of the term from earlier in the verse
- Matthew 19:12 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Matthew 19:12 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Matthew 19:13 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
- Matthew 19:14 Literally “for of such is”
- Matthew 19:15 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
- Matthew 19:15 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“laid”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Matthew 19:16 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“came up”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Matthew 19:19 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
- Matthew 19:19 Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun
- Matthew 19:21 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Matthew 19:22 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“heard”) which is understood as temporal
- Matthew 19:24 Some manuscripts have “to enter into”
- Matthew 19:25 Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“heard”) which is understood as temporal
- Matthew 19:25 *Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Matthew 19:26 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Matthew 19:26 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“looked at”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Matthew 19:27 Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“answered”) has been translated as a finite verb
- Matthew 19:28 The words “of the world” are supplied as a clarification of “renewal”
- Matthew 19:29 Some manuscripts omit “or wife”
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