Matthew 19:1-20

English Standard Version

Teaching About Divorce

19 Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from ^(A)Galilee and ^(B)entered ^(C)the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. ² And ^(D)large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

³ And Pharisees came up to him and ^(E)tested him by asking, ^(F)“Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?” ⁴ He answered, ^(G)“Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, ⁵ and said, ^(H)‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and ^(I)the two shall become one flesh’? ⁶ So they are no longer two but one flesh. ^(J)What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” ⁷ They said to him, ^(K)“Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” ⁸ He said to them, “Because of your ^(L)hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. ^9 (M)And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”^[a]

¹⁰ The 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, ^(N)“Not everyone can receive this saying, but only ^(O)those to ^(P)whom it is given. ¹² For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs ^(Q)for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.”

Let the Children Come to Me

^13 (R)Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples ^(S)rebuked the people, ¹⁴ but Jesus said, ^(T)“Let the little children ^(U)come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” ¹⁵ And he laid his hands on them and went away.

The Rich Young Man

^16 (V)And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to ^(W)have ^(X)eternal life?” ¹⁷ And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. ^(Y)If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” ¹⁸ He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, ^(Z)“You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, ¹⁹ Honor your father and mother, and, ^(AA)You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁰ The young man said to him, ^(AB)“All these I have kept. What do I still lack?”