⁷ “Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”^(A)

⁸ Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. ⁹ I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”^(B)

¹⁰ The disciples said to him, “If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry.”

¹¹ Jesus replied, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given.^{(C) 12} For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others—and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”

¹³ Another thing you do: You flood the Lord’s altar with tears.^(A) You weep and wail^(B) because he no longer looks with favor^(C) on your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands.^{(D) 14} You ask,^(E) “Why?” It is because the Lord is the witness^(F) between you and the wife of your youth.^(G) You have been unfaithful to her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant.^(H)

¹⁵ Has not the one God made you?^(I) You belong to him in body and spirit. And what does the one God seek? Godly offspring.^[a](J) So be on your guard,^(K) and do not be unfaithful^(L) to the wife of your youth.

¹⁶ “The man who hates and divorces his wife,^(M)” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “does violence to the one he should protect,”^[b](N) says the Lord Almighty.

So be on your guard,^(O) and do not be unfaithful.

¹⁰ To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband.^{(A) 11} But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband.^(B) And a husband must not divorce his wife.

¹² To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord):^(C) If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. ¹³ And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. ¹⁴ For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.^(D)

¹⁵ But if the unbeliever leaves, let it be so. The brother or the sister is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace.^{(E) 16} How do you know, wife, whether you will save^(F) your husband?^(G) Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?

Instructions for Christian Households^(A)

²¹ Submit to one another^(B) out of reverence for Christ.

²² Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands^(C) as you do to the Lord.^{(D) 23} For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church,^(E) his body, of which he is the Savior. ²⁴ Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands^(F) in everything.

²⁵ Husbands, love your wives,^(G) just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her^{(H) 26} to make her holy,^(I) cleansing^[a] her by the washing^(J) with water through the word, ²⁷ and to present her to himself^(K) as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.^{(L) 28} In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives^(M) as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹ After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— ³⁰ for we are members of his body.^{(N) 31} “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](O) 32} This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. ³³ However, each one of you also must love his wife^(P) as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.