Matthew 19:8-12
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition
8 He said to them, “For your hardness of heart 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 unchastity,[a] and marries another, commits adultery; and he who marries a divorced woman, commits adultery.”[b][c]
10 The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is not expedient to marry.” 11 But he said to them, “Not all men can receive this precept, but only those to 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 for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to receive this, let him receive it.”[d]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Matthew 19:9 Other ancient authorities, after unchastity, read makes her commit adultery
- Matthew 19:9 Other ancient authorities omit and he who marries a divorced woman, commits adultery
- 19.9 This appears to refer to the case in Mt 5.32, though the Greek word for “except” is different.
- 19.11-12 Jesus means that a life of continence is to be chosen only by those who are called to it for the sake of the kingdom of God.
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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