Matthew 19
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?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be (AC)perfect, go, (AD)sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have (AE)treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 (AF)When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
23 And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, (AG)only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 (AH)Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter (AI)the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” 26 But Jesus (AJ)looked at them and said, (AK)“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 27 Then Peter said in reply, “See, (AL)we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” 28 Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world,[b] (AM)when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me (AN)will also sit on twelve thrones, (AO)judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 (AP)And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold[c] and will (AQ)inherit eternal life. 30 But (AR)many who are (AS)first will be last, and the last first.
Footnotes
- Matthew 19:9 Some manuscripts add and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery; other manuscripts except for sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery
- Matthew 19:28 Greek in the regeneration
- Matthew 19:29 Some manuscripts manifold
Genesis 1
English Standard Version
The Creation of the World
1 In the (A)beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was (B)without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
3 And God said, (C)“Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.
6 And God said, (D)“Let there be an expanse[a] in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 And God made[b] the expanse and (E)separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were (F)above the expanse. And it was so. 8 And God called the expanse Heaven.[c] And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.
9 And God said, (G)“Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry land Earth,[d] and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.
11 And God said, (H)“Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants[e] yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.
14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for (I)signs and for (J)seasons,[f] and for days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. 16 And God (K)made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. 17 And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 to (L)rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.
20 And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds[g] fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” 21 So (M)God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, (N)“Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.
24 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. 25 And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
26 Then God said, (O)“Let us make man[h] in our image, (P)after our likeness. And (Q)let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
(R)male and female he created them.
28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, (S)“Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. (T)You shall have them for food. 30 And (U)to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 (V)And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
Footnotes
- Genesis 1:6 Or a canopy; also verses 7, 8, 14, 15, 17, 20
- Genesis 1:7 Or fashioned; also verse 16
- Genesis 1:8 Or Sky; also verses 9, 14, 15, 17, 20, 26, 28, 30; 2:1
- Genesis 1:10 Or Land; also verses 11, 12, 22, 24, 25, 26, 28, 30; 2:1
- Genesis 1:11 Or small plants; also verses 12, 29
- Genesis 1:14 Or appointed times
- Genesis 1:20 Or flying things; see Leviticus 11:19–20
- Genesis 1:26 The Hebrew word for man (adam) is the generic term for mankind and becomes the proper name Adam
Psalm 127
English Standard Version
Unless the Lord Builds the House
A Song of (A)Ascents. Of Solomon.
127 Unless the Lord builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain.
Unless the Lord (B)watches over the city,
the watchman stays awake in vain.
2 It is in vain that you rise up early
and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious (C)toil;
for he gives to his (D)beloved (E)sleep.
3 Behold, (F)children are a heritage from the Lord,
(G)the fruit of the womb a reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of (H)a warrior
are the children[a] of one's youth.
5 Blessed is the man
who fills his quiver with them!
He shall not be put to shame
when he speaks with his enemies (I)in the gate.[b]
Footnotes
- Psalm 127:4 Or sons
- Psalm 127:5 Or They shall not be put to shame when they speak with their enemies in the gate
Song of Solomon 1
English Standard Version
1 The Song of (A)Songs, which is Solomon's.
The Bride Confesses Her Love
She[a]
2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!
For your (B)love is better than wine;
3 your (C)anointing oils are fragrant;
your (D)name is oil poured out;
therefore virgins love you.
4 (E)Draw me after you; (F)let us run.
(G)The king has brought me into his chambers.
Others
We will (H)exult and rejoice in you;
we will extol (I)your love more than wine;
rightly do they love you.
She
5 I am very dark, but (J)lovely,
O (K)daughters of Jerusalem,
like (L)the tents of (M)Kedar,
like the curtains of Solomon.
6 Do not gaze at me because I am dark,
because the sun has looked upon me.
My (N)mother's sons were angry with me;
they made me (O)keeper of (P)the vineyards,
but (Q)my own vineyard I have not kept!
7 Tell me, you (R)whom my soul loves,
where you (S)pasture your flock,
where you make it (T)lie down at noon;
for why should I be like one who veils herself
beside the flocks of your (U)companions?
Solomon and His Bride Delight in Each Other
He
8 If you do not know,
O (V)most beautiful among women,
follow in the tracks of the flock,
and pasture your young goats
beside the shepherds' tents.
9 I compare you, (W)my love,
to (X)a mare among Pharaoh's chariots.
10 (Y)Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments,
your neck with strings of jewels.
Others
11 We will make for you[b] ornaments of gold,
studded with silver.
She
12 While (Z)the king was on his couch,
my (AA)nard gave forth its fragrance.
13 My beloved is to me a sachet of (AB)myrrh
that lies between my breasts.
14 My beloved is to me a cluster of (AC)henna blossoms
in the vineyards of (AD)Engedi.
He
15 (AE)Behold, (AF)you are beautiful, (AG)my love;
behold, you are beautiful;
your (AH)eyes are doves.
She
16 Behold, you are beautiful, (AI)my beloved, truly (AJ)delightful.
Our couch is green;
17 the beams of our house are (AK)cedar;
our rafters are (AL)pine.
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 1:2 The translators have added speaker identifications based on the gender and number of the Hebrew words
- Song of Solomon 1:11 The Hebrew for you is feminine singular
Song of Solomon 2
English Standard Version
He
2 As a lily among brambles,
so is (B)my love among the young women.
She
3 As an apple tree among the trees of the forest,
so is my (C)beloved among the young men.
With great delight I sat (D)in his shadow,
and his (E)fruit was sweet to my taste.
4 He (F)brought me to the banqueting house,[b]
and his (G)banner over me was love.
5 Sustain me with (H)raisins;
refresh me with apples,
(I)for I am sick with love.
6 His (J)left hand is under my head,
and his right hand (K)embraces me!
7 I (L)adjure you,[c] O (M)daughters of Jerusalem,
by (N)the gazelles or the does of the field,
that you not stir up or awaken love
until it pleases.
The Bride Adores Her Beloved
8 The voice of my beloved!
Behold, he comes,
leaping (O)over the mountains,
bounding over the hills.
9 My beloved is like (P)a gazelle
or a young stag.
Behold, there he stands
behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
looking through the lattice.
10 My beloved speaks and says to me:
(Q)“Arise, my love, my beautiful one,
and come away,
11 for behold, the winter is past;
(R)the rain is over and gone.
12 (S)The flowers appear on the earth,
the time of singing[d] has come,
and the voice of (T)the turtledove
is heard in our land.
13 (U)The fig tree ripens its figs,
and (V)the vines are in blossom;
they give forth fragrance.
(W)Arise, my love, my beautiful one,
and come away.
14 O my (X)dove, in the (Y)clefts of the rock,
in the crannies of the cliff,
let me see your face,
let me (Z)hear your voice,
for your voice is sweet,
and your face is (AA)lovely.
15 Catch (AB)the foxes[e] for us,
the little foxes
that spoil the vineyards,
(AC)for our vineyards are in blossom.”
16 (AD)My beloved is mine, and I am his;
he (AE)grazes[f] among the lilies.
17 Until (AF)the day breathes
and (AG)the shadows flee,
turn, my beloved, be like (AH)a gazelle
or a young stag on cleft mountains.[g]
Footnotes
- Song of Solomon 2:1 Probably a bulb, such as a crocus, asphodel, or narcissus
- Song of Solomon 2:4 Hebrew the house of wine
- Song of Solomon 2:7 That is, I put you on oath; so throughout the Song
- Song of Solomon 2:12 Or pruning
- Song of Solomon 2:15 Or jackals
- Song of Solomon 2:16 Or he pastures his flock
- Song of Solomon 2:17 Or mountains of Bether
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
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