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
Matthew 19
New Life Version
What Jesus Taught about Marriage and Divorce (A)
19 When Jesus had finished talking, He went from the country of Galilee. He came to the part of the country of Judea which is on the other side of the Jordan River. 2 Many people followed Him and He healed them there.
3 The proud religious law-keepers came to Jesus. They tried to trap Him by saying, “Does the Law say a man can divorce his wife for any reason?” 4 He said to them, “Have you not read that He Who made them in the first place made them man and woman? 5 It says, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and his mother and will live with his wife. The two will become one.’ 6 So they are no longer two but one. Let no man divide what God has put together.”
7 The proud religious law-keepers said to Jesus, “Then why did the Law of Moses allow a man to divorce his wife if he put it down in writing and gave it to her?” 8 Jesus said to them, “Because of your hard hearts Moses allowed you to divorce your wives. It was not like that from the beginning. 9 And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sex sins, and marries another, is guilty of sex sins in marriage. Whoever marries her that is divorced is guilty of sex sins in marriage.”
10 His followers said to Him, “If that is the way of a man with his wife, it is better not to be married.” 11 But Jesus said to them, “Not all men are able to do this, but only those to whom it has been given. 12 For there are some men who from birth will never be able to have children. There are some men who have been made so by men. There are some men who have had themselves made that way because of the holy nation of heaven. The one who is able to do this, let him do it.”
Jesus Gives Thanks for Little Children (B)
13 Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray for them. The followers spoke sharp words to them. 14 But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me. Do not stop them. The holy nation of heaven is made up of ones like these.” 15 He put His hands on them and went away.
Jesus Teaches about Keeping the Law (C)
16 A man came to Jesus and asked, “Good Teacher, what good work must I do to have life that lasts forever?” 17 Jesus said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One Who is good. If you want to have life that lasts forever, you must obey the Laws.” 18 The man said to Him, “What kind of laws?” Jesus said, “You must not kill another person. You must not be guilty of sex sins. You must not steal. You must not lie. 19 Show respect to your father and your mother. And love your neighbor as you love yourself.” 20 The young man said to Jesus, “I have obeyed all these Laws. What more should I do?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go and sell everything you have and give the money to poor people. Then you will have riches in heaven. Come and follow Me.” 22 When the young man heard these words, he went away sad for he had many riches.
The Danger of Riches
23 Jesus said to His followers, “For sure, I tell you, it will be hard for a rich man to get into the holy nation of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into the holy nation of heaven.” 25 When His followers heard this, they could not understand it. They said, “Then who can be saved from the punishment of sin?” 26 Jesus looked at them and said, “This cannot be done by men. But with God all things can be done.”
27 Then Peter said to Him, “We have given up everything and have followed You. Then what will we have?” 28 Jesus said to them, “For sure, I tell you, when all the earth will be new and the Son of Man will sit on His throne in His shining-greatness, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, and judge the twelve family groups of the Jewish nation. 29 Everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands because of Me, will get a hundred times more. And you will get life that lasts forever. 30 Many who are first will be last. Many who are last will be first.
Matthew 19
New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised
Teaching about Divorce
19 When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. 2 Large crowds followed him, and he cured them there.
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?’ 4 He answered, ‘Have you not read that the one who made them at the beginning “made them male and female”, 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”? 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?’ 8 He said to them, ‘It was because you were so hard-hearted that Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but at the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for unchastity, and marries another commits adultery.’[a]
10 His 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. 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 little 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 little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.’ 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?’ 17 And he said to him, ‘Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only 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; 19 Honour your father and mother; also, You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ 20 The young man said to him, ‘I have kept all these;[b] what do I still lack?’ 21 Jesus said to him, ‘If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money[c] to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ 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. 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.’
27 Then Peter said in reply, ‘Look, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?’ 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. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold,[d] and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.
Footnotes
- Matthew 19:9 Other ancient authorities read except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; others add at the end of the verse and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery
- Matthew 19:20 Other ancient authorities add from my youth
- Matthew 19:21 Gk lacks the money
- Matthew 19:29 Other ancient authorities read manifold
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
Copyright © 1969, 2003 by Barbour Publishing, Inc.
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 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.