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)

⁴ They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.”^(A)

⁵ “It was because your hearts were hard^(B) that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. ⁶ “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’^{[a](C) 7} ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,^{[b] 8} and the two will become one flesh.’^[c](D) So they are no longer two, but one flesh. ⁹ Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”