Matthew 19:3-12

Evangelical Heritage Version

³ Some Pharisees came in order to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?”

⁴ He answered, “Haven’t you read that from the beginning their Maker ‘made them male and female,’^{[a] 5} and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will be one flesh’?^{[b] 6} So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, man must not separate.”

⁷ They asked him, “Then why did Moses command a man to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away?”

⁸ Jesus said to them, “Because of your hard hearts, Moses permitted you to divorce your wives, but it was not that way from the beginning. ⁹ I tell you that whoever divorces his wife, except on the grounds of her sexual immorality, and marries another woman is committing adultery.”^[c]

¹⁰ His disciples said to him, “If this is the relationship of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.”

¹¹ But he said to them, “Not everyone can accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given. ¹² For example, there are eunuchs who were born that way, and others who were castrated by people, and others who decided to remain unmarried because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who is able to accept this should accept it.”