Matthew 19:3-12
English Standard Version
3 And Pharisees came up to him and (A)tested him by asking, (B)“Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?” 4 He answered, (C)“Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, (D)‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and (E)the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. (F)What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” 7 They said to him, (G)“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 (H)hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 (I)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, (J)“Not everyone can receive this saying, but only (K)those to (L)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 (M)for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 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 19:3-12
Christian Standard Bible
3 Some Pharisees approached him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife on any grounds?” (A)
4 “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that he who created[a] them in the beginning made them male and female,[b](B) 5 and he also said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?[c](C) 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
7 “Why then,” they asked him, “did Moses command us to give divorce papers(D) and to send her away?”
8 He told them, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because of the hardness of your hearts, but it was not like that from the beginning. 9 I tell you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another commits adultery.”[d](E)
10 His disciples(F) said to him, “If the relationship of a man with his wife is like this, it’s better not to marry.”
11 He responded, “Not everyone can accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given.(G) 12 For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb, there are eunuchs who were made by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves that way because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who is able to accept it should accept it.”
Read full chapterThe Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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