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. And (D)large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

And Pharisees came up to him and (E)tested him by asking, (F)“Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?” He answered, (G)“Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 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’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. (J)What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” They said to him, (K)“Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” 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. (M)And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”[a]

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Footnotes

  1. 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

Divorce(A)

19 When Jesus had finished saying these things,(B) he left Galilee and went into the region of Judea to the other side of the Jordan. Large crowds followed him, and he healed them(C) there.

Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife(D) for any and every reason?”

“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’[a](E) and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’[b]?(F) So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”

“Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”(G)

Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”(H)

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 19:4 Gen. 1:27
  2. Matthew 19:5 Gen. 2:24

10 To the married (A)I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): (B)the wife should not separate from her husband 11 (but if she does, (C)she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and (D)the husband should not divorce his wife.

12 To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. 13 If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. (E)Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. 15 But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you[a] (F)to peace. 16 For how do you know, wife, (G)whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Corinthians 7:15 Some manuscripts us

10 To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband.(A) 11 But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband.(B) And a husband must not divorce his wife.

12 To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord):(C) If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. 13 And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.(D)

15 But if the unbeliever leaves, let it be so. The brother or the sister is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace.(E) 16 How do you know, wife, whether you will save(F) your husband?(G) Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?

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