Concerning Divorce

19 ^(A)When Jesus had finished these words, He left Galilee and ^(B)came into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan; ² and ^[a]large crowds followed Him, and ^(C)He healed them there.

³ Some Pharisees came to ^[b]Jesus, testing Him and ^[c]asking, “^(D)Is it lawful for a man to ^[d]divorce his wife for any reason at all?” ⁴ And He answered and said, “Have you not read ^(E)that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, ⁵ and said, ‘^(F)For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and ^(G)the two shall become one flesh’? ⁶ So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no person is to separate.” ⁷ They *said to Him, “^(H)Why, then, did Moses command to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away?” ⁸ He *said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to ^[e]divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. ⁹ And I say to you, ^(I)whoever ^[f]divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman ^[g]commits adultery^[h].”

⁴ so that your charitable giving will be in secret; and ^(A)your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

⁵ “And when you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to ^(B)stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners ^(C)so that they ^[a]will be seen by people. ^(D)Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. ⁶ But as for you, when you pray, ^(E)go into your inner room, close your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret; and ^(F)your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

⁷ “And when you are praying, do not use thoughtless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard because of their ^(G)many words. ⁸ So do not be like them; for ^(H)your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

The Lord’s Prayer

⁹ “^(I)Pray, then, in this way: