Book of Common Prayer

Scripture Declares All Are Accountable And Guilty Before God. None Are Righteous

⁹ Therefore what? Are we better^[a] [than they]? Not at-all. For we already-charged^[b] that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin, ¹⁰ just as it has been written: “There is not a righteous one, not even one. ¹¹ There is no one understanding. There is no one seeking-out God. ¹² They all turned-away, together they became useless^[c]. There is no one doing goodness. There is not as-many-as one” [Ps 14:1-3]. ¹³ “Their throat is an opened grave. With their tongues they were deceiving” [Ps 5:9]. “The poison of asps is under their lips” [Ps 140:3]. ¹⁴ “Whose mouth is full of cursing^[d] and bitterness” [Ps 10:7]. ¹⁵ “Their feet are swift to shed blood. ¹⁶ Destruction and misery are in their ways. ¹⁷ And they did not know the way of peace” [Isa 59:7-8]. ¹⁸ “There is no fear of God before their eyes” [Ps 36:1]. ¹⁹ And we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to the ones under the Law— in order that every mouth may be stopped^[e] and the whole world may become accountable^[f] to God. ²⁰ Because by the works of law^[g] no flesh will be declared-righteous in His sight. For through law comes the knowledge of sin.

The King Leaves Galilee For Judea. Large Crowds Follow Him And He Heals Them

19 And it came about that when Jesus finished^[a] these words, He went-away from Galilee and came into the districts^[b] of Judea, beyond the Jordan. ² And large crowds followed Him, and He cured them there.

The Pharisees Test Jesus With a Question About Divorce. Divorce Is Not God’s Will

³ And Pharisees came to Him— testing Him, and saying, “Is it lawful for a man^[c] to send-away^[d] his wife for any reason^[e]?” ⁴ And the One, having responded, said, “Did you not read [in Gen 1:27] that the One having created from the beginning^[f] ‘made them male and female’? ⁵ And He said [in Gen 2:24], ‘For this reason^[g] a man will leave-behind his father and his mother and will be joined^[h] to his wife. And the two will be one flesh’. ⁶ So then, they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God paired-together^[i], let a person^[j] not separate”. ⁷ They say to Him, “Why then did Moses command us to give a certificate^[k] of divorce and send her away?” ⁸ He says to them that “Moses permitted^[l] you to send-away your wives because of your hardness-of-heart. But from the beginning it has not been so^[m]. ⁹ And I say to you that whoever sends-away his wife not based on sexual-immorality, and marries another, is committing-adultery”.

The Disciples Conclude It Is Better Not To Marry. Jesus Says This Is Right For Some

¹⁰ His disciples say to Him, “If the case of the man with the wife is like this, it is not expedient^[n] to marry!” ¹¹ But the One said to them, “Not all give-way-to^[o] this statement, but [only] ones to whom it has been given. ¹² For there are eunuchs^[p] who were born thus from a mother’s womb. And there are eunuchs who were made-eunuchs by people. And there are eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of the heavens. Let the one being able to give way, give way”.