Matthew 19:1-12 - On Divorce

¹ And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these words, he withdrew from Galilee, and came to the coasts of Judaea beyond the Jordan; ² and great crowds followed him, and he healed them there. ³ And the Pharisees came to him tempting him, and saying, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?

⁴ But he answering said to them, Have ye not read that he who made them, from the beginning made them male and female, ⁵ and said, On account of this a man shall leave father and mother, and shall be united to his wife, and the two shall be one flesh?

⁶ so that they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.

⁷ They say to him, Why then did Moses command to give a letter of divorce and to send her away?

⁸ He says to them, Moses, in view of your hardheartedness, allowed you to put away your wives; but from the beginning it was not thus. ⁹ But I say unto you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, not for fornication, and shall marry another, commits adultery; and he who marries one put away commits adultery.

¹⁰ His disciples say to him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.

¹¹ And he said to them, All cannot receive this word, but those to whom it has been given; ¹² for there are eunuchs which have been born thus from their mother's womb; and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs of men; and there are eunuchs who have made eunuchs of themselves for the sake of the kingdom of the heavens. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.

¹ And rising up thence he comes into the coasts of Judaea, and the other side of the Jordan. And again crowds come together to him, and, as he was accustomed, again he taught them. ² And Pharisees coming to him asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? (tempting him).

³ But he answering said to them, What did Moses command you?

⁴ And they said, Moses allowed to write a bill of divorce, and to put away.

⁵ And Jesus answering said to them, In view of your hard-heartedness he wrote this commandment for you; ⁶ but from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female.

⁷ For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be united to his wife, ⁸ and the two shall be one flesh: so that they are no longer two but one flesh. ⁹ What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.

¹⁰ And again in the house the disciples asked him concerning this. ¹¹ And he says to them, Whosoever shall put away his wife and shall marry another, commits adultery against her. ¹² And if a woman put away her husband and shall marry another, she commits adultery.

¹⁸ Every one who puts away his wife and marries another commits adultery; and every one that marries one put away from a husband commits adultery.