20 Bible Verses about Divorce

In those days also I saw Jews that had married wives of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab:

And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said to Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have taken foreign wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing. Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law. Arise; for this matter belongeth to thee: we also will be with thee: be of good courage, and do it. read more.
Then arose Ezra, and made the chief priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they would do according to this word. And they swore. Then Ezra arose from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Johanan the son of Eliashib: and when he came thither, he ate no bread, nor drank water: for he mourned because of the transgression of them that had been carried away. And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the children of the captivity, that they should assemble at Jerusalem; And that whoever would not come within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his substance should be forfeited, and himself separated from the congregation of those that had been carried away. Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin assembled at Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, and the twentieth day of the month; and all the people sat in the street of the house of God, trembling because of this matter, and for the great rain. And Ezra the priest stood up, and said to them, Ye have transgressed, and have taken foreign wives to increase the trespass of Israel. Now therefore make confession to the LORD God of your fathers, and do his pleasure: and separate yourselves from the people of the land, and from the foreign wives. Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud voice, As thou hast said, so must we do. But the people are many, and it is a time of much rain, and we are not able to stand abroad, neither is this a work of one day or two: for we are many that have transgressed in this thing. Let now our rulers of all the congregation stand, and let all them who have taken foreign wives in our cities come at appointed times, and with them the elders of every city, and its judges, until the fierce wrath of our God for this matter shall be turned from us. Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahaziah the son of Tikvah were employed about this matter: and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite helped them. And the children of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest, with certain chief of the fathers, after the house of their fathers, and all of them by their names, were separated, and sat down in the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter. And they made an end with all the men that had taken foreign wives by the first day of the first month.

Thus I cleansed them from all strangers, and appointed the wards of the priests and the Levites, every one in his business;

And I say to you, Whoever shall put away his wife, except for lewdness, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoever marrieth her who is put away, committeth adultery.

It hath been said, Whoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: But I say to you, That whoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of lewdness, causeth her to commit adultery: and whoever shall marry her that is divorced, committeth adultery.

And he saith to them, Whoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.

They say to him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? He saith to them, Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.

And the Pharisees came to him, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting him. And he answered and said to them, What did Moses command you? And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away. read more.
And Jesus answered and said to them, For the hardness of your heart, he wrote you this precept. But from the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female.

And I say to you, Whoever shall put away his wife, except for lewdness, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoever marrieth her who is put away, committeth adultery.

But I say to you, That whoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of lewdness, causeth her to commit adultery: and whoever shall marry her that is divorced, committeth adultery.

The Pharisees also came to him, tempting him, and saying to him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?

It hath been said, Whoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:

Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

Wherefore they are no more two, but one flesh. Therefore what God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

Who forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.

And if a woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth adultery.

Thus saith the LORD, Where is the bill of your mother's divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away.

And I saw, when for all the causes by which backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.

And if a man shall sell his daughter to be a maid-servant, she shall not depart as the men-servants do.

And if he shall not perform these three to her, then shall she depart free without money.

Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame; for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.

For the LORD hath called thee as a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, and a wife of youth, when thou wast refused, saith thy God.

Thus saith the LORD, Where is the bill of your mother's divorcement, whom I have put away? or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities have ye sold yourselves, and for your transgressions is your mother put away.

And I saw, when for all the causes by which backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.

Fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame; for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more.

Yet ye say, Why? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.

The women of my people have ye cast out from their pleasant houses; from their children have ye taken away my glory for ever.

And to the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband: But if she shall depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.

And the elders of that city shall take that man and chastise him; And they shall amerce him in a hundred shekels of silver, and give them to the father of the damsel, because he hath brought an evil name upon a virgin of Israel: and she shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days.

And she shall put off from her the raiment of her captivity, and shall remain in thy house, and bewail her father and her mother a full month: and after that, thou shalt go in to her, and be her husband, and she shall be thy wife. And it shall be, if thou shalt have no delight in her, then thou shalt let her go whither she will; but thou shalt not sell her at all for money; thou shalt not make merchandise of her, because thou hast humbled her.

And if the latter husband shall hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house; or if the latter husband shall die, who took her to be his wife; Her former husband who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the LORD: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.

When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it shall come to pass that she findeth no favor in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. And when she hath departed from his house, she may go and be another man's wife. And if the latter husband shall hate her, and write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house; or if the latter husband shall die, who took her to be his wife; read more.
Her former husband who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before the LORD: and thou shalt not cause the land to sin, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.

When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it shall come to pass that she findeth no favor in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.

And when she hath departed from his house, she may go and be another man's wife.

A widow, or a divorced woman, or profane, or a harlot, these shall he not take: but he shall take a virgin of his own people for a wife.

Yet ye say, Why? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant. And did he not make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And why one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth. For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith, that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.

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

He saith to them, Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.

But every vow of a widow, and of her that is divorced, with which they have bound their souls, shall stand against her.

On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven chamberlains that served in the presence of Ahasuerus the king, To bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal, to show the people and the princes her beauty: for she was fair to look on. But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king's commandment by his chamberlains: therefore was the king very wroth, and his anger burned in him. read more.
Then the king said to the wise men, who knew the times, (for so was the king's manner towards all that knew law and judgment: And the next to him was Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, who saw the king's face, and who sat the first in the kingdom;) What shall we do to the queen Vashti according to law, because she hath not performed the commandment of the king Ahasuerus by the chamberlains? And Memucan answered before the king and the princes, Vashti the queen hath not done wrong to the king only, but also to all the princes, and to all the people that are in all the provinces of the king Ahasuerus. For this deed of the queen will come abroad to all women, so that they will despise their husbands in their eyes, when it shall be reported, The king Ahasuerus commanded Vashti the queen to be brought in before him, but she came not. Likewise will the ladies of Persia and Media say this day to all the king's princes, who have heard of the deed of the queen. Thus will there arise too much contempt and wrath. If it pleaseth the king, let a royal commandment go from him, and let it be written among the laws of the Persians and the Medes, that it be not altered, That Vashti come no more before king Ahasuerus; and let the king give her royal estate to another that is better than she. And when the king's decree which he shall make shall be published throughout all his empire, (for it is great,) all the wives will give to their husbands honor, both to great and small. And the saying pleased the king and the princes; and the king did according to the word of Memucan: For he sent letters into all the king's provinces, into every province according to the writing of it, and to every people after their language, that every man should bear rule in his own house, and that it should be published according to the language of every people.

Whoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery; and whoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband, committeth adultery.

Art thou bound to a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife.

Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law.

It hath been said, Whoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:

When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it shall come to pass that she findeth no favor in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.

Whoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery; and whoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband, committeth adultery.

Art thou bound to a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife.

Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law.

It hath been said, Whoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:

When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it shall come to pass that she findeth no favor in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.