Matthew 19:3

“And Pharisees came to him, testing him and saying, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?””

Matthew 19:3 · direct translation from the Greek
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3

Matthew 19:3, word by word

PhariseesΦαρισαῖοιPharisaioi

Pharisee

Pharisee: a member of a Jewish group that kept the law of Moses and the traditions of its teachers strictly.

Where else “Pharisaioi” appears
cameπροσῆλθονprosēlthon

come near

To come up close to someone, go toward them.

Where else “prosēlthon” appears
testingπειράζοντεςpeirazontes

test

To test someone to see what they are or will do; also to attempt something.

Where else “peirazontes” appears
sayingλέγοντεςlegontes

say

To express something in words to others.

Where else “legontes” appears
“Is it lawfulἔξεστινexestin

it is lawful

It is permitted, it is lawful under the law.

Where else “exestin” appears
for a manἀνθρώπῳanthrōpōi

person

A person, man or woman.

Where else “anthrōpōi” appears
to divorceἀπολῦσαιapolysai

divorce

To end a marriage by sending the wife away.

Where else “apolysai” appears
his wifeγυναῖκαgynaika

wife

A married woman, joined to her husband.

Where else “gynaika” appears
reasonαἰτίανaitian

cause

What makes something happen or makes someone act a certain way.

Where else “aitian” appears

Translation note

The teachers debated Deuteronomy 24:1: some allowed divorce only for something serious; others, “for any reason.”

Parallel passages

Other books that tell the same thing or quote these words.

The question about divorce

Mark 10:1-12

See them side by side

Matthew 19:1-12

1And it happened when Jesus had finished these words that he departed from Galilee and came into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. 2And many crowds followed him, and he healed them there. 3And Pharisees came to him, testing him and saying, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?” 4But he answered and said, “Have you not read that the one who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and his mother and will be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? 6So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.” 7They say to him, “Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce and to divorce her?” 8He says to them, “Moses, because of your hardness of heart, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it has not been so. 9And I tell you that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.” 10The disciples say to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” 11But he said to them, “Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given. 12For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who is able to accept this, let him accept it.”

Mark 10:1-12

1And getting up from there, he goes into the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan; and crowds gather around him again, and as was his custom, he was again teaching them. 2And they were asking him whether it is lawful for a man to divorce his wife, testing him. 3But he answered and said to them, “What did Moses command you?” 4And they said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and to divorce her.” 5But Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. 6But from the beginning of creation, ‘male and female he made them.’ 7‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, 8and the two will become one flesh’; so they are no longer two but one flesh. 9So what God has joined together, let man not separate.” 10And in the house the disciples were asking him again about this. 11And he says to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; 12and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

The context

2And many crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

3 · This verse (above)

4But he answered and said, “Have you not read that the one who created them from the beginning made them male and female,

Read all of Matthew 19

To study Matthew 19 in a group

  1. 1. What it says

    What did Jesus answer the young man who asked what good to do to have eternal life, and how did he react (vv. 16–22)?

  2. 2. What it means

    Why did Jesus welcome the children and say the kingdom belongs to those like them (vv. 13–14)?

  3. 3. How I live it

    The young man left sad because of his possessions (v. 22). What is hard for you to let go of, and what might Jesus say about it?

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