Matthew 19:1–12

Jesus Teaches about Divorce

19When Jesus finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went to the territory of Judea on the other side of the River Jordan. ²Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

³Some Pharisees came to him and tried to trap him by asking, “Does our Law allow a man to divorce his wife for whatever reason he wishes?”

^4*Jesus answered, “Haven’t you read the scripture that says that in the beginning the Creator made people male and female? ^5*And God said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and unite with his wife, and the two will become one.’ ⁶So they are no longer two, but one. No human being must separate, then, what God has joined together.”

^7*The Pharisees asked him, “Why, then, did Moses give the law for a man to hand his wife a divorce notice and send her away?”

⁸Jesus answered, “Moses gave you permission to divorce your wives because you are so hard to teach. But it was not like that at the time of creation. ^9*I tell you, then, that any man who divorces his wife for any cause other than her unfaithfulness, commits adultery if he marries some other woman.”

¹⁰His disciples said to him, “If this is how it is between a man and his wife, it is better not to marry.”

¹¹Jesus answered, “This teaching does not apply to everyone, but only to those to whom God has given it. ¹²For there are different reasons why men cannot marry: some, because they were born that way; others, because men made them that way; and others do not marry for the sake of the Kingdom of heaven. Let him who can accept this teaching do so.”