Matthew 19:1–9

Teaching About Divorce

^11aNow it happened that when Jesus had finished these words, He departed from Galilee and ^bcame into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan;

²and ¹large crowds followed Him, and ^aHe healed them there.

³And some Pharisees came to ¹Jesus, testing Him and saying, “^aIs it lawful for a man to ²divorce his wife for any reason at all?”

⁴And He answered and said, “Have you not read ^athat He who created them from the beginning made them male and female,

⁵and said, ‘^aFor this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and ^bthe two shall become one flesh’?

⁶“So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”

⁷They ^*said to Him, “^aWhy then did Moses command to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away?”

⁸He ^*said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to ¹divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way.

⁹“And I say to you, ^awhoever ¹divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman ²commits adultery³.”