Mark 10:1–16

Jesus’ Teaching about Divorce

^1aGetting up, He went from there to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan; crowds gathered around Him again, and, ^baccording to His custom, He once more began to teach them.

²Some Pharisees came up to Jesus, testing Him, and began to question Him whether it was lawful for a man to ¹divorce a wife.

³And He answered and said to them, “What did Moses command you?”

⁴They said, “^aMoses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and ¹send her away.”

⁵But Jesus said to them, “^1aBecause of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment.

⁶“But ^afrom the beginning of creation, God ^bmade them male and female.

⁷“^aFor this reason a man shall leave his father and mother¹,

^8aand the two shall become one flesh; so they are no longer two, but one flesh.

⁹“What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”

¹⁰In the house the disciples began questioning Him about this again.

¹¹And He said to them, “^aWhoever ¹divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her;

¹²and ^aif she herself ¹divorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing adultery.”

Jesus Blesses Little Children

^13aAnd they were bringing children to Him so that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked them.

¹⁴But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, “Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; ^afor the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.

¹⁵“Truly I say to you, ^awhoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.”

¹⁶And He ^atook them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them.