Concerning Divorce

1 aWhen Jesus had finished these words, He departed from Galilee and bcame into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan;

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

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

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

5 and 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.”

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

8 He * 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 2immorality, and marries another woman 3commits adultery4.”

10 The disciples * said to Him, “If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry.”