19After Jesus said all these things, he left Galilee and went into the area of Judea on the other side of the Jordan River. ²Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

³Some Pharisees came to Jesus and tried to trick him. They asked, “Is it right for a man to divorce his wife for any reason he chooses?”

⁴Jesus answered, “Surely you have read in the Scriptures: When God made the world, ‘he made them male and female.’ ⁿ ⁵And God said, ‘So a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife, and the two will become one body.’ ⁿ ⁶So there are not two, but one. God has joined the two together, so no one should separate them.”

⁷The Pharisees asked, “Why then did Moses give a command for a man to divorce his wife by giving her divorce papers?”

⁸Jesus answered, “Moses allowed you to divorce your wives because you refused to accept God’s teaching, but divorce was not allowed in the beginning. ⁹I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman is guilty of adultery. ⁿ The only reason for a man to divorce his wife is if his wife has sexual relations with another man.”

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Footnotes

n‘he made … female.’ Quotation from Genesis 1:27 or 5:2.
n‘So … body.’ Quotation from Genesis 2:24.
nadultery Some Greek copies continue, “And anyone who marries a divorced woman is guilty of adultery.” Compare Matthew 5:32.