Matthew 19:3-9

Discussion about Divorce and Marriage

³Some Pharisees came and tried to trap him with this question: “Should a man be allowed to divorce his wife for just any reason?”

⁴“Haven’t you read the Scriptures?” Jesus replied. “They record that from the beginning ‘God made them male and female.’” ⁵And he said, “‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’ ⁶Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together.”

⁷“Then why did Moses say in the law that a man could give his wife a written notice of divorce and send her away?” they asked.

⁸Jesus replied, “Moses permitted divorce only as a concession to your hard hearts, but it was not what God had originally intended. ⁹And I tell you this, whoever divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery—unless his wife has been unfaithful.”