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Matthew 19:3-8
King James Version
Matthew 19:3-8
King James Version
3 The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?
4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?
6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
7 They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?
8 He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.
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Matthew 19:3-8
New International Version
Matthew 19:3-8
New International Version
3 Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife(A) for any and every reason?”
4 “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’[a](B) 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’[b]?(C) 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
7 “Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”(D)
8 Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning.
Footnotes
- Matthew 19:4 Gen. 1:27
- Matthew 19:5 Gen. 2:24
Matthew 19:3-8
English Standard Version
Matthew 19:3-8
English Standard Version
3 And Pharisees came up to him and (A)tested him by asking, (B)“Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?” 4 He answered, (C)“Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, (D)‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and (E)the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. (F)What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” 7 They said to him, (G)“Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” 8 He said to them, “Because of your (H)hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.
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Matthew 19:3-8
New King James Version
Matthew 19:3-8
New King James Version
3 The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?”
4 And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who [a]made them at the beginning (A)‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, (B)‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and (C)the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”
7 They said to Him, (D)“Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?”
8 He said to them, “Moses, because of the (E)hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your (F)wives, but from the beginning it was not so.
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- Matthew 19:4 NU created
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
English Standard Version (ESV) 
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.