Matthew 19:1-10

Names of God Bible

A Discussion about Divorce and Celibacy^(A)

19 When Yeshua finished speaking, he left Galilee and traveled along the other side of the Jordan River to the territory of Judea. ² Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

³ Some Pharisees came to test him. They asked, “Can a man divorce his wife for any reason?”

⁴ Yeshua answered, “Haven’t you read that the Creator made them male and female in the beginning ⁵ and that he said, ‘That’s why a man will leave his father and mother and will remain united with his wife, and the two will be one’? ⁶ So they are no longer two but one. Therefore, don’t let anyone separate what God has joined together.”

⁷ The Pharisees asked him, “Why, then, did Moses order a man to give his wife a written notice to divorce her?”

⁸ Yeshua answered them, “Moses allowed you to divorce your wives because you’re heartless. It was never this way in the beginning. ⁹ I can guarantee that whoever divorces his wife for any reason other than her unfaithfulness is committing adultery if he marries another woman.”

¹⁰ The disciples said to him, “If that is the only reason a man can use to divorce his wife, it’s better not to get married.”