Matthew 5:31
New International Version
“It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’

New Living Translation
“You have heard the law that says, ‘A man can divorce his wife by merely giving her a written notice of divorce.’

English Standard Version
“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’

Berean Standard Bible
It has also been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’

Berean Literal Bible
It was also said, 'Whoever shall divorce his wife, let him give her a letter of divorce.'

King James Bible
It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:

New King James Version
“Furthermore it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’

New American Standard Bible
“Now it was said, ‘WHOEVER SENDS HIS WIFE AWAY IS TO GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE’;

NASB 1995
“It was said, ‘WHOEVER SENDS HIS WIFE AWAY, LET HIM GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE’

NASB 1977
“And it was said, ‘WHOEVER SENDS HIS WIFE AWAY, LET HIM GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE’;

Legacy Standard Bible
“Now it was said, ‘WHOEVER SENDS HIS WIFE AWAY, LET HIM GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE’;

Amplified Bible
“It has also been said, ‘WHOEVER DIVORCES HIS WIFE IS TO GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE’;

Christian Standard Bible
“It was also said, Whoever divorces his wife must give her a written notice of divorce.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
“It was also said, Whoever divorces his wife must give her a written notice of divorce.

American Standard Version
It was said also, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
It has been said, “Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a writing of divorce.”

Contemporary English Version
You have been taught that a man who divorces his wife must write out divorce papers for her.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And it hath been said, Whoseoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a bill of divorce.

English Revised Version
It was said also, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:

GOD'S WORD® Translation
"It has also been said, 'Whoever divorces his wife must give her a written notice.'

Good News Translation
"It was also said, 'Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a written notice of divorce.'

International Standard Version
"It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife must give her a written notice of divorce.'

Literal Standard Version
And it was said that, Whoever may put away his wife, let him give to her a writing of divorce;

Majority Standard Bible
It has also been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’

New American Bible
“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce.’

NET Bible
"It was said, 'Whoever divorces his wife must give her a legal document.'

New Revised Standard Version
“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’

New Heart English Bible
"And it was said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce,'

Webster's Bible Translation
It hath been said, Whoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:

Weymouth New Testament
"It was also said, 'If any man puts away his wife, let him give her a written notice of divorce.'

World English Bible
“It was also said, ‘Whoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorce,’

Young's Literal Translation
'And it was said, That whoever may put away his wife, let him give to her a writing of divorce;

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Divorce
30And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to depart into hell. 31It has also been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’ 32But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, brings adultery upon her. And he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.…

Cross References
Deuteronomy 24:1
If a man marries a woman, but she becomes displeasing to him because he finds some indecency in her, he may write her a certificate of divorce, hand it to her, and send her away from his house.

Deuteronomy 24:3
and the second man hates her, writes her a certificate of divorce, hands it to her, and sends her away from his house, or if he dies,

Jeremiah 3:1
"If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him to marry another, can he ever return to her? Would not such a land be completely defiled? But you have played the harlot with many lovers--and you would return to Me?" declares the LORD.

Malachi 2:16
"For I hate divorce," says the LORD, the God of Israel. "He who divorces his wife covers his garment with violence," says the LORD of Hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith.

Matthew 19:3
Then some Pharisees came and tested Him by asking, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?"

Matthew 19:7
"Why then," they asked, "did Moses order a man to give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?"

Mark 10:4
They answered, "Moses permitted a man to write his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away."


Treasury of Scripture

It has been said, Whoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorce:

whosoever.

Matthew 19:3,7
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? …

Deuteronomy 24:1-4
When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it come to pass that she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house…

Jeremiah 3:1
They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man's, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the LORD.

Jump to Previous
Certificate Divorce Divorcement Divorces Notice Purpose Puts Sends Statement Wife Writing Written
Jump to Next
Certificate Divorce Divorcement Divorces Notice Purpose Puts Sends Statement Wife Writing Written
Matthew 5
1. Jesus' sermon on the mount:
3. The Beattitudes;
13. the salt of the earth;
14. the light of the world.
17. He came to fulfill the law.
21. What it is to kill;
27. to commit adultery;
33. to swear.
38. He exhorts to forgive wrong,
43. to love our enemies;
48. and to labor after perfection.














(31) It hath been said.--The better MSS. give, "But it was said," as though stating an implied objection to the previous teaching. Men might think that they could avoid the sin of adultery by taking the easy course of divorcing one wife before marrying another.

Whosoever shall put away . . .--The quotation is given as the popular Rabbinic explanation of Deuteronomy 24:1, which, as our Lord teaches in Matthew 19:8, was given, on account of the hardness of men's hearts, to prevent yet greater evils. The words of the precept were vague--"If she find no favour in his eyes, because he hath found some uncleanness in her," and the two school of casuists took opposite views of its meaning. The stricter party of Shammai held that the "uncleanness" meant simply unchastity before or after marriage. The followers of Hillel held, on the other hand (as Milton among Christian teachers), that anything that made the company of the wife distasteful was a sufficient ground for repudiation. Even a moralist generally so pure and noble as the son of Sirach, took in this matter the laxer view--"If she go not as thou wouldest have her, cut her off from thy flesh, and give her a bill of divorce, and let her go" (Ecclesiasticus 25:26). It is noteworthy that our Lord, whose teaching, especially as regards the Sabbath question, might have been, for the most part, claimed by the school of Hillel, on this matter of divorce stamps the impress of His approval on the teaching of his rival.

Verses 31, 32. - Divorce. Verse 31. - Here only. It hath been said (ἐῥῤέθη δέ). This is the only one of the six examples to which our Lord does not prefix "ye have heard," and inserts δέ. Hence Lightfoot ('Hor. Hebr.') writes, "This particle hath this emphasis in this place, that it whispers a silent objection, which is answered in the following verse," i.e. Christ had said even a sinful look is too much; the lawyers said, "But the Law allows divorce, and therefore a married man can after all obtain the woman he desires." But this is strained. The shorter expression is here sufficient, because of the close connexion of this subject with the preceding. Hence, Revised Version, better, it was said also. It is, by the by, curious that the translators of the Authorized Version should have altered the rendering of ἐῥῤέθη, which they had given rightly in vers. 21, 27, and should have preferred the perfect here and in vers 33, 38, 43. Whosoever shall put away, etc. The substance of Deuteronomy 24:1, but leaving out all mention of cause for such putting away. This may be perhaps because our Lord is going to refer to this immediately, or because, in fact, the giving "a writing of divorcement" was now considered as alone of importance. Let him give her; Hebrew, into her hand; i.e. into her own possession (cf. Isaiah 1:1; Jeremiah 3:8). A writing of divorcement. See the translation of such a get in Lightfoot ('Hor. Hebr.').

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
It has also been said,
Ἐρρέθη (Errethē)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 2046: Probably a fuller form of rheo; an alternate for epo in certain tenses; to utter, i.e. Speak or say.

‘Whoever
Ὃς (Hos)
Personal / Relative Pronoun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3739: Who, which, what, that.

divorces
ἀπολύσῃ (apolysē)
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 630: From apo and luo; to free fully, i.e. relieve, release, dismiss, or let die, pardon or divorce.

his
αὐτοῦ (autou)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.

wife
γυναῖκα (gynaika)
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 1135: A woman, wife, my lady. Probably from the base of ginomai; a woman; specially, a wife.

must give
δότω (dotō)
Verb - Aorist Imperative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1325: To offer, give; I put, place. A prolonged form of a primary verb; to give.

her
αὐτῇ (autē)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Dative Feminine 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.

a certificate of divorce.’
ἀποστάσιον (apostasion)
Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular
Strong's 647: Neuter of a adjective from a derivative of aphistemi; properly, something separative, i.e. divorce.


Links
Matthew 5:31 NIV
Matthew 5:31 NLT
Matthew 5:31 ESV
Matthew 5:31 NASB
Matthew 5:31 KJV

Matthew 5:31 BibleApps.com
Matthew 5:31 Biblia Paralela
Matthew 5:31 Chinese Bible
Matthew 5:31 French Bible
Matthew 5:31 Catholic Bible

NT Gospels: Matthew 5:31 It was also said 'Whoever shall put (Matt. Mat Mt)
Matthew 5:30
Top of Page
Top of Page