Matthew 19:1-22 ▼

1 WHEN Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee, and came to the border of Judaea, at the crossing of the Jordan.

2 And a great many people followed him, and he healed them there.

3 And the Pharisees came up to him and were tempting him and saying, Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause?

4 But he answered and said to them, Have you not read, that he who made from the beginning, made them male and female?

5 And he said, Because of this, a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall be one flesh.

6 Henceforth they are not two, but one body; therefore what God has joined together, man must not separate.

7 They said to him, Why then did Moses command to give a letter of separation and then divorce her?

8 He said to them, Moses, considering the hardness of your heart, gave you permission to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it was not so.

9 But I say to you, Whoever leaves his wife without a charge of adultery and marries another commits adultery; and he who marries a woman thus separated commits adultery.

10 His disciples said to him, If there is so much scandal between man and woman, it is not worthwhile to marry.

11 He said to them, This saying does not apply to every man, but to whom it is needed.

12 For there are eunuchs who were born this way from their mother’s womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. To him who can grasp, this is enough.

13 Then they brought little boys to him, that he may lay his hand on them and pray; and his disciples rebuked them.

14 But Jesus said to them, Allow the little boys to come to me, and do not stop them; for the kingdom of heaven is for such as these.

15 And he laid his hand on them, and went away from thence.

16 Then a man came up and said to him, O good Teacher, what is the best that I should do to have life eternal?

17 He said to him, Why do you call me good? There is no one who is good except the one God; but if you want to enter into life, obey the commandments.

18 He said to him, Which ones? And Jesus said to him, You shall not kill; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness;

19 Honor your father and your mother; and, Love your neighbor as yourself.

20 The young man said to him, I have obeyed all these from my boyhood, what do I lack?

21 Jesus said to him. If you wish to be perfect, go and sell your possessions and give them to the poor, and you will have a treasure in heaven; then follow me.

22 When the young man heard this word, he went away sad, for he had great possessions.