Matthew 19:1-9 ▼

1 Now when Jesus finished these sayings, he left Galilee and went to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan River.

2 Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

3 Then some Pharisees came to him in order to test him. They asked, |Is it lawful to divorce a wife for any cause?|

4 He answered, |Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator made them male and female,

5 and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and will be united with his wife, and the two will become one flesh'?

6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.|

7 They said to him, |Why then did Moses command us to give a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her?|

8 Jesus said to them, |Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because of your hard hearts, but from the beginning it was not this way.

9 Now I say to you that whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another commits adultery.|