“For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”
Parallel translations
- WEB “For this cause a man will leave his father and mother, and will be joined to his wife. The two will become one flesh.”
- KJV For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
- BSB “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”
- NASB For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.
- NLT As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Paul cites Genesis 2 on marriage: a man leaves his parents, is joined to his wife, and the two become one flesh. Marriage establishes a profound one-flesh union.
Overview
Quoting Genesis 2:24, Paul appeals to God's original design for marriage to undergird his teaching. The leaving, joining, and becoming 'one flesh' describe a covenant union ordained at creation. For Paul this earthly union also points beyond itself to a deeper mystery, unfolded in the next verse.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Gen 2:24Therefore a man will leave his father and his mother, and will join with his wife, and they will be one flesh.
- Matt 19:5and said, ‘For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall join to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh?’
- Mark 10:7–8For this cause a man will leave his father and mother, and will join to his wife,
- 1 Cor 6:16Or don’t you know that he who is joined to a prostitute is one body? For, “The two”, he says, “will become one flesh.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Every spiritual blessing is 'in Christ,' the head over all things for the church, in whom Jew and Gentile are made one new man by his blood.
How Ephesians 5:31 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.