So He told them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her.
Parallel translations
- WEB He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife, and marries another, commits adultery against her.
- KJV And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her.
- NKJV So He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her.
- NASB And He *said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her;
- NLT He told them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries someone else commits adultery against her.
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
Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. Jesus upholds the sanctity and permanence of the marriage covenant.
Overview
Jesus applies the creation principle to remarriage after divorce, calling it adultery and notably as a wrong done against the wife, elevating her dignity. Mark's account does not mention the exception found in Matthew, and faithful Christians weigh these passages together. The thrust is a strong defense of marital faithfulness against casual divorce.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Matt 5:31–32It has also been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’
- 1 Cor 7:10–11To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband.
- Rom 7:3So then, if she is joined to another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law and is not an adulteress, even if she marries another man.
- Matt 19:9Now I tell you that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman, commits adultery.”
- Luke 16:18Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
- 1 Cor 7:4The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife.
- Heb 13:4Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
How Mark 10:11 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.