And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her.
Parallel translations
- WEB He said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife, and marries another, commits adultery against her.
- BSB So He told them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits 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 hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:
- 1 Cor 7:10–11And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband:
- Rom 7:3So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man.
- Matt 19:9And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.
- Luke 16:18Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.
- 1 Cor 7:4The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife.
- Heb 13:4Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.
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.