Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and was unwilling to disgrace her publicly, he resolved to divorce her quietly.
Parallel translations
- WEB Joseph, her husband, being a righteous man, and not willing to make her a public example, intended to put her away secretly.
- KJV Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.
- NKJV Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.
- NASB And her husband Joseph, since he was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly.
- NLT Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.
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
Joseph, a righteous man, plans to divorce Mary quietly rather than expose her. His character blends faithfulness to the law with mercy.
Overview
Assuming Mary had been unfaithful, Joseph could have shamed her publicly, but he sought to protect her with a private divorce. His righteousness is shown not in harsh legalism but in compassion, a portrait of mercy tempering justice. This foreshadows the grace that would mark the Savior whose earthly guardian he became.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Deut 22:21–24she shall be brought to the door of her father’s house, and there the men of her city will stone her to death. For she has committed an outrage in Israel by being promiscuous in her father’s house. So you must purge the evil from among you.
- Deut 24:1–4If a man marries a woman, but she becomes displeasing to him because he finds some indecency in her, he may write her a certificate of divorce, hand it to her, and send her away from his house.
- John 8:4–5and said, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery.
- Mark 6:20because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man. When he heard John’s words, he was greatly perplexed; yet he listened to him gladly.
- Luke 2:25Now there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
- Lev 20:10If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife—with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress must surely be put to death.
- Gen 38:24About three months later, Judah was told, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has prostituted herself, and now she is pregnant.” “Bring her out!” Judah replied. “Let her be burned to death!”
- Ps 112:4–5Light dawns in the darkness for the upright—for the gracious, compassionate, and righteous.
- Mark 10:4They answered, “Moses permitted a man to write his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away.”
- Lev 19:20If a man lies carnally with a slave girl promised to another man but who has not been redeemed or given her freedom, there must be due punishment. But they are not to be put to death, because she had not been freed.
- Acts 10:22“Cornelius the centurion has sent us,” they said. “He is a righteous and God-fearing man with a good reputation among the whole Jewish nation. A holy angel instructed him to request your presence in his home so he could hear a message from you.”
- Gen 6:9This is the account of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 1:19 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
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