and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?
Parallel translations
- WEB and 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?’
- KJV And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?
- NKJV and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’ ?
- NASB and said, ‘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 And he said, “‘This explains why 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
Jesus quotes Genesis, that a man leaves his parents, joins his wife, and the two become one flesh. Marriage is a God-ordained, exclusive, one-flesh union.
Overview
Citing Genesis 2:24, Jesus shows that marriage forms a new, permanent bond in which two persons become one flesh. This union, established by God, is meant to be lifelong and exclusive. Scripture later sees in this one-flesh covenant a picture of Christ and his church (Ephesians 5:31-32).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Gen 2:21–24So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he slept, He took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the area with flesh.
- 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.
- 1 Cor 7:2But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband.
- Eph 5:31“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”
- Mark 10:5–9But Jesus told them, “Moses wrote this commandment for you because of your hardness of heart.
- 1 Cor 6:16Or don’t you know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.”
- Ps 63:8My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.
- Rom 12:9Love must be sincere. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good.
- 1 Sam 18:1After David had finished speaking with Saul, the souls of Jonathan and David were knit together, and Jonathan loved him as himself.
- 2 Sam 1:26I grieve for you, Jonathan, my brother. You were delightful to me; your love to me was extraordinary, surpassing the love of women.
- Ps 45:10Listen, O daughter! Consider and incline your ear: Forget your people and your father’s house,
- 1 Kgs 11:2These women were from the nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, “You must not intermarry with them, for surely they will turn your hearts after their gods.” Yet Solomon clung to these women in love.
- Deut 4:4But you who held fast to the LORD your God are alive to this day, every one of you.
- Deut 10:20You are to fear the LORD your God and serve Him. Hold fast to Him and take your oaths in His name.
- Deut 11:22For if you carefully keep all these commandments I am giving you to follow—to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, and to hold fast to Him—
- Gen 34:3And his soul was drawn to Dinah, the daughter of Jacob. He loved the young girl and spoke to her tenderly.
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 19:5 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.