So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”
Parallel translations
- WEB So that they are no more two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, don’t let man tear apart.”
- KJV Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.
- NKJV So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”
- NASB So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no person is to separate.”
- NLT Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together.”
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 concludes that the married couple is one flesh and that what God has joined, man must not separate. Marriage is a divinely joined union not to be broken by human will.
Overview
Drawing the conclusion from creation, Jesus affirms the permanence of marriage as God's joining, not merely a human contract. The prohibition against separating it confronts the casual divorce culture of his day. His teaching upholds the sanctity and lifelong intent of the marriage covenant.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Heb 13:4Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.
- Mark 10:9Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”
- Rom 7:2For instance, a married woman is bound by law to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage.
- 1 Cor 7:10–14To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband.
- Eph 5:28In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
- Mal 2:14Yet you ask, “Why?” It is because the LORD has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have broken faith, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant.
- Prov 2:17who abandons the partner of her youth and forgets the covenant of her 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 19:6 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.