Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because of your hardness of heart; but it was not this way from the beginning.
Parallel translations
- WEB He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it has not been so.
- KJV He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.
- NKJV He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.
- NASB He *said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way.
- NLT Jesus replied, “Moses permitted divorce only as a concession to your hard hearts, but it was not what God had originally intended.
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 explains that Moses permitted divorce because of hard hearts, but it was not so from the beginning. The concession addressed human sin and never overturned God's original design.
Overview
Jesus distinguishes God's creational ideal from a concession granted to limit harm amid human hardness of heart. Divorce was tolerated, not endorsed, and pointed back to the brokenness sin introduced. He reaffirms that God's intention from the beginning was lifelong, faithful marriage.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Mal 2:13–14And this is another thing you do: You cover the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping and groaning, because He no longer regards your offerings or receives them gladly from your hands.
- Gen 2:24For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
- Jer 6:16This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look. Ask for the ancient paths: ‘Where is the good way?’ Then walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it!’
- Zech 7:12They made their hearts like flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the LORD of Hosts had sent by His Spirit through the earlier prophets. Therefore great anger came from the LORD of Hosts.
- Mark 10:5But Jesus told them, “Moses wrote this commandment for you because of your hardness of heart.
- Matt 3:15“Let it be so now,” Jesus replied. “It is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness in this way.” Then John permitted Him.
- Gen 7:7And Noah and his wife, with his sons and their wives, entered the ark to escape the waters of the flood.
- 1 Cor 7:6I say this as a concession, not as a command.
- Matt 8:31So the demons begged Jesus, “If You drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”
- Ps 95:8do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, in the day at Massah in the wilderness,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 19:8 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.