But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.
Parallel translations
- WEB but I tell you that whoever puts away his wife, except for the cause of sexual immorality, makes her an adulteress; and whoever marries her when she is put away commits adultery.
- BSB But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, brings adultery upon her. And he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
- NKJV But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery.
- NASB but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
- NLT But I say that a man who divorces his wife, unless she has been unfaithful, causes her to commit adultery. And anyone who marries a divorced woman also commits adultery.
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 teaches that divorce except for sexual immorality leads to adultery. It upholds the seriousness and permanence of the marriage bond.
Overview
Against the lax divorce practices of His day, Jesus reaffirms God's design for lifelong marriage, naming sexual immorality as the recognized exception. Faithful Christians differ on the precise scope of the exception and on remarriage, and these matters deserve careful, charitable study elsewhere in Scripture. The clear thrust is that marriage is sacred and not to be broken lightly.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- 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.
- 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 7:10–11And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband:
- 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.
- Matt 19:8–9He 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.
- Mark 10:5–12And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.
- Mal 2:14–16Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.
- Matt 5:28But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
- Luke 9:35And there came a voice out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.
- Luke 9:30And, behold, there talked with him two men, which were Moses and Elias:
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 5:32 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.