Matthew 19:1-9 ▼

1 And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these words, he withdrew from Galilee, and came to the coasts of Judaea beyond the Jordan;

2 and great crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

3 And the Pharisees came to him tempting him, and saying, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?

4 But he answering said [to them], Have ye not read that he who made [them], from the beginning made them male and female,

5 and said, On account of this a man shall leave father and mother, and shall be united to his wife, and the two shall be one flesh?

6 so that they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.

7 They say to him, Why then did Moses command to give a letter of divorce and to send [her] away?

8 He says to them, Moses, in view of your hardheartedness, allowed you to put away your wives; but from the beginning it was not thus.

9 But I say unto you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, not for fornication, and shall marry another, commits adultery; and he who marries one put away commits adultery.