Bible Strands
Matthew 19:10
His disciples said to Him, “If this is the case between a man and his wife, it is better not to marry.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The disciples speak to Jesus immediately after He declares that divorcing a wife except for sexual immorality and remarrying constitutes adultery. They address Him directly in response to the strict marital standard just established.
The words — εἰ (ei) means "if" and οὕτως (houtōs) means "in this manner" or "thus," structuring the disciples' conditional reaction to Jesus' preceding command.
The thread — The tension between marital freedom and spiritual focus appears in 1 Corinthians 7:32, while Proverbs 5:15 and Proverbs 18:22 present marriage as a positive divine provision.
Why it lands — The text records the disciples' immediate hesitation at the cost of Jesus' teaching, stating their conclusion plainly without resolving the tension. It requires the reader to confront whether they can accept the standard Jesus laid out before weighing cultural or personal preferences.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.
Cross-references
- 1 Corinthians 7:32 I want you to be free from concern. The unmarried man is concerned about the work of the Lord, how he can please the Lord.
- Proverbs 5:15 Drink water from your own cistern, and running water from your own well.
- Proverbs 18:22 He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD.
- Proverbs 19:13 A foolish son is his father’s ruin, and a quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping.
- Proverbs 21:9 Better to live on a corner of the roof than to share a house with a quarrelsome wife.
- Proverbs 21:19 Better to live in the desert than with a contentious and ill-tempered wife.
- 1 Corinthians 7:1 Now for the matters you wrote about: It is good to abstain from sexual relations.
- 1 Corinthians 7:8 Now to the unmarried and widows I say this: It is good for them to remain unmarried, as I am.
- 1 Corinthians 7:39 A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, as long as he belongs to the Lord.
- 1 Timothy 4:3 They will prohibit marriage and require abstinence from certain foods that God has created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.