Matthew 19:5

and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Jesus answers the Pharisees’ inquiry about divorce by quoting the creation account. He addresses His listeners in Matthew 19 to anchor marital union in divine origin rather than human regulation.

The words — καταλείψει (kataleipsei) translates to "will leave," and ἕνεκα τούτου (heneka toutou) means "for this reason." These terms mark the transition from solitary existence to a covenantal bond.

The thread — The quotation originates in Genesis 2:21 and reappears in Paul’s discussion of marital authority in 1 Corinthians 7:4. Jesus extends the same pattern in Matthew 19:6 to declare that the resulting union is indivisible.

Why it lands — The text states that marriage fuses two people into one flesh by divine action. It requires readers to treat the marital bond as a fixed reality rather than a revocable contract.

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

And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?

Cross-references

Genesis 2:21 So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he slept, He took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the area with flesh.
1 Corinthians 7:4 The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife.
1 Corinthians 7:2 But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband.
Ephesians 5:31 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”
Mark 10:5 But Jesus told them, “Moses wrote this commandment for you because of your hardness of heart.
1 Corinthians 6:16 Or don’t you know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.”
1 Samuel 18:1 After David had finished speaking with Saul, the souls of Jonathan and David were knit together, and Jonathan loved him as himself.
Psalms 63:8 My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.
Romans 12:9 Love must be sincere. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good.
Deuteronomy 4:4 But you who held fast to the LORD your God are alive to this day, every one of you.