Matthew 19:9

Now I tell you that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — Jesus is answering the disciples' question about divorce (v. 8), having just explained that Moses' permit was a concession to hardness of heart, not the original design.

The words — ἀπολὺσῃ (apolusē), aorist subjunctive of ἀπολύω, literally "to loose/release," carries the full weight of the verse: divorce is framed as severing a bond, not merely ending a contract.

The thread — Matthew 5:32 states the same rule in the Sermon on the Mount; Luke 16:18 repeats the prohibition but drops the exception clause; 1 Corinthians 7:39 names death as the other release from the bond.

Why it lands — The verse removes the option of treating marriage as a convenience that can be discarded at will; it forces the reader to hold the union as binding except in one named case.

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 I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.

Cross-references

Matthew 5:32 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.
Luke 16:18 Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
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 Corinthians 7:10 To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband.
Mark 10:11 So He told them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her.
Romans 7:2 For instance, a married woman is bound by law to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage.
Genesis 12:18 So Pharaoh summoned Abram and asked, “What have you done to me? Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife?
Genesis 20:3 One night, however, God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman.”
Jeremiah 3:8 She saw that because faithless Israel had committed adultery, I gave her a certificate of divorce and sent her away. Yet that unfaithful sister Judah had no fear and prostituted herself as well.
Jeremiah 3:1 “If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him to marry another, can he ever return to her? Would not such a land be completely defiled? But you have played the harlot with many lovers—and you would return to Me?” declares the LORD.