Mark 10:4

Mark 10:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away.
• New International Version (NIV)They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)They said, "Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away."
• New King James Version (NKJV)They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to dismiss her.”

Context of Mark 10:4

2Pharisees came to Jesus to test Him [intending to trick Him into saying something wrong], and asked Him, “Is it lawful [according to Scripture] for a man to divorce his wife and send her away?” 3He replied to them, “What did Moses command you?” They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.” 5But Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of hearts [your callousness and insensitivity toward your wives and the provision of God] he wrote you this precept. 6But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female.

Mark 10:4 word by word

οἱ δὲ εἶπαν· ἐπέτρεψεν Μωϋσῆς βιβλίον ἀποστασίου γράψαι καὶ ἀπολῦσαι.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Andδέde · thenG1161
• they saidλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• MosesΜωϋσῆς, ΜωσῆςMōseus Mōsēs Mōusēs · MosesG3475
• sufferedἐπιτρέπωepitrepō · to permitG2010
• to writeγράφωgraphō · to writeG1125
• a billβιβλίονbiblion · scrollG975
• of divorcementἀποστάσιονapostasion · divorceG647
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• to putἀπολύωapoluō · to release: divorceG630
• awayἀπολύωapoluō · to release: divorceG630

Cross-references for Mark 10:4

• Deuteronomy 24:1“When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she loses his favor because he has found something indecent or unacceptable about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house,
• Isaiah 50:1The Lord declares this; “Where is the certificate of divorce By which I have sent your mother away, [O Israel]? Or to which one of My creditors did I sell you [as slaves]? In fact, You were sold for your wickedness [your sin, your injustice, your wrongdoing], And for your transgressions your mother was sent away.
• Jeremiah 3:1That is to say, “If a man divorces his wife And she goes [away] from him And becomes another man’s [wife], Will he return to her again? [Of course not!] Will not that land [where such a thing happened] be completely desecrated? But you [rebelled against Me and you] are a prostitute with many lovers; Yet you turn to Me.” says the Lord.
• Matthew 1:19And Joseph her [promised] husband, being a just and righteous man and not wanting to expose her publicly to shame, planned to send her away and divorce her quietly.
• Matthew 5:31“It has also been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife is to give her a certificate of divorce’;
• Matthew 19:7The Pharisees said to Him, “Why then did Moses command us to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away?”

Commentaries on Mark 10:4

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-12Verses 1-12 See this question about divorce explained in the notes at Matthew 19:1-12. Mark 10:12 And if a woman shall put away her husband - It would seem, from this, that a woman, among the Jews, had the power of separating herself from her husband, yet this right is not given her by the law of Moses. There is not, however, any positive evidence that females often claimed or exercised this right. Cases had occurred, indeed, in which it had been done…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4The Pharisees quoted what Moses permitted. There was much debate among rabbis as to what constituted the "some indecency" that made divorce permissible (see Deuteronomy 24:1). Rabbi Shammai allowed divorce only on the basis of sexual immorality. Rabbi Hillel permitted divorce even if a woman burned her husband’s dinner or was less attractive than someone else (Mishnah Gittin 9:10).Read the comment

Topics related to Mark 10:4

• Jesus, the Christ
• Marriage
• Polygamy

In the dictionaries

• Moses
• Bill of Divorcement
• Deuteronomy
• Divorce
• Lordship
• Mock
• Ransom
• Resort
• Divorce in the New Testament
• Divorce in the Old Testament

Commentaries on Mark 10

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Catena Aurea
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• John Lightfoot Commentary
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings