American Standard Version
Matthew 5:31
31It was said also, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:
Matthew 5:31 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:
- New International Version (NIV)“It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’
- English Standard Version (ESV)"It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.'
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Furthermore it has been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’
Context of Matthew 5:31
29And if thy right eye causeth thee to stumble, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not thy whole body be cast into hell. 30And if thy right hand causeth thee to stumble, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not thy whole body go into hell. It was said also, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: 32but I say unto you, that every one that putteth away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, maketh her an adulteress: and whosoever shall marry her when she is put away committeth adultery. 33Again, ye have heard that it was said to them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:
Read all of Matthew 5Matthew 5:31 word by word
Ἐρρέθη δέ ὃς ἂν ἀπολύσῃ τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ, δότω αὐτῇ ἀποστάσιον.Read the interlinear
Cross-references for Matthew 5:31
- Matthew 19:3And there came unto him Pharisees, trying him, and saying, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?
- Deuteronomy 24:1When a man taketh a wife, and marrieth her, then it shall be, if she find no favor in his eyes, because he hath found some unseemly thing in her, that he shall write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.
- Jeremiah 3:1They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man’s, will he return unto her again? will not that land be greatly polluted? But thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith Jehovah.
- Mark 10:2And there came unto him Pharisees, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? trying him.
Commentaries on Matthew 5:31
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 31Whosoever shall put away his wife - The Jewish doctors gave great license in the matter of divorce. Among them, a man might divorce his wife if she displeased him even in the dressing of his victuals! Rabbi Akiba said, "If any man saw a woman handsomer than his own wife, he might put his wife away; because it is said in the law, If she find not favor in his eyes." Deuteronomy 24:1. Josephus, the celebrated Jewish historian, in his Life, tells us, with the…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 31It hath been said - That is, by Moses, Deuteronomy 24:1-2. The husband was directed, if he put his wife away, to give her a bill of divorce, that is a certificate of the fact she had been his wife, and that he had dissolved the marriage. There was considerable difference of opinion among the Jews for what causes the husband was permitted to do this. One of their famous schools maintained that it might be done for any cause, however trivial. The other…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 27-32Verses 27-32 Victory over the desires of the heart, must be attended with painful exertions. But it must be done. Every thing is bestowed to save us from our sins, not in them. All our senses and powers must be kept from those things which lead to transgression. Those who lead others into temptation to sin, by dress or in other ways, or leave them in it, or expose them to it, make themselves guilty of their sin, and will be accountable for it. If painful…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 31A certificate of divorce is a document that makes a divorce legal. Evidence shows this document allowed remarriage. “The essential formula in the notice of divorce is, ‘Lo, you are free to marry any man.’ … The essential formula in a writ of emancipation is, ‘Lo, you are a freedwoman: lo, you belong to yourself’” (Mishnah Gittin 9:3).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3131. It hath been said--This shortened form was perhaps intentional, to mark a transition from the commandments of the Decalogue to a civil enactment on the subject of divorce, quoted from De 24:1. The law of divorce--according to its strictness or laxity--has so intimate a bearing upon purity in the married life, that nothing could be more natural than to pass from the seventh commandment to the loose views on that subject then current. Whosoever shall…Read the comment
Topics related to Matthew 5:31
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Matthew 5
- 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
American Standard Version — 1901 — Public Domain
Commentaries