Matthew 19:3

Matthew 19:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?
• New International Version (NIV)Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”
• English Standard Version (ESV)And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, "Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?"
• New King James Version (NKJV)The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?”

Context of Matthew 19:3

1And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these words, he withdrew from Galilee, and came to the coasts of Judaea beyond the Jordan; 2and great crowds followed him, and he healed them there. And the Pharisees came to him tempting him, and saying, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? 4But he answering said [to them], Have ye not read that he who made [them], from the beginning made them male and female, 5and said, On account of this a man shall leave father and mother, and shall be united to his wife, and the two shall be one flesh?

Matthew 19:3 word by word

καὶ προσῆλθον αὐτῷ Φαρισαῖοι πειράζοντες αὐτὸν καὶ λέγοντες εἰ ἔξεστιν ἀνθρώπῳ ἀπολῦσαι τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ κατὰ πᾶσαν αἰτίαν;¶Read the interlinear

• PhariseesΦαρισαῖοςPharisaios · PhariseeG5330
• cameπροσέρχομαιproserchomai · to come near/agreeG4334
• sayingλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• lawfulἔξεστι, ἐξόνexesti · be permittedG1832
• manἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444
• awayἀπολύωapoluō · to release: releaseG630
• wifeγυνήgunē · woman: wifeG1135
• causeαἰτίαaitia · cause/chargeG156

Cross-references for Matthew 19:3

• Matthew 16:1And the Pharisees and Sadducees, coming to [him], asked him, tempting [him], to shew them a sign out of heaven.
• Matthew 22:16And they send out to him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Teacher, we know that thou art true and teachest the way of God in truth, and carest not for any one, for thou regardest not men's person;
• Mark 10:2And Pharisees coming to [him] asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away [his] wife? (tempting him).
• Mark 12:13And they send to him certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians, that they might catch him in speaking.
• Luke 11:53And as he said these things to them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him urgently, and to make him speak of many things;
• John 8:6But this they said proving him, that they might have [something] to accuse him [of]. But Jesus, having stooped down, wrote with his finger on the ground.
• Hebrews 3:9where your fathers tempted [me], by proving [me], and saw my works forty years.
• Matthew 5:31It has been said too, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a letter of divorce.
• Malachi 2:14Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because Jehovah hath been a witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt unfaithfully: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.

Commentaries on Matthew 19:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3Tempting him - Trying what answer he would give to a question, which, however decided by him, would expose him to censure. Is it lawful - for every cause? - Instead of , fault, cause, reason, three MSS. and the Coptic version read , sin or transgression: this was probably the original reading - the first syllable being lost, alone would remain, which a subsequent transcriber would suppose to be a mistake for , and so wrote it; hence this various reading…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3The Pharisees came - See the notes at Matthew 3:7. Tempting him - This means, to get him, if possible, to express an opinion that should involve him in difficulty. Is it lawful … - There was the more art in the captious question which they proposed, as at that time the people were very much divided on the subject. A part, following the opinions of Hillel, said that a man might divorce his wife for any offence, or any dislike he might have of her. See the…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 3-12Verses 3-12 The Pharisees were desirous of drawing something from Jesus which they might represent as contrary to the law of Moses. Cases about marriage have been numerous, and sometimes perplexed; made so, not by the law of God, but by the lusts and follies of men; and often people fix what they will do, before they ask for advice. Jesus replied by asking whether they had not read the account of the creation, and the first example of marriage; thus…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3There were two different opinions on when a man could divorce his wife: One group of Pharisees, following Rabbi Shammai, believed divorce was only allowable for adultery or serious wrongdoing. The other group, following Rabbi Hillel, thought a man could divorce his wife for any reason, even if she burned his dinner.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?--Two rival schools (as we saw on Mt 5:31) were divided on this question--a delicate one, as De Wette pertinently remarks, in the dominions of Herod Antipas.Read the comment

Topics related to Matthew 19:3

• Divorce
• Jesus, the Christ
• Marriage
• Pharisees

In the dictionaries

• Divorce
• Eternal
• Impossible
• Join
• Marry
• Possession
• Rich
• Wife
• Divorce in the New Testament
• Family

Commentaries on Matthew 19

• 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