Mark 10:1-16

1Then Jesus left that place and he went to Judea. He went across to the east side of the Jordan River. Crowds of people came to him again. So he taught them, as he usually did.

2Some Pharisees came to Jesus. They wanted to find out how he would answer their question. They asked him, ‘Can a man send his wife away, so that she is no longer his wife? Is it right for him to do that?’

3Jesus replied with a question: ‘What did Moses say was right for you?’

4The Pharisees said, ‘Moses said that a man could write a letter to say that he and his wife are no longer married. Then the man can send the woman away.’

5Jesus said to them, ‘You did not want to obey God. That is why Moses made this rule for you.

6But at the start, when God made the world, he made people male and female.

7That is the reason that a man leaves his father and his mother. Then God joins him and his wife together.

8The man and the woman become like one body. They are not two separate people any longer. They have come together as one person.

9God has put them together to be husband and wife. So nobody should cause them to be separate.’

10When Jesus went into the house, the disciples asked him about these things again.

11So Jesus said to them, ‘A man must not send his wife away and then marry another woman. If he does that, he has not been faithful to his wife. It is the same as if he had sex with another man's wife.

12In the same way, a woman must not leave her husband and then marry another man. She also has done a wrong thing. It is the same as if she had sex with another woman's husband.’

13People were bringing little children to Jesus. They wanted him to put his hands on each child's head. The disciples told the people that they should not do that.

14But when Jesus saw this, he was angry. He said to them, ‘Do not stop the children. Let them come to me. People must become like these children so that God can rule their lives. That is what the kingdom of God is like.

15I tell you this: A person must become like a little child for God to rule in his life. If he does not become like a child, he will not come into the kingdom of God.’

16Then Jesus took hold of the children. He put his hands on each of them and he asked God to bless them.