EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Matthew 19:3
3Some Pharisees came to talk to Jesus. They wanted to see how he would answer their question. They asked, ‘Can a man send his wife away so that she is no longer his wife? Is it right for him to do that for any reason he chooses?’
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
1When Jesus had finished saying all these things, he went away from Galilee. He went to the part of Judea that is on the other side of the Jordan River. 2Large crowds followed Jesus there. He made the sick people well again. Some Pharisees came to talk to Jesus. They wanted to see how he would answer their question. They asked, ‘Can a man send his wife away so that she is no longer his wife? Is it right for him to do that for any reason he chooses?’ 4Jesus replied, ‘You surely have read about this in the Bible. At the start, when God created the world, he made people male and female. 5Because of this, a man leaves his father and his mother. God joins him and his wife together. The man and the woman become like one body.
Read all of Matthew 19Matthew 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
Words taken from the KJV.
- The Phariseesὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- The PhariseesΦαρισαῖοςPharisaios · PhariseeG5330
- alsoκαίkai · andG2532
- cameπροσέρχομαιproserchomai · to come near/agreeG4334
- unto himαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
- temptingπειράζωpeirazō · to test/tempt: testG3985
- sayingλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
- Is itεἰei · if: is(QUESTION)G1487
- lawfulἔξεστι, ἐξόνexesti · be permittedG1832
- for a manἄνθρωποςanthrōpos · a humanG444
- to put awayἀπολύωapoluō · to release: divorceG630
- wifeγυνήgunē · woman: wifeG1135
- forκατάkata · according toG2596
- everyπᾶςpas · allG3956
- causeαἰτίαaitia · cause/chargeG156
Cross-references for Matthew 19:3
- Matthew 16:1Some Pharisees and Sadducees went to see Jesus. They wanted to test him to see what he would do. They asked him, ‘Do something powerful for us to see. Then we will believe that God has sent you.’
- Matthew 22:16So the Pharisees sent their own disciples to Jesus. They also sent people who were friends of King Herod. They said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, we know that you only say true things. You teach us what God wants us to do. It does not matter to you what other people think. If someone is important, you do not change your answers to make them happy.
- Mark 10:2Some 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?’
- Mark 12:13Then the leaders sent some Pharisees to Jesus. They also sent some men who were friends of King Herod. They tried to use Jesus' words to cause trouble for him.
- Luke 11:53Then Jesus left that place. The Pharisees and the teachers of God's Law were angry against Jesus. They were asking him many difficult questions.
- John 8:6They asked this question for a reason. They wanted Jesus to say something wrong, so that they could punish him. But Jesus bent himself down. He started to write on the ground with his finger.
- Hebrews 3:9For 40 years your ancestors saw the great things that I did. But still they did not obey me.
- Matthew 5:31‘God's Law also says: “Any man who wants to send his wife away must give her a letter. This letter must say that they are no longer married.”
- Malachi 2:14You ask, ‘Why is the Lord not happy with our gifts?’ The Lord knows that you men have not done the right thing with your wives. When you married as a young man, you promised to take care of your wife always. But you have sent her away, when the law says that you must stay with her as your wife.
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
In the dictionaries
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
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