Matthew 19:4

Matthew 19:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
• New International Version (NIV)“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’
• English Standard Version (ESV)He answered, "Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female,
• New King James Version (NKJV)And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’

Context of Matthew 19:4

2Large crowds followed Jesus there. He made the sick people well again. 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?’ Jesus 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. 6They are not two separate people any longer. They have come together as one person. God has put them together to be husband and wife. So nobody should make them separate.’

Matthew 19:4 word by word

Ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν οὐκ ἀνέγνωτε ὅτι ὁ κτίσας ἀπ᾽ ἀρχῆς ἄρσεν καὶ θῆλυ ἐποίησεν αὐτούς;Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• Andδέde · thenG1161
• he answeredἀποκρίνωapokrinomai · to answerG611
• and saidλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• unto themαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• Have yeἀναγινώσκωanaginōskō · to readG314
• notοὐou · noG3756
• thatὅτιhoti · that/since: thatG3754
• he which madeποιέωpoieō · to do/make: doG4160
• atἀπόapo · away fromG575
• the beginningἀρχήarchē · beginningG746
• maleἄρρην, ἄρσηνarrhēn arsēn · maleG730
• andκαίkai · andG2532
• femaleθῆλυςthēlus · femaleG2338

Cross-references for Matthew 19:4

• Matthew 12:3Jesus replied, ‘You have certainly read about what David did one day. He and the men who were with him were hungry.
• Matthew 21:6So the two disciples went to the village. They did everything that Jesus had told them to do.
• Matthew 22:31It is true that one day dead people will become alive again. You have read in the Bible about what God said to you:
• Mark 2:25Jesus replied, ‘You have certainly read about what David did one day. He and the men who were with him were very hungry. They needed food to eat.
• Mark 12:10I am sure that you have read these words in the Bible: “The builders refused to use a certain stone. They thought that it had no value. But now that stone has become the most important stone at the corner of the building.
• Luke 6:3Jesus replied, ‘You have certainly read about what David did one day. He and the men who were with him were hungry.
• Luke 10:26‘What does God's Law say?’ Jesus asked. ‘What do you understand when you read it?’
• Genesis 1:27God made humans. He made them to be like himself. He made some of them males and some of them females.
• Genesis 5:2God made male and female people and he called them ‘human’. He blessed them.
• Malachi 2:15The Lord has joined you together, as a man with his wife. Your body and your spirit belong to him. Why did God put you together? He wanted you to have children who would belong to him. So think carefully about how you live. Do not leave the wife that you married when you were a young man.

Commentaries on Matthew 19:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4He which made them at the beginning - When Adam and Eve were the first of human kind. Made them male and female - Merely through the design of matrimonial union, that the earth might be thus peopled. To answer a case of conscience, a man should act as Christ does here; pay no regard to that which the corruption of manners has introduced into Divine ordinances, but go back to the original will, purpose, and institution of God. Christ will never accommodate…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4-6Verses 4-6 And he answered and said … - Instead of referring to the opinions of either party, Jesus called their attention to the original design of marriage, to the authority of Moses an authority acknowledged by them both. Have ye not read? - Genesis 1:27; Genesis 2:21-22. “And said, For this cause,” etc., Genesis 2:24. That is, God, at the beginning, made but one man and one woman: their posterity should learn that the original intention of marriage…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. 4-5The Pharisees did not consider all of God's teachings. God intended marriage to be a permanent union (see Genesis 2:18–25; see also 1 Corinthians 7:10–16).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female--or better, perhaps, "He that made them made them from the beginning a male and a female."Read the comment

Topics related to Matthew 19:4

• Divorce
• Jesus, the Christ
• Marriage
• Polygamy
• Quotations and Allusions

In the dictionaries

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

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