Matthew 5:31

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

29If your right eye leads you to do wrong things, then you should take it out. You should throw it away. Yes, you will lose one eye. But it will be much worse if you keep your whole body and God throws you into hell. 30Also, if your right hand leads you to do wrong things, then you should cut it off. You should throw it away. You will lose one hand. But it will be much worse if you keep your body in one piece and go to hell.’ ‘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.” 32But what I tell you is this: A man must not send his wife away except for one reason. He may only send her away if she has had sex with another man. If he sends her away for any other reason, he has done a wrong thing. It is like he has caused her to have sex with another man. Also, if a woman has left her husband, another man must not marry her. That is the same as if he had sex with another man's wife.’ 33‘You also know the rule that God gave to your ancestors: “If you make a promise to God, you must do what you have said.”

Matthew 5:31 word by word

Ἐρρέθη δέ ὃς ἂν ἀπολύσῃ τὴν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ, δότω αὐτῇ ἀποστάσιον.Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• It hath been saidἐρῶereō · to sayG2046
• ·δέde · thenG1161
• ·ὅτιhoti · that/since: thatG3754
• Whosoeverὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• ·ἄνan · ifG302
• shall put awayἀπολύωapoluō · to release: divorceG630
• hisαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• wifeὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• wifeγυνήgunē · woman: wifeG1135
• let him giveδίδωμιdidōmi · to giveG1325
• a writing of divorcementἀποστάσιονapostasion · divorceG647

Cross-references for Matthew 5:31

• Matthew 19:3Some 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?’
• Deuteronomy 24:1Perhaps a man will marry a woman and then he discovers something that brings shame on her. So she does not please him any more. He must write a letter to say that they are no longer married. He gives the letter to his wife. Then he can send her away from his house.
• Jeremiah 3:1The Lord says this: ‘If a man sends his wife away, she may leave him and marry another man. Then her first husband may not take her as his wife again. That would be a sin against the land where you live. But you have left me to live with other gods. You have lived like a prostitute, but you still think that you can return to me.
• 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?’

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

• Commandments
• Divorce
• Instruction
• Judaism
• Law
• Marriage
• Quotations and Allusions
• Religion

In the dictionaries

• Agree
• Communication
• Despitefully
• Divorce
• Enemy
• Fornication
• Forswear
• Gift
• Hunger
• Inherit

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