English Standard Version
Mark 10:4
4They said, "Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away."
Mark 10:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away.
- New International Version (NIV)They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.”
- New King James Version (NKJV)They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to dismiss her.”
- New Living Translation (NLT)“Well, he permitted it,” they replied. “He said a man can give his wife a written notice of divorce and send her away.”
Context of Mark 10:4
2And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?" 3He answered them, "What did Moses command you?" They said, "Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away." 5And Jesus said to them, "Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. 6But from the beginning of creation, 'God made them male and female.'
Read all of Mark 10Mark 10:4 word by word
οἱ δὲ εἶπαν· ἐπέτρεψεν Μωϋσῆς βιβλίον ἀποστασίου γράψαι καὶ ἀπολῦσαι.Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- ·ὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
- Andδέde · thenG1161
- they saidλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
- MosesΜωϋσῆς, ΜωσῆςMōseus Mōsēs Mōusēs · MosesG3475
- sufferedἐπιτρέπωepitrepō · to permitG2010
- to writeγράφωgraphō · to writeG1125
- a billβιβλίονbiblion · scrollG975
- of divorcementἀποστάσιονapostasion · divorceG647
- andκαίkai · andG2532
- to putἀπολύωapoluō · to release: divorceG630
- awayἀπολύωapoluō · to release: divorceG630
Cross-references for Mark 10:4
- Deuteronomy 24:1"When a man takes a wife and marries her, if then she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, and she departs out of his house,
- Isaiah 50:1Thus says the Lord: "Where is your mother's certificate of divorce, with which I sent her away? Or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities you were sold, and for your transgressions your mother was sent away.
- Jeremiah 3:1"If a man divorces his wife and she goes from him and becomes another man's wife, will he return to her? Would not that land be greatly polluted? You have played the whore with many lovers; and would you return to me? declares the Lord.
- Matthew 1:19And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly.
- Matthew 5:31"It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.'
- Matthew 19:7They said to him, "Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?"
Commentaries on Mark 10:4
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1-12Verses 1-12 See this question about divorce explained in the notes at Matthew 19:1-12. Mark 10:12 And if a woman shall put away her husband - It would seem, from this, that a woman, among the Jews, had the power of separating herself from her husband, yet this right is not given her by the law of Moses. There is not, however, any positive evidence that females often claimed or exercised this right. Cases had occurred, indeed, in which it had been done…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4The Pharisees quoted what Moses permitted. There was much debate among rabbis as to what constituted the "some indecency" that made divorce permissible (see Deuteronomy 24:1). Rabbi Shammai allowed divorce only on the basis of sexual immorality. Rabbi Hillel permitted divorce even if a woman burned her husband’s dinner or was less attractive than someone else (Mishnah Gittin 9:10).Read the comment
Topics related to Mark 10:4
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Mark 10
- 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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries