Matthew 19:8

Matthew 19:8 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.
• New International Version (NIV)Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning.
• New King James Version (NKJV)He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.
• New Living Translation (NLT)Jesus replied, “Moses permitted divorce only as a concession to your hard hearts, but it was not what God had originally intended.

Context of Matthew 19:8

6So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate." 7They said to him, "Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?" He said to them, "Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery." 10The disciples said to him, "If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry."

Matthew 19:8 word by word

Λέγει αὐτοῖς ὅτι Μωϋσῆς πρὸς τὴν σκληροκαρδίαν ὑμῶν ἐπέτρεψεν ὑμῖν ἀπολῦσαι τὰς γυναῖκας ὑμῶν· ἀπ᾽ ἀρχῆς δὲ οὐ γέγονεν οὕτως.¶Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• He saithλέγωlegō · to sayG3004
• unto themαὐτόςautos · it/s/heG846
• ·ὅτιhoti · that/since: thatG3754
• MosesΜωϋσῆς, ΜωσῆςMōseus Mōsēs Mōusēs · MosesG3475
• becauseπρόςpros · to/withG4314
• of the hardness ofὁho hē to · the/this/whoG3588
• of the hardness ofσκληροκαρδίαsklērokardia · hardness of heartG4641
• yourσύsu · youG4771
• sufferedἐπιτρέπωepitrepō · to permitG2010
• to put awayἀπολύωapoluō · to release: divorceG630
• wivesγυνήgunē · woman: wifeG1135
• butδέde · thenG1161
• fromἀπόapo · away fromG575
• the beginningἀρχήarchē · beginningG746
• it wasγίνομαιginomai · to beG1096
• notοὐou · noG3756
• soοὕτωςhoutō · thus(-ly)G3779

Cross-references for Matthew 19:8

• Psalms 95:8do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
• Zechariah 7:12They made their hearts diamond-hard lest they should hear the law and the words that the Lord of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great anger came from the Lord of hosts.
• Malachi 2:13And this second thing you do. You cover the Lord's altar with tears, with weeping and groaning because he no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand.
• Mark 10:5And Jesus said to them, "Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment.
• Matthew 3:15But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he consented.
• Matthew 8:31And the demons begged him, saying, "If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs."
• 1 Corinthians 7:6Now as a concession, not a command, I say this.
• Genesis 2:24Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
• Genesis 7:7And Noah and his sons and his wife and his sons' wives with him went into the ark to escape the waters of the flood.
• Jeremiah 6:16Thus says the Lord: "Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, 'We will not walk in it.'

Commentaries on Matthew 19:8

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts - It is dangerous to tolerate the least evil, though prudence itself may require it: because toleration, in this case, raises itself insensibly into permission, and permission soon sets up for command. Moses perceived that if divorce were not permitted, in many cases, the women would be exposed to great hardships through the cruelty of their husbands: for so the word , is understood in this place by some…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8He saith unto them … - Jesus admits that this was allowed, but still he contends that this was not the original design of marriage. It was only a temporary expedient growing out of a special state of things, and not designed to be perpetual. It was on account of the hardness of their hearts. Moses found the custom in use. He found a hard-hearted and rebellious people. In this state of things he did not deem it prudent to forbid a practice so universal…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. 7-8Why … did Moses order: The Pharisees believed Jesus contradicted a command in the law (see Deuteronomy 24:1–4). But Moses allowed divorce only because of people's stubbornness. Jesus introduced the radical idea that what God permits is not always what he desires (see 1 Corinthians 6:12). Divorce is never what God desires (Malachi 2:14–16). It shows the brokenness of human sin.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. He saith unto them, Moses--as a civil lawgiver. because of--or "having respect to." the hardness of your hearts--looking to your low moral state, and your inability to endure the strictness of the original law. suffered you to put away your wives--tolerated a relaxation of the strictness of the marriage bond--not as approving of it, but to prevent still greater evils. But from the beginning it was not so--This is repeated, in order to impress upon His…Read the comment

Topics related to Matthew 19:8

• Divorce
• God Continued...
• Jesus, the Christ
• Marriage

In the dictionaries

• Moses
• Concubine
• Deuteronomy
• Divorce
• Eternal
• Impossible
• Join
• Marry
• Pentateuch
• Possession

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