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

29“So if your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose a part of your body than to have all of it thrown into hell. 30And if your right hand leads you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose a part of your body than to have all of it go into hell. “It has also been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must give her a written notice.’ 32But I can guarantee that any man who divorces his wife for any reason other than unfaithfulness makes her look as though she has committed adultery. Whoever marries a woman divorced in this way makes himself look as though he has committed adultery. 33“You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, ‘Never break your oath, but give to the Lord what you swore in an oath to give him.’

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 test him. They asked, “Can a man divorce his wife for any reason?”
• Deuteronomy 24:1This is what you must do if a husband writes out a certificate of divorce, gives it to his wife, and makes her leave his house. (He divorced her because he found out something indecent about her and she no longer pleased him.)
• Jeremiah 3:1A saying: If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him and marries another man, her first husband shouldn’t go back to her again. The land would become thoroughly polluted. “You have acted like a prostitute who has many lovers. And now you want to come back to me!” declares the Lord.
• Mark 10:2Some Pharisees came to test him. They asked, “Can a husband divorce his wife?”

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