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 him, and he healed them there. 3Then some Pharisees came to him in order to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful to divorce a wife for any cause?” He answered, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator made them male and female, 5and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and will be united with his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? 6So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one 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 12:3He said to them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry –
• Matthew 21:6So the disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them.
• Matthew 22:31Now as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God,
• Mark 2:25He said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry –
• Mark 12:10Have you not read this scripture: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
• Luke 6:3Jesus answered them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry –
• Luke 10:26He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you understand it?”
• Genesis 1:27God created humankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them.
• Genesis 5:2He created them male and female; when they were created, he blessed them and named them “humankind.”
• Malachi 2:15No one who has even a small portion of the Spirit in him does this. What did our ancestor do when seeking a child from God? Be attentive, then, to your own spirit, for one should not be disloyal to the wife he took in his youth.

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