Mark 10:4

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.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)They said, "Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away."
• New King James Version (NKJV)They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce, and to dismiss her.”

Context of Mark 10:4

2Some Pharisees came and tried to trap him with this question: “Should a man be allowed to divorce his wife?” 3Jesus answered them with a question: “What did Moses say in the law about divorce?” “Well, he permitted it,” they replied. “He said a man can give his wife a written notice of divorce and send her away.” 5But Jesus responded, “He wrote this commandment only as a concession to your hard hearts. 6But ‘God made them male and female’ from the beginning of creation.

Mark 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“Suppose a man marries a woman but she does not please him. Having discovered something wrong with her, he writes a document of divorce, hands it to her, and sends her away from his house.
• Isaiah 50:1This is what the Lord says: “Was your mother sent away because I divorced her? Did I sell you as slaves to my creditors? No, you were sold because of your sins. And your mother, too, was taken because of your sins.
• Jeremiah 3:1“If a man divorces a woman and she goes and marries someone else, he will not take her back again, for that would surely corrupt the land. But you have prostituted yourself with many lovers, so why are you trying to come back to me?” says the Lord.
• Matthew 1:19Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.
• Matthew 5:31“You have heard the law that says, ‘A man can divorce his wife by merely giving her a written notice of divorce.’
• Matthew 19:7“Then why did Moses say in the law that a man could give his wife a written notice of divorce and send her away?” they asked.

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

• Jesus, the Christ
• Marriage
• Polygamy

In the dictionaries

• Moses
• Bill of Divorcement
• Deuteronomy
• Divorce
• Lordship
• Mock
• Ransom
• Resort
• Divorce in the New Testament
• Divorce in the Old Testament

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