Matthew 19

Teaching About Divorce

1Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from ^aGalilee and ^bentered ^cthe region of Judea beyond the Jordan. 2And ^dlarge crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

3And Pharisees came up to him and ^etested him by asking, ^f“Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” 4He answered, ^g“Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5and said, ^h‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and ⁱthe two shall become one flesh’? 6So they are no longer two but one flesh. ^jWhat therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” 7They said to him, ^k“Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” 8He said to them, “Because of your ^lhardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 ^mAnd I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.” ▼

▼Some manuscripts add and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery; other manuscripts  except for sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery

10The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” 11But he said to them, ^o“Not everyone can receive this saying, but only ^pthose to ^qwhom it is given. 12For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs ^rfor the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.”

Let the Children Come to Me

13 ^sThen children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples ^trebuked the people, 14but Jesus said, ^u“Let the little children ^vcome to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” 15And he laid his hands on them and went away.

The Rich Young Man

16 ^wAnd behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to ^xhave ^yeternal life?” 17And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. ^zIf you would enter life, keep the commandments.” 18He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, ^aa“You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19Honor your father and mother, and, ^abYou shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 20The young man said to him, ^ac“All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” 21Jesus said to him, “If you would be ^adperfect, go, ^aesell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have ^aftreasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 ^agWhen the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

23And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, ^ahonly with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 ^aiAgain I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter ^ajthe kingdom of God.” 25When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” 26But Jesus ^aklooked at them and said, ^al“With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 27Then Peter said in reply, “See, ^amwe have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” 28Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, ▼

▼Greek  in the regeneration

^aowhen the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me ^apwill also sit on twelve thrones, ^aqjudging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 ^arAnd everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold ▼

▼Some manuscripts manifold

and will ^atinherit eternal life. 30But ^aumany who are ^avfirst will be last, and the last first.