10 His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.
10 His G846 disciples G3101 say G3004 unto him, G846 If G1487 the case G156 of the man G444 be G2076 so G3779 with G3326 his wife, G1135 it is G4851 not G3756 good G4851 to marry. G1060
10 The disciples say unto him, If the case of the man is so with his wife, it is not expedient to marry.
10 His disciples say to him, `If the case of the man with the woman is so, it is not good to marry.'
10 His disciples say to him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.
10 His disciples said to him, "If this is the case of the man with his wife, it is not expedient to marry."
10 The disciples say to him, If this is the position of a man in relation to his wife, it is better not to be married.
Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well. Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets. Let them be only thine own, and not strangers' with thee. Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love.
A foolish son is the calamity of his father: and the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping. House and riches are the inheritance of fathers: and a prudent wife is from the LORD.
I suppose therefore that this is good for the present distress, I say, that it is good for a man so to be. Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife. But and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned; and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned. Nevertheless such shall have trouble in the flesh: but I spare you.
But I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord: But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife. There is difference also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband. And this I speak for your own profit; not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is comely, and that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction.
The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord. But she is happier if she so abide, after my judgment: and I think also that I have the Spirit of God.
But the younger widows refuse: for when they have begun to wax wanton against Christ, they will marry; Having damnation, because they have cast off their first faith. And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not. I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully. For some are already turned aside after Satan.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Matthew 19
Commentary on Matthew 19 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 19
Mt 19:1-12. Final Departure from Galilee—Divorce. ( = Mr 10:1-12; Lu 9:51).
Farewell to Galilee (Mt 19:1, 2).
1. And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee—This marks a very solemn period in our Lord's public ministry. So slightly is it touched here, and in the corresponding passage of Mark (Mr 10:1), that few readers probably note it as the Redeemer's Farewell to Galilee, which however it was. See on the sublime statement of Luke (Lu 9:51), which relates to the same transition stage in the progress of our Lord's work.
and came into the coasts—or, boundaries
of Judea beyond Jordan—that is, to the further, or east side of the Jordan, into Perea, the dominions of Herod Antipas. But though one might conclude from our Evangelist that our Lord went straight from the one region to the other, we know from the other Gospels that a considerable time elapsed between the departure from the one and the arrival at the other, during which many of the most important events in our Lord's public life occurred—probably a large part of what is recorded in Lu 9:51, onward to Lu 18:15, and part of Joh 7:2-11:54.
2. And great multitudes followed him; and he healed them there—Mark says further (Mr 10:1), that "as He was wont, He taught them there." What we now have on the subject of divorce is some of that teaching.
Divorce (Mt 19:3-12).
3. Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?—Two rival schools (as we saw on Mt 5:31) were divided on this question—a delicate one, as De Wette pertinently remarks, in the dominions of Herod Antipas.
4. 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."
5. And said, For this cause—to follow out this divine appointment.
shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?—Jesus here sends them back to the original constitution of man as one pair, a male and a female; to their marriage, as such, by divine appointment; and to the purpose of God, expressed by the sacred historian, that in all time one man and one woman should by marriage become one flesh—so to continue as long as both are in the flesh. This being God's constitution, let not man break it up by causeless divorces.
7. They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?
8. 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 audience the temporary and purely civil character of this Mosaic relaxation.
9. And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except, &c.—See on Mt 5:32.
10. His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry—that is, "In this view of marriage, surely it must prove a snare rather than a blessing, and had better be avoided altogether."
11. But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given—that is, "That the unmarried state is better, is a saying not for everyone, and indeed only for such as it is divinely intended for." But who are these? they would naturally ask; and this our Lord proceeds to tell them in three particulars.
12. For there are some eunuchs which were so born from their mother's womb—persons constitutionally either incapable of or indisposed to marriage.
and there are some eunuchs which were made eunuchs of men—persons rendered incapable by others.
and there be eunuchs which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake—persons who, to do God's work better, deliberately choose this state. Such was Paul (1Co 7:7).
He that is able to receive it, let him receive it—"He who feels this to be his proper vocation, let him embrace it"; which, of course, is as much as to say—"he only." Thus, all are left free in this matter.
Mt 19:13-15. Little Children Brought to Christ. ( = Mr 10:13-16; Lu 18:15-17).
For the exposition, see on Lu 18:15-17.
Mt 19:16-30. The Rich Young Ruler. ( = Mr 10:17-31; Lu 18:18-30).
For the exposition, see on Lu 18:18-30.