Matthew 5:31 BSB — MannaFest

Matthew 5:31

It has also been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

It was said also, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:

KJV

It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:

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Commentary

1 voice

Jerome

Commentary on Matthew (420)

(Vers. 31 seqq.) However, it is said: Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce. But I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for the cause of fornication, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. In the later part, the Savior explains this place more fully, that Moses commanded the certificate of divorce to be given because of the hardness of the hearts of the husbands, not granting a separation, but removing homicide.

The record, by era

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Albert Barnes

1798–1870

Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)

It hath been said ... - That is, by Moses, Deu 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 maintained that adultery only could justify it.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement--a legal check upon reckless and tyrannical separation. The one legitimate ground of divorce allowed by the enactment just quoted was "some uncleanness"--in other words, conjugal infidelity.

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

11 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
Ἐρρέθη	Errethē	It was said	G2046 →
δέ	de	also	G1161 →
ὃς	hos	Who[ever]	G3739 →
ἂν	an	maybe	G302 →
ἀπολύσῃ	apolusē	may divorce	G630 →
τὴν	tēn	the	G3588 →
γυναῖκα	gunaika	wife	G1135 →
αὐτοῦ,	autou	of him,	G846 →
δότω	dotō	he should give	G1325 →
αὐτῇ	autēa	to her	G846 →
ἀποστάσιον.	apostasion	a letter of divorce.’	G647 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Matthew 19:7
“Why then,” they asked, “did Moses order a man to give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”
leads to
- Deuteronomy 24:1–4
  If a man marries a woman, but she becomes displeasing to him because he finds some indecency in her, he may write her a certificate of divorce, hand it to her, and send her…
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Mark 10:4
  They answered, “Moses permitted a man to write his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away.”
- Malachi 2:16
  “For I hate divorce,” says the LORD, the God of Israel. “He who divorces his wife covers his garment with violence,” says the LORD of Hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do…
Through
Matthew 19:3
Then some Pharisees came and tested Him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?”
leads to
- Mark 10:2
  Some Pharisees came to test Him. “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” they inquired.
Through
Jeremiah 3:1
“If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him to marry another, can he ever return to her? Would not such a land be completely defiled? But you have played the harlot with…
leads to
- Ezekiel 16:26
  You prostituted yourself with your lustful neighbors, the Egyptians, and increased your promiscuity to provoke Me to anger.
- Ezekiel 16:28–29
  Then you prostituted yourself with the Assyrians, because you were not yet satisfied. Even after that, you were still not satisfied.
- Deuteronomy 4:29–31
  But if from there you will seek the LORD your God, you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.
- Hosea 14:1–4
  Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, for you have stumbled by your iniquity.