NEW TESTAMENT TEXTS ON
DIVORCE & REMARRIAGE
Lk 16.18 Mt 5.31-21 Rom 7.2-3
1 Cor 7 Mt 19:3-12 Mk 10:2-12
Luke 16.18
Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery
Mt 5.31-32
31 It has been said, `Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.' [1]
32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness,[2] causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.
Rom 7.2-3
2 By law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage.
3 So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man.
1 Cor 7
10 ¶ To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband.
11 But if she does,[3] she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.
12 To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her.
13 And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him.
14 For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.
15 But if the unbeliever leaves, let him do so. A believing man or woman is not bound in such circumstances;[4] God has called us to live in peace.
27 Are you married? Do not seek a divorce. Are you unmarried?[5] Do not look for a wife.
28 But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned.
39 ¶ A woman is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but he must belong to the Lord.
Bold for Jesus' words; Italics for Mt material different from Mk
3 ¶ Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?"[6]
4 "Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator `made them male and female',
5 and said, `For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'?
6 So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."
7 "Why then," they asked, "did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?"
8 Jesus replied, "Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning.
9
I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness,[7] and marries another woman commits adultery."
10 The disciples said to him, "If this is the situation between a husband and wife, it is better not to marry."
11 Jesus replied, "Not everyone can accept this word, but only those to whom it has been given.
12 For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it."
Mk 10.2-12
2 Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?"
3 "What did Moses command[8] you?" he replied.
4 They said, "Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away."
5 "It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law," Jesus replied.
6 "But at the beginning of creation God `made them male and female'.
7 `For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,
8 and the two will become one flesh.' So they are no longer two, but one.
9 Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate."
10 When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this.
11 He answered, "Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her.[9]
12 And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery[10]
[1] Mt 5.31 - Cf Deut 24.1
[2] Mt 5.32 & Mt 19.9 over - Porneia – adultery; sexual immorality (general); pre-marital sex (cf Deut 22.13ff); irregular marriage (cf Lev 18.6ff).
[3] 1 Cor 7:11- Why does Paul consider a situation he seems to have forbidden ?
[4] 1 Cor 7:15 - Does this "not bound" include right to marry another ?
[5] 1 Cor 7:27 - "Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be loosed. Have you been loosed from a wife?". Can the latter refer to those divorced who are then permitted to marry ?
[6] Mt 19:3 – Inclusion here alludes to debates over meaning of Deut 24.
[7] Mt 19:9 - This is the crucial "Matthean exception" – on porneia see fn2 above. Does this clause exempt simply some forms of divorce or also some forms of remarriage from classification as adultery ?
[8] Mt 19:13 - Note different uses of "command" and "permit" in two accounts.
[9] Mk 10:11 - The adultery is committed against the ex-wife.
[10] Mk 10:12 - Inclusion of woman initiating unique to Mark, recognises non-Jewish practice and perhaps alludes to Herodias.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |