Matthew 19:7

New Life Version

The proud religious law-keepers said to Jesus, "Then why did the Law of Moses allow a man to divorce his wife if he put it down in writing and gave it to her?"

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“Why then,” they asked him, “did Moses command us to give divorce papers and to send her away?”

King James Version (1611)
They say vnto him, Why did Moses then command to giue a writing of diuorcement, and to put her away?

King James Version
They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?

English Standard Version
They said to him, "Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?"

New American Standard Bible
They said to Him, "Why, then, did Moses command to GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE AND SEND HER AWAY?"

New Century Version
The Pharisees asked, "Why then did Moses give a command for a man to divorce his wife by giving her divorce papers?"

Amplified Bible
The Pharisees said to Him, "Why then did Moses command us to GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE AND SEND HER AWAY?"

Geneva Bible (1587)
They said to him, Why did then Moses commaund to giue a bill of diuorcement, and to put her away?

New American Standard Bible (1995)
They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE AND SEND her AWAY?"

Legacy Standard Bible
They *said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away?"

Berean Standard Bible
"Why then," they asked, "did Moses order a man to give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?"

Contemporary English Version
The Pharisees asked Jesus, "Why did Moses say that a man could write out divorce papers and send his wife away?"

Complete Jewish Bible
They said to him, "Then why did Moshe give the commandment that a man should hand his wife a get and divorce her?"

Darby Translation
They say to him, Why then did Moses command to give a letter of divorce and to send [her] away?

Easy-to-Read Version
The Pharisees asked, "Then why did Moses give a command allowing a man to divorce his wife by writing a certificate of divorce?"

George Lamsa Translation
They said to him, Why then did Moses command to give a letter of separation and then divorce her?

Good News Translation
The Pharisees asked him, "Why, then, did Moses give the law for a man to hand his wife a divorce notice and send her away?"

Lexham English Bible
They said to him, "Why then did Moses command us to give a document—a certificate of divorce—and to divorce her?"

Literal Translation
They said to Him, Why then did Moses command to "give a bill of divorce," "and to put her away"? Deut. 24:1

American Standard Version
They say unto him, Why then did Moses command to give a bill of divorcement, and to put her away?

Bible in Basic English
They say to him, Why then did Moses give orders that a husband might give her a statement in writing and be free from her?

Hebrew Names Version
They asked him, "Why then did Moshe command us to give her a bill of divorce, and divorce her?"

International Standard Version
They asked him, "Why, then, did Moses order us 'to give a certificate of divorce and divorce her'?"Deuteronomy 24:1,3">[fn]Deuteronomy 24:1; Matthew 5:31;">[xr]

Etheridge Translation
They said to him, Why then did Musha direct that he should give a writing of dismissal and send her away?

Murdock Translation
They say to him: Why then did Moses command to give a bill of divorce, and to put her away?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
They say vnto hym: why did Moyses then commaunde to geue a writyng of diuorcement, and to put her away?

English Revised Version
They say unto him, Why then did Moses command to give a bill of divorcement, and to put her away?

World English Bible
They asked him, "Why then did Moses command us to give her a bill of divorce, and divorce her?"

Wesley's New Testament (1755)
They say to him, Why then did Moses command to give a writing of divorce and put her away?

Weymouth's New Testament
"Why then," said they, "did Moses command the husband to give her `a written notice of divorce,' and so put her away?"

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Thei seien to hym, What thanne comaundide Moises, to yyue a libel of forsakyng, and to leeue of?

Update Bible Version
They say to him, Why then did Moses command to give a bill of divorce, and to divorce her?

Webster's Bible Translation
They say to him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?

New English Translation
They said to him, "Why then did Moses command us to give a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her?"

New King James Version
They said to Him, "Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?"

New Living Translation
"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.

New Revised Standard
They said to him, "Why then did Moses command us to give a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her?"

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
They say unto him - Why then did, Moses, command, to give a writing of repudiation and to divorce?

Douay-Rheims Bible
They say to him: Why then did Moses command to give a bill of divorce, and to put away?

Revised Standard Version
They said to him, "Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?"

Tyndale New Testament (1525)
The sayde they to him: why did Moses comaunde to geve a testimoniall of divorsemet and to put hyr awaye?

Young's Literal Translation
They say to him, `Why then did Moses command to give a roll of divorce, and to put her away?'

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Then sayde they: Why dyd Moses then comaunde to geue a testimonyall of deuorsement, & to put her awaye?

Mace New Testament (1729)
why then, said they, did Moses permit to give a writ of divorce to repudiate the wife?

THE MESSAGE
They shot back in rebuttal, "If that's so, why did Moses give instructions for divorce papers and divorce procedures?"

Simplified Cowboy Version
"Why then," they replied, "did Moses say a man could fill out a piece of paper that busted up the wedlock and then he could send her packin'?"

Contextual Overview

³ The proud religious law-keepers came to Jesus. They tried to trap Him by saying, "Does the Law say a man can divorce his wife for any reason?" ⁴ He said to them, "Have you not read that He Who made them in the first place made them man and woman? ⁵ It says, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and his mother and will live with his wife. The two will become one.' ⁶ So they are no longer two but one. Let no man divide what God has put together." ⁷ The proud religious law-keepers said to Jesus, "Then why did the Law of Moses allow a man to divorce his wife if he put it down in writing and gave it to her?" ⁸ Jesus said to them, "Because of your hard hearts Moses allowed you to divorce your wives. It was not like that from the beginning. ⁹ And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sex sins, and marries another, is guilty of sex sins in marriage. Whoever marries her that is divorced is guilty of sex sins in marriage." ¹⁰ His followers said to Him, "If that is the way of a man with his wife, it is better not to be married." ¹¹ But Jesus said to them, "Not all men are able to do this, but only those to whom it has been given. ¹² For there are some men who from birth will never be able to have children. There are some men who have been made so by men. There are some men who have had themselves made that way because of the holy nation of heaven. The one who is able to do this, let him do it."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Why: Matthew 5:31, Deuteronomy 24:1-4, Isaiah 50:1, Jeremiah 3:8, Mark 10:4

and to: Matthew 1:19, Malachi 2:16

Reciprocal: John 5:45 - in

Cross-References

Genesis 19:4
Before they went to bed, all the men of the city of Sodom both young and old gathered around the house.

Genesis 19:9
But they said, "Get out of our way. This man came to live here from another land. And already he acts like a judge. Now we will do worse things to you than to them." So they pushed hard against Lot and almost broke down the door.

Genesis 19:11
Then they blinded the men who were at the door of the house, both small and big. So the men became tired trying to find the door.

Genesis 19:23
The sun had moved over the earth when Lot came to Zoar.

Genesis 19:24
Then the Lord poured fire from the heavens upon Sodom and Gomorrah.

Leviticus 18:22
Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman. It is a sinful thing.

Leviticus 20:13
If a man lies with a male as if he were a woman, both of them have done a very sinful act. They must be put to death. They will suffer for their own sin.

Deuteronomy 23:17
"No daughter of Israel is to sell the use of her body in worship to a strange god. And no son of Israel is to sell the use of his body for a strange god.

Judges 19:23
The man, the owner of the house, went out to them and said, "No, my brothers. I beg you not to be so sinful. This man has come into my house. Do not do this sinful thing.

Acts 17:26
He made from one blood all nations who live on the earth. He set the times and places where they should live.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

They say unto him,.... That is the Pharisees, who object the law of Moses to him, hoping hereby to ensnare him, and expose him to the resentment of the people, should he reject that, as they supposed he would;

why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and put her away? referring to Deuteronomy 24:1 which they thought to be a contradiction, and what they knew not how to reconcile to the doctrine Christ had delivered, concerning the original institution of marriage, and the close union there is between a man and his wife, by virtue of it, and which is not to be dissolved by men. Concerning a writing of divorcement and the form, and manner of it,

see Gill "Mt 5:31"

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Why did Moses ... - To this they objected that Moses had allowed such divorces Deuteronomy 24:1; and if he had allowed them, they inferred that they could not be unlawful. See the notes at Matthew 5:31.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Matthew 19:7. Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement? — It is not an unusual case for the impure and unholy to seek for a justification of their conduct from the law of God itself, and to wrest Scripture to their own destruction. I knew a gentleman, so called, who professed deep reverence for the sacred writings, and, strange as it may appear, was outwardly irreproachable in every respect but one; that was, he kept more women than his wife. This man frequently read the Bible, and was particularly conversant with those places that spoke of or seemed to legalize the polygamy of the patriarchs!

A writing of divorcement — See the form of it in Clarke's note on "Matthew 5:31".