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Read the Bible

Christian Standard Bible ®

Matthew 19:7

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

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Divorce;   Jesus, the Christ;   Marriage;   Scofield Reference Index - Kingdom;   Thompson Chain Reference - Divorce;   Foes of the Home;   Home;   The Topic Concordance - Divorce;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Husbands;   Marriage;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Woman;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Adultery;   Divorce;   Ethics;   Government;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Divorce;   Hardening, Hardness of Heart;   Homosexuality;   Marriage;   Woman;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Hutchinsonians;   Marriage;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Concubine;   Deuteronomy;   Divorce;   Wife;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Law;   Matthew, the Gospel According to;   Pentateuch;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Apostasy;   Divorce;   History;   Marriage;   Matthew, the Gospel of;   Woman;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Christianity;   Law;   Moses;   Text of the New Testament;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Asceticism (2);   Bill;   Celibacy (2);   Character;   Common Life;   Discourse;   Divorce (2);   Eunuch ;   Example;   Home (2);   Law of God;   Moses ;   Questions and Answers;   Searching;   Supremacy;   Womanliness;   Writing;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Divorce;   Marriage;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Concubine;   Lamech;   Marriage;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Deuteronomy;   Law of Moses;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Pharisees;  

Encyclopedias:

- Condensed Biblical Cyclopedia - Garden of Eden;   International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Divorce in Old Testament;   Divorce in New Testament;   Family;   Law in the New Testament;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Divorce;  

Parallel Translations

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 Life Bible
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?"
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

3Some Pharisees approached him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife on any grounds?” 4“Haven’t you read,” 5and he also said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? 6So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.” 7“Why then,” they asked him, “did Moses command us to give divorce papers and to send her away?”8He told them, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because of the hardness of your hearts, but it was not like that from the beginning. 9I tell you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another commits adultery.” 10His disciples said to him, “If the relationship of a man with his wife is like this, it’s better not to marry.” 11He responded, “Not everyone can accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given. 12For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb, there are eunuchs who were made by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves that way because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who is able to accept it should accept 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, the men of the city of Sodom, both young and old, the whole population, surrounded the house.
Genesis 19:9
“Get out of the way!” they said, adding, “This one came here as an alien, but he’s acting like a judge! Now we’ll do more harm to you than to them.” They put pressure on Lot and came up to break down the door.
Genesis 19:11
They struck the men who were at the entrance of the house, both young and old, with blindness so that they were unable to find the entrance.
Genesis 19:23
The sun had risen over the land when Lot reached Zoar.
Genesis 19:24
Then out of the sky the Lord rained on Sodom and Gomorrah burning sulfur from the Lord.
Leviticus 18:22
You are not to sleep with a man as with a woman; it is detestable.
Leviticus 20:13
If a man sleeps with a man as with a woman, they have both committed a detestable act. They must be put to death; their death is their own fault.
Deuteronomy 23:17
“No Israelite woman is to be a cult prostitute, and no Israelite man is to be a cult prostitute.
Judges 19:23
The owner of the house went out and said to them, “Please don’t do this evil, my brothers. After all, this man has come into my house. Don’t commit this horrible outrage.
Acts 17:26
From one man he has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they 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".


 
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