Jump to a verse
Mark 10:1-12, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Mark 10:1-12
Jesus Confronts Divorce Used against a Spouse
He will not let hardness of heart treat a spouse as disposable
Beyond Jordan the Pharisees come and test him: Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? He asks what Moses commanded. They cite the writing of divorcement. Jesus says Moses wrote that precept for the hardness of their heart. From the beginning of the creation God made them male and female; for this cause shall a man leave father and mother and they twain shall be one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. In the house the disciples ask again. He says that whosoever shall put away his wife and marry another committeth adultery against her, and if a woman put away her husband and be married to another she committeth adultery. The target is discarding a spouse to take another, not a riddle for later courts.
Mark's word protects the one-flesh bond against convenience. It does not require anyone to remain in abuse, coercive control, or immediate danger, as if endurance of harm were holiness. Jesus is not handing an abuser a verse to lock the door. Seek safety, wise help, and the church's protection where a home has become a place of harm. Do not use creation's gift as a weapon against the wounded.
How this should shape us
If you are tempted to leave because the marriage is inconvenient, hear the hard word and stay faithful. If you are being harmed, get to safety — this passage is not a lock on an abusive house.
Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do careful interpreters differ?
Best judgment: The ancient debate is gendered and legally complex. Mark's strict saying protects covenant partners from being discarded but does not address every circumstance, and it must not trap people in violence, coercive control, or danger. Matthew, Luke, and Paul preserve related but not identical applications.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph flags, supplied-word markup, and coverage.
Mark 10:1-12, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Supports: Greek wording, sentence relations, and material variants checked independently of the KJV.
Faithlife SBLGNT official repository, data/sblgnt/text/Mark.txt, 10:1-12
Supports: Greek forms, morphology, and lexical ranges; context controls sense.
STEP Bible Data official repository, TAGNT Matthew–Acts data, rows for 10:1-12
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, older-English clarification, variants, background, and alternatives.
NET Bible Mark PDF, printed pp. 1868–1901, 10:1-12 and attached translator/textual notes
Supports: Narrative boundaries, plot, characterization, kingdom, Christology, discipleship, conflict, Passion, and ending.
Broadhead, Mark, printed pp. 74–87, Mark 8.27b–10.52; subsection covering 10:1-12
Supports: Authorship/date limits, whole-book movement, secrecy, disciple failure, Passion, Sonship, and reader-first context.
Enter the Bible Mark course, Summary, Outline, Background, Introductory Issues, Theological Themes, and related passage index; applied to 10:1-12
Supports: A complete confessional evangelical interpretation used as one traditioned voice, not consensus.
McKinley, “Mark,” Introduction and commentary heading covering Mark 10:1-12
Supports: Deuteronomy, ancient gender/economic vulnerability, remarriage, children, abuse-sensitive application, and limits.
Skinner, “Commentary on Mark 10:2–16,” sections A Test, Looking Deeper, and Preaching; applied to 10:1-12
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact KJV wording, paragraph flags, supplied-word markup, and coverage.
Exact location: Mark 10:1-12, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording, sentence relations, and material variants checked independently of the KJV.
Exact location: Faithlife SBLGNT official repository, data/sblgnt/text/Mark.txt, 10:1-12
Open the Mark Greek text file ↗Lexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: Greek forms, morphology, and lexical ranges; context controls sense.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data official repository, TAGNT Matthew–Acts data, rows for 10:1-12
Open source ↗Translation and textual notes
NET Bible — Mark with translators' and textual notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2005–2026 online edition
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, older-English clarification, variants, background, and alternatives.
Exact location: NET Bible Mark PDF, printed pp. 1868–1901, 10:1-12 and attached translator/textual notes
Open the official NET Mark PDF ↗modern scholarly narrative commentary
Mark, Second Edition
Edwin K. Broadhead
Sheffield Phoenix Press; distributed online by the Society of Biblical Literature, 2009
Supports: Narrative boundaries, plot, characterization, kingdom, Christology, discipleship, conflict, Passion, and ending.
Exact location: Broadhead, Mark, printed pp. 74–87, Mark 8.27b–10.52; subsection covering 10:1-12
Open Broadhead's complete Mark commentary ↗modern scholarly book introduction
Mark course: summary, outline, background, introductory issues, theological themes, and Bible in the world
Paul S. Berge; revised by Kristofer Phan Coffman
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, 2023 revision; current online course inspected 2026
Supports: Authorship/date limits, whole-book movement, secrecy, disciple failure, Passion, Sonship, and reader-first context.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Mark course, Summary, Outline, Background, Introductory Issues, Theological Themes, and related passage index; applied to 10:1-12
Open the Enter the Bible Mark course ↗modern open confessional commentary
Mark
Mike McKinley
The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, 2023 online edition
Supports: A complete confessional evangelical interpretation used as one traditioned voice, not consensus.
Exact location: McKinley, “Mark,” Introduction and commentary heading covering Mark 10:1-12
Open McKinley's Mark commentary ↗modern scholarly pastoral passage commentary
Commentary on Mark 10:2–16
Matt Skinner
Working Preacher, Luther Seminary, 2009
Supports: Deuteronomy, ancient gender/economic vulnerability, remarriage, children, abuse-sensitive application, and limits.
Exact location: Skinner, “Commentary on Mark 10:2–16,” sections A Test, Looking Deeper, and Preaching; applied to 10:1-12
Open Skinner's Mark 10 commentary ↗