Matthew 5:31–5:32, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Matthew 5:31–5:32
Jesus names the harm carried by divorce
Divorce without a trap
Jesus tightens the casual certificate culture that could dismiss a wife and leave her exposed. He names the harm of a disposable marriage and the way a careless sending-away can multiply infidelity's damage, apart from the debated sexual-immorality exception.
This saying is not a cage for people being abused, stalked, abandoned, or sexually betrayed. First-century legal settings, the exception term, and the relation to Matthew 19 remain disputed. A church that uses this verse to keep someone under violence has stopped hearing the Sermon. Divorce is not treated here as the unforgivable sin, and a harmful spouse does not get to control the interpretation.
How this should shape us
If you are considering ending a marriage, tell the truth about harm, not only about restlessness. Get wise counsel. If you are being hurt, leave the reach of the harm; this passage does not require you to stay and be destroyed. If you hold power in a church, do not weaponize this text against the injured.
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
Which judgment needs visible uncertainty?
Best judgment: The exception term, first-century legal setting, relation to 19:3-12, and modern application to separation, remarriage, abandonment, and abuse remain disputed.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and thought-unit coverage.
Matthew 5:31–5:32, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Supports: Greek wording and punctuation control without treating one edition as a complete apparatus.
SBLGNT official text file data/sblgnt/text/Matt.txt, Matthew 5:31–5:32
Supports: Morphology and lexical cross-check for the expressions actually discussed in this thought unit.
STEP Bible Data TAGNT rows for Matthew 5:31–5:32
Supports: Verse-attached textual, translation, language, historical, Jewish-background, and Synoptic notes for this unit.
NET Bible Matthew PDF, printed pp. 1808-1867, exact tn/tc/sn entries attached to 5:31–5:32
Supports: Critical literary orientation with source, setting, historical, and theological judgments retained as interpretations.
Yale Bible Study, course unit 'Sermon on the Mount,' Matthew 4-8 study guide
Supports: Whole-book orientation and unit placement, including visible uncertainty about authorship, date, setting, and purpose.
Enter the Bible Matthew course, 'Summary,' 'Outline,' 'Background,' 'Introductory Issues,' 'Theological Themes,' and passage index entry for Matthew 5:31–5:32
Supports: One complete confessional reading checked against the text, critical scholarship, and Jewish-context controls.
O'Donnell, online Matthew commentary, heading and paragraphs explicitly covering Matthew 5:31–5:32
Supports: Jewish setting, Scripture, Torah debate, named groups, practices, and anti-Judaism control at the passage address.
Gale, Matthew introduction and verse-addressed annotations, first-edition print pp. 1-54, exact annotation at Matthew 5:31–5:32
Supports: Specialist control for Matthew's Jewish setting, Torah, Israel and nations, polemic, parables, Passion, resurrection, or mission as material to Matthew 5:31–5:32.
Crossley, 'Matthew and the Torah,' printed pp. 29-51; Levine, pp. 449-466
Supports: Focused ethical control for divorce, healing and disability, anti-Judaism, Passion responsibility, or noncoercive mission in Matthew 5:31–5:32.
Howard, 'Commentary on Matthew 5:21-37,' sections 'The Antitheses' and 'Divorce,' exact discussion bearing on Matthew 5:31–5:32
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 displayed KJV wording, order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Matthew 5:31–5:32, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository 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 and punctuation control without treating one edition as a complete apparatus.
Exact location: SBLGNT official text file data/sblgnt/text/Matt.txt, Matthew 5:31–5:32
Open the Matthew Greek text file ↗Lexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: Morphology and lexical cross-check for the expressions actually discussed in this thought unit.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data TAGNT rows for Matthew 5:31–5:32
Open source ↗open translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Matthew with Translators' and Textual Notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2005-2026 online edition
Supports: Verse-attached textual, translation, language, historical, Jewish-background, and Synoptic notes for this unit.
Exact location: NET Bible Matthew PDF, printed pp. 1808-1867, exact tn/tc/sn entries attached to 5:31–5:32
Open source ↗open university bible study course
The Gospel of Matthew Course and Study Guides
Harold W. Attridge and Michal Beth Dinkler
Yale Bible Study, Yale Divinity School, current 2026 online edition
Supports: Critical literary orientation with source, setting, historical, and theological judgments retained as interpretations.
Exact location: Yale Bible Study, course unit 'Sermon on the Mount,' Matthew 4-8 study guide
Open source ↗open seminary bible study course
Matthew Course
James L. Boyce; revised by Kristofer Phan Coffman
Enter the Bible, Luther Seminary, 2023 revision
Supports: Whole-book orientation and unit placement, including visible uncertainty about authorship, date, setting, and purpose.
Exact location: Enter the Bible Matthew course, 'Summary,' 'Outline,' 'Background,' 'Introductory Issues,' 'Theological Themes,' and passage index entry for Matthew 5:31–5:32
Open source ↗open confessional commentary
Matthew
Douglas Sean O'Donnell
The Gospel Coalition Bible Commentary, current 2026 online edition
Supports: One complete confessional reading checked against the text, critical scholarship, and Jewish-context controls.
Exact location: O'Donnell, online Matthew commentary, heading and paragraphs explicitly covering Matthew 5:31–5:32
Open source ↗scholarly annotated translation
Matthew, in The Jewish Annotated New Testament
Aaron M. Gale; edited by Amy-Jill Levine and Marc Zvi Brettler
Aaron M. Gale, Matthew introduction and annotations, print pp. 1-54; related essays and sidebars in The Jewish Annotated New Testament, first edition.
Supports: Jewish setting, Scripture, Torah debate, named groups, practices, and anti-Judaism control at the passage address.
Exact location: Gale, Matthew introduction and verse-addressed annotations, first-edition print pp. 1-54, exact annotation at Matthew 5:31–5:32
Open source ↗open access scholarly essay collection
Matthew within Judaism: Israel and the Nations in the First Gospel
Anders Runesson and Daniel M. Gurtner, editors
SBL Press, 2020
Supports: Specialist control for Matthew's Jewish setting, Torah, Israel and nations, polemic, parables, Passion, resurrection, or mission as material to Matthew 5:31–5:32.
Exact location: Crossley, 'Matthew and the Torah,' printed pp. 29-51; Levine, pp. 449-466
Open source ↗open pastoral scholarly commentary collection
Focused Matthew Commentaries and Theology Articles
Susan Hylen, Melanie A. Howard, Greg Carey, Gennifer Benjamin Brooks, and Jillian Nelson
Susan Hylen, Commentary on Matthew 28:16-20, https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/the-holy-trinity/commentary-on-matthew-2816-20-6; Melanie A. Howard, Commentary on Matthew 5:21-37, https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/sixth-sunday-after-epiphany/commentary-on-matthew-521-37-5; Greg Carey, Commentary on Matthew 23:1-12, https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-31/commentary-on-matthew-231-12-6; Gennifer Benjamin Brooks, Commentary on Matthew 27:11-54, https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/sunday-of-the-passion-palm-sunday/commentary-on-matthew-2711-54-6; Jillian Nelson, Healing Beyond Bodily Transformation in Matthew's Gospel, https://www.workingpreacher.org/theology-and-interpretation/what-does-healing-mean-in-matthews-gospel
Supports: Focused ethical control for divorce, healing and disability, anti-Judaism, Passion responsibility, or noncoercive mission in Matthew 5:31–5:32.
Exact location: Howard, 'Commentary on Matthew 5:21-37,' sections 'The Antitheses' and 'Divorce,' exact discussion bearing on Matthew 5:31–5:32
Open source ↗