His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.
| Word | Greek | Strong’s | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| His | αὐτῷ autō | G846 | the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — dative singular masculine |
| disciples | μαθηταὶ mathētai | G3101 | a learner · noun — nominative plural masculine |
| say | Λέγουσιν Legousin | G3004 | properly · verb — present active indicative, 3rd person plural |
| him | αὐτοῦ· autou | G846 | the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive singular masculine |
| If | εἰ ei | G1487 | if · conditional particle |
| case | αἰτία aitia | G156 | a cause (as if asked for) · noun — nominative singular feminine |
| man | ἀνθρώπου anthrōpou | G444 | from G3700 (ὀπτάνομαι)) · noun — genitive singular masculine |
| be | ἐστί estí | G2076 | he (she or it) is |
| so | οὕτως houtōs | G3779 | in this way (referring to what precedes or follows) · adverb |
| with | μετὰ meta | G3326 | properly · preposition |
| wife | γυναικός, gunaikos | G1135 | a woman · noun — genitive singular feminine |
| is | συμφέρει sumpherei | G4851 | to bear together (contribute) · verb — present active indicative, 3rd person singular |
| not | οὐ ou | G3756 | the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverb · particle — negative |
| good | συμφέρω symphérō | G4851 | to bear together (contribute) |
| marry | γαμῆσαι.¶ gamēsai | G1060 | to wed (of either sex) · verb — aorist active infinitive |
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry--that is, "In this view of marriage, surely it must prove a snare rather than a blessing, and had better be avoided altogether."
His disciples say unto him,.... Being surprised at this account of things, it being quite contrary to what they had been taught, and very different from the general practice and usage of their nation: if the case of a man be so with his wife; if they are so closely joined together in marriage; if they are, as it were, one flesh, or one body, that a man's wife is himself: that the bond between them is so inviolable, that it is not to be dissolved, but in case of adultery; that if a separation be made by a bill of divorce, in any other case, and either party marry again, they are guilty of adultery; if a man cannot part with his wife lawfully, provided she be chaste, and is faithful to his be…
Read the whole note in the consoleMatthew 19:10-12 Matthew 19:10-12 10. His disciples say to him, If such be the case of the man with his wife, [600] it is not expedient to enter into marriage. 11. Who said to them, [601] All are not capable of receiving this saying, but those to whom it is given. 12. For there are eunuchs, who were so born from their mother's womb; and there are eunuchs, who have been made eunuchs by men; and there are eunuchs, who have castrated themselves for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who can receive it, [602] let him receive it. 10. His disciples say to him. As if it were a hard condition for husbands to be so bound to their wives, that, so long as they remain chaste, they are compelled to…
Read the whole note in the consoleJesus permits only one legitimate reason for a man to divorce: if his wife has been unfaithful (see 5:32). In the face of those who thought divorce could be taken lightly, Jesus affirms God’s created order: Marriage was designed to be permanent (see Mark 10:11-12). • commits adultery: This speaks only of the man who divorces his wife unlawfully. In such a case, his remarriage is adulterous. Jesus’ motivation is to reestablish the permanency of marriage.
A wife is a grievous burden, if it is not permitted to put her away except for the cause of fornication. For what if she be a drunkard, an evil temper, or of evil habits, is she to be kept? The Apostles, perceiving this burden someness, express what they feel; His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.
(Verse 10.) His disciples said to him: If such is the case between a man and his wife, it is not expedient to marry. The burden of wives is heavy, for apart from the cause of fornication, they cannot be divorced. For what if she is drunken, if she is angry, if she is of bad morals, if she is lascivious, if she is gluttonous, if she is wandering, if she is quarrelsome, if she is abusive? She must be endured. For when we were free, we willingly subjected ourselves to servitude. Therefore, seeing the heavy burden of wives, the apostles express their thoughts and say, if it is so, it is not expedient for a man to marry.
Concerning the words, "Not all can receive this saying. There are some eunuchs who were born so, and some who were made eunuchs by men, and some who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven; let him receive it who can receive it," they do not realize the context. After his word about divorce some asked him whether, if that is the position in relation to woman, it is better not to marry; and it was then that the Lord said: "Not all can receive this saying, but those to whom it is granted." What the questioners wanted to know was whether, when a man's wife has been condemned for fornication, it is allowable for him to marry another.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Henry, Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, Clarke, Gill, Calvin and Keil & Delitzsch are in the public domain; Tyndale Open Study Notes © Tyndale House Publishers, CC BY-SA 4.0 — all from the Free Use Bible API (bible.helloao.org). Rashi: the Rosenbaum & Silbermann Pentateuch (public domain) and the Judaica Press and Metsudah Tanakh (CC BY), via Sefaria. Spurgeon's Treasury of David: public domain (lyteword's markdown edition, CC0).
