- Matthew 19:9
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- Matthew 19:9
- (KJV)
And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except
it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery:
and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.
- (1611 KJV)
And I say vnto you, Whosoeuer shall put away his wife,
except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery:
and whoso marrieth her which is put away, doth commit adultery.
- (1587 Geneva Bible)
I say therefore vnto you, that whosoeuer shall
put away his wife, except it be for whoredome, and marry another, committeth
adulterie: and whosoeuer marieth her which is diuorced, doeth commit
adulterie.
- (1526 Tyndale)
I saye therfore vnto you whosoever putteth awaye his
wyfe (except it be for fornicacion) and maryeth another breaketh wedlocke.
And whosoever maryeth her which is divorsed doeth commyt advoutry.
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- Counterfeit Versions
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(CSB) I tell you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual
immorality, and marries another commits adultery.”
- (NIV) I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital
unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery."
- (NASV) "And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for
immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”
- (NLT) And I tell you this, a man who divorces his wife and marries
another commits adultery--unless his wife has been unfaithful."
- (ESV) And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual
immorality, and marries another, commits adultery."
- (HCSB) And I tell you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual
immorality, and marries another, commits adultery."
- (RSV) And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for unchastity,
and marries another, commits adultery."
- (TNIV) I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual
immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery."
- (NAB-Roman Catholic) I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the
marriage is unlawful) and marries another commits adultery."
- (NWT-Jehovah’s Witnesses) I say to YOU that whoever divorces his wife,
except on the ground of fornication, and marries another commits adultery.”
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- Textus Receptus - Traditional Text
- legw de umin oti oV an apolush thn gunaika autou ei mh epi porneia kai
gamhsh allhn moicatai kai o apolelumenhn gamhsaV moicatai
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- Hort-Westcott - Critical Text
- legw de umin oti oV an apolush thn gunaika autou mh epi porneia kai
gamhsh allhn moicatai
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- Corrupted Manuscripts
- This verse is corrupted in the following manuscripts:
- Aleph 01 - Sinaiticus -
Nineteenth Century Counterfeit
C 04 - Ephraemi Rescriptus - Fifth century
- D 05 - Bezae Cantabrigiensis - Fifth century
- L 019 - Seventh century
- 1241 - (Minuscule) - Twelfth century
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- Manuscripts which agree with the Textus Receptus for this verse
- Byzantine Text (450-1450 A.D.)
- K 017 - Ninth century
- 28 (Minuscule) - Eleventh century
- 700 - (Minuscule) Eleventh century
- 892 - (Minuscule) - Ninth century
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- Published Critical Greek Texts with Corruptions
- Omit “and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.”
- Tregelles, Samuel - 1857 (in margin or brackets)
- Tischendorf, Constantine - 1869
- Westcott and Hort - 1881 ( in margin or brackets)
- Weiss, Bernhard - 1894
- Nestle - 1927 as revised in seventeenth edition in 1941
- Nestle-Aland - 1979 - Twenty Sixth Edition
- Nestle-Aland - 1993 - Twenty Seventh Edition
- United Bible Societies - 1983 - Fourth Edition
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- Affected Teaching
- One of the most egregious sins of the church and many Christians is to
remarry after divorce or to marry another who is divorced. The Bible is very
clear on this matter.
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- (Mark 10:11-12 KJV) And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away
his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her. {12} And if a
woman shall put away her husband, and be married to another, she committeth
adultery.
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- (Luke 16:18 KJV) Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth
another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away
from her husband committeth adultery.
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- (Rom 7:2-3 KJV) For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the
law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is
loosed from the law of her husband. {3} So then if, while her husband
liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress:
but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no
adulteress, though she be married to another man.
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- (1 Cor 7:39 KJV) The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband
liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom
she will; only in the Lord.
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- These verses clearly indicate that if a man or woman divorces their
spouse and remarries another, whether they be Christian or not, they are
committing adultery. The church has become a haven for remarrying divorced
people and this practice is in absolute contradiction to the teaching of the
Scriptures. This means that the church is an active participant in aiding
Christians to sin. It is highly hypocritical for the church to speak out
against committing adultery and then turning around and sanctioning an
entire life of adultery.
(Exo 20:14 KJV) Thou shalt not commit
adultery. The seventh commandment is very clear that
we are not commit adultery, and that means adultery in any form. Why then is
the church condoning approved adultery under the umbrella of marriage? An
adulterous marriage is as sinful in God’s sight as a marriage of a Christian
and a non-believer.
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- One of the reasons the church is so quick to endorse this sinful
practice is if they use a modern version and come to Matthew 19:9, the
prohibition of remarriage after divorce has been removed. This omission
paves the way for remarriage after divorce in direct disobedience to the
other Scriptures which deal directly with this matter.
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- Matthew 19:9 has been abused because of the so-called “exception
clause.” Countless numbers of Christians have used Matthew 19:9 to seek a
divorce so they can remarry somebody else. When we look at Matthew 19:9, we
see the words “except it be for fornication.” Now the question we must ask
is what type of fornication? Is it physical fornication or is it spiritual
fornication? This means that if a person commits physical fornication, then
they are guilty. Then what happens if a person commits spiritual
fornication? What if that person happens to believe a false teaching? Then
according to Matthew 19:9, they are allowed to divorce. What happens if a
spouse has an evil thought? That too is spiritual fornication and they are
guilty. Do you see where this leads? Any woman who listens to a false
teaching or has an evil thought, may be put away by their husband. This
abuse of Matthew 19:9 has cheapened the marriage institution. It is no
longer till death do we part, it should now be till you have an evil thought
do we part. What human does not have evil thoughts on a recurrent basis?
Everyone does! Matthew 19:9 is not an excuse for divorce and remarriage,
rather it is a testing ground for the marriage.
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- (Mat 5:44 KJV) But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that
curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which
despitefully use you, and persecute you;
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- (Luke 6:27 KJV) But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do
good to them which hate you,
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- What do these two verses teach us? If we are to forgive and love our
enemies, then how is it that we hate our spouses so fast to divorce them? It
is the evil, sensual nature of sin that causes us to want to divorce the
spouse so quickly. If we are to love our enemies, why then can we not love
our spouses, even if they sin? Did the Lord Jesus divorce you when you
sinned? How many times in the last day have you sinned against God? Did God
send you away or did He still remain true to His vow?
(John 6:37
KJV) All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to
me I will in no wise cast out. Matthew 19:9 must be
looked on as a testing program for the believer and not an excuse for the
practice of revolving door marriages. Matthew 19:9 must be compared with the
other verses which deal with divorce and remarriage, and when all are taken
in the proper context, you will see that Matthew 19:9 is boundary or a
testing program for the true believer. The modern versions endorse rebellion
against God. Let us stay with the King James and remain faithful.
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