Matthew 19 · Verse 10

Matthew 19:10

His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.
Matthew 19:10, King James Version

Matthew 19:10 in other translations

BSBHis disciples said to Him, “If this is the case between a man and his wife, it is better not to marry.”
WEBHis disciples said to him, “If this is the case of the man with his wife, it is not expedient to marry.”
ASVThe disciples say unto him, If the case of the man is so with his wife, it is not expedient to marry.
YLTHis disciples say to him, ‘If the case of the man with the woman is so, it is not good to marry.'
DARBYHis disciples say to him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.
BBEThe disciples say to him, If this is the position of a man in relation to his wife, it is better not to be married.
WebsterHis disciples say to him, If the case of the man is so with his wife, it is not good to marry.

What does Matthew 19:10 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
10. 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."

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Barnes' Notes
Verse 10. His disciples say, etc. The disciples were full of Jewish notions. They thought that the privilege of divorcing a wife when there was a quarrelsome disposition, or anything else that rendered the marriage unhappy, was a great privilege; and that in such cases to be always bound to live with a wife was a great calamity. They said, therefore, that if such was the case in such the condition on which men married--it was better not to marry.

(g) "to marry" Provo 19:13, 31:9,19

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 10 If the case of the man - Του ανθρωπου, of a husband, so I think the word should be translated here. The Codex Bezae, Armenian, and most of the Itala, have του ανδρος, which, perhaps, more properly signifies a husband, though both words are used in this sense. Our word husband comes from the Anglo-Saxon, hus and band: the bond of the house, anciently spelt housebond, - so in my old MS. Bible. It is a lamentable case when the husband, instead of being the bond and union of the family, scatters and ruins it by dissipation, riot, and excess. It is not good to marry - That is, if a man have not the liberty to put away his wife when she is displeasing to him. God had said, Gen 2:18, It is not good for man to be alone, i.e. unmarried. The disciples seem to say, that if the husband have not the power to divorce his wife when she is displeasing to him, it is not good for him to marry. Here was a flat contradiction to the decision of the Creator. There are difficulties and trials in all states; but let marriage and celibacy be weighed fairly, and I am persuaded the former will be found to have fewer than the latter. However, before we enter into an engagement which nothing but death can dissolve, we had need to act cautiously, carefully consulting the will and word of God. Where an unbridled passion, or a base love of money, lead the way, marriage is sure to be miserable.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Matthew 19:3-12

The Pharisees were desirous of drawing something from Jesus which they might represent as contrary to the law of Moses. Cases about marriage have been numerous, and sometimes perplexed; made so, not by the law of God, but by the lusts and follies of men; and often people fix what they will do, before they ask for advice. Jesus replied by asking whether they had not read the account of the creation, and the first…

Read the full comment on Matthew 19:3-12 →

Matthew 19:10 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

ΛέγουσινLegousinSayG3004
αὐτῷautōto HimG846
οἱhoitheG3588
μαθηταὶmathētaidisciplesG3101
αὐτοῦ·autouof Him:G846
εἰeiIfG1487
οὕτωςhoutōsthisG3779
ἐστὶνestinisG1510
ἡhētheG3588
αἰτίαaitiacaseG156
τοῦtouof theG3588
ἀνθρώπουanthrōpoumanG444
μετὰmetawithG3326
τῆςtēstheG3588
γυναικός,gunaikoswife,G1135
οὐounotG3756
συμφέρειsumphereiit is betterG4851
γαμῆσαι.¶gamēsaito marry.G1060

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Matthew 19:10

  • 1 Corinthians 7:32-35

    But I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord: But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife. There is difference also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband. And this I speak for your own profit; not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is comely, and that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction.

  • 1 Corinthians 7:8

    I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I.

  • Proverbs 19:13-14

    A foolish son is the calamity of his father: and the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping. House and riches are the inheritance of fathers: and a prudent wife is from the Lord.

  • 1 Corinthians 7:1-2

    Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.

  • Proverbs 21:9

    It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house.

  • 1 Corinthians 7:39-40

    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. But she is happier if she so abide, after my judgment: and I think also that I have the Spirit of God.

  • Proverbs 21:19

    It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman.

  • 1 Timothy 4:3

    Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.

  • 1 Timothy 5:11-15

    But the younger widows refuse: for when they have begun to wax wanton against Christ, they will marry; Having damnation, because they have cast off their first faith. And withal they learn to be idle, wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and busybodies, speaking things which they ought not. I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully. …

  • Proverbs 18:22

    Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the Lord.

  • Proverbs 5:15-19

    Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running waters out of thine own well. Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets. Let them be only thine own, and not strangers’ with thee. Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth. …

  • Genesis 2:18

    And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Ge 2:18; Pr 5:15-19; 18:22; 19:13,14; 21:9,19; 1Co 7:1,2,8,26-28
1Co 7:32-35,39,40; 1Ti 4:3; 5:11-15

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Matthew 19:9

    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.

  • Matthew 19:10

    His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.

  • Matthew 19:11

    But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given.

Read all of Matthew 19

Matthew 19:10 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Dícenle sus discípulos: Si así es la condición del hombre con su mujer, no conviene casarse.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Ses disciples lui disent: Si telle est la condition de l’homme à l’égard de la femme, il ne convient pas de se marier.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Seine Jünger sagen zu ihm: Wenn die Sache des Mannes mit dem Weibe also steht, so ist es nicht ratsam zu heiraten.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Dicunt ei discipuli ejus: Si ita est causa hominis cum uxore, non expedit nubere.