Matthew 19:4
And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
Matthew 19:4 in other translations
| BSB | Jesus answered, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ |
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| WEB | He answered, “Haven’t you read that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female, |
| ASV | And he answered and said, Have ye not read, that he who made them from the beginning made them male and female, |
| YLT | And he answering said to them, ‘Did ye not read, that He who made them, from the beginning a male and a female made them, |
| DARBY | But he answering said to them, Have ye not read that he who made them, from the beginning made them male and female, |
| BBE | And he said in answer, Have you not seen in the Writings, that he who made them at the first made them male and female, and said, |
| Webster | And he answered and said to them, Have ye not read, that he who made them, at the beginning made them male and female, |
What does Matthew 19:4 mean?
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain
Barnes' Notes
Have ye not read. Gen 1:27, 2:21,22.
And said, For this cause, etc. Gen 2:24. That is, God at the beginning made but one man and one woman; their posterity should learn that the original intention of marriage was, that a man should have but one wife.
Shall leave father and mother. This means, shall bind himself more strongly to his wife than he was to his father or mother. The marriage connexion is the most tender and endearing of all human relations; more tender than even that bond which unites us to a parent.
And shall cleave to his wife. The word cleave denotes a union of the firmest kind. It is, in the original, taken from gluing, and means so firmly to adhere together that nothing can separate them.
They twain shall be one flesh. That is, they two, or that were two, shall be united as one--one in law, in feeling, in interest, and in affection. They shall no longer have separate interests, but shall act in all things as if they were one--animated by one soul and one wish. The argument of Jesus here is, that since they are so intimately united as to be one, and since in the beginning God made but one woman for one man, it follows that they cannot be separated but by the authority of God. Man may not put away his wife for every cause. What God has joined together, man may not put asunder. In this decision he really decided in favour of one of the parties; and it shows that when it was proper, Jesus answered questions, from whatever cause they might have been proposed, and however much difficulty it might involve him in. Our Lord, in this, also showed consummate wisdom. He answered the question, not from Hillel or Shammai, their teachers, but from Moses, and thus defeated their malice.
Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain
Adam Clarke's Commentary
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…
Matthew 19:4 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.
Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).
Cross references for Matthew 19:4
- Genesis 2:23
And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
- Genesis 1:27
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
- Genesis 5:2
Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.
- Luke 10:26
He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
- Malachi 2:15
And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his 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.
- Matthew 22:31
But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying,
- Mark 12:10
And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner:
- Matthew 21:42
Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?
- Mark 12:26
And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?
- Luke 6:3
And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read so much as this, what David did, when himself was an hungred, and they which were with him;
- Matthew 12:3
But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;
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Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Context
- Matthew 19:3
The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?
- Matthew 19:4
And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
- Matthew 19:5
And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?
Matthew 19:4 in other languages
| Spanish Reina-Valera 1909 | Y él respondiendo, les dijo: ¿No habéis leído que el que los hizo al principio, macho y hembra los hizo, |
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| French Bible J.N. Darby 1885 | Et lui, répondant, leur dit: N’avez-vous pas lu que celui qui les a faits, dès le commencement les a faits mâle et femelle, |
| German Elberfelder 1871 | Er aber antwortete und sprach zu ihnen: Habt ihr nicht gelesen, daß der, welcher sie schuf, von Anfang sie Mann und Weib schuf |
| Latin Clementine Vulgate | Qui respondens, ait eis: Non legistis, quia qui fecit hominem ab initio, masculum et feminam fecit eos? Et dixit: |