Matthew 19 · Verse 8

Matthew 19:8

He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.

Matthew 19:8, King James Version

Matthew 19:8 in other translations

BSB	Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because of your hardness of heart; but it was not this way from the beginning.
WEB	He said to them, “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it has not been so.
ASV	He saith unto them, Moses for your hardness of heart suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it hath not been so.
YLT	He saith to them--‘Moses for your stiffness of heart did suffer you to put away your wives, but from the beginning it hath not been so.
DARBY	He says to them, Moses, in view of your hardheartedness, allowed you to put away your wives; but from the beginning it was not thus.
BBE	He says to them, Moses, because of your hard hearts, let you put away your wives: but it has not been so from the first.
Webster	He saith to them, Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.

What does Matthew 19:8 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

8. He saith unto them, Moses--as a civil lawgiver. because of--or "having respect to." the hardness of your hearts--looking to your low moral state, and your inability to endure the strictness of the original law. suffered you to put away your wives--tolerated a relaxation of the strictness of the marriage bond--not as approving of it, but to prevent still greater evils. But from the beginning it was not so--This is repeated, in order to impress upon His audience the temporary and purely civil character of this Mosaic relaxation.

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

Barnes' Notes

Verse 8. He saith unto them, etc. Jesus admits that this was allowed; but still he contends that this was not the original design of marriage. It was only a temporary expedient, growing out of a peculiar state of things, and not designed to be perpetual. It was on account of the hardness of their hearts. Moses found the custom in use. He found a hard-hearted and rebellious people. In this state of things he did not deem it prudent to forbid a practice so universal: but it might be regulated; and, instead of suffering the husband to divorce his wife in a passion, he required him, in order that he might take time to consider the matter, and thus make it probable that divorces would be less frequent, to give her a writing; to sit down deliberately, to look at the matter, and probably also to bring the case before some scribe or learned man, to write a divorce in the legal form. Thus doing, there might be an opportunity for the matter to be reconciled, and the man to be persuaded not to divorce his wife. This, says our Saviour, was a permission growing out of a particular state of things, and designed to remedy a prevailing evil. But at first it was not so. God intended that marriage should be between one man and one woman, and that they were only to be separated by appointment of him who had formed the union.

Hardness of your hearts. He speaks here of his hearers as a part of the nation. The hardness of you Jews; as when we say, we fought with England, and gained our independence; that is, we the American people, though it was done by our fathers, lie does not mean to say, therefore, that this was done on account of the people that he addressed, but of the national hardness of heart--the cruelty of the Jewish people as a people.

(e) "Why did Moses" De 24:1, Isa 1:1

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 8 Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts - It is dangerous to tolerate the least evil, though prudence itself may require it: because toleration, in this case, raises itself insensibly into permission, and permission soon sets up for command. Moses perceived that if divorce were not permitted, in many cases, the women would be exposed to great hardships through the cruelty of their husbands: for so the word σκληροκαρδια, is understood in this place by some learned men. From the beginning it was not so - The Jews named the books of the law from the first word in each. Genesis they always term Bereshith, בראשית, which is the first word in it, and signifies, In the beginning. It is probable that our Lord speaks in this way here, In Bereshith it was not so, intimating that the account given in Genesis is widely different. There was no divorce between Eve and Adam; nor did he or his family practice polygamy. But our Lord, by the beginning, may mean the original intention or design.

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 19:8 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.

ΛέγειLegeiHe saysG3004

αὐτοῖςautoisto themG846

ὅτιhotithatG3754

ΜωϋσῆςMōusēsMosesG3475

πρὸςprosin view ofG4314

τὴνtēntheG3588

σκληροκαρδίανsklērokardianhardness of heartG4641

ὑμῶνhumōnof youG4771

ἐπέτρεψενepetrepsenallowedG2010

ὑμῖνhuminyouG4771

ἀπολῦσαιapolusaito divorceG630

τὰςtastheG3588

γυναῖκαςgunaikaswivesG1135

ὑμῶν·humōnof you;G4771

ἀπ᾽ap᾽from [the]G575

ἀρχῆςarchēsbeginningG746

δὲdehoweverG1161

οὐounotG3756

γέγονενgegonenwas [it]G1096

οὕτως.¶houtōsthis way.G3779

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

Cross references for Matthew 19:8

Malachi 2:13-14
And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand. Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the Lord hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.
Genesis 2:24
Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
Zechariah 7:12
Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the Lord of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the Lord of hosts.
Jeremiah 6:16
Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.
Mark 10:5
And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.
Matthew 3:15
And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.
Genesis 7:7
And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

because.
Ps 95:8; Zec 7:12; Mal 2:13,14; Mr 10:5
suffered.
3:15; 8:31; 1Co 7:6
but.
Ge 2:24; 7:7; Jer 6:16

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

Context

Matthew 19:7
They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?
Matthew 19:8
He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.
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.

Read all of Matthew 19

Matthew 19:8 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Díceles: Por la dureza de vuestro corazón Moisés os permitió repudiar á vuestras mujeres: mas al principio no fué así.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Il leur dit: Moïse, à cause de votre dureté de cœur, vous a permis de répudier vos femmes; mais au commencement il n’en était pas ainsi.
German Elberfelder 1871	Er spricht zu ihnen: Moses hat wegen eurer Herzenshärtigkeit euch gestattet, eure Weiber zu entlassen; von Anfang aber ist es nicht also gewesen.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Ait illis: Quoniam Moyses ad duritiam cordis vestri permisit vobis dimittere uxores vestras: ab initio autem non fuit sic.