Matthew 19:9

9 But I say unto you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, not for fornication, and shall marry another, commits adultery; and he who marries one put away commits adultery.

Matthew 19:9 Meaning and Commentary

Matthew 19:9

And I say unto you
To his disciples, when they were with him alone in the house, and asked him more particularly about the subject, concerning which he had been discoursing with the Pharisees, as Mark observes, ( Mark 10:10 Mark 10:11 ) when he said to them much the same things, he had delivered before in ( Matthew 5:32 )

whosoever shall put away in his wife;
separate her from his person, house and bed, and dismiss her as his wife, no more to be considered in that relation to him,

except it be for fornication;
or whoredom, for defiling his bed: for this is not to be understood of fornication committed before, but of uncleanness after marriage, which destroys their being one flesh:

and shall marry another woman, committeth adultery;
Marks adds, "against her"; which may be understood either of the woman he marries, which not being lawfully done, she lives in adultery with the husband of another woman; or of his former wife, and who is still his wife, and to whose injury he has married another; and he not only commits adultery himself, but, as in ( Matthew 5:32 ) "causeth her to commit adultery also", by being the occasion of marrying another man, when she is still his lawful wife:

and whoso marrieth her which is put away,
for any other cause than adultery,

doth commit adultery
also; since he cohabits with the wife of another man; (See Gill on Matthew 5:32)

Matthew 19:9 In-Context

7 They say to him, Why then did Moses command to give a letter of divorce and to send [her] away?
8 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.
9 But I say unto you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, not for fornication, and shall marry another, commits adultery; and he who marries one put away commits adultery.
10 His disciples say to him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.
11 And he said to them, All cannot receive this word, but those to whom it has been given;

Footnotes 1

The Darby Translation is in the public domain.