Topic reference
What does the Bible say about divorce?
Does the word appear in the Bible?
The word "divorce" appears in the Bible.
The English word 'divorce' translates several Hebrew and Greek expressions. Hebrew uses verbs of 'sending away' (שָׁלַח, shalach) and 'cutting off' (כָּרַת, karat), often with a noun for a written certificate of divorce (סֵפֶר כְּרִיתוּת, sefer kerithuth). Greek uses ἀπολύω (apolyō, 'release, dismiss') and χωρίζω (chōrizō, 'separate'). Discussions of divorce occur in Mosaic law (Deuteronomy 24), prophetic literature (Malachi 2), the Gospels (Matthew 5, 19; Mark 10; Luke 16), and Pauline letters (1 Corinthians 7).
Every relevant passage
Matthew 19:3-9
Some Pharisees came to Him to test Him. They asked, 'Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?' Jesus answered, 'Have you not read that He who created them in the beginning made them male and female, and said: For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.' 'Why then,' they asked, 'did Moses order a man to give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?' Jesus replied, 'Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because of your hardness of heart; but it was not this way from the beginning. Now I tell you that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman, commits adultery.'
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? And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, 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? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? He saith unto them, Moses suffered you to put away your wives because of the hardness of your hearts: but from the beginning it was not so. And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.
Matthew 19 records a confrontation between Jesus and Pharisees on the question of divorce. The exchange references Genesis 1:27 and 2:24 (the original creation account) and Deuteronomy 24 (the Mosaic law on divorce). Jesus identifies an exception clause — 'except for sexual immorality' (Greek: μὴ ἐπὶ πορνείᾳ, mē epi porneia) — that does not appear in the parallel passage in Mark 10:11–12. The 'sexual immorality' (porneia) clause is the source of significant interpretive variation across traditions.
Mark 10:2-12
Then some Pharisees came and tested Him by asking, 'Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?' 'What did Moses command you?' He replied. They answered, 'Moses permitted a man to write his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away.' But Jesus told them, 'Moses wrote this commandment for you because of your hardness of heart. However, from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.' When they were back inside the house, the disciples asked Jesus about this matter. So He told them, 'Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.'
Mark's account of the same exchange. Mark does not include the 'sexual immorality' exception clause that appears in Matthew, and Mark's verse 12 explicitly addresses a wife divorcing her husband (which was uncommon in first-century Jewish practice but possible in Roman law). The presence and wording of the exception clause across the synoptic Gospels is a long-standing point of textual and interpretive discussion.
Deuteronomy 24:1-4
If a man marries a woman, but she becomes displeasing to him because he finds some indecency in her, he may write her a certificate of divorce, hand it to her, and send her away from his house. If, after leaving his house, she goes and becomes another man's wife, and the second man hates her, writes her a certificate of divorce, hands it to her, and sends her away from his house, or if he dies, the husband who divorced her first may not remarry her after she has been defiled, for that would be detestable to the LORD. Do not bring sin upon the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance.
Deuteronomy 24:1–4 is the Mosaic law on divorce referenced by Jesus and the Pharisees in Matthew 19 / Mark 10. The Hebrew phrase translated 'some indecency' is עֶרְוַת דָּבָר (ervat davar), literally 'nakedness of a thing' or 'a matter of indecency.' The phrase was the subject of significant debate among first-century Jewish schools (notably between the schools of Hillel and Shammai), and that debate forms the immediate backdrop to the question put to Jesus.
Malachi 2:16
'For I hate divorce,' says the LORD, the God of Israel. 'He who divorces his wife covers his garment with violence,' says the LORD of Hosts. 'So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith.'
Malachi 2 addresses unfaithfulness in marriage among post-exilic Israelites. The verse's translation is contested — the Hebrew ṣānē šallaḥ (שָׂנֵא שַׁלַּח) has been read either as 'I hate divorce' (BSB, NIV, KJV) or as 'the one who hates and divorces…' (NRSV, ESV in updated editions). The grammatical ambiguity is documented in standard scholarly commentary.
1 Corinthians 7:10-16
To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. But if she does, she must remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife. To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has an unbelieving wife and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. And if a woman has an unbelieving husband and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. […] But if the unbeliever leaves, let him go. The believing brother or sister is not bound in such cases. God has called you to live in peace.
Paul's instruction to the Corinthian church on divorce. The passage distinguishes between believer–believer marriages (where Paul cites the Lord's instruction) and believer–unbeliever marriages (where Paul gives his own instruction). Verse 15 — 'if the unbeliever leaves, let him go… not bound in such cases' — is sometimes called the 'Pauline privilege' and is the source of significant interpretive variation.
Matthew 5:31-32
It has been said, 'Whoever divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.' But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, causes her to become an adulteress. And he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Part of Jesus's Sermon on the Mount, in a series of statements ('You have heard… But I say to you…') that engage the Mosaic law. The 'sexual immorality' exception — Greek παρεκτὸς λόγου πορνείας (parektos logou porneias) — appears here as in Matthew 19. Mark and Luke do not record this exception clause in their parallel passages.
Luke 16:18
Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Luke records the saying without the exception clause that appears in Matthew. The relationship between the synoptic accounts on this point is a long-standing question in Gospel scholarship.
Original language
Original language
Two original-language items shape modern interpretation: • The Hebrew phrase עֶרְוַת דָּבָר (ervat davar, 'a matter of indecency') in Deuteronomy 24:1 is grammatically ambiguous. First-century Jewish schools disagreed sharply on its scope: the school of Hillel read it broadly (any cause for displeasure), while the school of Shammai read it narrowly (sexual misconduct). The question put to Jesus in Matthew 19:3 ('for any cause?') reflects this dispute. • The Greek word πορνεία (porneia, often translated 'sexual immorality' or 'fornication') in Matthew 5:32 and 19:9 has a wide semantic range. Standard Greek lexicons (BDAG) gloss it 'unlawful sexual intercourse, immorality.' The precise scope of the term — whether it refers to all forms of sexual misconduct, to adultery specifically, to incestuous relationships, or to pre-marital infidelity discovered in marriage — is the subject of continuing scholarly debate. This is one of the most consequential single-word translation questions in the New Testament for practical pastoral application.
What the text does not say
Passages commonly cited in this discussion that, in full context, are about something else.
- Deuteronomy 24:1-4
The passage regulates a procedure (writing a certificate of divorce) and addresses one specific case (whether a remarried-then-released woman may return to her first husband). It is not a general endorsement, prohibition, or evaluation of divorce as such.
- Malachi 2:16
The translation is grammatically contested. The KJV and NIV read 'I hate divorce'; some recent translations read 'the one who hates and divorces.' Both readings are within the range of the Hebrew.
- Romans 7:2-3
Romans 7:2–3 discusses marriage and remarriage as an analogy for the believer's relationship to the law. The passage is often cited in divorce discussions but is functioning as an illustrative analogy in its surrounding context, not as a primary teaching on marriage.
What we are showing you
This page lists every Bible passage commonly cited in discussions of divorce. Each is presented in full with a factual context note. We do not draw a conclusion about when divorce is or is not permitted. Christian and Jewish traditions, and academic scholars within them, hold widely differing positions; the RULEBOOK governing this site does not permit us to resolve the question.
Three things to know about the texts
First, the Gospels record Jesus addressing divorce in three places: Matthew 5:31–32, Matthew 19:3–9, and Mark 10:2–12 (with a parallel saying in Luke 16:18). Matthew alone includes an exception clause for porneia (“sexual immorality”). The presence and absence of this clause across the synoptic Gospels is a longstanding question in Gospel scholarship.
Second, the immediate background to Jesus’s teaching is a first-century Jewish dispute between the schools of Hillel (broad reading of Deuteronomy 24:1) and Shammai (narrow reading). The question “for any cause?” put to Jesus in Matthew 19:3 maps onto this dispute. Jesus’s reply engages both the Mosaic law (Deuteronomy 24) and the original creation account (Genesis 1:27, 2:24).
Third, Paul addresses divorce in 1 Corinthians 7. Verses 10–11 cite a saying he attributes to “the Lord” (parallel to the Gospel teaching). Verses 12–16 give Paul’s own instruction for believer-unbeliever marriages and include verse 15 — “if the unbeliever leaves, let him go… not bound in such cases” — which is the source of the so-called “Pauline privilege” in Christian tradition. The relationship between these two sets of instructions is the subject of significant interpretive variation across traditions.