Mateus 19

¹ And it came to pass, [that] when Jesus had finished these sayings, hePassed over the water out of Galilee into the borders of Judea.departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Judaea beyond Jordan;

² And great multitudes followed him, and he healed them there.

³ The band of marriage ought not to be broken, unless it is because of fornication.The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man toTo send her a bill of divorce; see (Mat_1:19).put away his wife for every cause?

⁴ And he answered & sayd vnto them, Haue ye not read, that hee which made them at the beginning, made them male and female,

⁵ And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shallThe Greek word conveys «to be glued unto», by which it signifies the union by marriage, which is between man and wife, as though they were glued together.cleave to his wife: and theyThey who were two become one as it were: and this word «flesh» is figuratively taken for the whole man, or the body, after the manner of the Hebrews.twain shall be one flesh?

⁶ Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hathHas made them yokefellows, as the marriage itself is called a yoke, by a borrowed kind of speech.joined together, let not man put asunder.

⁷ Because political laws are adjusted to allow some things, it does not follow that God therefore approves of them.They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?

⁸ He saith unto them, MosesBeing brought about because of the hardness of your hearts.because of the hardness of your heartsBy a political law, not by the moral law: for the moral law is a perpetual law of God's justice; the other bows and bends as the carpenter's bevel.suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so.

⁹ And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except [it be]Therefore in these days the laws that were made against adulterers were not regarded: for they would have no need of divorce, if the marriage had been severed by punishment of death.for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.

¹⁰ His disciples say unto him, If theIf the matter stands in this way between man and wife, or in marriage.case of the man be so with [his] wife, it is not good to marry.

¹¹ The gift of celibacy is peculiar, and therefore no man can set a law to himself of perpetual celibacy.But he said unto them, All [men] cannotReceive and admit, as by translation we say, that a straight and narrow place is not able to receive many things.receive this saying, save [they] to whom it is given.

¹² For there are someA man can become a eunuch in one of two ways: the first is by castration or emasculation, and the other by natural causes, such as a rupture.eunuchs, which were so born from [their] mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which haveWho abstain from marriage, and live as celibates through the gift of God.made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive [it], let him receive [it].

¹³ The elect infants and little children are contained in the free covenant of God. (Ed.)Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put [his] hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them.

¹⁴ But Iesus sayd, Suffer the litle children, and forbid them not to come to me: for of such is the kingdome of heauen.

¹⁵ And when he had put his hands on them, he departed thence.

¹⁶ Those who seek to be saved by the law do not even know the law themselves.And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?

¹⁷ And he said vnto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, eue God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keepe ye commandemets.

¹⁸ He sayd to him, Which? And Iesus sayde, These, Thou shalt not kill: Thou shalt not commit adulterie: Thou shalt not steale: Thou shalt not beare false witnesse.

¹⁹ Honour thy father and mother: and thou shalt loue thy neighbour as thy selfe.

²⁰ The yong man sayd vnto him, I haue obserued all these things from my youth: what lacke I yet?

²¹ Jesus said unto him, IfThe young man did not answer truly in saying that he had kept all the commandments: and therefore Christ sets forth an example of true charity before him, to show the disease that lay lurking in his mind.thou wilt be perfect, go [and] sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come [and] follow me.

²² And when the yong man heard that saying, he went away sorowfull: for he had great possessions.

²³ Rich men have need of a singular gift of God to escape out of the snares of Satan.Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.

²⁴ And again I say unto you, It isLiterally, «it is of less labour».easier for aTheophylact notes, that by this word is meant a cable rope, but Caninius alleges out of the Talmuds that it is a proverb, and the word «Camel» signifies the beast itself.camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

²⁵ And whe his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amased, saying, Who then can be saued?

²⁶ And Iesus behelde them, and sayde vnto them, With men this is vnpossible, but with God all things are possible.

²⁷ Then answered Peter, and said to him, Beholde, we haue forsaken all, and followed thee: what therefore shall we haue?

²⁸ It is not lost, that is neglected for God's sake.And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in theThe regeneration is understood to mean that day when the elect will begin to live a new life, that is to say, when they will enjoy the heavenly inheritance, both in body and soul.regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

²⁹ And whosoeuer shal forsake houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my Names sake, he shall receiue an hundreth folde more, and shall inherite euerlasting life.

³⁰ To have begun well, and not to continue unto the end, is not only unprofitable, but also hurts very much.But many [that are] first shall be last; and the last [shall be] first.