Matthew 19

When Jesus had finished saying these things, he left Galilee and went into the region of Judea on the far side of the Jordan River.

1And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Judaea beyond Jordan;

Note"Coasts" in the King James means borders or territory, not shoreline; the phrase is simply "the region of Judea." The area east of the Jordan River, called Perea, was under the same ruler as Galilee. Travelers going south from Galilee often crossed to the east bank to avoid passing through Samaria, whose people were on hostile terms with Judean Jews.

2Large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

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

3Some Pharisees also came to him to test him. They asked him, "Is it allowed for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all?"

3The 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?

NoteThe Pharisees were a widely respected movement devoted to careful observance of the Law of Moses and to the oral traditions built up around it. "Tempting him" in the King James means testing or probing, not luring him into wrongdoing. The question is not abstract: the rabbinic schools were openly split over Deuteronomy 24:1, which allows a man to divorce a wife in whom he finds "some uncleanness." One school read that narrowly as sexual misconduct; another read it broadly enough to cover almost any displeasure, which is what "for every cause" points at. Note also that only the husband is in view. Under Jewish law of the time, divorce was a man's act.

4He answered them, "Haven't you read that the one who made them at the beginning made them male and female,

4And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,

NoteJesus quotes Genesis 1:27. "Have ye not read" is a standard debating move: it appeals to a text both sides accept.

5and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'?

5And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?

NoteA quotation of Genesis 2:24. "Cleave" in the King James means to stick fast or be joined firmly to, the opposite of the other English verb "cleave," which means to split. "Twain" is an old word for two. "One flesh" is a Hebrew way of speaking about kinship: the two become a single family unit.

6So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, no person should separate."

6Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

7They said to him, "Then why did Moses command a man to give his wife a written notice of divorce and send her away?"

7They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?

NoteThe "writing of divorcement" is the certificate described in Deuteronomy 24:1. Its practical function was to prove that the woman was legally free, so that she could remarry without being open to a charge of adultery. The Pharisees treat the passage as a command; Jesus answers in the next verse that it was a concession.

8He said to them, "Moses allowed you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But from the beginning it was not that way.

8He 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.

Note"Suffered" in the King James means allowed or permitted, not endured. "Hardness of your hearts" translates a Greek word meaning stubbornness or unteachability; it is not about cruelty in particular.

9And I tell you, whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual unfaithfulness, and marries another woman, commits adultery. And whoever marries a woman who has been divorced commits adultery."

9And 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.

Note"Fornication" translates the Greek word porneia, a broad term covering sexual wrongdoing in general rather than one specific act. Exactly what it was meant to cover here was disputed in the ancient church and still is. "Put away" is the King James phrase for divorce throughout this chapter. Some ancient manuscripts do not include the final sentence about marrying a divorced woman.

10His disciples said to him, "If that is how things stand between a man and his wife, it is better not to marry."

10His disciples say unto him, If the case of the man be so with his wife, it is not good to marry.

11But he said to them, "Not everyone can accept this saying, only those to whom it is given.

11But he said unto them, All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given.

12For there are some eunuchs who were born that way from their mother's womb. There are some eunuchs who were made eunuchs by other people. And there are some who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Whoever is able to accept this should accept it."

12For there are some 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 have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.

NoteA eunuch was a castrated man. Some were born unable to father children; others were deliberately castrated, often as boys, to serve in royal households, guard harems, or hold court office, where a man with no heirs was considered safer to trust. Under the Law of Moses a castrated man was barred from the assembly (Deuteronomy 23:1), so the word carried real stigma. The third group, those who "have made themselves eunuchs," was understood by most early readers as a figure of speech for choosing to stay unmarried and celibate, though a few in the early centuries took it literally and were condemned for it.

13Then little children were brought to him so that he would place his hands on them and pray. But the disciples scolded the people who brought them.

13Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them.

NotePlacing hands on a person was the ordinary gesture accompanying a blessing or a prayer for someone, going back to Genesis 48. The parents are asking for a blessing, not a healing. Children had no social standing to claim a teacher's time, which is why the disciples treat the request as an intrusion.

14But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them. The kingdom of heaven belongs to people like these."

14But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

Note"Suffer" here means allow or let, the same word used in verse 8. The King James is not saying the children should suffer.

15He placed his hands on them, and then he left that place.

15And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence.

16And look, a man came to him and said, "Good Teacher, what good thing must I do so that I may have eternal life?"

16And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?

Note"Master" in the King James usually means teacher, not owner. "Eternal life" translates a phrase meaning the life of the age to come, the life belonging to the world God was expected to set right, rather than simply unending duration.

17Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except one, and that is God. But if you want to enter life, keep the commandments."

17And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

NoteThe Greek manuscripts differ here. The earliest copies of Matthew read "Why do you ask me about what is good?"; later copies, which the King James follows, read "Why do you call me good?", matching the wording in Mark and Luke.

18The man said to him, "Which ones?" Jesus said, "Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony about another person,

18He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,

NoteThese are drawn from the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20, Deuteronomy 5). "Bear false witness" specifically means giving false testimony against someone in a legal case, a serious matter in a system where a capital charge could be established by two witnesses.

19honor your father and your mother, and love your neighbor as yourself."

19Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

NoteThe last item is not from the Ten Commandments but from Leviticus 19:18. "Neighbour" in that passage means a fellow member of the community.

20The young man said to him, "I have kept all of these since I was young. What am I still missing?"

20The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?

Note"From my youth up" points to the age of about thirteen, when a Jewish boy became responsible for keeping the commandments himself.

21Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go and sell what you own and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me."

21Jesus said unto him, If 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.

Note"Perfect" translates a Greek word meaning complete, finished, or lacking nothing, picking up the man's own words in the previous verse about what he still lacks. It does not mean flawless.

22But when the young man heard that, he went away sad, because he owned a great deal.

22But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

Note"Great possessions" means land as well as goods. In a society where land was inherited and rarely sold, selling it would have meant dismantling the family's standing, not just giving away money.

23Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth: it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.

23Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Note"Verily" translates "amen," a word normally said after someone else's statement to affirm it; Jesus uses it to open his own, which is unusual. "Hardly" in the King James means with difficulty, not the modern sense of barely or scarcely.

24And I tell you again, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

24And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

NoteA proverb built on deliberate exaggeration, pairing the largest animal people there dealt with daily with the smallest opening they handled daily. The popular explanation that "the eye of the needle" was a low gate in Jerusalem has no support in any ancient source and first appears in the Middle Ages. A few late manuscripts read kamilos, "rope," instead of kamelos, "camel," which would make it a rope through a needle's eye.

25When his disciples heard this, they were greatly amazed and said, "Who then can be saved?"

25When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?

NoteThe disciples' shock makes sense against a common assumption of the time that wealth was evidence of God's favor. If those apparently best placed could not get in, the question of who could was genuinely open.

26But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "For people this is impossible, but for God everything is possible."

26But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

27Then Peter answered him, "Look, we have left everything and followed you. So what will we get?"

27Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?

NotePeter's question is about what the disciples are owed in return, and it is asked without embarrassment; the following verses answer it rather than rebuke it.

28And Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth: when everything is made new, and the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

28And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the 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.

Note"Regeneration" here does not mean personal spiritual rebirth. The Greek word means a making-new or renewal, and refers to the remaking of the world in the age to come. "Son of man" is a title drawn from Daniel 7:13, where a figure "like the Son of man" is given authority and a kingdom. "Judging the twelve tribes" uses judge in its older sense, as in the book of Judges: to govern and set right, not merely to pass sentence. The twelve tribes are the traditional divisions of Israel descended from the twelve sons of Jacob.

29And everyone who has left houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or land for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times as much, and will inherit eternal life.

29And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.

Note"Brethren" is simply the old plural of brother. "Hundredfold" means a hundred times over, the language used of an extraordinary harvest. Leaving "lands" meant giving up inherited farmland, the ordinary basis of a family's security.

30But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first."

30But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.

NoteA saying about reversal of rank that the King James places at the end of this chapter and repeats at the end of the parable that immediately follows in chapter 20, so that the parable sits inside the saying like a bracket.