What Does the Bible Say About Marriage Divorce And Remarriage?

Luke 16:18 ESV / 21 helpful votes

“Everyone who divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery, and he who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.

1 Corinthians 7:15 ESV / 19 helpful votes

But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace.

Matthew 19:9 ESV / 17 helpful votes

And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”

Matthew 5:32 ESV / 14 helpful votes

But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Matthew 19:6 ESV / 12 helpful votes

So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

Malachi 2:16 ESV / 12 helpful votes

“For the man who does not love his wife but divorces her, says the Lord, the God of Israel, covers his garment with violence, says the Lord of hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and do not be faithless.”

Deuteronomy 24:1-4 ESV / 11 helpful votes

“When a man takes a wife and marries her, if then she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, and she departs out of his house, and if she goes and becomes another man's wife, and the latter man hates her and writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, or if the latter man dies, who took her to be his wife, then her former husband, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after she has been defiled, for that is an abomination before the Lord. And you shall not bring sin upon the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.

1 Corinthians 7:39 ESV / 10 helpful votes

A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord.

Matthew 19:1-30 ESV / 10 helpful votes

Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. And large crowds followed him, and he healed them there. And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?” He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? ...

Matthew 19:3-9 ESV / 9 helpful votes

And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?” He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” ...

Matthew 5:31-32 ESV / 9 helpful votes

“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Matthew 19:4-6 ESV / 8 helpful votes

He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

Mark 10:11-12 ESV / 7 helpful votes

And he said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

Deuteronomy 24:1-22 ESV / 7 helpful votes

“When a man takes a wife and marries her, if then she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, and she departs out of his house, and if she goes and becomes another man's wife, and the latter man hates her and writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, or if the latter man dies, who took her to be his wife, then her former husband, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after she has been defiled, for that is an abomination before the Lord. And you shall not bring sin upon the land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance. “When a man is newly married, he shall not go out with the army or be liable for any other public duty. He shall be free at home one year to be happy with his wife whom he has taken. ...

Genesis 2:24 ESV / 7 helpful votes

Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

Ephesians 5:33 ESV / 6 helpful votes

However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

1 Corinthians 7:10-11 ESV / 6 helpful votes

To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband (but if she does, she should remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and the husband should not divorce his wife.

1 Corinthians 7:1-40 ESV / 6 helpful votes

Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. ...

Romans 7:2 ESV / 6 helpful votes

For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage.

Mark 10:11 ESV / 6 helpful votes

And he said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her,

Mark 10:2-12 ESV / 6 helpful votes

And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.” And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ...

Genesis 2:18-25 ESV / 6 helpful votes

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. ...

1 Corinthians 7:27 ESV / 5 helpful votes

Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek a wife.

1 Corinthians 7:12-15 ESV / 5 helpful votes

To the rest I say (I, not the Lord) that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her. If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace.

Mark 10:12 ESV / 5 helpful votes

And if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”

Proverbs 18:22 ESV / 5 helpful votes

He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord.

Ephesians 5:22-24 ESV / 4 helpful votes

Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.

2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV / 4 helpful votes

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Mark 10:1-12 ESV / 4 helpful votes

And he left there and went to the region of Judea and beyond the Jordan, and crowds gathered to him again. And again, as was his custom, he taught them. And Pharisees came up and in order to test him asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” He answered them, “What did Moses command you?” They said, “Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.” And Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. ...

Matthew 19:3-12 ESV / 4 helpful votes

And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?” He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” They said to him, “Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” ...

Matthew 19:1-12 ESV / 4 helpful votes

Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. And large crowds followed him, and he healed them there. And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?” He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? ...

Matthew 5:31 ESV / 4 helpful votes

“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’

Deuteronomy 22:13-21 ESV / 4 helpful votes

“If any man takes a wife and goes in to her and then hates her and accuses her of misconduct and brings a bad name upon her, saying, ‘I took this woman, and when I came near her, I did not find in her evidence of virginity,’ then the father of the young woman and her mother shall take and bring out the evidence of her virginity to the elders of the city in the gate. And the father of the young woman shall say to the elders, ‘I gave my daughter to this man to marry, and he hates her; and behold, he has accused her of misconduct, saying, “I did not find in your daughter evidence of virginity.” And yet this is the evidence of my daughter's virginity.’ And they shall spread the cloak before the elders of the city. ...

Genesis 2:18 ESV / 4 helpful votes

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”

Titus 1:6 ESV / 3 helpful votes

If anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination.

Ephesians 4:32 ESV / 3 helpful votes

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

1 Corinthians 6:16 ESV / 3 helpful votes

Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.”

Luke 14:26 ESV / 3 helpful votes

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.

Mark 16:15 ESV / 3 helpful votes

And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.

Matthew 5:28 ESV / 3 helpful votes

But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Ecclesiastes 5:4-6 ESV / 3 helpful votes

When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow. It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. Let not your mouth lead you into sin, and do not say before the messenger that it was a mistake. Why should God be angry at your voice and destroy the work of your hands?

2 Corinthians 6:14 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?

John 8:4 ESV / 2 helpful votes

They said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery.

Matthew 3:8 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.

44 Bible Verses about Marriage Divorce And Remarriage

Luke 16:18 ESV / 21 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Corinthians 7:15 ESV / 19 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 19:9 ESV / 17 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 5:32 ESV / 14 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 19:6 ESV / 12 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Malachi 2:16 ESV / 12 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Deuteronomy 24:1-4 ESV / 11 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Corinthians 7:39 ESV / 10 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 19:1-30 ESV / 10 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 19:3-9 ESV / 9 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 5:31-32 ESV / 9 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 19:4-6 ESV / 8 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Mark 10:11-12 ESV / 7 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Deuteronomy 24:1-22 ESV / 7 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Genesis 2:24 ESV / 7 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Ephesians 5:33 ESV / 6 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Corinthians 7:10-11 ESV / 6 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Corinthians 7:1-40 ESV / 6 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Romans 7:2 ESV / 6 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Mark 10:11 ESV / 6 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Mark 10:2-12 ESV / 6 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Genesis 2:18-25 ESV / 6 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Corinthians 7:27 ESV / 5 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Corinthians 7:12-15 ESV / 5 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Mark 10:12 ESV / 5 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Proverbs 18:22 ESV / 5 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Ephesians 5:22-24 ESV / 4 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV / 4 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Mark 10:1-12 ESV / 4 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 19:3-12 ESV / 4 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 19:1-12 ESV / 4 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 5:31 ESV / 4 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Deuteronomy 22:13-21 ESV / 4 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Genesis 2:18 ESV / 4 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Titus 1:6 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Ephesians 4:32 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Corinthians 6:16 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Luke 14:26 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Mark 16:15 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 5:28 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Ecclesiastes 5:4-6 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

2 Corinthians 6:14 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

John 8:4 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 3:8 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Suggest a Verse

Enter a Verse Reference (e.g., John 3:16-17)