What Does the Bible Say About Reasons To Divorce?

Matthew 19:9 ESV / 11 helpful votes

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

Matthew 5:32 ESV / 11 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.

1 Corinthians 7:1-40 ESV / 8 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. ...

Mark 10:11-12 ESV / 8 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.”

1 Corinthians 7:10-11 ESV / 7 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.

Luke 16:18 ESV / 7 helpful votes

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

Matthew 19:1-30 ESV / 6 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’? ...

Malachi 2:16 ESV / 6 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.”

1 Corinthians 7:39 ESV / 5 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.

Romans 7:2 ESV / 5 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 10:1-52 ESV / 5 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. ...

Genesis 2:24 ESV / 5 helpful votes

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

Mark 10:12 ESV / 4 helpful votes

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

Mark 10:11 ESV / 4 helpful votes

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

Deuteronomy 24:1 ESV / 4 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,

1 John 1:8-10 ESV / 3 helpful votes

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

Galatians 6:1 ESV / 3 helpful votes

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.

1 Corinthians 7:15 ESV / 3 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.

1 Corinthians 7:13 ESV / 3 helpful votes

If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him.

1 Corinthians 7:12-16 ESV / 3 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. For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?

1 Corinthians 7:11 ESV / 3 helpful votes

(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 7:10-17 ESV / 3 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. 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. ...

Romans 7:2-3 ESV / 3 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. Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress.

Luke 16:16 ESV / 3 helpful votes

“The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then the good news of the kingdom of God is preached, and everyone forces his way into it.

Matthew 19:10 ESV / 3 helpful votes

The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.”

Matthew 19:6 ESV / 3 helpful votes

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

Matthew 19:3-12 ESV / 3 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 5:1-48 ESV / 3 helpful votes

Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. ...

Malachi 2:1-17 ESV / 3 helpful votes

“And now, O priests, this command is for you. If you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart to give honor to my name, says the Lord of hosts, then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart. Behold, I will rebuke your offspring, and spread dung on your faces, the dung of your offerings, and you shall be taken away with it. So shall you know that I have sent this command to you, that my covenant with Levi may stand, says the Lord of hosts. My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him. It was a covenant of fear, and he feared me. He stood in awe of my name. ...

Deuteronomy 24:1-22 ESV / 3 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. ...

Deuteronomy 22:22 ESV / 3 helpful votes

“If a man is found lying with the wife of another man, both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman. So you shall purge the evil from Israel.

Leviticus 20:10 ESV / 3 helpful votes

“If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.

Genesis 1:28 ESV / 3 helpful votes

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Genesis 1:27 ESV / 3 helpful votes

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

1 Corinthians 7:10 ESV / 2 helpful votes

To the married I give this charge (not I, but the Lord): the wife should not separate from her husband

Romans 7:1-3 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Or do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? 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. Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress.

Romans 7:1-25 ESV / 2 helpful votes

Or do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? 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. Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress. Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. ...

Luke 16:1-31 ESV / 2 helpful votes

He also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was wasting his possessions. And he called him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Turn in the account of your management, for you can no longer be manager.’ And the manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do, since my master is taking the management away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. I have decided what to do, so that when I am removed from management, people may receive me into their houses.’ So, summoning his master's debtors one by one, he said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ ...

Matthew 19:10-12 ESV / 2 helpful votes

The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” But he said to them, “Not everyone can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given. For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.”

Matthew 19:1-12 ESV / 2 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 / 2 helpful votes

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

Isaiah 1:1-31 ESV / 2 helpful votes

The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the Lord has spoken: “Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master's crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.” Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the Lord, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged. Why will you still be struck down? Why will you continue to rebel? The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. ...

42 Bible Verses about Reasons To Divorce

Matthew 19:9 ESV / 11 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 5:32 ESV / 11 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Corinthians 7:1-40 ESV / 8 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Mark 10:11-12 ESV / 8 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

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

Luke 16:18 ESV / 7 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 19:1-30 ESV / 6 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Malachi 2:16 ESV / 6 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Corinthians 7:39 ESV / 5 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Romans 7:2 ESV / 5 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Mark 10:1-52 ESV / 5 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Genesis 2:24 ESV / 5 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

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

Mark 10:11 ESV / 4 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

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

1 John 1:8-10 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

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

1 Corinthians 7:15 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Corinthians 7:13 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Corinthians 7:12-16 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Corinthians 7:11 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Corinthians 7:10-17 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Romans 7:2-3 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Luke 16:16 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 19:10 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 19:6 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

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

Matthew 5:1-48 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Malachi 2:1-17 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Deuteronomy 24:1-22 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Deuteronomy 22:22 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Leviticus 20:10 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Genesis 1:28 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Genesis 1:27 ESV / 3 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

1 Corinthians 7:10 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Romans 7:1-3 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Romans 7:1-25 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Luke 16:1-31 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 19:10-12 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 19:1-12 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Matthew 5:31 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Isaiah 1:1-31 ESV / 2 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

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