Divorce: General Scriptures Concerning
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Exodus 21:7–11
And if a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as the menservants do. / If she is displeasing in the eyes of her master who had designated her for himself, he must allow her to be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, since he has broken faith with her. / And if he chooses her for his son, he must deal with her as with a daughter.
Deuteronomy 21:10–14
When you go to war against your enemies and the LORD your God delivers them into your hand and you take them captive, / if you see a beautiful woman among them, and you desire her and want to take her as your wife, / then you shall bring her into your house. She must shave her head, trim her nails,
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,
Ezra 10:1–16
While Ezra prayed and made this confession, weeping and falling facedown before the house of God, a very large assembly of Israelites—men, women, and children—gathered around him, and the people wept bitterly as well. / Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, an Elamite, said to Ezra: “We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women from the people of the land, yet in spite of this, there is hope for Israel. / So now let us make a covenant before our God to send away all the foreign wives and their children, according to the counsel of my lord and of those who tremble at the command of our God. Let it be done according to the Law.
Nehemiah 13:23–30
In those days I also saw Jews who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. / Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod or of the other peoples, but could not speak the language of Judah. / I rebuked them and called down curses on them. I beat some of these men and pulled out their hair. Then I made them take an oath before God and said, “You must not give your daughters in marriage to their sons or take their daughters as wives for your sons or for yourselves!
Jeremiah 3:1
“If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him to marry another, can he ever return to her? Would not such a land be completely defiled? But you have played the harlot with many lovers—and you would return to Me?” declares the LORD.
Micah 2:9
You drive the women of My people from their pleasant homes. You take away My blessing from their children forever.
Malachi 2:14–16
Yet you ask, “Why?” It is because the LORD has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have broken faith, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. / Has not the LORD made them one, having a portion of the Spirit? And why one? Because He seeks godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith with the wife of your youth. / “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.
Matthew 5:31, 32
It has also 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, brings adultery upon her. And he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Matthew 19:3–12
Then some Pharisees came and tested Him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?” / Jesus answered, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘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’?
Mark 10:2
Some Pharisees came to test Him. “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?” they inquired.
Luke 16:18
Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
1 Corinthians 7:10–17
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 else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife. / To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If a brother has an unbelieving wife and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her.