Mark 10:2 (ASV)

Passage

And there came unto him Pharisees, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away [his] wife? trying him.

Nearby Context

Mark 10:1 And he arose from thence and cometh into the borders of Judaea and beyond the Jordan: and multitudes come together unto him again; and, as he was wont, he taught them again.

Mark 10:2 And there came unto him Pharisees, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away [his] wife? trying him.

Mark 10:3 And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you?

Mark 10:4 And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "came", "pharisees", "asked", "lawful", "away", "wife", and "trying". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "came" and "pharisees", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 1's "And he arose from thence and cometh..." into verse 3's "And he answered and said unto them...", so "came" and "pharisees" belong inside that flow. In Mark context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "came" and "pharisees" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.