Matthew 5:31 (DRB)

Passage

And it hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a bill of divorce.

Nearby Context

Matthew 5:29 And if thy right eye scandalize thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee. For it is expedient for thee that one of thy members should perish, rather than thy whole body be cast into hell.

Matthew 5:30 And if thy right hand scandalize thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is expedient for thee that one of thy members should perish, rather than that thy whole body go into hell.

Matthew 5:31 And it hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a bill of divorce.

Matthew 5:32 But I say to you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, excepting the cause of fornication, maketh her to commit adultery: and he that shall marry her that is put away, committeth adultery.

Matthew 5:33 Again you have heard that it was said to them of old, thou shalt not forswear thyself: but thou shalt perform thy oaths to the Lord.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "hath", "been", "said", "whosoever", "shall", "away", "wife", and "give". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "hath" and "been", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 30's "And if thy right hand scandalize thee..." into verse 32's "But I say to you that whosoever...", so "hath" and "been" belong inside that flow. In Matthew context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

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