Matthew 5:31 (LSB)

Passage

“Now it was said, ‘Whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce’;

Nearby Context

Matthew 5:29 But if your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

Matthew 5:30 And if your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.

Matthew 5:31 “Now it was said, ‘Whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce’;

Matthew 5:32 but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Matthew 5:33 “Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not make false vows, but shall fulfill your vows to the Lord.’

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 30's "And if your right hand makes you..." into verse 32's "but I say to you that everyone...", so "said" and "whoever" 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 "said" and "whoever" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.