Matthew 5:32 (WEB)

Passage

but I tell you that whoever puts away his wife, except for the cause of sexual immorality, makes her an adulteress; and whoever marries her when she is put away commits adultery.

Nearby Context

Matthew 5:30 If your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off, and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into Gehenna.

Matthew 5:31 “It was also said, ‘Whoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorce,’Deuteronomy 24:1

Matthew 5:32 but I tell you that whoever puts away his wife, except for the cause of sexual immorality, makes her an adulteress; and whoever marries her when she is put away commits adultery.

Matthew 5:33 “Again you have heard that it was said to them of old time, ‘You shall not make false vows, but shall perform to the Lord your vows,’ Numbers 30:2; Deuteronomy 23:21; Ecclesiastes 5:4

Matthew 5:34 but I tell you, don’t swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God;

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "tell", "whoever", "puts", "away", "wife", "except", "cause", and "sexual". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "tell" and "whoever", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 31's "It was also said Whoever shall put..." into verse 33's "Again you have heard that it was...", so "tell" 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 "tell" and "whoever" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.