3 And Pharisees came up to him and ^rtested him by asking, ^s“Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” 4 He answered, ^t“Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ^u‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and ^vthe two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. ^wWhat therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” 7 They said to him, ^x“Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” 8 He said to them, “Because of your ^yhardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 ^zAnd I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.”¹

10 The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” 11 But he said to them, ^a“Not everyone can receive this saying, but only ^bthose to ^cwhom it is given. 12 For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs ^dfor the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.”

Let the Children Come to Me

13 ^eThen children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples ^frebuked the people, 14 but Jesus said, ^g“Let the little children ^hcome to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” 15 And he laid his hands on them and went away.

18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; ⁿI will make him a helper fit for¹ him.” 19 ^oNow out of the ground the Lord God had formed² every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and ^pbrought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam³ there was not found a helper fit for him. 21 So the Lord God caused a ^qdeep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made⁴ into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said,

24 ^tTherefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.