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Note Major Differences in the Passages Below:

• “But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is DIVORCED (apoluo) committeth adultery.” (KJV)

“But I say unto you, that every one that putteth away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, maketh her an adulteress: and whosoever shall marry her when she is PUT AWAY (apoluo) committeth adultery.” (ASV)

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Divorce and Remarriage

• Why is the subject so difficult? Why is there not a more unanimous understanding?

• 1Cor 14:33 - For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

• Ps 19:7 - The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.

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The Text:Mark 10:11 - Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, committeth adultery against her.

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Paul Commanded to let the “unmarried” marry (1Cor7:8,9) and stated the reason to “let them marry”, which is to “avoid fornication” (1 Cor7:2) and stated that forbidding to marry was doctrines of devils 1Tim 4:1-4.

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(1 Cor. 7) I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I. But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn. (8,9)

Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband. (2)

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1Ti 4:1 - Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; 3 Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth.

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Paraphrase: “If you ‘put away’ your wife and marry another, unless it be for fornication, you commit adultery and anyone who marries the one who was put away commits adultery.” (Matt 19:9).

“Put away” and “divorce” are NOT THE SAME THING.“Put away”, as used in the context basically means, “send out of the house” and results in separation – not in a legal divorce.

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Greek Words:

APOLUO – “Put away”

APOSTASION - “Divorce”

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Mt 5:32 But <de> I <ego> say <lego> unto you <humin>, That <hoti> whosoever <hos> <an> shall put away <apoluo> his <autos> wife <gune>, saving <parektos> for the cause <logos> of fornication <porneia>, causeth <poieo> her <autos> to commit adultery <moichao> and <kai> whosoever <hos> <ean> shall marry <gameo> her that is divorced <apoluo> committeth adultery <moichao> King James Text

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Authorities on APOLUO:• Thayer: “to dismiss from the house, to

repudiate.” (Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, pg. 66).

• Bagster’s Analytical Lexicon: “Apoluo. Put away: To let go; to let loose; to send away”

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Authorities on "PUT AWAY" (English)

Wordnet Dictionary: Definition of “Put Away”

1. [v] turn away from and put aside, perhaps temporarily; “She turned away from her painting”

2. [v] eat up; usually refers to a considerable quantity of food; “My son tucked in a whole pizza”

3. [v] kill gently, as with an injection, as of pet animals 4. [v] place in a place where something cannot be removed or

someone cannot escape; “The parents locked her daughter up for the weekend”; “She locked her jewels in the safe”

5. [v] throw or cast away; “Put away your worries” 6. [v] lock up or confine, in or as in a jail; “The suspects were

imprisoned without trial”; “the murderer was incarcerated for the rest of his life”

Synonyms include: cast aside, cast away, cast out, discard, dispose, throw away, throw out

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The Collins English Dictionary      “Put Away” -   verb[transitive, adverb(ial)]

1    to return (something) to the correct or proper place example: he put away his books2    to save      example: to put away money for the future3    to lock up in a prison, mental institution, etc.

example: they put him away for twenty years4    to eat or drink, esp. in large amounts5    to put to death, because of old age or illness      example: the dog had to be put away

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Authorities on the meaning of Divorce:• “Apostasion”, properly translated

“divorce” or “divorcement”. [Grk. 647] apostasion (ap-os-tas’-ee-on) “neuter of a (presumed) adjective from a derivative of 868; properly, something separative, i.e. (specially) divorce:--(writing of) divorcement” (Strong's).

• Smith’s Bible Dictionary - “A legal dissolution of the marriage relation.”

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What about the fact that some versions of the N.T. translate apoluo as divorce?

• KJV was the first to translate apoluo as divorce and it was certainly inconsistent in so doing. Of the 11 times Jesus used the word apoluo the KJV rendered it “put away” ever time except in one case – Matt. 5:32.There is no apparent reason for the inconsistency.

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Previous to the KJV was the Wyclilff version:

Mark 10:11 - “Whosoever putteth awaye his wyfe and maryeth another, breaketh wedlock to herward. And if a woman forsake her husband and be maryed to another, she committeth advoutry also.”

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A margin note in The Geneva Bible translated from the Textus Receptus in 1560 (about 50 years before the KJV) concerning the term put away said, “that is, was not Lawfully divorced.” Why is this worthy of note?  It gives support to the idea that Jesus was talking about men merely putting away their wives and NOT divorcing them lawfully.

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Greek/English Interlinear (tr){BUT I} legw <3004> (5719) {SAY} umin <5213> {TO YOU}   oti <3754> {THAT} oV <3739> an <302> {WHOEVER} apolush <630> (5661) thn <3588> {SHALL PUT AWAY} gunaika <1135> autou <846> {HIS WIFE,} parektoV <3924> {EXCEPT} logou <3056> {ON ACCOUNT} porneiaV <4202> {OF FORNICATION,} poiei <4160> (5719) {CAUSES} authn <846> {HER} moicasqai <3429> (5738) {TO COMMIT ADULTERY;} kai <2532> {AND} oV <3739> ean <1437> {WHOEVER} apolelumenhn <630> (5772) {HER WHO HAS BEEN PUT AWAY} gamhsh <1060> (5661) {SHALL MARRY,} moicatai <3429> (5736) {COMMITS ADULTERY.}

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The ASV is widely respected as being the most literal and accurate version.

It consistently renders apoluo as “put away” in the passages relative to our study - never does it render it as divorce.

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The “bill of divorce” – a command!

• Deut. 24:1 ASVWhen a man taketh a wife, and marrieth her, then it shall be, if she find no favor in his eyes, because he hath found some unseemly thing in her, that he shall write her a bill of divorcement, and give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.

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Jesus’ question (Mark 10:3) confirms that it was a command:

“What did Moses command you?”

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Not a command or license for treachery

• Mal 2:16 - For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously..

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Mark 10:2-5 And the Pharisees came to him, and

asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? tempting him.  And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you? And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away. And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.

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Does it make sense to say, Moses suffered you to divorce your wives and to divorce them?

…more evidence in the next study that “put away” does not equal divorce.