Bible
What Does the Bible Say About Divorce?
The Bible treats marriage as a covenant under God's design and treats divorce as a serious matter. It permits divorce in specific circumstances (sexual immorality, abandonment by an unbelieving spouse) while urging reconciliation where it is safe and possible.
Direct answer
The Bible teaches that marriage is a covenant designed by God and treats divorce as a serious matter. It permits divorce in specific circumstances: Jesus names sexual immorality (Matthew 19:9), and Paul addresses abandonment by an unbelieving spouse (1 Corinthians 7:15).
Where reconciliation is safe and possible, it is the first goal. Where it is not, God's grace is wider than any broken marriage, and people walking through divorce need pastoral care, not shame.
Examples
Original design
Genesis 1:27, Genesis 2:24, Matthew 19:4-6
Exception clause
Matthew 19:9 (sexual immorality); Mark 10 (no exception)
Permission, not command
Matthew 19:8, Deuteronomy 24:1-4
Paul on divorce
1 Corinthians 7:10-16 (abandonment)
God hates treacherous divorce
Malachi 2:14-16
How it works
The page summarizes the main biblical passages on divorce and the historic pastoral concerns. References are KJV.
Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.Matthew 19:6, KJV
Jesus on divorce (Matthew 19 and 5)
In Matthew 19:3-9, Jesus is asked whether divorce is lawful for any cause. He answers by going back to Genesis: God made them male and female and joined them as one flesh. Moses, he says, permitted divorce because of human hardness of heart, but it was not God's design. Jesus then gives what is often called the 'exception clause': divorce on the ground of sexual immorality (Greek porneia). The parallel passage in Mark 10:11-12 omits the exception. Matthew 5:31-32 makes the same point in the Sermon on the Mount.
Paul on divorce (1 Corinthians 7)
Paul addresses two situations. For believing married couples, he conveys Jesus's teaching: do not separate (1 Corinthians 7:10-11). If they do separate, they should remain unmarried or be reconciled. For mixed marriages (a believer and an unbeliever), Paul instructs the believer to remain if the unbeliever is willing. But if the unbeliever leaves, the believer is 'not under bondage' (1 Corinthians 7:15). Many traditions read this as a second biblical ground for divorce, alongside Jesus's exception clause.
Malachi 2 in context
Malachi 2:13-16 rebukes Israelite men for dealing treacherously with the wives of their youth, dismissing them in order to marry foreign women. In this context the prophet says God 'hateth putting away.' The verse is not a flat prohibition of divorce in any circumstance; it is a condemnation of treacherous, covenant-breaking divorce. Many translations render the underlying Hebrew as 'the man who hates and divorces his wife covers his garment with violence,' a reading that fits the context.
Pastoral considerations
Christian traditions have answered the practical questions of divorce and remarriage in different ways. The shared starting point: divorce is serious; marriage is a covenant; reconciliation, where safe and possible, is the first goal. The shared end point: no person who has been through divorce is beyond grace, and people in genuinely unsafe situations should get safe.
Related Bible pages
- What does the Bible say about marriage for the biblical theology of marriage.
- Bible verses about forgiveness
- Bible verses about healing for verses on comfort in suffering.
- All Bible pages and tools.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, in specific circumstances. Jesus speaks of divorce in Matthew 19 and Matthew 5; he names sexual immorality as a ground (Matthew 19:9). Paul addresses divorce in 1 Corinthians 7 and treats abandonment by an unbelieving spouse as another situation in which the believer is not bound. Christian traditions interpret the scope of these exceptions differently; all agree that divorce is a serious matter and not a casual option.
In Matthew 19:3-9, Jesus quotes Genesis 1 and 2 to root marriage in God's design: 'What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.' He then explains that Moses permitted divorce 'because of the hardness of your hearts,' but that this was not the original intention. He concludes that whoever divorces his wife, 'except it be for fornication,' and marries another, commits adultery. The parallel passage in Mark 10 omits the exception clause.
Malachi 2:16 in the KJV reads: 'For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away.' The verse expresses God's hatred of treacherous divorce, particularly the way Israelite men were dismissing their wives without cause. The verse should not be used to shame people in dangerous or abusive situations; the broader Bible permits separation for legitimate reasons.
If you are in danger or in an abusive situation, your immediate priority is safety. Reach out to a domestic violence hotline, a trusted pastor or counselor, law enforcement, or another qualified professional. The biblical teaching on divorce was never meant to trap people in conditions of violence or coercion. The biblical command is to honor God and protect life and conscience; God's heart is for the oppressed.
No. The Bible contains no category of unforgivable sin besides what Jesus calls the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:31). Divorce, even where it was sinful, is covered by the same grace that covers every other sin. People walking through the pain of a broken marriage need pastoral care and the gospel, not shame.
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