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OET (OET-LV) The apprentices/followers are_saying to_him:
If thus is the cause of_the husband with the wife, it_is_ not _benefitting to_marry.
OET (OET-RV) His followers made the point, “If that’s the case for husband and wife, it’s better not to get married.”
In this section, Jesus led his disciples out of Galilee and passed through the land of Perea on his way to Jerusalem. While in Perea, some Pharisees came to him and asked him a question about divorce. They hoped that he would say something that they thought was wrong so that they could shame him. But Jesus taught about divorce based on Scripture. (This section has more information about divorce than 5:31–32.)
Jesus also taught that believers may choose not to marry so that they can fully devote themselves to serving God. Jesus and Paul are examples of this way of living.
Here are some other possible headings for this section:
Teaching about divorce
Concerning divorce and not marrying
A Discussion About Divorce and Celibacy (GW)
There are parallel passages for this section in Mark 10:1–12 and Luke 16:18.
His disciples said to Him, “If this is the case between a man and his wife,
¶ The disciples said to him, “If that is the only reason a man can divorce his wife,
¶ Then Jesus’s disciples said to him, “If a man can divorce his wife only for adultery,
His disciples: There is a textual issue here:
Some Greek manuscripts have the disciples here. For example:
The disciples (RSV) (NIV, ESV, NASB, RSV, CEV, GW, NET, REB, NCV, NJB)
Some Greek manuscripts have his disciples here.The UBS Greek New Testament gives the pronoun “his” a C rating indicating its uncertainty in the text. For example:
His disciples (GNT) (BSB, KJV, NRSV, NLT, GNT, JBP)
The majority of English versions follow the Greek texts that have “the disciples.” However, here you should do what is most natural in your language. In some languages, it is more natural to say “his disciples” or “Jesus’ disciples.”
For help in translating the word disciples, see the note at 5:1c.
If this is the case between a man and his wife: This clause refers to Jesus’s teaching that a man can divorce his wife and remarry only if his wife has committed adultery.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
If that is the only reason a man can divorce his wife (NCV)
If a man can divorce his wife only for adultery
If this is the case (NLT)
If that is the way it is
it is better not to marry.”
it is better not/never to get married!”
then it is better/good not to marry!”
it is better not to marry: The disciples thought that if a man could not divorce his wife (unless she committed adultery), it was better for him not to get married at all. They thought that it was better not to get married than to be stuck in an unhappy marriage.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
it is better not to get married
it is better that/if a man does not get married
Note 1 topic: translate-tense
λέγουσιν
˓are˒_saying
To call attention to a development in the story, Matthew uses the present tense in past narration. If it would not be natural to do that in your language, you could use the past tense in your translation. Alternate translation: [said]
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
οὕτως
thus
The word thus refers to what Jesus has said about divorce and remarriage. You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [what you have described] or [what you have commanded]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
ἡ αἰτία τοῦ ἀνθρώπου μετὰ τῆς γυναικός
the cause ˱of˲_the husband (Some words not found in SR-GNT: λέγουσιν αὐτῷ Οἱ μαθηταί Εἰ οὕτως ἐστίν ἡ αἰτία τοῦ ἀνθρώπου μετά τῆς γυναικός οὒ συμφέρει γαμῆσαι)
The word reason could refer to: (1) the basis on which a man can divorce his wife. Alternate translation: [the only reason for a man to divorce his wife] (2) the accusation against a man who divorces his wife. Alternate translation: [the charge against a man who divorces his wife] (3) the situation or relationship between a man and his wife. Alternate translation: [the situation of a man with his wife]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / genericnoun
τοῦ ἀνθρώπου μετὰ τῆς γυναικός
˱of˲_the husband (Some words not found in SR-GNT: λέγουσιν αὐτῷ Οἱ μαθηταί Εἰ οὕτως ἐστίν ἡ αἰτία τοῦ ἀνθρώπου μετά τῆς γυναικός οὒ συμφέρει γαμῆσαι)
The words the man and his wife represents men and their wives in general, not one particular man and his wife. If it would be helpful in your language, you could express the idea in another way. Alternate translation: [of any man with his wife]
OET (OET-LV) The apprentices/followers are_saying to_him:
If thus is the cause of_the husband with the wife, it_is_ not _benefitting to_marry.
OET (OET-RV) His followers made the point, “If that’s the case for husband and wife, it’s better not to get married.”
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.