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OET (OET-LV) And he_said:
On_account of_this a_man will_be_leaving his father and his mother, and will_be_being_joined_together with_the wife of_him, and the two will_be into one flesh?
OET (OET-RV) And then how he said, ‘A man will leave his parents and be joined together with his wife, and then the two of them will be a single body’?
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.
Many English versions put this verse in single quotes to show that Jesus was quoting from the Old Testament. It is from Genesis 2:24. You also may want to use single quotes and add a footnote with the reference.
and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother
and he said, ‘For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother
And God said, ‘So a man will leave his father and mother (NCV)
and said: This verse continues from 19:4, so the subject of the verb said is “the Creator.” Use the correct grammar in your language to show that “the Creator” spoke the following words. For example:
and he said
and God, the Creator said
For this reason: The Greek phrase that the BSB translates as For this reason is more literally “On account of this.” This phrase introduces a conclusion based on something said just before.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
Therefore (ESV)
That is why (NJB)
a man will leave his father and mother: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as will leave is future. It describes a universal truth. (It is not a command.) It means that the man who intends to marry a woman “will leave behind” his strong connection to his parents. He will change his primary relationship from a child-parent relationship to a husband-wife relationship.
Here are some other ways to translate this clause:
a man shall leave his father and his mother (ESV)
a man leaves his father and mother (CEV)
and be united to his wife,
and unite together with his wife,
and join together with his wife,
and be united to his wife: The Greek verb that the BSB translates as be united to is more literally “stick” or “bind.” It indicates that the man separates himself from his parents and then joins himself to his wife. It is also in the future tense and describes a universal truth.
Here are some other ways to translate this verb:
unite with his wife (GNT)
is joined to his wife (NLT)
will attach to his wife
and the two will become one flesh’?
and the two of them will become united as one body/person’?
and the two will become one body.’ (NCV)
the two: This phrase refers to the man and woman who come together in marriage.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
the two of them
the man and the woman
will become one flesh: The Greek word that the BSB translates as flesh refers to the physical body. This is a description of sexual relations between the man and the woman. It also indicates that the intimate relationship that the man and woman have is different from the relationship that they had with their parents.
The Greek verb that the BSB translates as will become is also future, as the two previous verbs. It indicates a universal truth about marriage.
Here is another way to translate this clause:
will become one body
This clause is figurative language. The picture of two separate people becoming one flesh is a picture of the most intimate relationship possible between two people. You should translate this as close to the original as you can. However, you may also use a simile. For example:
He becomes like one person with his wife (CEV)
they become like one body
Note 1 topic: writing-quotations
καὶ εἶπεν
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί εἶπεν Ἕνεκεν τούτου καταλείψει ἄνθρωπος τόν πατέρα καί τήν μητέρα καί κολληθήσεται τῇ γυναικί αὐτοῦ καί ἔσονται οἱ δύο εἰς σάρκα μίαν)
Jesus introduces a quotation from an important text, in this case, the Old Testament book of Genesis (see [Genesis 2:24](../gen/02/24.md)). If it would be helpful in your language, you could use a comparable phrase that indicates that Jesus is quoting from an important text. Alternate translation: [and said, as you can read in the book of Genesis,] or [and said in the scriptures]
Note 2 topic: writing-pronouns
ἕνεκα τούτου
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί εἶπεν Ἕνεκεν τούτου καταλείψει ἄνθρωπος τόν πατέρα καί τήν μητέρα καί κολληθήσεται τῇ γυναικί αὐτοῦ καί ἔσονται οἱ δύο εἰς σάρκα μίαν)
The pronoun this refers to what the previous verse includes about how God created people male and female (see [19:4](../19/04.md)). If this is not clear for your readers, you could refer to those ideas more directly. Alternate translation: [Because God created people that way]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
καταλείψει ἄνθρωπος
˓will_be˒_leaving ˓a˒_man
Here the author of the quotation implies that this happens when the man gets married. You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [when he gets married, a man will leave]
Note 4 topic: translate-tense
καταλείψει & κολληθήσεται & ἔσονται
˓will_be˒_leaving & ˓will_be_being˒_joined_together & will_be
Jesus uses the future tense to speak about something that is generally true. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use whatever tense is most naturally for expressing a general truth. Alternate translation: [leaves … is joined … are]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
κολληθήσεται τῇ γυναικὶ αὐτοῦ
˓will_be_being˒_joined_together ˱with˲_the (Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί εἶπεν Ἕνεκεν τούτου καταλείψει ἄνθρωπος τόν πατέρα καί τήν μητέρα καί κολληθήσεται τῇ γυναικί αὐτοῦ καί ἔσονται οἱ δύο εἰς σάρκα μίαν)
If your language does not use this passive form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: [will join himself to his wife] or [will unite with his wife]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
ἔσονται οἱ δύο εἰς σάρκα μίαν
will_be the two into flesh one
Here the author of the quotation speaks as if the two are one flesh. He means that a husband and wife are so closely joined that it is as if they had one flesh or one body between them. If it would be helpful in your language, you could use simile form or state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [the two will be like one flesh] or [the two will be as closely united as possible]
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / nominaladj
οἱ δύο
the two
Jesus is using the number two as a noun to refer to a husband and a wife together. Your language may use adjectives in the same way. If not, you could translate this number with an equivalent phrase. Alternate translation: [the two of them] or [the two spouses]
19:4-5 The Pharisees were not considering all of God’s word. The Creator had made marriage as a permanent union (see Gen 2:18-25; see also 1 Cor 7:10-16).
OET (OET-LV) And he_said:
On_account of_this a_man will_be_leaving his father and his mother, and will_be_being_joined_together with_the wife of_him, and the two will_be into one flesh?
OET (OET-RV) And then how he said, ‘A man will leave his parents and be joined together with his wife, and then the two of them will be a single body’?
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.