Matthew 19

¹Now when Jesus had finished these sayings , he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan .

²And large crowds followed him , and he healed them there .

³And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking , Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause ?

⁴He answered , Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female ,

⁵and said , Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife , and the two shall become one flesh ?

⁶So they are no longer two but one flesh . What therefore God has joined together , let not man separate .

⁷They said to him , Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away ?

⁸He said to them , Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives , but from the beginning it was not so .

⁹And I say to you : whoever divorces his wife , except for sexual immorality , and marries another , commits adultery .

¹⁰The disciples said to him , If such is the case of a man with his wife , it is better not to marry .

¹¹But he said to them , Not everyone can receive this saying , but only those to whom it is given .

¹²For 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 for the sake of the kingdom of heaven . Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.

¹³Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray . The disciples rebuked the people ,

¹⁴but Jesus said , Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them , for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven .

¹⁵And he laid his hands on them and went away .

¹⁶And behold , a man came up to him , saying , Teacher , what good deed must I do to have eternal life ?

¹⁷And he said to him , Why do you ask me about what is good ? There is only one who is good . If you would enter life , keep the commandments .

¹⁸He said to him , Which ones? And Jesus said , You shall not murder , You shall not commit adultery , You shall not steal , You shall not bear false witness ,

¹⁹Honor your father and mother , and , You shall love your neighbor as yourself .

²⁰The young man said to him , All these I have kept . What do I still lack ?

²¹Jesus said to him , If you would be perfect , go , sell what you possess and give to the poor , and you will have treasure in heaven ; and come , follow me .

²²When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful , for he had great possessions .

²³And Jesus said to his disciples , Truly , I say to you , only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven .

²⁴Again I tell you , it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God .

²⁵When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished , saying , Who then can be saved ?

²⁶But Jesus looked at them and said , With man this is impossible , but with God all things are possible .

²⁷Then Peter said in reply , See , we have left everything and followed you . What then will we have ?

²⁸Jesus said to them , Truly , I say to you , in the new world , when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne , you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones , judging the twelve tribes of Israel .

²⁹And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands , for my name’s sake , will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life .

³⁰But many who are first will be last , and the last first .