Right-click to download PDF version

      The Hebrew Roots Bible has been more than just a great resource for Yahweh’s people worldwide and it also has been the main foundation for witnessing for the Matthew 24 project over the last 3 years. We get 50,000 to 100,000 downloads every month on the website. That is because when translating the HRB I stayed as close as possible to the accuracy of scripture and did not let any bias come between the unadulterated words of Yahweh.

      This is something that almost no major Bible publisher has done. They have kept their bias and indoctrination against the Torah in keeping with their false doctrines, which is what inspired Yahweh to have me produce the HRB in the first place.

      No greater false teaching has been inducted into Christianity since the Protestant Reformation than the doctrine on divorce and remarriage. In almost every single ancient historical document of the early believers over the first 500 years of Yahshua’s Congregation it was a universal belief of the true remnant that there was absolutely no allowance for either divorce of a married couple, and certainly no grounds whatsoever for remarriage of a divorced person.

      The facts are that not until Erasmus started to preach on allowing divorce and remarriage in around 1517, that no true congregational leader from the first century on taught that either divorce or remarriage was allowed according to the teaching of Yahshua and the Apostle Paul.

      So I want to go into depth in this article to clearly show why the HRB’s translation in Mat 5:32 is the only correct possible translation that could have been put in that place. Let’s start by setting the precedent from Scripture as all scripture must fit hand to glove and no scripture contradicts itself. Yahweh is not like man, and His character on such important matters as the marriage covenant does not change (Mal 3:6). So if we know Yahweh’s pattern, then we will be able to interpret all scripture according to that pattern that doesn’t change.

      2nd Timothy the third chapter tells of the horrific times that we are living in the last days. It mentions that people will be traitors or truce-breakers; and actually we live in a society of truce-breakers and have developed a culture of people who could care less about keeping their word.

People lie every day to protect their image, get what they want, and unfortunately it starts from the politicians and leaders of countries down to the workplace, congregations and homes. Most people don’t see how much importance Yahweh puts on not only obedience, but on keeping every word that proceeds out of our mouth.

Mat 12:33 Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt; for the tree is known by the fruit.

Mat 12:34 Generation of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

Mat 12:35 The good man out of the good treasure of the heart puts forth good things. And the evil man out of the evil treasure puts forth evil things.

Mat 12:36 But I say to you, that every vain word, whatever men may speak, they shall give an account of it in Judgment Day.

Mat 12:37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.

Num 30:2 When a man vows a vow to YAHWEH, or has sworn an oath to bind his soul with a bond, he shall not break his word; he shall do all that has gone out of his mouth.

Deut 23:21 When you shall vow a vow to YAHWEH your Elohim, you shall not delay to perform it; forYAHWEH your Elohim will certainly require it of you, and it shall be sin to you.

Deut 23:22 But if you shall forebear to vow, it shall be no sin to you.

Deut 23:23 That which has gone out of your lips, you shall keep, and shall do it. According as you have vowed as a freewill offering to YAHWEH your Elohim, do even that which you have spoken with your mouth.

These are not merely suggestions, but are direct commands of Yahweh, such as do not murder or do not commit adultery are also. When we speak words and give a commitment to do something we need to try to the best of our ability to perform whatever came out of our mouth.

Now if we perform even menial tasks such as helping someone move or cut their grass if we gave a commitment to do such, then how much more are we responsible to keep our word if we make a vow before Yahweh in front of witnesses in securing the marriage covenant bond to our covenant partner?

Do we realize the sanctity that Yahweh tells us this vow incurs in His holy Word? Do we realize that the marriage covenant ceremony is the only ceremony in the history of the world that has lasted for almost 6,000 years since the Garden of Eden in almost every society in the world? Why would it be that even for non-covenant pagans they would partake in the marriage covenant with their partner in almost the entire globe?

It is because Yahweh knows that the marriage covenant is the backbone of society and no society can last even one generation if the marriage covenant is abolished. This is why Satan is pushing and promoting his homosexual, gay agenda, because he knows if he breaks the marriage covenant, mankind will not survive even one generation. Let’s start from the foundation of Creation and look at Yahweh’s pattern for the marriage covenant.

Gen 2:21 And YAHWEH Elohim caused a deep sleep to fall on the man, and he slept. And He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh underneath.

Gen 2:22 And YAHWEH Elohim formed the rib which He had taken from the man into a woman, and brought her to the man.

Gen 2:23 And the man said, This now at last is bone from my bones, and flesh from my flesh; For this shall be called Woman, because out of man this has been taken.

Gen 2:24 Therefore, a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife and they shall become one (echad, unified) flesh.

Gen 2:25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and they were not ashamed.

So, before even getting into the 100% of Scripture that will back this up, we know from the very beginning that Yahweh’s pattern for marriage, as laid out in the book of Genesis, was to be a relationship that was heterosexual, monogamous, and a complete union that can only be dissolved by the death of one of the covenant partners. We also see that when Yahweh made Adam and Eve as the prototype of what constitutes marriage that He literally took Eve from the rib of Adam to show that they are indeed one flesh, and used that comparison in the New Testament to clearly show that as Adam and Eve, when a couple take their sacred marriage vows, they too become one flesh that cannot be separated except by death of one of the covenant partners.

This is the pattern set out at Creation and every single scripture whether in the Tanach or the Brit Chadashah (New Testament) will confirm this. You cannot let this wicked, sinful, evil generation of adulterers and trucebreakers affect your mindset on the set apart Word of Yahweh. Let’s look at what Yahweh states about the sacred marriage covenant in Mal 2:14-16:

Mal 2:14 Yet you say, On what cause? Because YAHWEH has been witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously; and she is your companion and your covenant wife.

Mal 2:15 And has He not made you one (echad)? Yet the remainder of the Spirit is in him. And what of the one? He was seeking a seed of Elohim. Then guard your spirit, and do not deal treacherously with the wife of your youth.

Mal 2:16 YAHWEH, the Elohim of Israel, says, He hates divorce, and to cover with violence on his garment, says YAHWEH of Hosts. Then guard your spirit and do not act treacherously.

Clearly, we see in Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament in many people’s Bible and certainly the last prophetic book written, that Yahweh reinstates that not only does He hate divorce, but He does not even recognize it in His Word as “the two were made one”. In simple terms, according to the Creator they can’t be separated. It is like welding 2 pieces of metal together, once the welding takes place, it is impossible to separate the pieces again as they were before, and according to the Word of Yahweh once a man and a woman who are unmarried take their marriage covenant vows it is impossible to separate them except by death. Again this is not Don Esposito stating this but the pure holy Word of Yahweh.

So now let’s look at Deuteronomy 24 and see if this scripture contradicts all the others we are going over. First of all from Jewish history and also even from Yahshua’s own mouth in Matthew 19, as we will go over shortly, we know that Israel had developed a system of divorce and were actively practicing divorce from the time of Moses to the first century, there is no debate on that topic. The debate comes in when one asks by whose authority were they enacting divorce and we will clearly see that it was on their own authority and not from Yahweh or the Torah. You can read the Bible a hundred times over and you will never even come up with one scripture showing that Yahweh anywhere in His set apart, holy Word ever condones or recognizes divorce; we will prove that fact conclusively when we get into the New Testament scriptures. And, as we will see with Deuteronomy 24 that Yahweh is not condoning divorce, but simply giving caution against following a practice that He never sanctioned.

Deut 24:1 When a man has taken a wife and married her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found a thing of uncleanness in her, and he writes her a bill of divorce and puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house;

Deut 24:2 and if she goes out from his house and goes and becomes another man’s wife,

Deu 24:3 and the latter husband hates her, and writes her a bill of divorce, and puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house or if the latter husband who took her to be his wife dies;

Deut 24:4 her former husband who sent her away is not to take her again to be his wife, after she is defiled. For it is an abomination before YAHWEH, and you shall not cause the land to sin, which YAHWEH your Elohim is giving to you as an inheritance.

There is absolutely NOTHING written in those four verses that would make one think that Yahweh is condoning divorce and remarriage. As a matter of fact, it is the exact opposite. Far from condoning divorce or remarriage He is warning against it and calling it an abomination before the land of Israel.

Notice in verse one He never condones the action of sending a wife away, but merely states a practice that Israel, due to the hardness of their heart forced on Moses (Mat 19:8). Then, in verse two through four He is warning what will happen if the wife leaves and marries another man. Yahweh states she will be defiled because Yahweh calls this act adultery (Luke 16:18, Mark 10:12). Because this is considered adultery in the eyes of Yahweh the woman would be defiled and never able to come back to her rightful husband as Yahweh states it would cause the land to SIN!

Did you get that?! Far from being that this verse condones divorce and remarriage, but actually Yahweh clearly states that for a woman to leave her husband and marry another she is defiled and is living in sin, exactly what Yahshua will confirm in the New Testament. That is why verse two is warning the woman ‘if she goes’ these are the consequences. A woman has a choice, even if her husband leaves her, she can still honor the marriage covenant vows she has taken and stay separate until there is reconciliation or her rightful husband dies.

Some have tried to claim that Deu 24 is speaking about if a woman commits adultery her husband can send her away and give a bill of divorce, but the word for adultery is not used, and the penalty for adultery was not sending away the wife but it was the death penalty, so clearly Deu 24 is not speaking about punishment when a wife commits adultery.

Deut 22:13 If any man takes a wife, and goes in to her, and hates her,

Deut 22:14 then makes against her shameful charges, and brings up an evil name on her, and says, I took this woman, and when I came near her, I did not find in her the tokens of virginity.

Deut 22:15 Then the girl’s father and her mother shall take and bring the girl’s tokens of virginity to the elders of the city in the gate.

Deut 22:16 And the girl’s father shall say to the elders, I have given my daughter to this man for a wife, and he hates her.

Deut 22:17 And, behold, he has laid shameful charges, saying, I have not found in your daughter the tokens of virginity. And yet see these tokens of my daughter’s virginity. And they shall spread the garment before the elders of the city.

Deut 22:18 And the elders of that city shall take that man and punish him.

Deut 22:19 And they shall fine him a hundred pieces of silver, and give them to the girl’s father, because he has brought an evil name on a virgin of Israel. And she shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days.

From the above verses we see that if a man makes such a charge against his wife and it is not true he is NOT allowed to put her away all his days, clearly showing Deut 24 is Not speaking about adultery, as if the wife is guilty look at the punishment.

Deut 22:20 But if this thing is true that tokens of virginity have not been found for the girl,

Deut 22:21 then they shall bring out the girl to the door of her father’s house. And the men of her city shall stone her with stones, and she shall die; for she has done folly in Israel, to commit fornication in her father’s house. And you shall put away the evil from among you.

Deut 22:22 If a man is found lying with a woman married to a husband, then they shall both of them die, the man that lay with the woman, and the woman. And you shall put away the evil from Israel.

Clearly, adultery was a capital offense with punishment of death not divorce. So now, let’s go to the New Testament and see if it coincides with everything we have seen about the marriage covenant in the Tanach or Old Testament.

Mark 10:2 And coming near, the Pharisees asked Him if it is lawful for a man to put away a wife, tempting Him.

Mark 10:3 But answering, He said to them, What did Moses command you?

Mark 10:4 And they said, Moses allowed to write a bill of divorce, and to put away.

Mark 10:5 And answering, Yahshua said to them, With respect to your hardheartedness he wrote this command to you.

Mark 10:6 But from the beginning of creation YAHWEH made them male and female. (Gen 1:27)

Mark 10:7 “Because of this, a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife,

Mark 10:8 and the two shall be one flesh;” so that they no longer are two, but one flesh. (Gen 2:24)

Mark 10:9 Therefore, what YAHWEH has yoked together, man cannot put apart.

Mark 10:10 And again, in the house His disciples asked Him about the same.

Mark 10:11 And He said to them, Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her.

Mark 10:12 And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery

How plain and simple Yahshua’s words are. He very clearly supports everything that we read about in the Tanach (Old Testament) that Yahweh wrote about the sacredness of the marriage covenant. There is no exception clause, there is no wiggle room, but He clearly reverts back to Creation showing the reason for the marriage covenant was for a man and a woman who are two single virgins to join in one into the sacred marriage covenant agreement that is heterosexual, monogamous, and a complete union of the two people that can only be broken by death.

He also clarifies about Deuteronomy 24 that it was not an exception clause, but was instilled by Moses due to the hardness of the heart of the people, but as we saw when reading it, Yahweh was simply warning the women in Israel of a practice that He never sanctioned and that if they did indeed leave their husband who put them away and went with another man they would be in a constant state of defilement and could never return to their original spouse. This was a precursor to the marriage covenant in the New Testament between Yahshua and His bride and also has the same parameters that if any baptized member as the bride of Messiah would leave the Congregation, in which Yahshua is the head and bridegroom, after being baptized and entering the betrothal period with Yahshua he/she could never be accepted again as they would be defiled and put the sacrifice of our bridegroom Yahshua to shame.

Heb 6:4 For it is impossible for those who have once descended to immersion, and having tasted of the heavenly gift, and becoming sharers of the Holy Spirit,

Heb 6:5 and tasting the good Word of YAHWEH, and the works of power of the world to come,

Heb 6:6 and having fallen away, it is impossible for them again to renew to repentance, for they crucify the Son of YAHWEH a second time, and put Him to open shame.

This is what makes the marriage covenant so sacred, as it is a shadow of the marriage covenant of Yahshua and His bride, the Congregation, and even if our spouse is unfaithful we need to be faithful as this life is only a test from Yahweh to see how faithful we will be for eternity. Our current spouse is simply a proxy to test us now, but the real bridegroom is our Savior Yahshua who will marry the Congregation at His return.

Eph 5:30 For we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones.

Eph 5:31 “For this, a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall be one (echad) flesh.” (Gen 2:24)

Eph 5:32 This is a great mystery, but I speak as to Messiah and His Congregation.

Eph 5:33 Nevertheless, let everyone of you so love his wife as himself, and the wife, that she give reverence to the husband

Rev 19:7 Let us rejoice and let us exult, and we will give glory to Him, because the marriage of the Lamb came, and His wife prepared herself.

Rev 19:8 And it was given to her that she be clothed in fine linen, pure and bright; for the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints.

Rev 19:9 And he said to me, Write: Blessed are the ones having been called to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he said to me, These Words of YAHWEH are true.

Don’t lose out on the wonderful, righteous, eternal bridegroom due to this world’s unrighteousness and the fact that it is a society of trucebreakers. Yahweh’s Word doesn’t change and it is extremely clear that nowhere does it sanction divorce and remarriage when there is still a living spouse.

Let’s look at some other New Testament scriptures to see if they do indeed verify what we have seen so far.

Luk 16:18 Everyone divorcing his wife, and marrying another, commits adultery. And everyone marrying her who has been divorced from a husband commits adultery.

Rom 7:2 Just as the married woman is bound by the Torah to the living husband; but if the husband dies, she is set free from the Law of her husband.

Rom 7:3 So then, if the husband is living, she will be called an adulteress if she should be married to another man. But if the husband dies, she is free from the Law, so as for her not to be an adulteress by becoming another man’s wife.

1st Cor 7:39 A wife is bound by the Torah for as long a time as her husband lives; but if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whomever she desires, only in the Master.

Every single New Testament scripture without fail clearly states that if a woman leaves her husband and remarries when she still has a living spouse, then she commits adultery, and the one who married her also commits adultery. Now this fact alone, that Yahshua is calling a second marriage adultery is clear cut proof that He and Yahweh are not recognizing the second marriage, as if they were Yahshua wouldn’t call the act adultery, as adultery is illicit sexual relations with another person’s spouse

The Apostle Paul also in Romans 7:3 clearly states that if a woman has a living husband and remarries another man she will be called an adulteress. Also, in 1 Corinthians the 7^th chapter as Paul goes thoroughly through the marriage covenant to widows, to married people and virgins, he never once ever mentioned divorce as an option or remarriage when one is already married and has a living spouse.

1st Cor 7:10 But I command the ones being married (not I, but our Master), let not the wife be separated from her husband;

1st Cor 7:11 but if indeed she is separated, remain unmarried, or be reconciled to the husband; and a husband not to dessert his wife.

So, now as we finally get to the book of Matthew, let’s rehash all the scriptures on the subject of marriage that we have seen so far. Up to this point we have conclusively proven according to the Word of Yahweh that He hates divorce (Mal 2:16) and never once sanctioned it in Scripture. We see that Yahshua also strongly attested to this fact showing that the marriage covenant goes back to Creation and is a life-long, binding covenant between an unmarried man and woman and is monogamous and a complete union that after taking their vows supernaturally makes them one by Yahweh, and only death can separate that union.

Yahshua also clearly stated that if a person leaves their spouse and marries another they are committing adultery, showing that Yahweh does not recognize the second marriage; and therefore, the couple of a second marriage are not united in one from Yahweh, and are living in a state of adultery as when He states the words ‘commits adultery’, it is written in the perfect tense showing it is not a onetime sinful act, but they are living in a continual state of sin until the illicit partnership would be dissolved.

So with the subject being so clear to this point why would the book of Matthew even have the wording in both Matthew 5 and Matthew 19 about the issue of fornication or illicit sexual conduct? The reason is clear when you understand the background of the book.

There are four Good-News written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John that many call the four faces of the Messiah as each book writes about Him in a little bit different point of view. Matthew is written to the Jews, Mark is written to show the humanity and servant side of Yahshua, Luke is written to the Gentiles, and John is the spiritual Good News showing Yahshua as the Son of Yahweh from heaven. These four books are depicted by the lion for Matthew, the ox for Mark, the face of a man for Luke, and the eagle for John as the eagle soars into the sky. These four facets of Messiah are highlighted in the living creature of Ezekiel the first chapter, and almost all scholars recognize that Matthew was written to the Jews.

So with that in mind let’s see why Yahshua would have mentioned the statement He made about fornication and adultery in the book of Matthew. Before we finish with Matthew 5:32 let’s first go to Matthew 19 and see what the atmosphere was for this conversation Yahshua had about the marriage covenant.

Mat 19:3 And the Pharisees came near to Him, tempting Him, and saying to Him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every reason?

Mat 19:4 But answering, He said to them, Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning “created them male and female?” (Gen 1:27)

Mat 19:5 And He said, “For this reason a man shall leave father and mother, and shall be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” (Gen 2: 24)

Mat 19:6 So that they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what YAHWEH has united together, man cannot separate.

Mat 19:7 They said to Him, Why then did Moses command to “give a letter of divorce, and to put her away?”

First of all, we see the Pharisees are the ones that Yahshua is dealing with here and not the general public. Second, we see that they are trying to tempt Yahshua on the issue of the marriage covenant because He was not teaching as they did according to their tradition in the Talmud.

So why are they asking Him this question in verse 3? It is because there were two lines of thought in the first century Judaism on the subject of divorce and remarriage according to their interpretation of what Moses wrote in Deuteronomy 24:1-4. One was the thought of Rabbi Hillel who basically allowed divorce for anything as little as a wife burning her husband’s dinner, and secondly there was the school of Rabbi Shamai who held to the thought pattern that divorce could only occur if adultery was involved; the so called exception clause that some Christians misinterpret.

So they wanted to know what was Yahshua’s answer; did He agree with Hillel and the more liberal stance of marriage and divorce or did He agree with Shamai that divorce could only take place if adultery was involved.

His answer shocked them because He didn’t agree with Hillel or Shamai, and showed that the marriage covenant did not start with Moses but with Adam and Eve and is a covenant bond that only the death of one of the partners can break.

Mat 19:8 He said to them, In view of your hardheartedness, Moses allowed you to put away your wives.But from the beginning it was not so.

Mat 19:9 And I say to you, Whoever shall put away his wife, even if there is a charge of adultery, and shall marry another, that one commits adultery. And the one who marries the divorced woman commits adultery.

This is why Yahshua adds the phrase here ‘even if there is a charge of adultery’ that is not added in Mark or Luke, because the Pharisees are asking Him specifically whether He agrees with Hillel or Shamai.

There was a type of teaching method used in the first century called Kol V Khomer. This method went like this, first a teacher would show the small and then he would show the big and then connect that if something was good for the small then it would be good for the big. Yahshua and the Apostle Paul used this method much in Scripture. However, several times in Scripture Yahshua would blow away His audience by going above the big and setting a new standard of holiness to His disciples.

Mat 5:27 You have heard that it was said to the ancients “Do not commit adultery.” (Exo 20:14; Deut 5:18)

Mat 5:28 But I say to you, Everyone looking at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

The above scripture is a good example of what I am speaking about. Yahshua took the commandment ‘Do not commit adultery’ to a whole new spiritual level of not just the action but the very thought pattern of our mind, and this is exactly what He did with the Pharisees in Mat 19:2-9, as He did not take the side of Hillel the little or even Shamai the big, but He went to the biggest showing the sanctity of the marriage covenant going back to Creation. Also, the fact that in Mat 19:4 Yahshua states “from the beginning” shows He is speaking of a continual action from the very foundation of Creation that continues to exist forever. Now look at His disciples’ shocked response to Yahshua’s rigid view of the marriage covenant of one man one woman till death do them part and if one leaves and marries another it is adultery, which carries the death penalty.

Mat 19:10 His disciples said to him, “If such is the difficulty between husband and wife, it is not worthwhile to take a wife.

His disciples were so shocked at His rigid statement that they said, “Wow, if marriage is that restricted and if I leave my spouse and marry another, I might lose out on the Kingdom, it is not worthwhile to take a wife.” And then, Yahshua answers that not all men can live as a eunuch does but each has their gift from Yahweh.

So the only reason in Matthew 19:9, Yahshua adds and emphasizes the fact that if anyone leaves his/her spouse and marries another they are committing adultery, even if their spouse committed adultery, is because this was the very question the Pharisees were asking, under what condition would Yahshua condone divorce; does He agree with Hillel or Shamai, and clearly His answer was neither.

He clearly stated that there was no valid reason for divorce and remarriage even in the case of adultery. If He were allowing adultery as a valid reason for divorce He would have been agreeing with Rabbi Shamai and it would not have brought the shocked response by His own disciples. It was the fact that He went beyond what the Rabbinical view was that shocked His audience, and this is exactly what He did in Matthew 5:27-28. He brought the Torah to a whole different level of interpretation by connecting it in not just what we do, but our heart and how we think.

Mat 5:21 You have heard that it was said to the ancients “Do not commit murder!” And, whoever commits murder shall be condemned to the Judgment. (Exo 21; Deut 5:17)

Mat 5:22 But I say to you that anyone who provokes to anger his brother without cause, is condemned to judgment and anyone who should say to his brother, I spit on you is condemned to the assembly, and anyone who should say, you are a coward, is condemned to the Gehenna of fire.

Yahshua is again in the scripture above going beyond the thought of that day and bringing the Torah to an almost superhuman level. Of course I would never kill someone but Yahshua shows that anger is murder. So that brings us to the last scripture on this subject that this paper was written about Matthew 5:32.

Mat 5:31 It was also said, Whoever puts away his wife, “let him give her a bill of divorce.” (Deut 24:1)

Mat 5:32 But I say to you, Whoever divorces his wife, even in a matter of fornication, causes her to commit adultery. And whoever shall marry a divorced one commits adultery.

So, now it is easy to see after all the other scriptures we went over and showing Matthew 19 and the Jewish thought of the day why the translation that I put in the Hebrew Roots Bible is the only way this verse could be translated. As in each case before it as we saw with lust being called adultery and anger being called murder, Yahweh is raising the bar to an unprecedented level of holiness to those who want to be His disciples. So He is telling both the Jews who were liberal and divorced for any reason, and also the more conservative Jews who would only allow divorce for a matter of adultery that in Yahweh’s eyes the two are one flesh and what Yahweh yoked together man cannot separate. Therefore there is NO valid reason for divorce, NOT EVEN IN A MATTER OF FORNICATION!

And to be honest all translations should have translated this verse this way if they are being honest with the scriptures as the definition of the word in Mat 5:32 ‘even’ or ‘except’ in both the Greek and Aramaic means ‘not including’. This word is used only two other times in Scripture, so let’s look how it is interpreted in the other two places it is found.

2nd Cor 11:28 besides (not including) the things outside conspiring against me day by day, I have also the care of all the Congregations.

Act 26:29 And Paul said, I would pray to YAHWEH, both in a little and in much, not only you, but also all these hearing me today to become as I also am, except for (not including) these chains.

So in both these places we see that the word ‘parektos’ is non inclusive. So why would we think it is inclusive in Matthew 5:32? The fact is it is not inclusive but exclusive meaning that Yahshua is stating there is no valid reason for divorcing a spouse, not even or not including even in the case of adultery. He is not including adultery as a valid reason for divorce.

The mystery of the Good News is the marriage covenant of Yahshua to the Congregation; this is why this subject is so important as we must believe Yahweh in faith, as no adulterer will be in the Kingdom (1st Cor 6:9). Yahshua will never leave us or forsake us even if we are unfaithful until we die or the resurrection comes, and we must show the same faith in the marriage covenant as He has. It’s not about your spouse but about seeing if we will be faithful to Yahshua for all eternity. All early congregational leaders believed in one man and one woman until the death of a spouse; this is a historical fact. We must go back to the Old Paths and in a time where Satan is trying to destroy the marriage covenant we must keep the sanctity of it that Yahweh intended in the Garden of Eden.

The marriage covenant as defined from Creation was to last until the death of one of the spouses. Nowhere in Scripture do you ever see Yahweh condone divorce, but actually states He hates divorce and that anyone who remarries while having a living spouse is defiled and living in sin. So why did we translate Matthew 5:32 as we did? Because it is the only valid, correct translation that could have been rendered both linguistically and contextually. I can only pray that other Bible translators would find the courage to do the same as the marriage covenant is so sacred in scripture and could means someone’s salvation if they defile it.