Matthew 19:3

Then some Pharisees ¹  came to him in order to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful ²  to divorce a wife for any cause?” ³ 

Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?"

Some Pharisees came to Jesus, testing Him and asking, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all?"

Some Pharisees came and tried to trap him with this question: "Should a man be allowed to divorce his wife for any reason?"

One day the Pharisees were badgering him: "Is it legal for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?"

And certain Pharisees came to him, testing him, and saying, Is it right for a man to put away his wife for every cause?

Some Pharisees came to him, and to test him they asked, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause?"

The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?"

Then some Pharisees ¹  came to him in order to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful ²  to divorce a wife for any cause?” ³ 

¹ tn Grk “And Pharisees.”

sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

² tc ‡ Most mss have either ἀνθρώπῳ (anqrwpw, “for a man” [so א² C D W Θ 087 Ë^1,13 33 Ï latt]) or ἀνδρί (andri, “for a husband” [1424^c pc]) before the infinitive ἀπολῦσαι (apolusai, “to divorce”). The latter reading is an assimilation to the parallel in Mark; the former reading may have been motivated by the clarification needed (especially to give the following αὐτοῦ [autou, “his”] an antecedent). But a few significant mss (א* B L Γ 579 [700] 1424* pc) have neither noun. As the harder reading, it seems to best explain the rise of the others. NA²⁷, however, reads ἀνθρώπῳ here.

³ sn The question of the Pharisees was anything but sincere; they were asking it to test him. Jesus was now in the jurisdiction of Herod Antipas (i.e., Judea and beyond the Jordan) and it is likely that the Pharisees were hoping he might answer the question of divorce in a way similar to John the Baptist and so suffer the same fate as John, i.e., death at the hands of Herod (cf. 14:1-12). Jesus answered the question not on the basis of rabbinic custom and the debate over Deut 24:1, but rather from the account of creation and God’s original design.