5:32

In some languages, it may be more natural to change the order of 5:32b and 5:32c. Compare the order and structure of the clauses in the Berean Standard Bible and the New Century Version below.

32aBut I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, 32bexcept for sexual immorality, 32cbrings adultery upon her. (Berean Standard Bible)

32aBut I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife 32cforces her to be guilty of adultery. 32bThe only reason for a man to divorce his wife is if she has sexual relations with another man. (New Century Version)

5:32a

But I tell you: The clause But I tell you also occurs in 5:22a and 5:28a. Translate it here as you did there.

you: In the Greek text, the pronoun for you is plural.

anyone who divorces his wife: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as anyone refers only to men.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

any man who divorces his wife (God’s Word)
-or-
if a man divorces his wife (Good News Translation)

5:32b

except for sexual immorality: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as except for sexual immorality means “except on the ground of sexual immorality” (as in the English Standard Version). This indicates that the only acceptable reason for divorce is sexual immorality.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

except for marital unfaithfulness (New International Version)
-or-
for any reason other than unfaithfulness (God’s Word)
-or-
unless she has committed some terrible sexual sin (Contemporary English Version)

sexual immorality: There are several ways to understand the Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as sexual immorality:

(1) It refers specifically to adultery. This means that the woman has been unfaithful to her husband after the marriage. For example:

she has sexual relations with another man (New Century Version)

(2) It refers generally to any kind of sexual immorality before or after marriage.

(3) It refers to an unlawful or illegal marriage. For example:

an illicit marriage (New Jerusalem Bible)

Most English versions use a word or phrase that follows interpretation (1) or (2), but it is often not possible to tell which one. It is recommended that you also follow interpretation (1) or (2).

5:32c

brings adultery upon her: In that culture, a divorced woman almost always remarried. She remarried because there was no satisfactory way for her to support herself alone. If the first husband has divorced her even though she has been faithful, he has caused her to become unfaithful to him if she marries another man. In that sense, he brings adultery upon her.

Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

causes her to commit adultery (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
makes her guilty of sexual sin ⌊if she marries again⌋

5:32d

And he who marries a divorced woman: In this context, the phrase he who refers to another man who marries a divorced woman.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

if another man marries that divorced woman
-or-
if someone else marries the woman ⌊whose first husband⌋ divorced ⌊her⌋

commits adultery: In God’s view, it is as if the second husband is having sexual relations with another man’s wife. God wants a man to stay married to his first wife, and he wants the woman to remain married to her first husband. Their marriage binds them together as if the two of them were one person.

You will probably want to translate this expression the same way as in 5:32c.

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