^aWhen Jesus had finished these words, He left Galilee and ^bcame into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan; 2 and ¹large crowds followed Him, and ^aHe healed them there.

3 Some Pharisees came to ¹Jesus, testing Him and ²asking, “^aIs it lawful for a man to ³divorce his wife for any reason at all?” 4 And He answered and said, “Have you not read ^athat He who created them from the beginning MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE, 5 and said, ‘^aFOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND HIS MOTHER AND BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND ^bTHE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH’? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no person is to separate.” 7 They *said to Him, “^aWhy, then, did Moses command to GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE AND SEND HER AWAY?” 8 He *said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to ¹divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. 9 And I say to you, ^awhoever ¹divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman ²commits adultery³.”

10 The disciples *said to Him, “If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry.” 11 But He said to them, “^aNot all men can accept this statement, but ^bonly those to whom it has been given. 12 For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by people; and there are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who is able to accept this, let him accept it.”

13 ^aThen some children were brought to Him so that He would lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But Jesus said, “^1aLeave the children alone, and do not ²forbid them to come to Me; for ^bthe kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” 15 After laying His hands on them, He departed from there.

16 ^aAnd someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do so that I may obtain ^beternal life?” 17 And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but ^aif you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” 18 Then he *said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “^aYOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER; YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY; YOU SHALL NOT STEAL; YOU SHALL NOT GIVE FALSE TESTIMONY; 19 ^aHONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER; and ^bYOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” 20 The young man *said to Him, “All these I have kept; what am I still lacking?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be ¹complete, go and ^asell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have ^btreasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 22 But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.

23 And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, ^ait will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 And again I say to you, ^ait is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” 26 And looking at them, Jesus said to them, “^aWith people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

27 Then Peter responded and said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?” 28 And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the ¹regeneration when ^athe Son of Man will sit on ²His glorious throne, ^byou also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And ^aeveryone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother ¹or children or farms on account of My name, will receive ²many times as much, and will inherit eternal life. 30 ^aBut many who are first will be last; and the last, first.

^aWhen Jesus had finished these words, He departed from Galilee and ^bcame into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan; 2 and ¹large crowds followed Him, and ^aHe healed them there.

3 Some Pharisees came to ¹Jesus, testing Him and asking, “^aIs it lawful for a man to ²divorce his wife for any reason at all?” 4 And He answered and said, “Have you not read ^athat He who created them from the beginning MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE, 5 and said, ‘^aFOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND ^bTHE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH’? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” 7 They *said to Him, “^aWhy then did Moses command to GIVE HER A CERTIFICATE OF DIVORCE AND SEND her AWAY?” 8 He *said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to ¹divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. 9 And I say to you, ^awhoever ¹divorces his wife, except for ²immorality, and marries another woman ³commits adultery⁴.”

10 The disciples *said to Him, “If the relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry.” 11 But He said to them, “^aNot all men can accept this statement, but ^bonly those to whom it has been given. 12 For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother’s womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to accept this, let him accept it.”

13 ^aThen some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But Jesus said, “^1aLet the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for ^bthe kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” 15 After laying His hands on them, He departed from there.

16 ^aAnd someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain ^beternal life?” 17 And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but ^aif you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” 18 Then he *said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “^aYOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER; YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY; YOU SHALL NOT STEAL; YOU SHALL NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS; 19 ^aHONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER; and ^bYOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” 20 The young man *said to Him, “All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be ¹complete, go and ^asell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have ^btreasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 22 But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.

23 And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, ^ait is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I say to you, ^ait is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” 26 And looking at them Jesus said to them, “^aWith people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

27 Then Peter said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?” 28 And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when ^athe Son of Man will sit on ¹His glorious throne, ^byou also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And ^aeveryone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother ¹or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive ²many times as much, and will inherit eternal life. 30 ^aBut many who are first will be last; and the last, first.