Matthew 19:9 Comparative Bible Versions

[123Strontium]

Hi, What is the difference between these translations.
Am I understanding this correctly that the DRB versions is closer to the NIV?
The Jerusalem bible being of its own in terms of meaning?

Matthew 19:9
New International Version (protestant)

I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”

Douay Rheimes:
And I say to you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and he that shall marry her that is put away, committeth adultery.

New Jerusalem Bible :
9 Now I say this to you: anyone who divorces his wife – I am not speaking of an illicit marriage – and marries another, is guilty of adultery.’

 

[jonathan_hili]

Hi, What is the difference between these translations.
Am I understanding this correctly that the DRB versions is closer to the NIV?
The Jerusalem bible being of its own in terms of meaning?

Matthew 19:9
New International Version (protestant)

I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.”

Douay Rheimes:
And I say to you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and he that shall marry her that is put away, committeth adultery.

New Jerusalem Bible :
9 Now I say this to you: anyone who divorces his wife – I am not speaking of an illicit marriage – and marries another, is guilty of adultery.’

It depends how they translate the Greek word πορνείᾳ.

It’s actually quite a broad word but limiting at the same time. For instance, it is broad so can potentially encompass adultery but is certainly not limited to adultery. In fact, the best translations can be “sexual immorality” (though this is too broad) or “fornication”, which gets a better feel for what is meant here. A πόρνῃ, for instance, is a prostitute, and the idea behind using this word is that there is a sharp deviance in the kind of sexual behaviour that is expected in marriage. That’s why it can encompass adultery but is not limited to it. Other aspects would probably include illicit sex, such as homosexual sex, incest, etc.

 

[R_C]

Biblia Sacra Vulgata

dico autem vobis quia quicumque dimiserit uxorem suam - nisi ob fornicationem - et aliam duxerit, moechatur; et qui dimissam duxerit, moechatur.

The Douay-Rheims is close:

And I say to you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, commits adultery: and he that shall marry her that is put away, commits adultery.

Then again, even the very word “adultery” to which we give a very specific meaning, in fact means to corrupt, to render impure. So, as Jonathan says, “it can encompass adultery but is not limited to it”.

This verse, however, must necessarily be studied along with Matthew 19:3-6. The Lord gives 19:9 as a legal reply - so to speak - meaning that He was keeping within the boundaries of the Law of Moses, specifically the clause about repudiation due to fornication. However, right before that, He taught that in fact the Sacrament is greater than the Law itself:

They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?” He answered, ‘Have you not read that the Creator from the beginning made them male and female and that he said: This is why a man leaves his father and mother and becomes attached to his wife, and the two become one flesh? They are no longer two, therefore, but one flesh. So then, what God has united, human beings must not divide.’

Major difference between admonishing people to not abuse the Law of Moses (19:9) and teaching the people that matrimony was in fact intended by God to be perpetual in lifetime (19:3-6).