A common misinterpretation of Matthew 5:32 is that it grants blanket permission for divorce on any grounds other than fornication while ignoring the remarriage clause, leading some to justify casual divorce and quick remarriage without recognizing it as adulterous; others erroneously limit 'fornication' to premarital sin only, excluding post-marital infidelity, or apply it solely to men, overlooking mutual accountability in marriage; additionally, some abuse it to forbid all remarriage even after biblically valid divorce, contradicting the exception and broader scriptural allowances for restoration after genuine repentance.
Matthew 5:32
King James Version (1769)
32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.
In Matthew 5:32, Jesus intensifies the seventh commandment against adultery by addressing divorce, declaring that a man who divorces his wife except for porneia (sexual immorality) causes her to commit adultery, while anyone who marries such a divorced woman also commits adultery; this underscores the sacred permanence of marriage as a covenant reflecting God's faithfulness, permitting divorce only in cases of unrepentant sexual unfaithfulness to protect the innocent party and uphold marital fidelity as an unbreakable bond in God's design.