And the: Pharisees came unto him,.... As they every where did; not to be instructed by him, but to ensnare him;
and asked him, is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? that is, as Matthew adds, "for every cause", Matthew 19:3: for, a divorce might be lawfully made for a cause, or reason, namely, adultery, but not for any, or every cause; which is the sense of this question of the Pharisees; and, which they put, not for information, but
tempting him; trying to entangle him by opposing the authority of Moses, should he deny the lawfulness of divorces, or by objecting his former doctrine, Matthew 5:32, and so expose him as an inconsistent preacher, should he allow them to be lawful for every reason. This clause is placed in the Syriac, Arabic, and Persic versions before the question.