Matthew 19:9
Matthew 19:99Now I tell you that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman, commits adultery.”
JWs teach that permits divorce only on grounds of porneia (sexual immorality). The innocent party may remarry; anyone who divorces for other reasons and remarries commits adultery. This reading is applied strictly by judicial committees, creating situations where physically abused spouses cannot remarry without congregational discipline — unless the abuser also committed a sexual act. The narrowness of the exception is treated as evidence of faithfulness to Jesus' words.
The Greek word porneia in has a semantic range wider than "adultery" (moicheia) alone — it covers sexual sin generally, and the Reformed tradition reads it in light of the whole canon rather than narrowing it to one act. Paul in adds abandonment as a second recognised ground: "a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases." Historic Reformed and Protestant teaching holds porneia and abandonment together as two biblical grounds for divorce with freedom to remarry. The Westminster Confession of Faith (1647) codified this reading. The Watchtower's restriction to porneia alone traps abuse victims: a sister beaten by her husband cannot remarry without facing a judicial committee unless the husband also committed a sexual act. A doctrine that punishes the abused while the abuser faces no action unless sex is involved inverts the moral logic of Jesus' own teaching: "I want mercy, not sacrifice" (, quoting ).