# They said to him

"The Pharisees said to Jesus"

# command us

"command us Jews"

# certificate of divorce

This is a document that legally ends the marriage.

# For your hardness of heart

The phrase "hardness of heart" is a metaphor that means "stubbornness." AT: "Because you are stubborn" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metaphor]])

# your hardness ... allowed you ... your wives

Here "you" and "your" are plural. Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees, but Moses gave this command many years earlier to their ancestors. Moses' command applied to all Jewish men in general. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-you]])

# from the beginning

Here "beginning" refers to when God first created man and woman. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy]])

# I say to you

This adds emphasis to what Jesus says next.

# marries another

You can make clear the understood information. AT: "marries another woman" (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-ellipsis]])

# and the man who marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery

Many early texts do not include these words. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/translate-textvariants]])