1 Corinthians 7
7
Instruction on Marriage
1Now regarding the questions you asked in your letter. Yes, it is good to abstain from sexual relations.#7:1 Or to live a celibate life; Greek reads It is good for a man not to touch a woman. 2But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband.
3The husband should fulfill his wife’s sexual needs, and the wife should fulfill her husband’s needs. 4The wife gives authority over her body to her husband, and the husband gives authority over his body to his wife.
5Do not deprive each other of sexual relations, unless you both agree to refrain from sexual intimacy for a limited time so you can give yourselves more completely to prayer. Afterward, you should come together again so that Satan won’t be able to tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6I say this as a concession, not as a command. 7But I wish everyone were single, just as I am. Yet each person has a special gift from God, of one kind or another.
8So I say to those who aren’t married and to widows—it’s better to stay unmarried, just as I am. 9But if they can’t control themselves, they should go ahead and marry. It’s better to marry than to burn with lust.
10But for those who are married, I have a command that comes not from me, but from the Lord.#7:10 See Matt 5:32; 19:9; Mark 10:11-12; Luke 16:18. A wife must not leave her husband. 11But if she does leave him, let her remain single or else be reconciled to him. And the husband must not leave his wife.
12Now, I will speak to the rest of you, though I do not have a direct command from the Lord. If a fellow believer#7:12 Greek a brother. has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to continue living with him, he must not leave her. 13And if a believing woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to continue living with her, she must not leave him. 14For the believing wife brings holiness to her marriage, and the believing husband#7:14 Greek the brother. brings holiness to his marriage. Otherwise, your children would not be holy, but now they are holy. 15(But if the husband or wife who isn’t a believer insists on leaving, let them go. In such cases the believing husband or wife#7:15a Greek the brother or sister. is no longer bound to the other, for God has called you#7:15b Some manuscripts read us. to live in peace.) 16Don’t you wives realize that your husbands might be saved because of you? And don’t you husbands realize that your wives might be saved because of you?
17Each of you should continue to live in whatever situation the Lord has placed you, and remain as you were when God first called you. This is my rule for all the churches. 18For instance, a man who was circumcised before he became a believer should not try to reverse it. And the man who was uncircumcised when he became a believer should not be circumcised now. 19For it makes no difference whether or not a man has been circumcised. The important thing is to keep God’s commandments.
20Yes, each of you should remain as you were when God called you. 21Are you a slave? Don’t let that worry you—but if you get a chance to be free, take it. 22And remember, if you were a slave when the Lord called you, you are now free in the Lord. And if you were free when the Lord called you, you are now a slave of Christ. 23God paid a high price for you, so don’t be enslaved by the world.#7:23 Greek don’t become slaves of people. 24Each of you, dear brothers and sisters,#7:24 Greek brothers; also in 7:29. should remain as you were when God first called you.
25Now regarding your question about the young women who are not yet married. I do not have a command from the Lord for them. But the Lord in his mercy has given me wisdom that can be trusted, and I will share it with you. 26Because of the present crisis,#7:26 Or the pressures of life. I think it is best to remain as you are. 27If you have a wife, do not seek to end the marriage. If you do not have a wife, do not seek to get married. 28But if you do get married, it is not a sin. And if a young woman gets married, it is not a sin. However, those who get married at this time will have troubles, and I am trying to spare you those problems.
29But let me say this, dear brothers and sisters: The time that remains is very short. So from now on, those with wives should not focus only on their marriage. 30Those who weep or who rejoice or who buy things should not be absorbed by their weeping or their joy or their possessions. 31Those who use the things of the world should not become attached to them. For this world as we know it will soon pass away.
32I want you to be free from the concerns of this life. An unmarried man can spend his time doing the Lord’s work and thinking how to please him. 33But a married man has to think about his earthly responsibilities and how to please his wife. 34His interests are divided. In the same way, a woman who is no longer married or has never been married can be devoted to the Lord and holy in body and in spirit. But a married woman has to think about her earthly responsibilities and how to please her husband. 35I am saying this for your benefit, not to place restrictions on you. I want you to do whatever will help you serve the Lord best, with as few distractions as possible.
36But if a man thinks that he’s treating his fiancée improperly and will inevitably give in to his passion, let him marry her as he wishes. It is not a sin. 37But if he has decided firmly not to marry and there is no urgency and he can control his passion, he does well not to marry. 38So the person who marries his fiancée does well, and the person who doesn’t marry does even better.
39A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. If her husband dies, she is free to marry anyone she wishes, but only if he loves the Lord.#7:39 Greek but only in the Lord. 40But in my opinion it would be better for her to stay single, and I think I am giving you counsel from God’s Spirit when I say this.
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1 Corinthians 7: NLT
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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1 Corinthians 7
7
1 Now concerning the things about which you wrote to me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman.
2 But, because of fornication, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband.
3 A husband should fulfill his obligation to his wife, and a wife should also act similarly toward her husband.
4 It is not the wife, but the husband, who has power over her body. But, similarly also, it is not the husband, but the wife, who has power over his body.
5 So, do not fail in your obligations to one another, except perhaps by consent, for a limited time, so that you may empty yourselves for prayer. And then, return together again, lest Satan tempt you by means of your abstinence.
6 But I am saying this, neither as an indulgence, nor as a commandment.
7 For I would prefer it if you were all like myself. But each person has his proper gift from God: one in this way, yet another in that way.
8 But I say to the unmarried and to widows: It is good for them, if they would remain as they are, just as I also am.
9 But if they cannot restrain themselves, they should marry. For it is better to marry, than to be burned.
10 But to those who have been joined in matrimony, it is not I who commands you, but the Lord: a wife is not to separate from her husband.
11 But if she has separated from him, she must remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband should not divorce his wife.
12 Concerning the rest, I am speaking, not the Lord. If any brother has an unbelieving wife, and she consents to live with him, he should not divorce her.
13 And if any woman has an unbelieving husband, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce her husband.
14 For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through the believing wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through the believing husband. Otherwise, your children would be unclean, whereas instead they are holy.
15 But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart. For a brother or sister cannot be made subject to servitude in this way. For God has called us to peace.
16 And how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?
17 However, let each one walk just as the Lord has distributed to him, each one just as God has called him. And thus do I teach in all the churches.
18 Has any circumcised man been called? Let him not cover his circumcision. Has any uncircumcised man been called? Let him not be circumcised.
19 Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing; there is only the observance of the commandments of God.
20 Let each and every one remain in the same calling to which he was called.
21 Are you a servant who has been called? Do not be concerned about it. But if you ever have the ability to be free, make use of it.
22 For any servant who has been called in the Lord is free in the Lord. Similarly, any free person who has been called is a servant in Christ.
23 You have been bought with a price. Do not be willing to become the servants of men.
24 Brothers, let each one, in whatever state he was called, remain in that state with God.
25 Now, concerning virgins, I have no commandment from the Lord. But I give counsel, as one who has obtained the mercy of the Lord, so as to be faithful.
26 Therefore, I consider this to be good, because of the present necessity: that it is good for a man to be such as I am.
27 Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be freed. Are you free of a wife? Do not seek a wife.
28 But if you take a wife, you have not sinned. And if a virgin has married, she has not sinned. Even so, such as these will have the tribulation of the flesh. But I would spare you from this.
29 And so, this is what I say, brothers: The time is short. What remains of it is such that: those who have wives should be as if they had none;
30 and those who weep, as though they were not weeping; and those who rejoice, as if they were not rejoicing; and those who buy, as if they possessed nothing;
31 and those who use the things of this world, as if they were not using them. For the figure of this world is passing away.
32 But I would prefer you to be without worry. Whoever is without a wife is worried about the things of the Lord, as to how he may please God.
33 But whoever is with a wife is worried about the things of the world, as to how he may please his wife. And so, he is divided.
34 And the unmarried woman and the virgin think about the things that are of the Lord, so that she may be holy in body and in spirit. But she who is married thinks about the things that are of the world, as to how she may please her husband.
35 Furthermore, I am saying this for your own benefit, not in order to cast a snare over you, but toward whatever is honest and whatever may provide you with the ability to be without hindrance, so as to worship the Lord.
36 But if any man considers himself to seem dishonorable, concerning a virgin who is of adult age, and so it ought to be, he may do as he wills. If he marries her, he does not sin.
37 But if he has decided firmly in his heart, and he does not have any obligation, but only the power of his free will, and if he has judged this in his heart, to let her remain a virgin, he does well.
38 And so, he who joins with his virgin in matrimony does well, and he who does not join with her does better.
39 A woman is bound under the law for as long as her husband lives. But if her husband has died, she is free. She may marry whomever she wishes, but only in the Lord.
40 But she will be more blessed, if she remains in this state, in accord with my counsel. And I think that I, too, have the Spirit of God.
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