1 Corinthians 7
7
Questions about Marriage
1Now I will answer the questions you asked in your letter. You asked, “Is it best for people not to marry?”#7.1 people not to marry: Or “married couples not to have sex.” 2Well, having your own husband or wife should keep you from doing something immoral. 3Husbands and wives should be fair with each other about having sex. 4A wife belongs to her husband instead of to herself, and a husband belongs to his wife instead of to himself. 5So don't refuse sex to each other, unless you agree not to have sex for a little while, in order to spend time in prayer. Then Satan won't be able to tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6In my opinion that is what should be done, though I don't know of anything the Lord said about this matter. 7I wish all of you were like me, but God has given different gifts to each of us.
8My advice for the unmarried and for widows is that it is acceptable for them to remain single, just as I am. 9But if you don't have enough self-control, then go ahead and get married. After all, it is better to marry than to burn with desire.#7.9 with desire: Or “in the flames of hell.”
10 #
Mt 5.32; 19.9; Mk 10.11,12; Lk 16.18. I instruct married couples to stay together, and this is exactly what the Lord himself taught. A wife who leaves her husband 11should either stay single or go back to her husband. And a husband should not leave his wife.
12I don't know of anything else the Lord said about marriage. All I can do is to give you my own advice. If your wife isn't a follower of the Lord, but is willing to stay with you, don't divorce her. 13If your husband isn't a follower, but is willing to stay with you, don't divorce him. 14Your husband or wife who isn't a follower is made holy by having you as a partner. This also makes your children holy and keeps them from being unclean in God's sight.
15If your husband or wife isn't a follower of the Lord and decides to divorce you, then you should agree to it. You are no longer bound to that person. After all, God chose you and wants you to live at peace. 16And besides, how do you know if you will be able to save your husband or wife who isn't a follower?
Obeying the Lord at All Times
17In every church I tell the people to stay as they were when the Lord Jesus chose them and God called them to be his own. Now I say the same thing to you. 18#1 Macc 1.15. If you are already circumcised, don't try to change it. If you are not circumcised, don't get circumcised. 19Being circumcised or uncircumcised isn't really what matters. The important thing is to obey God's commands. 20So don't try to change what you were when God chose you. 21Are you a slave? Don't let that bother you. But if you can win your freedom, you should. 22When the Lord chooses slaves, they become his free people. And when he chooses free people, they become slaves of Christ. 23God paid a great price for you. So don't become slaves of anyone else. 24Stay what you were when God chose you.
Unmarried People
25I don't know of anything the Lord said about people who have never been married.#7.25 people who have never been married: Or “virgins.” But I will tell you what I think. And you can trust me, because the Lord has treated me with kindness. 26We are now going through hard times, and I think it is best for you to stay as you are. 27If you are married, stay married. If you are not married, don't try to get married. 28It isn't wrong to marry, even if you have never been married before. But those who marry will have a lot of trouble, and I want to protect you from this.
29My friends, what I mean is that the Lord will soon come,#7.29 the Lord will soon come: Or “there's not much time left” or “the time for decision comes quickly.” and it won't matter if you are married or not. 30It will be all the same if you are crying or laughing, or if you are buying or are completely broke. 31It won't make any difference how much good you are getting from this world or how much you like it. This world as we know it is now passing away.
32I want all of you to be free from worry. An unmarried man worries about how to please the Lord. 33But a married man has more worries. He must worry about the things of this world, because he wants to please his wife. 34So he is pulled in two directions. Unmarried women and women who have never been married#7.34 women who have never been married: Or “virgins.” worry only about pleasing the Lord, and they keep their bodies and minds pure. But a married woman worries about the things of this world, because she wants to please her husband. 35What I am saying is for your own good—it isn't to limit your freedom. I want to help you to live right and to love the Lord above all else.
36But suppose you are engaged to someone old enough to be married, and you want her so much that all you can think about is getting married. Then go ahead and marry.#7.36 But suppose you are engaged … go ahead and marry: Verses 36-38 may also be translated: 36 “If you feel that you are not treating your grown daughter right by keeping her from getting married, then let her marry. You won't be doing anything wrong. 37 But it is better to have self-control and make up your mind not to let your daughter get married. 38 It is all right for you to let her marry. But it is better if you don't let her marry at all.” There is nothing wrong with that. 37But it is better to have self-control and to make up your mind not to marry. 38It is perfectly all right to marry, but it is better not to get married at all.
39A wife should stay married to her husband until he dies. Then she is free to marry again, but only to a man who is a follower of the Lord. 40However, I think I am obeying God's Spirit when I say she would be happier to stay single.
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1 Corinthians 7: CEV
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
1 Corinthians (1 Co) 7
7
1Now to deal with the questions you wrote about: “Is it good for a man to keep away from women?” 2Well, because of the danger of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife and each woman her own husband. 3The husband should give his wife what she is entitled to in the marriage relationship, and the wife should do the same for her husband. 4The wife is not in charge of her own body, but her husband is; likewise, the husband is not in charge of his own body, but his wife is. 5Do not deprive each other, except for a limited time, by mutual agreement, and then only so as to have extra time for prayer; but afterwards, come together again. Otherwise, because of your lack of self-control, you may succumb to the Adversary’s temptation. 6I am giving you this as a suggestion, not as a command. 7Actually, I wish everyone were like me; but each has his own gift from God, one this, another that.
8Now to the single people and the widows I say that it is fine if they remain unmarried like me; 9but if they can’t exercise self-control, they should get married; because it is better to get married than to keep burning with sexual desire.
10To those who are married I have a command, and it is not from me but from the Lord: a woman is not to separate herself from her husband 11But if she does separate herself, she is to remain single or be reconciled with her husband. Also, a husband is not to leave his wife.
12To the rest I say — I, not the Lord: if any brother has a wife who is not a believer, and she is satisfied to go on living with him, he should not leave her. 13Also, if any woman has an unbelieving husband who is satisfied to go on living with her, she is not to leave him. 14For the unbelieving husband has been set aside for God by the wife, and the unbelieving wife has been set aside for God by the brother — otherwise your children would be “unclean,” but as it is, they are set aside for God. 15But if the unbelieving spouse separates himself, let him be separated. In circumstances like these, the brother or sister is not enslaved — God has called you to a life of peace. 16For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?
17Only let each person live the life the Lord has assigned him and live it in the condition he was in when God called him. This is the rule I lay down in all the congregations. 18Was someone already circumcised when he was called? Then he should not try to remove the marks of his circumcision. Was someone uncircumcised when he was called? He shouldn’t undergo b’rit-milah. 19Being circumcised means nothing, and being uncircumcised means nothing; what does mean something is keeping God’s commandments. 20Each person should remain in the condition he was in when he was called.
21Were you a slave when you were called? Well, don’t let it bother you; although if you can gain your freedom, take advantage of the opportunity. 22For a person who was a slave when he was called is the Lord’s freedman; likewise, someone who was a free man when he was called is a slave of the Messiah. 23You were bought at a price, so do not become slaves of other human beings. 24Brothers, let each one remain with God in the condition in which he was called.
25Now the question about the unmarried: I do not have a command from the Lord, but I offer an opinion as one who by the Lord’s mercy is worthy to be trusted. 26I suppose that in a time of stress like the present it is good for a person to stay as he is. 27That means that if a man has a wife, he should not seek to be free of her; and if he is unmarried, he should not look for a wife. 28But if you marry you do not sin, and if a girl marries she does not sin. It is just that those who get married will have the normal problems of married life, and I would rather spare you. 29What I am saying, brothers, is that there is not much time left: from now on a man with a wife should live as if he had none — 30and those who are sad should live as if they weren’t, those who are happy as if they weren’t, 31and those who deal in worldly affairs as if not engrossed in them — because the present scheme of things in this world won’t last much longer. 32What I want is for you to be free of concern. An unmarried man concerns himself with the Lord’s affairs, 33with how to please the Lord; but the married man concerns himself with the world’s affairs, with how to please his wife; 34and he finds himself split. Likewise the woman who is no longer married or the girl who has never been married concerns herself with the Lord’s affairs, with how to be holy both physically and spiritually; but the married woman concerns herself with the world’s affairs, with how to please her husband. 35I am telling you this for your own benefit, not to put restrictions on you — I am simply concerned that you live in a proper manner and serve the Lord with undivided devotion.
36Now if a man thinks he is behaving dishonorably by treating his fiancée this way, and if there is strong sexual desire, so that marriage is what ought to happen; then let him do what he wants — he is not sinning: let them get married. 37But if a man has firmly made up his mind, being under no compulsion but having complete control over his will, if he has decided within himself to keep his fiancée a virgin, he will be doing well. 38So the man who marries his fiancée will do well, and the man who doesn’t marry will do better.
39A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives, but if the husband dies she is free to marry anyone she wishes, provided he is a believer in the Lord. 40However, in my opinion, she will be happier if she remains unmarried, and in saying this I think I have God’s Spirit.
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