Advice about Marriage

1 Now, concerning the things that you wrote about: It’s good for men not to get married. 2 But in order to avoid sexual sins, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband. 

3 Husbands and wives should satisfy each other’s ⸤sexual⸥ needs. 4 A wife doesn’t have authority over her own body, but her husband does. In the same way, a husband doesn’t have authority over his own body, but his wife does. 

5 Don’t withhold yourselves from each other unless you agree to do so for a set time to devote yourselves to prayer. Then you should get back together so that Satan doesn’t use your lack of self-control to tempt you. 6 What I have just said is not meant as a command but as a suggestion. 7 I would like everyone to be like me. However, each person has a special gift from God, and these gifts vary from person to person. 

8 I say to those who are not married, especially to widows: It is good for you to stay single like me. 9 However, if you cannot control your desires, you should get married. It is better for you to marry than to burn ⸤with sexual desire⸥. 

10 I pass this command along (not really I, but the Lord): A wife shouldn’t leave her husband. 11 If she does, she should stay single or make up with her husband. Likewise, a husband should not divorce his wife. 

12 I (not the Lord) say to the rest of you: If any Christian man is married to a woman who is an unbeliever, and she is willing to live with him, he should not divorce her. 13 If any Christian woman is married to a man who is an unbeliever, and he is willing to live with her, she should not divorce her husband. 14 Actually, the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and an unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise, their children would be unacceptable ⸤to God⸥, but now they are acceptable to him. 15 But if the unbelieving partners leave, let them go. Under these circumstances a Christian man or Christian woman is not bound ⸤by a marriage vow⸥. God has called you to live in peace. 16 How do you as a wife know whether you will save your husband? How do you as a husband know whether you will save your wife?