1 Corinthians 7–9
1 Now concerning the things about which you wrote, it is agood for a man not to touch a woman.
2 But because of immoralities, each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband.
3 The husband must 1fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise also the wife to her husband.
4 The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.
5 aStop depriving one another, except by agreement for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and 1come together again so that bSatan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.
6 But this I say by way of concession, anot of command.
7 1Yet I wish that all men were aeven as I myself am. However, beach man has his own gift from God, one in this manner, and another in that.
8 But I say to the unmarried and to widows that it is agood for them if they remain beven as I.
9 But if they do not have self-control, alet them marry; for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.
10 But to the married I give instructions, anot I, but the Lord, that the wife should not 1leave her husband
11 (but if she does leave, she must remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband should not 1divorce his wife.
12 But to the rest aI say, not the Lord, that if any brother has a wife who is an unbeliever, and she consents to live with him, he must not 1divorce her.
13 And a woman who has an unbelieving husband, and he consents to live with her, she must not 1send her husband away.
14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified through 1her believing husband; for otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are aholy.
15 Yet if the unbelieving one leaves, let him leave; the brother or the sister is not under bondage in such cases, but God has called 1us 2ato peace.
16 For how do you know, O wife, whether you will asave your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife?
17 Only, aas the Lord has assigned to each one, as God has called each, in this manner let him walk. And bso I direct in call the churches.
18 Was any man called when he was already circumcised? He is not to become uncircumcised. Has anyone been called in uncircumcision? aHe is not to be circumcised.
19 aCircumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but what matters is bthe keeping of the commandments of God.
20 aEach man must remain in that 1condition in which he was called.
21 Were you called while a slave? 1Do not worry about it; but if you are able also to become free, rather 2do that.
22 For he who was called in the Lord while a slave, is athe Lord’s freedman; likewise he who was called while free, is bChrist’s slave.
23 aYou were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men.
24 Brethren, aeach one is to remain with God in that condition in which he was called.
25 Now concerning virgins I have ano command of the Lord, but I give an opinion as one who 1bby the mercy of the Lord is trustworthy.
26 I think then that this is good in view of the 1present adistress, that bit is good for a man 2to remain as he is.
27 Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be released. Are you released from a wife? Do not seek a wife.
28 But if you marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Yet such will have 1trouble in this life, and I am trying to spare you.
29 But this I say, brethren, athe time has been shortened, so that from now on those who have wives should be as though they had none;
30 and those who weep, as though they did not weep; and those who rejoice, as though they did not rejoice; and those who buy, as though they did not possess;
31 and those who use the world, as though they did not amake full use of it; for bthe form of this world is passing away.
32 But I want you to be free from concern. One who is aunmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord;
33 but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife,
34 and his interests are divided. The woman who is unmarried, and the virgin, is concerned about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how she may please her husband.
35 This I say for your own benefit; not to put a restraint upon you, but 1to promote what is appropriate and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord.
36 But if any man thinks that he is acting unbecomingly toward his virgin daughter, if she is past her youth, and if it must be so, let him do what he wishes, he does not sin; let 1her marry.
37 But he who stands firm in his heart, 1being under no constraint, but has authority 2over his own will, and has decided this in his own heart, to keep his own virgin daughter, he will do well.
38 So then both he who gives his own virgin daughter in marriage does well, and he who does not give her in marriage will do better.
39 aA wife is bound as long as her husband lives; but if her husband 1is dead, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only bin the Lord.
40 But ain my opinion she is happier if she remains as she is; and I think that I also have the Spirit of God.
1 Now concerning athings sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have bknowledge. Knowledge 1cmakes arrogant, but love dedifies.
2 aIf anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet bknown as he ought to know;
3 but if anyone loves God, he ais known by Him.
4 Therefore concerning the eating of athings sacrificed to idols, we know that 1there is bno such thing as an idol in the world, and that cthere is no God but one.
5 For even if athere are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords,
6 yet for us athere is but one God, bthe Father, cfrom whom are all things and we exist for Him; and done Lord, Jesus Christ, eby whom are all things, and we exist through Him.
7 However not all men ahave this knowledge; but bsome, being accustomed to the idol until now, eat food as if it were sacrificed to an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled.
8 But afood will not 1commend us to God; we are neither 2the worse if we do not eat, nor 3the better if we do eat.
9 But atake care that this 1liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the bweak.
10 For if someone sees you, who have aknowledge, dining in an idol’s temple, will not his conscience, if he is weak, be strengthened to eat bthings sacrificed to idols?
11 For through ayour knowledge he who is weak bis ruined, the brother for whose sake Christ died.
12 aAnd so, by sinning against the brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin bagainst Christ.
13 Therefore, aif food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble.
1 Am I not afree? Am I not an bapostle? Have I not cseen Jesus our Lord? Are you not dmy work in the Lord?
2 If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you; for you are the aseal of my bapostleship in the Lord.
3 My defense to those who examine me is this:
4 1aDo we not have a right to eat and drink?
5 1aDo we not have a right to take along a 2believing wife, even as the rest of the apostles and the bbrothers of the Lord and cCephas?
6 Or do only 1aBarnabas and I not have a right to refrain from working?
7 Who at any time serves aas a soldier at his own expense? Who bplants a vineyard and does not eat the fruit of it? Or who tends a flock and does not 1use the milk of the flock?
8 I am not speaking these things aaccording to 1human judgment, am I? Or does not the Law also say these things?
9 For it is written in the Law of Moses, “aYou shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing.” God is not concerned about boxen, is He?
10 Or is He speaking altogether for our sake? Yes, afor our sake it was written, because bthe plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher to thresh in hope of sharing the crops.
11 aIf we sowed spiritual things in you, is it too much if we reap material things from you?
12 If others share the right over you, do we not more? Nevertheless, we adid not use this right, but we endure all things bso that we will cause no hindrance to the cgospel of Christ.
13 aDo you not know that those who bperform sacred services eat the food of the temple, and those who attend regularly to the altar have their share 1from the altar?
14 So also athe Lord directed those who proclaim the bgospel to cget their living from the gospel.
15 But I have aused none of these things. And I am not writing these things so that it will be done so in my case; for it would be better for me to die than have any man make bmy boast an empty one.
16 For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for aI am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach bthe gospel.
17 For if I do this voluntarily, I have a areward; but if against my will, I have a bstewardship entrusted to me.
18 What then is my areward? That, when I preach the gospel, I may offer the gospel bwithout charge, so as cnot to make full use of my right in the gospel.
19 For though I am afree from all men, I have made myself ba slave to all, so that I may cwin more.
20 aTo the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under 1the Law, as under 1the Law though bnot being myself under 1the Law, so that I might win those who are under 1the Law;
21 to those who are awithout law, bas without law, though not being without the law of God but cunder the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law.
22 To the aweak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become ball things to all men, cso that I may by all means save some.
23 I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it.
24 aDo you not know that those who run in…