6 I say this as a concession, not as a command. 7 I wish that all of you were as I am. But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.

8 Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do. 9 But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

10 To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. 11 But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.

6 But I speak this by permission, and not of commandment. 7 For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that.

8 I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I. 9 But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn. 10 And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband: 11 But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.

6 I say this as a concession, not as a command. 7 But I wish everyone were single, just as I am. Yet each person has a special gift from God, of one kind or another.

8 So I say to those who aren’t married and to widows—it’s better to stay unmarried, just as I am. 9 But if they can’t control themselves, they should go ahead and marry. It’s better to marry than to burn with lust.

10 But for those who are married, I have a command that comes not from me, but from the Lord. A wife must not leave her husband. 11 But if she does leave him, let her remain single or else be reconciled to him. And the husband must not leave his wife.

6 But I say this as a concession, not as a commandment. 7 For I wish that all men were even as I myself. But each one has his own gift from God, one in this manner and another in that.

8 But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: It is good for them if they remain even as I am; 9 but if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

10 Now to the married I command, yet not I but the Lord: A wife is not to depart from her husband. 11 But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce his wife.

6 I say this to give you permission to stay away from sexual relations for a time. It is not a command to do so. 7 I wish that everyone were like me, but each person has his own gift from God. One has one gift, another has another gift.

8 Now for those who are not married and for the widows I say this: It is good for them to stay unmarried as I am. 9 But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry. It is better to marry than to burn with sexual desire.

10 Now I give this command for the married people. (The command is not from me; it is from the Lord.) A wife should not leave her husband. 11 But if she does leave, she must not marry again, or she should make up with her husband. Also the husband should not divorce his wife.

6 But this I say by way of concession, not of commandment. 7 Yet I would that all men were even as I myself. Howbeit each man hath his own gift from God, one after this manner, and another after that.

8 But I say to the unmarried and to widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I. 9 But if they have not continency, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn. 10 But unto the married I give charge, yea not I, but the Lord, That the wife depart not from her husband 11 (but should she depart, let her remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband); and that the husband leave not his wife.

6 But this I say, as consenting to, not as commanding it. 7 Now I wish all men to be even as myself: but every one has his own gift of God: one man thus, and another thus. 8 But I say to the unmarried and to the widows, It is good for them that they remain even as I. 9 But if they have not control over themselves, let them marry; for it is better to marry than to burn.

10 But to the married I enjoin, not I, but the Lord, Let not wife be separated from husband; 11 (but if also she shall have been separated, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband;) and let not husband leave wife.

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. 

6 I say the following as a concession, not as a command. 7 I wish that all people were just like me. But each has his own gift from God, one person in this way and another in that way.

8 I say to the unmarried and to widows: It is good for them if they remain as I am. 9 But if they do not have self-control, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with desire.

10 I command the married —not I, but the Lord—a wife is not to leave her husband. 11 But if she does leave, she must remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband—and a husband is not to leave his wife.

6 This I say by way of concession, not of command. 7 I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has a particular gift from God, one having one kind and another a different kind.

8 To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is well for them to remain unmarried as I am. 9 But if they are not practicing self-control, they should marry. For it is better to marry than to be aflame with passion.

10 To the married I give this command—not I but the Lord—that the wife should not separate from her husband 11 (but if she does separate, let her remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband should not divorce his wife.

6 But I say this as a concession, not as a command. 7 I wish all people could be like myself, but each one has his own gift from God, one in this way and another in that way.

8 Now I say to the unmarried and to the widows: It is good for them if they remain as I am. 9 But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with sexual desire.

10 To the married I command—not I, but the Lord—a wife must not separate from her husband. 11 But if indeed she does separate, she must remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.

6 I say those things to you as my advice, not as a command. 7 I wish all of you were like me. But you each have your own gift from God. One has this gift. Another has that.

8 I speak to those who are not married. I also speak to widows. It is good for you to stay single like me. 9 But if you can’t control yourselves, you should get married. It is better to get married than to burn with sexual longing.

10 I give a command to those who are married. It is a direct command from the Lord, not from me. A wife must not leave her husband. 11 But if she does, she must not get married again. Or she can go back to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.

6 But this I say by way of concession, not of command.

7 Yet I wish that all men were even as I myself am. However, each 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 good for them if they remain even as I.

9 But if they do not have self-control, let them marry; for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

10 But to the married I give instructions, not I, but the Lord, that the wife should not leave 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 divorce his wife.