1 Corinthians 7:2–13

²But because there is so much immorality, every man should have his own wife, and every woman should have her own husband. ³A man should fulfil his duty as a husband, and a woman should fulfil her duty as a wife, and each should satisfy the other’s needs. ⁴A wife is not the master of her own body, but her husband is; in the same way a husband is not the master of his own body, but his wife is. ⁵Do not deny yourselves to each other, unless you first agree to do so for a while in order to spend your time in prayer; but then resume normal marital relations. In this way you will be kept from giving in to Satan’s temptation because of your lack of self-control. ⁶I tell you this not as an order, but simply as a concession. ⁷Actually I would prefer that all of you were as I am; but each one has a special gift from God, one person this gift, another one that gift.

⁸Now, to the unmarried and to the widows I say that it would be better for you to continue to live alone as I do. ⁹But if you cannot restrain your desires, go ahead and marry—it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

^10*For married people I have a command which is not my own but the Lord’s: a wife must not leave her husband; ^11*but if she does, she must remain single or else be reconciled to her husband; and a husband must not divorce his wife.

¹²To the others I say (I, myself, not the Lord): if a Christian man has a wife who is an unbeliever and she agrees to go on living with him, he must not divorce her. ¹³And if a Christian woman is married to a man who is an unbeliever and he agrees to go on living with her, she must not divorce him.