1 Corinthians 7:7–40

⁷I wish that all people were just like me. But each has his own gift ^wfrom God, one person in this way and another in that way.

A Word to the Unmarried

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

About Married People

¹⁰I command the married ^a—not I, but the Lord—a wife is not to leave ^bher husband. ¹¹But if she does leave, she must remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband—and a husband is not to leave his wife. ^c12But I (not the Lord) ^dsay to the rest: If any brother ^ehas an unbelieving wife and she is willing to live with him, he must not leave her. ¹³Also, if any woman has an unbelieving husband and he is willing to live with her, she must not leave her husband. ¹⁴For the unbelieving husband is set apart for God ^fby the wife, and the unbelieving wife is set apart for God by the husband. ^gOtherwise your children would be corrupt, but now they are set apart for God. ¹⁵But if the unbeliever leaves, let him leave. A brother or a sister is not bound in such cases. God has called you ^hto live in peace. ¹⁶For you, wife, how do you know whether you will save your husband? Or you, husband, how do you know whether you will save your wife?

Various Situations of Life

¹⁷However, each one must live his life in the situation the Lord assigned when God called ⁱhim. ^jThis is what I command in all the churches. ¹⁸Was anyone already circumcised when he was called? He should not undo his circumcision. Was anyone called while uncircumcised? He should not get circumcised. ¹⁹Circumcision does not matter and uncircumcision does not matter, but keeping God’s commands does. ²⁰Each person should remain in the life situation ^kin which he was called. ²¹Were you called while a slave? It should not be a concern to you. But if you can become free, by all means take the opportunity. ^l22For he who is called by the Lord as a slave ^mis the Lord’s freedman. ⁿLikewise he who is called as a free man ^ois Christ’s slave. ²³You were bought ^pat a price; do not become slaves of men. ²⁴Brothers, each person should remain with God in whatever situation he was called.

About the Unmarried and Widows

²⁵About virgins: I have no command from the Lord, but I do give an opinion as one who by the Lord’s mercy ^qis trustworthy. ^r26Therefore I consider this to be good because of the present distress: It is fine for a man to remain as he is. ²⁷Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be loosed. Are you loosed from a wife? Do not seek a wife. ²⁸However, if you do get married, ^syou have not sinned, and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But such people will have trouble in this life, ^tand I am trying to spare you. ²⁹And I say this, brothers: The time is limited, ^uso from now on those who have wives should be as though they had none, ³⁰those who weep as though they did not weep, those who rejoice ^vas though they did not rejoice, those who buy as though they did not possess, ³¹and those who use the world as though they did not make full use of it. For this world in its current form is passing away. ^w

³²I want you to be without concerns. An unmarried man is concerned about the things of the Lord—how he may please ^xthe Lord. ³³But a married man is concerned about the things of the world—how he may please his wife— ³⁴and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or a virgin is concerned about the things of the Lord, ^yso that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the things of the world—how she may please her husband. ³⁵Now I am saying this for your own benefit, not to put a restraint on you, but because of what is proper and so that you may be devoted to the Lord without distraction.

³⁶But if any man thinks he is acting improperly toward his virgin, ^zif she is past marriageable age, ^aand so it must be, he can do what he wants. He is not sinning; they can get married. ³⁷But he who stands firm in his heart (who is under no compulsion, but has control over his own will ^b) and has decided in his heart to keep his own virgin, will do well. ³⁸So then he who marries ^chis virgin does well, but he who does not marry ^dwill do better.

³⁹A wife is bound ^eas long as her husband is living. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to anyone she wants—only in the Lord. ^f40But she is happier if she remains as she is, in my opinion. And I think that I also have the Spirit of God.