1 Corinthians 7–8

Chapter 7

Teaching on Marriage

¹Now concerning the things about which you wrote, it is ^agood for a man not to touch a woman.

²But because of immoralities, each man is to have his own wife, and each woman is to have her own husband.

³The husband must ¹fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise also the wife to her husband.

⁴The 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.

^5aStop 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.

⁶But this I say by way of concession, ^anot of command.

⁷¹Yet 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.

⁸But I say to the unmarried and to widows that it is ^agood for them if they remain ^beven as I.

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

¹⁰But 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.

¹²But 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.

¹³And a woman who has an unbelieving husband, and he consents to live with her, she must not ¹send her husband away.

¹⁴For 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.

¹⁵Yet 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.

¹⁶For 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?

¹⁷Only, ^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.

¹⁸Was 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.

^19aCircumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but what matters is ^bthe keeping of the commandments of God.

^20aEach man must remain in that ¹condition in which he was called.

²¹Were you called while a slave? ¹Do not worry about it; but if you are able also to become free, rather ²do that.

²²For 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.

^23aYou were bought with a price; do not become slaves of men.

²⁴Brethren, ^aeach one is to remain with God in that condition in which he was called.

²⁵Now 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.

²⁶I think then that this is good in view of the ¹present ^adistress, that ^bit is good for a man ²to remain as he is.

²⁷Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be released. Are you released from a wife? Do not seek a wife.

²⁸But 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.

²⁹But 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;

³⁰and 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;

³¹and those who use the world, as though they did not ^amake full use of it; for ^bthe form of this world is passing away.

³²But 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;

³³but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife,

³⁴and 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.

³⁵This 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.

³⁶But 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.

³⁷But 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.

³⁸So 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.

^39aA 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.

⁴⁰But ^ain my opinion she is happier if she remains as she is; and I think that I also have the Spirit of God.

Chapter 8

Take Care with Your Liberty

¹Now concerning ^athings sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have ^bknowledge. Knowledge ^1cmakes arrogant, but love ^dedifies.

^2aIf anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet ^bknown as he ought to know;

³but if anyone loves God, he ^ais known by Him.

⁴Therefore 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.

⁵For even if ^athere are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords,

⁶yet 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.

⁷However 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.

⁸But ^afood will not ¹commend us to God; we are neither ²the worse if we do not eat, nor ³the better if we do eat.

⁹But ^atake care that this ¹liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the ^bweak.

¹⁰For 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?

¹¹For through ^ayour knowledge he who is weak ^bis ruined, the brother for whose sake Christ died.

^12aAnd so, by sinning against the brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin ^bagainst Christ.

¹³Therefore, ^aif food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble.