1 Corinthians 7:1–9

Principles of Marriage

7Now concerning the things of which you wrote to me:

^aIt is good for a man not to touch a woman. ²Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband. ^3bLet the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband. ⁴The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. ^5cDo not deprive one another except with consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that ^dSatan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. ⁶But I say this as a concession, ^enot as a commandment. ⁷For ^fI 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.

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