PRINCIPLES OF MARRIAGE

7 Now in response to the matters you wroteH about: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.”I 2 But because sexual immorality is so common,J,ar each man should have sexual relations with his own wife,as and each woman should have sexual relations with her own husband. 3 A husband should fulfill his marital dutyat to his wife, and likewise a wife to her husband. 4 A wife does not have the right over her own body, but her husband does. In the same way, a husband does not have the right over his own body, but his wife does. 5 Do not depriveau one another—except when you agree for a time, to devote yourselves toK prayer. Then come together again; otherwise, Satan may tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6 I say this as a concession, not as a command. 7 I wish that all people were as I am. But each has his own giftav from God, one person has this gift, another has that.

A WORD TO THE UNMARRIED

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

ABOUT MARRIED PEOPLE

10 To the married I give this commandc—not I, but the Lord—a wife is not to leaveA her husband. 11 But if she does leave, she must remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband—and a husband is not to divorce his wife.d 12 But I (not the Lord) say to the rest: If any brothere has an unbelieving wife and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. 13 Also, if any woman has an unbelieving husband and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce her husband. 14 For the unbelieving husband is made holyf by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy by the husband.B Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is they are holy. 15 But if the unbeliever leaves, let him leave. A brother or a sister is not bound in such cases. God has called youC to live in peace. 16 Wife, for all you know, you might save your husband. Husband, for all you know, you might save your wife.D

VARIOUS SITUATIONS OF LIFE

17 Let each one live his life in the situation the Lord assigned when God calledg him.E This is what I command in all the churches. 18 Was anyone already circumcised when he was called? He should not undo his circumcision. Was anyone called while uncircumcised? He should not get circumcised. 19 Circumcision does not matter and uncircumcision does not matter. Keeping God’s commands is what matters. 20 Let each of you remain in the situationF in which he was called. 21 Were you called while a slave? Don’t let it concern you. But if you can become free, by all means take the opportunity.G 22 For he who is called by the Lord as a slaveh is the Lord’s freedman. Likewise he who is called as a free man is Christ’s slave. 23 You were boughti at a price; do not become slaves of people. 24 Brothers and sisters, each person is to remain with God in the situation in which he was called.

ABOUT THE UNMARRIED AND WIDOWS

25 Now about virgins:H I have no command from the Lord, but I do give an opinion as one who by the Lord’s mercyj is faithful.k 26 Because of the present distress, I think that it is good for a man to remain as he is. 27 Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be released. Are you released from a wife? Do not seek a wife. 28 However, if you do get married,l you have not sinned, and if a virginI marries, she has not sinned. But such people will have trouble in this life,J and I am trying to spare you.

29 This is what I mean, brothers and sisters: The time is limited,m so from now on those who have wives should be as though they had none, 30 those who weep as though they did not weep, those who rejoicen as though they did not rejoice, those who buy as though they didn’t own anything, 31 and 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.o

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

36 If any man thinks he is acting improperly toward the virgin he is engaged to, if she is getting beyond the usual age for marriage, and he feels he should marry—he can do what he wants. He is not sinning; they can get married. 37 But he who stands firm in his heart (who is under no compulsion, but has control over his own willr) and has decided in his heart to keep her as his fiancée, will do well. 38 So, then, he who marries his fiancée does well, but he who does not marry will do better. K

39 A wife is boundN as 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. 40 But she is happier if she remains as she is, in my opinion. And I think that I also have the Spirit of God.

FOOD OFFERED TO IDOLS

8 Now about food sacrificed to idols:a We know that “we all have knowledge.” Knowledge puffs up,b but lovec builds up. 2 If anyone thinks he knows anything, he does not yet know it as he ought to know it.d 3 But if anyone loves God,e he is knownf by him.

4 About eating food sacrificed to idols, then, we know that “an idol is nothing in the world,”A and that “there is no God but one.”g 5 For even if there are so-called gods,h whether in heaven or on earth—as there are many “gods” and many “lords”—6 yet for us there is one God, the Father.i All things are from him,j and we exist for him. And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ. All things are through him, and we exist through him.k

7 However, not everyone has this knowledge. Some have been so used to idolatry up until now that when they eat food sacrificed to an idol, their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8 Food will not bring us close to God.B We are not worse off if we don’t eat, and we are not better if we do eat.l 9 But be careful that this right of yours in no way becomes a stumbling blockm to the weak. 10 For if someone sees you, the one who has knowledge, dining in an idol’s temple, won’t his weak conscience be encouragedC to eat food offered to idols? 11 So the weak person, the brother or sister for whom Christ died,n is ruinedD,o by your knowledge.p 12 Now when you sin like this against brothers and sisters and wound their weak conscience, you are sinning against Christ. 13 Therefore, if food causes my brother or sister to fall, I will never again eat meat,q so that I won’t cause my brother or sister to fall.

PAUL’S EXAMPLE AS AN APOSTLE

9 Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? 2 If I am not an apostle to others, at least I am to you, because you are the sealr of my apostleship in the Lord.

3 My defense to those who examine me is this: 4 Don’t we have the right to eat and drink?s 5 Don’t we have the right to be accompanied by a believing wifeE like the other apostles,t the Lord’s brothers, and Cephas?u 6 Or do only Barnabasv and I have no right to refrain from working? 7 Who serves as a soldier at his own expense?w Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its fruit? Or who shepherds a flock and does not drink the milk from the flock?

8 Am I saying this from a human perspective? Doesn’t the law also say the same thing? 9 For it is written in the law of Moses, Do not muzzle an oxx while it treads out grain.F,y Is God really concerned about oxen? 10 Isn’t he really saying it for our sake? Yes, this is written for our sake,z because he who plows ought to plow in hope,aa and he who threshes should thresh in hope of sharing the crop.ab 11 If we have sown spiritual things for you, is it too much if we reap material benefits from you? 12 If others have this right to receive benefits from you, don’t we even more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right; instead, we endure everythingac so that we will not hinder the gospel of Christ.

13 Don’t you know that those who perform the temple services eat the food from the temple, and those who serve at the altarad share in the offerings of the altar? 14 In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should earn their living by the gospel.ae

15 For my part I have used none of these rights, nor have I written these things that they may be applied in my case. For it would be better for me to die than for anyone to deprive me of my boast! 16 For if I preach the gospel, I have no reason to boast, because I am compelled to preachG—and woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 17 For if I do this willingly, I have a reward, but if unwillingly, I am entrustedaf with a commission. 18 What then is my reward? To preach the gospel and offer it free of charge and not make full use of my rights in the gospel.ag

19 Although I am free from all and not anyone’s slave, I have made myself a slave to everyone, in order to winah more people. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win Jews; to those under the law, like one under the law—though I myself am not under the lawH—to win those under the law.ai 21 To those who are without the law,aj like one without the law—though I am not without God’s law but under the law of Christ—to win those without the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, in order to win the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that I may by every possible means save some.a 23 Now I do all this because of the gospel, so that I may share in the blessings.

24 Don’t you know that the runners in a stadium all race,b but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way to win the prize.c 25 Now everyone who competes exercises self-controld in everything. They do it to receive a perishable crown,e but we an imperishable crown. 26 So I do not run like one who runs aimlessly or box like one beating the air. 27 Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified.f