of whether to marry is presented as the man’s unilateral decision. This is one place where the careful symmetry of his treatment breaks down.) Many of the traditional complications for interpreting this passage are created when 7:2 is misread as a command from Paul to the unmarried, because his advice there would then seem to contradict what he says in verses 26–27 and 36–38. When verses 1–7 are understood as directed to married couples, as in the commentary above, the difficulty is resolved. We