⁵ Do not deprive each other except perhaps by mutual consent and for a time,^(A) so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan^(B) will not tempt you^(C) because of your lack of self-control. ⁶ I say this as a concession, not as a command.^{(D) 7} I wish that all of you were as I am.^(E) But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.^(F)

⁸ Now to the unmarried^[a] and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I do.^{(G) 9} But if they cannot control themselves, they should marry,^(H) for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

³² I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs^(A)—how he can please the Lord. ³³ But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world—how he can please his wife— ³⁴ and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit.^(B) But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband.