About Married People

10 I command the married(A)—not I, but the Lord—a wife is not to leave[a] her husband. 11 But if she does leave, she must remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband—and a husband is not to leave his wife.(B) 12 But I (not the Lord)[b] say to the rest: If any brother(C) has an unbelieving wife and she is willing to live with him, he must not leave her. 13 Also, if any woman has an unbelieving husband and he is willing to live with her, she must not leave her husband. 14 For the unbelieving husband is set apart for God(D) by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is set apart for God by the husband.[c] Otherwise your children would be corrupt, but now they are set apart for God. 15 But if the unbeliever leaves, let him leave. A brother or a sister is not bound in such cases. God has called you[d] to live in peace. 16 For you, wife, how do you know whether you will save your husband? Or you, husband, how do you know whether you will save your wife?

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Corinthians 7:10 Or separate from, or divorce
  2. 1 Corinthians 7:12 Jesus did not address the situation of a marriage in the Gentile world where only one person is a believer.
  3. 1 Corinthians 7:14 Lit the brother
  4. 1 Corinthians 7:15 Other mss read us

10 To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband.(A) 11 But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband.(B) And a husband must not divorce his wife.

12 To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord):(C) If any brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. 13 And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.(D)

15 But if the unbeliever leaves, let it be so. The brother or the sister is not bound in such circumstances; God has called us to live in peace.(E) 16 How do you know, wife, whether you will save(F) your husband?(G) Or, how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?

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