Joshua 12-14
King James Version
12 Now these are the kings of the land, which the children of Israel smote, and possessed their land on the other side Jordan toward the rising of the sun, from the river Arnon unto mount Hermon, and all the plain on the east:
2 Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon, and ruled from Aroer, which is upon the bank of the river Arnon, and from the middle of the river, and from half Gilead, even unto the river Jabbok, which is the border of the children of Ammon;
3 And from the plain to the sea of Chinneroth on the east, and unto the sea of the plain, even the salt sea on the east, the way to Bethjeshimoth; and from the south, under Ashdothpisgah:
4 And the coast of Og king of Bashan, which was of the remnant of the giants, that dwelt at Ashtaroth and at Edrei,
5 And reigned in mount Hermon, and in Salcah, and in all Bashan, unto the border of the Geshurites and the Maachathites, and half Gilead, the border of Sihon king of Heshbon.
6 Them did Moses the servant of the Lord and the children of Israel smite: and Moses the servant of the Lord gave it for a possession unto the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh.
7 And these are the kings of the country which Joshua and the children of Israel smote on this side Jordan on the west, from Baalgad in the valley of Lebanon even unto the mount Halak, that goeth up to Seir; which Joshua gave unto the tribes of Israel for a possession according to their divisions;
8 In the mountains, and in the valleys, and in the plains, and in the springs, and in the wilderness, and in the south country; the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites:
9 The king of Jericho, one; the king of Ai, which is beside Bethel, one;
10 The king of Jerusalem, one; the king of Hebron, one;
11 The king of Jarmuth, one; the king of Lachish, one;
12 The king of Eglon, one; the king of Gezer, one;
13 The king of Debir, one; the king of Geder, one;
14 The king of Hormah, one; the king of Arad, one;
15 The king of Libnah, one; the king of Adullam, one;
16 The king of Makkedah, one; the king of Bethel, one;
17 The king of Tappuah, one; the king of Hepher, one;
18 The king of Aphek, one; the king of Lasharon, one;
19 The king of Madon, one; the king of Hazor, one;
20 The king of Shimronmeron, one; the king of Achshaph, one;
21 The king of Taanach, one; the king of Megiddo, one;
22 The king of Kedesh, one; the king of Jokneam of Carmel, one;
23 The king of Dor in the coast of Dor, one; the king of the nations of Gilgal, one;
24 The king of Tirzah, one: all the kings thirty and one.
13 Now Joshua was old and stricken in years; and the Lord said unto him, Thou art old and stricken in years, and there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed.
2 This is the land that yet remaineth: all the borders of the Philistines, and all Geshuri,
3 From Sihor, which is before Egypt, even unto the borders of Ekron northward, which is counted to the Canaanite: five lords of the Philistines; the Gazathites, and the Ashdothites, the Eshkalonites, the Gittites, and the Ekronites; also the Avites:
4 From the south, all the land of the Canaanites, and Mearah that is beside the Sidonians unto Aphek, to the borders of the Amorites:
5 And the land of the Giblites, and all Lebanon, toward the sunrising, from Baalgad under mount Hermon unto the entering into Hamath.
6 All the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon unto Misrephothmaim, and all the Sidonians, them will I drive out from before the children of Israel: only divide thou it by lot unto the Israelites for an inheritance, as I have commanded thee.
7 Now therefore divide this land for an inheritance unto the nine tribes, and the half tribe of Manasseh,
8 With whom the Reubenites and the Gadites have received their inheritance, which Moses gave them, beyond Jordan eastward, even as Moses the servant of the Lord gave them;
9 From Aroer, that is upon the bank of the river Arnon, and the city that is in the midst of the river, and all the plain of Medeba unto Dibon;
10 And all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites, which reigned in Heshbon, unto the border of the children of Ammon;
11 And Gilead, and the border of the Geshurites and Maachathites, and all mount Hermon, and all Bashan unto Salcah;
12 All the kingdom of Og in Bashan, which reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei, who remained of the remnant of the giants: for these did Moses smite, and cast them out.
13 Nevertheless the children of Israel expelled not the Geshurites, nor the Maachathites: but the Geshurites and the Maachathites dwell among the Israelites until this day.
14 Only unto the tribes of Levi he gave none inheritance; the sacrifices of the Lord God of Israel made by fire are their inheritance, as he said unto them.
15 And Moses gave unto the tribe of the children of Reuben inheritance according to their families.
16 And their coast was from Aroer, that is on the bank of the river Arnon, and the city that is in the midst of the river, and all the plain by Medeba;
17 Heshbon, and all her cities that are in the plain; Dibon, and Bamothbaal, and Bethbaalmeon,
18 And Jahaza, and Kedemoth, and Mephaath,
19 And Kirjathaim, and Sibmah, and Zarethshahar in the mount of the valley,
20 And Bethpeor, and Ashdothpisgah, and Bethjeshimoth,
21 And all the cities of the plain, and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, which reigned in Heshbon, whom Moses smote with the princes of Midian, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, which were dukes of Sihon, dwelling in the country.
22 Balaam also the son of Beor, the soothsayer, did the children of Israel slay with the sword among them that were slain by them.
23 And the border of the children of Reuben was Jordan, and the border thereof. This was the inheritance of the children of Reuben after their families, the cities and the villages thereof.
24 And Moses gave inheritance unto the tribe of Gad, even unto the children of Gad according to their families.
25 And their coast was Jazer, and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the children of Ammon, unto Aroer that is before Rabbah;
26 And from Heshbon unto Ramathmizpeh, and Betonim; and from Mahanaim unto the border of Debir;
27 And in the valley, Betharam, and Bethnimrah, and Succoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon, Jordan and his border, even unto the edge of the sea of Chinnereth on the other side Jordan eastward.
28 This is the inheritance of the children of Gad after their families, the cities, and their villages.
29 And Moses gave inheritance unto the half tribe of Manasseh: and this was the possession of the half tribe of the children of Manasseh by their families.
30 And their coast was from Mahanaim, all Bashan, all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, and all the towns of Jair, which are in Bashan, threescore cities:
31 And half Gilead, and Ashtaroth, and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan, were pertaining unto the children of Machir the son of Manasseh, even to the one half of the children of Machir by their families.
32 These are the countries which Moses did distribute for inheritance in the plains of Moab, on the other side Jordan, by Jericho, eastward.
33 But unto the tribe of Levi Moses gave not any inheritance: the Lord God of Israel was their inheritance, as he said unto them.
14 And these are the countries which the children of Israel inherited in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel, distributed for inheritance to them.
2 By lot was their inheritance, as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses, for the nine tribes, and for the half tribe.
3 For Moses had given the inheritance of two tribes and an half tribe on the other side Jordan: but unto the Levites he gave none inheritance among them.
4 For the children of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim: therefore they gave no part unto the Levites in the land, save cities to dwell in, with their suburbs for their cattle and for their substance.
5 As the Lord commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did, and they divided the land.
6 Then the children of Judah came unto Joshua in Gilgal: and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite said unto him, Thou knowest the thing that the Lord said unto Moses the man of God concerning me and thee in Kadeshbarnea.
7 Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadeshbarnea to espy out the land; and I brought him word again as it was in mine heart.
8 Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the people melt: but I wholly followed the Lord my God.
9 And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children's for ever, because thou hast wholly followed the Lord my God.
10 And now, behold, the Lord hath kept me alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since the Lord spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old.
11 As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in.
12 Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the Lord spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the Lord will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the Lord said.
13 And Joshua blessed him, and gave unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh Hebron for an inheritance.
14 Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite unto this day, because that he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel.
15 And the name of Hebron before was Kirjatharba; which Arba was a great man among the Anakims. And the land had rest from war.
Joshua 12-14
New King James Version
The Kings Conquered by Moses(A)
12 These are the kings of the land whom the children of Israel defeated, and whose land they possessed on the other side of the Jordan toward the rising of the sun, (B)from the River Arnon (C)to Mount Hermon, and all the eastern Jordan plain: 2 One king was (D)Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon and ruled half of Gilead, from Aroer, which is on the bank of the River Arnon, from the middle of that river, even as far as the River Jabbok, which is the border of the Ammonites, 3 and (E)the eastern Jordan plain from the [a]Sea of Chinneroth as far as the [b]Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea), (F)the road to Beth Jeshimoth, and [c]southward below (G)the[d] slopes of Pisgah. 4 The other king was (H)Og king of Bashan and his territory, who was of (I)the remnant of the giants, (J)who dwelt at Ashtaroth and at Edrei, 5 and reigned over (K)Mount Hermon, (L)over Salcah, over all Bashan, (M)as far as the border of the Geshurites and the Maachathites, and over half of Gilead to the border of Sihon king of Heshbon.
6 (N)These Moses the servant of the Lord and the children of Israel had conquered; and (O)Moses the servant of the Lord had given it as a possession to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh.
The Kings Conquered by Joshua
7 And these are the kings of the country (P)which Joshua and the children of Israel conquered on this side of the Jordan, on the west, from Baal Gad in the Valley of Lebanon as far as [e]Mount Halak and the ascent to (Q)Seir, which Joshua (R)gave to the tribes of Israel as a possession according to their divisions, 8 (S)in the mountain country, in the lowlands, in the Jordan plain, in the slopes, in the wilderness, and in the South—(T)the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: 9 (U)the king of Jericho, one; (V)the king of Ai, which is beside Bethel, one; 10 (W)the king of Jerusalem, one; the king of Hebron, one; 11 the king of Jarmuth, one; the king of Lachish, one; 12 the king of Eglon, one; (X)the king of Gezer, one; 13 (Y)the king of Debir, one; the king of Geder, one; 14 the king of Hormah, one; the king of Arad, one; 15 (Z)the king of Libnah, one; the king of Adullam, one; 16 (AA)the king of Makkedah, one; (AB)the king of Bethel, one; 17 the king of Tappuah, one; (AC)the king of Hepher, one; 18 the king of Aphek, one; the king of [f]Lasharon, one; 19 the king of Madon, one; (AD)the king of Hazor, one; 20 the king of (AE)Shimron Meron, one; the king of Achshaph, one; 21 the king of Taanach, one; the king of Megiddo, one; 22 (AF)the king of Kedesh, one; the king of Jokneam in Carmel, one; 23 the king of Dor in the (AG)heights of Dor, one; the king of (AH)the people of Gilgal, one; 24 the king of Tirzah, one—(AI)all the kings, thirty-one.
Remaining Land to Be Conquered
13 Now Joshua (AJ)was old, advanced in years. And the Lord said to him: “You are old, advanced in years, and there remains very much land yet to be possessed. 2 (AK)This is the land that yet remains: (AL)all the territory of the Philistines and all (AM)that of the Geshurites, 3 (AN)from Sihor, which is east of Egypt, as far as the border of Ekron northward (which is counted as Canaanite); the (AO)five lords of the Philistines—the Gazites, the Ashdodites, the Ashkelonites, the Gittites, and the Ekronites; also (AP)the Avites; 4 from the south, all the land of the Canaanites, and Mearah that belongs to the Sidonians (AQ)as far as Aphek, to the border of (AR)the Amorites; 5 the land of (AS)the [g]Gebalites, and all Lebanon, toward the sunrise, (AT)from Baal Gad below Mount Hermon as far as the entrance to Hamath; 6 all the inhabitants of the mountains from Lebanon as far as (AU)the [h]Brook Misrephoth, and all the Sidonians—them (AV)I will drive out from before the children of Israel; only (AW)divide[i] it by lot to Israel as an inheritance, as I have commanded you. 7 Now therefore, divide this land as an inheritance to the nine tribes and half the tribe of Manasseh.”
The Land Divided East of the Jordan
8 With the other half-tribe the Reubenites and the Gadites received their inheritance, (AX)which Moses had given them, (AY)beyond the Jordan eastward, as Moses the servant of the Lord had given them: 9 from Aroer which is on the bank of the River Arnon, and the town that is in the midst of the ravine, (AZ)and all the plain of Medeba as far as Dibon; 10 (BA)all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, as far as the border of the children of Ammon; 11 (BB)Gilead, and the border of the Geshurites and Maachathites, all Mount Hermon, and all Bashan as far as Salcah; 12 all the kingdom of Og in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and Edrei, who remained of (BC)the remnant of the giants; (BD)for Moses had [j]defeated and [k]cast out these.
13 Nevertheless the children of Israel (BE)did not drive out the Geshurites or the Maachathites, but the Geshurites and the Maachathites dwell among the Israelites until this day.
14 (BF)Only to the tribe of Levi he had given [l]no inheritance; the sacrifices of the Lord God of Israel made by fire are their inheritance, (BG)as He said to them.
The Land of Reuben
15 (BH)And Moses had given to the tribe of the children of Reuben an inheritance according to their families. 16 Their territory was (BI)from Aroer, which is on the bank of the River Arnon, (BJ)and the city that is in the midst of the ravine, (BK)and all the plain by Medeba; 17 (BL)Heshbon and all its cities that are in the plain: Dibon, Bamoth Baal, Beth Baal Meon, 18 (BM)Jahaza, Kedemoth, Mephaath, 19 (BN)Kirjathaim, (BO)Sibmah, Zereth Shahar on the mountain of the valley, 20 Beth Peor, (BP)the slopes of Pisgah, and Beth Jeshimoth— 21 (BQ)all the cities of the plain and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, (BR)whom Moses had struck (BS)with the princes of Midian: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, who were princes of Sihon dwelling in the country. 22 The children of Israel also killed with the sword (BT)Balaam the son of Beor, the [m]soothsayer, among those who were killed by them. 23 And the border of the children of Reuben was the bank of the Jordan. This was the inheritance of the children of Reuben according to their families, the cities and their villages.
The Land of Gad
24 (BU)Moses also had given an inheritance to the tribe of Gad, to the children of Gad according to their families. 25 (BV)Their territory was Jazer, and all the cities of Gilead, (BW)and half the land of the Ammonites as far as Aroer, which is before (BX)Rabbah, 26 and from Heshbon to Ramath Mizpah and Betonim, and from Mahanaim to the border of Debir, 27 and in the valley (BY)Beth Haram, Beth Nimrah, (BZ)Succoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon, with the Jordan as its border, as far as the edge (CA)of the [n]Sea of Chinnereth, on the other side of the Jordan eastward. 28 This is the inheritance of the children of Gad according to their families, the cities and their villages.
Half the Tribe of Manasseh (East)
29 (CB)Moses also had given an inheritance to half the tribe of Manasseh; it was for half the tribe of the children of Manasseh according to their families: 30 Their territory was from Mahanaim, all Bashan, all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, and (CC)all the towns of Jair which are in Bashan, sixty cities; 31 half of Gilead, and (CD)Ashtaroth and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan, were for the (CE)children of Machir the son of Manasseh, for half of the children of Machir according to their families.
32 These are the areas which Moses had [o]distributed as an inheritance in the plains of Moab on the other side of the Jordan, by Jericho eastward. 33 (CF)But to the tribe of Levi Moses had given no inheritance; the Lord God of Israel was their inheritance, (CG)as He had said to them.
The Land Divided West of the Jordan
14 These are the areas which the children of Israel inherited in the land of Canaan, (CH)which Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel distributed as an inheritance to them. 2 Their inheritance was (CI)by lot, as the Lord had commanded by the hand of Moses, for the nine tribes and the half-tribe. 3 (CJ)For Moses had given the inheritance of the two tribes and the half-tribe on the other side of the Jordan; but to the Levites he had given no inheritance among them. 4 For (CK)the children of Joseph were two tribes: Manasseh and Ephraim. And they gave no part to the Levites in the land, except (CL)cities to dwell in, with their common-lands for their livestock and their property. 5 (CM)As the Lord had commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did; and they divided the land.
Caleb Inherits Hebron
6 Then the children of Judah came to Joshua in Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the (CN)Kenizzite said to him: “You know (CO)the word which the Lord said to Moses the man of God concerning (CP)you and me in Kadesh Barnea. 7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord (CQ)sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land, and I brought back word to him as it was in my heart. 8 Nevertheless (CR)my brethren who went up with me made the [p]heart of the people melt, but I wholly (CS)followed the Lord my God. 9 So Moses swore on that day, saying, (CT)‘Surely the land (CU)where your foot has trodden shall be your inheritance and your children’s forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God.’ 10 And now, behold, the Lord has kept me (CV)alive, (CW)as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel [q]wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old. 11 (CX)As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both (CY)for going out and for coming in. 12 Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how (CZ)the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. (DA)It may be that the Lord will be with me, and (DB)I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said.”
13 And Joshua (DC)blessed him, (DD)and gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneh as an inheritance. 14 (DE)Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite to this day, because he (DF)wholly followed the Lord God of Israel. 15 And (DG)the name of Hebron formerly was Kirjath Arba (Arba was the greatest man among the Anakim).
(DH)Then the land had rest from war.
Footnotes
- Joshua 12:3 Sea of Galilee
- Joshua 12:3 Lit. Sea of the Plain, the Dead Sea
- Joshua 12:3 Or Teman
- Joshua 12:3 Or Ashdoth Pisgah
- Joshua 12:7 Lit. The Bald Mountain
- Joshua 12:18 Or Sharon
- Joshua 13:5 Or Giblites
- Joshua 13:6 Heb. Misrephoth Maim, lit. Burnings of Water
- Joshua 13:6 apportion
- Joshua 13:12 Lit. struck
- Joshua 13:12 dispossessed
- Joshua 13:14 no land as a possession
- Joshua 13:22 diviner
- Joshua 13:27 Sea of Galilee
- Joshua 13:32 apportioned
- Joshua 14:8 courage of the people fail
- Joshua 14:10 Lit. walked
1 Corinthians 7
King James Version
7 Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman.
2 Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.
3 Let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence: and likewise also the wife unto the husband.
4 The wife hath not power of her own body, but the husband: and likewise also the husband hath not power of his own body, but the wife.
5 Defraud ye not one the other, except it be with consent for a time, that ye may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again, that Satan tempt you not for your incontinency.
6 But I speak this by permission, and not of commandment.
7 For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that.
8 I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, it is good for them if they abide even as I.
9 But if they cannot contain, let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn.
10 And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband:
11 But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife.
12 But to the rest speak I, not the Lord: If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away.
13 And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him.
14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy.
15 But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace.
16 For what knowest thou, O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou shalt save thy wife?
17 But as God hath distributed to every man, as the Lord hath called every one, so let him walk. And so ordain I in all churches.
18 Is any man called being circumcised? let him not become uncircumcised. Is any called in uncircumcision? let him not be circumcised.
19 Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God.
20 Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called.
21 Art thou called being a servant? care not for it: but if thou mayest be made free, use it rather.
22 For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ's servant.
23 Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.
24 Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God.
25 Now concerning virgins I have no commandment of the Lord: yet I give my judgment, as one that hath obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful.
26 I suppose therefore that this is good for the present distress, I say, that it is good for a man so to be.
27 Art thou bound unto a wife? seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? seek not a wife.
28 But and if thou marry, thou hast not sinned; and if a virgin marry, she hath not sinned. Nevertheless such shall have trouble in the flesh: but I spare you.
29 But this I say, brethren, the time is short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none;
30 And they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not;
31 And they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away.
32 But I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord:
33 But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please his wife.
34 There is difference also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please her husband.
35 And this I speak for your own profit; not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is comely, and that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction.
36 But if any man think that he behaveth himself uncomely toward his virgin, if she pass the flower of her age, and need so require, let him do what he will, he sinneth not: let them marry.
37 Nevertheless he that standeth stedfast in his heart, having no necessity, but hath power over his own will, and hath so decreed in his heart that he will keep his virgin, doeth well.
38 So then he that giveth her in marriage doeth well; but he that giveth her not in marriage doeth better.
39 The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth; but if her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord.
40 But she is happier if she so abide, after my judgment: and I think also that I have the Spirit of God.
1 Corinthians 7
New King James Version
Principles of Marriage
7 Now concerning the things of which you wrote to me:
(A)It is good for a man not to touch a woman. 2 Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband. 3 (B)Let the husband render to his wife the affection due her, and likewise also the wife to her husband. 4 The 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. 5 (C)Do 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 (D)Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 6 But I say this as a concession, (E)not as a commandment. 7 For (F)I 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.
8 But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: (G)It is good for them if they remain even as I am; 9 but (H)if they cannot exercise self-control, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.
Keep Your Marriage Vows
10 Now to the married I command, yet not I but the (I)Lord: (J)A wife is not to depart from her husband. 11 But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce his wife.
12 But to the rest I, not the Lord, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. 13 And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise (K)your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. 15 But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases. But God has called us (L)to peace. 16 For how do you know, O wife, whether you will (M)save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife?
Live as You Are Called
17 But as God has distributed to each one, as the Lord has called each one, so let him walk. And (N)so I [a]ordain in all the churches. 18 Was anyone called while circumcised? Let him not become uncircumcised. Was anyone called while uncircumcised? (O)Let him not be circumcised. 19 (P)Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but (Q)keeping the commandments of God is what matters. 20 Let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called. 21 Were you called while a slave? Do not be concerned about it; but if you can be made free, rather use it. 22 For he who is called in the Lord while a slave is (R)the Lord’s freedman. Likewise he who is called while free is (S)Christ’s slave. 23 (T)You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. 24 Brethren, let each one remain with (U)God in that state in which he was called.
To the Unmarried and Widows
25 Now concerning virgins: (V)I have no commandment from the Lord; yet I give judgment as one (W)whom the Lord in His mercy has made (X)trustworthy. 26 I suppose therefore that this is good because of the present distress—(Y)that it is good for a man to remain as he is: 27 Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be loosed. Are you loosed from a wife? Do not seek a wife. 28 But even if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Nevertheless such will have trouble in the flesh, but I would spare you.
29 But (Z)this I say, brethren, the time is short, so that from now on even those who have wives should be as though they had none, 30 those who weep as though they did not weep, those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice, those who buy as though they did not possess, 31 and those who use this world as not (AA)misusing it. For (AB)the form of this world is passing away.
32 But I want you to be without [b]care. (AC)He who is unmarried [c]cares for the things of the Lord—how he may please the Lord. 33 But he who is married cares about the things of the world—how he may please his wife. 34 There is a difference between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman (AD)cares about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she who is married cares about the things of the world—how she may please her husband. 35 And this I say for your own profit, not that I may put a leash on you, but for what is proper, and that you may serve the Lord without distraction.
36 But if any man thinks he is behaving improperly toward his [d]virgin, if she is past the flower of youth, and thus it must be, let him do what he wishes. He does not sin; let them marry. 37 Nevertheless he who stands steadfast in his heart, having no necessity, but has power over his own will, and has so determined in his heart that he will keep his [e]virgin, does well. 38 (AE)So then he who gives [f]her in marriage does well, but he who does not give her in marriage does better.
39 (AF)A wife is bound by law as long as her husband lives; but if her husband dies, she is at liberty to be married to whom she wishes, (AG)only in the Lord. 40 But she is happier if she remains as she is, (AH)according to my judgment—and (AI)I think I also have the Spirit of God.
Footnotes
- 1 Corinthians 7:17 direct
- 1 Corinthians 7:32 concern
- 1 Corinthians 7:32 is concerned about
- 1 Corinthians 7:36 Or virgin daughter
- 1 Corinthians 7:37 Or virgin daughter
- 1 Corinthians 7:38 NU his own virgin
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
