⁶ I say this as a concession, not as a command.^{(A) 7} I wish that all of you were as I am.^(B) But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.^(C)

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

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.^(A) But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world—how she can please her husband. ³⁵ I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided^(B) devotion to the Lord.

³⁶ If anyone is worried that he might not be acting honorably toward the virgin he is engaged to, and if his passions are too strong^[a] and he feels he ought to marry, he should do as he wants. He is not sinning.^(C) They should get married.