¹⁴ So I counsel younger widows to marry,^(A) to have children, to manage their homes and to give the enemy no opportunity for slander.^(B)

⁵ to be self-controlled^(A) and pure, to be busy at home,^(B) to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands,^(C) so that no one will malign the word of God.^(D)

6 All who are under the yoke of slavery should consider their masters worthy of full respect,^(A) so that God’s name and our teaching may not be slandered.^(B)

⁸ and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.^(A)

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