⁸ To the unmarried and the widows I say that ^(A)it is good for them to remain single, ^(B)as I am.

³² I want you to be ^(A)free from anxieties. ^(B)The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord.

³⁴ and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband. ³⁵ I say this for your own benefit, ^(A)not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord.

²⁶ I think that in view of the present^[a] distress ^(A)it is good for a person to remain as he is. ²⁷ Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be free. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek a wife.

^7 (A)I wish that all were ^(B)as I myself am. But ^(C)each has his own gift from God, ^(D)one of one kind and one of another.

Principles for Marriage

7 Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: ^(A)“It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.”