1 Corinthians 7:1-2
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Principles of Marriage
7 Now in response to the matters you wrote[a] about: “It is good for a man not to have relations with[b] a woman.”[c] 2 But because sexual immorality is so common,[d](A) each man should have his own wife,(B) and each woman should have her own husband.
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- 1 Corinthians 7:1 Other mss add to me
- 1 Corinthians 7:1 Lit not to touch
- 1 Corinthians 7:1 The words in quotation marks are a principle that the Corinthians wrote to Paul about to ask for his view.
- 1 Corinthians 7:2 Lit because of immoralities
1 Corinthians 7:1-2
English Standard Version
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.” 2 But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.
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1 Corinthians 7:1-6
The Message
To Be Married, to Be Single . . .
7 Now, getting down to the questions you asked in your letter to me. First, Is it a good thing to have sexual relations?
2-6 Certainly—but only within a certain context. It’s good for a man to have a wife, and for a woman to have a husband. Sexual drives are strong, but marriage is strong enough to contain them and provide for a balanced and fulfilling sexual life in a world of sexual disorder. The marriage bed must be a place of mutuality—the husband seeking to satisfy his wife, the wife seeking to satisfy her husband. Marriage is not a place to “stand up for your rights.” Marriage is a decision to serve the other, whether in bed or out. Abstaining from sex is permissible for a period of time if you both agree to it, and if it’s for the purposes of prayer and fasting—but only for such times. Then come back together again. Satan has an ingenious way of tempting us when we least expect it. I’m not, understand, commanding these periods of abstinence—only providing my best counsel if you should choose them.
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson