¹⁰ I’m passing on the Lord’s command to those who are married: A wife shouldn’t leave her husband, ¹¹ but if she does leave him, then she should stay single or be reconciled to her husband. And a man shouldn’t divorce his wife.

¹² I’m telling everyone else (the Lord didn’t say this specifically): If a believer has a wife who doesn’t believe, and she agrees to live with him, then he shouldn’t divorce her. ¹³ If a woman has a husband who doesn’t believe and he agrees to live with her, then she shouldn’t divorce him. ¹⁴ The husband who doesn’t believe belongs to God because of his wife, and the wife who doesn’t believe belongs to God because of her husband. Otherwise, your children would be contaminated by the world, but now they are spiritually set apart. ¹⁵ But if a spouse who doesn’t believe chooses to leave, then let them leave. The brother or sister isn’t tied down in these circumstances. God has called you to peace. ¹⁶ How do you know as a wife if you will save your husband? Or how do you know as a husband if you will save your wife?

¹⁷ Nevertheless, each person should live the kind of life that the Lord assigned when he called each one. This is what I teach in all the churches.

²⁵ I don’t have a command from the Lord about people who have never been married,^[a] but I’ll give you my opinion as someone you can trust because of the Lord’s mercy.

⁴⁰ But in my opinion, she will be happier if she stays the way she is. And I think that I have God’s Spirit too.