1 Corinthians 7:6-35

Christian Standard Bible

⁶ I say this as a concession, not as a command. ⁷ I wish that all people were as I am. But each has his own gift^(A) from God, one person has this gift, another has that.

A Word to the Unmarried

⁸ I say to the unmarried^[a] and to widows:^(B) It is good for them if they remain as I am. ⁹ But if they do not have self-control,^(C) they should marry, since it is better to marry^(D) than to burn with desire.

About Married People

¹⁰ To the married I give this command^(E)—not I, but the Lord—a wife is not to leave^[b] her husband. ¹¹ But if she does leave, she must remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband—and a husband is not to divorce his wife.^{(F) 12} But I (not the Lord) say to the rest: If any brother^(G) has an unbelieving wife and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. ¹³ Also, if any woman has an unbelieving husband and he is willing to live with her, she must not divorce her husband. ¹⁴ For the unbelieving husband is made holy^(H) by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy by the husband.^[c] Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is they are holy. ¹⁵ But if the unbeliever leaves, let him leave. A brother or a sister is not bound in such cases. God has called you^[d] to live in peace. ¹⁶ Wife, for all you know, you might save your husband. Husband, for all you know, you might save your wife.^[e]

Various Situations of Life

¹⁷ Let each one live his life in the situation the Lord assigned when God called^(I) him.^[f] This is what I command in all the churches. ¹⁸ Was anyone already circumcised when he was called? He should not undo his circumcision. Was anyone called while uncircumcised? He should not get circumcised. ¹⁹ Circumcision does not matter and uncircumcision does not matter. Keeping God’s commands is what matters. ²⁰ Let each of you remain in the situation^[g] in which he was called. ²¹ Were you called while a slave? Don’t let it concern you. But if you can become free, by all means take the opportunity.^{[h] 22} For he who is called by the Lord as a slave^(J) is the Lord’s freedman. Likewise he who is called as a free man is Christ’s slave. ²³ You were bought^(K) at a price; do not become slaves of people. ²⁴ Brothers and sisters, each person is to remain with God in the situation in which he was called.

About the Unmarried and Widows

²⁵ Now about virgins:^[i] I have no command from the Lord, but I do give an opinion as one who by the Lord’s mercy^(L) is faithful.^{(M) 26} Because of the present distress, I think that it is good for a man to remain as he is. ²⁷ Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be released. Are you released from a wife? Do not seek a wife. ²⁸ However, if you do get married,^(N) you have not sinned, and if a virgin^[j] marries, she has not sinned. But such people will have trouble in this life,^[k] and I am trying to spare you.

²⁹ This is what I mean, brothers and sisters: The time is limited,^(O) so from now on those who have wives should be as though they had none, ³⁰ those who weep as though they did not weep, those who rejoice^(P) as though they did not rejoice, those who buy as though they didn’t own anything, ³¹ and those who use the world as though they did not make full use of it. For this world in its current form is passing away.^(Q)

³² I want you to be without concerns. The unmarried man is concerned about the things of the Lord—how he may please^(R) the Lord. ³³ But the married man is concerned about the things of the world—how he may please his wife— ³⁴ and his interests are divided. The unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the things of the Lord,^(S) so that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But the married woman is concerned about the things of the world—how she may please her husband. ³⁵ I am saying this for your own benefit, not to put a restraint on you, but to promote what is proper and so that you may be devoted to the Lord without distraction.